can someone outline the steps for me so i can do it right this time?

Blink,
Let me give you some info...
I have gone through what you are going through...
First of all, what has been said above is correct.
You do need to have a copy of your .wmv files in the .exe folder.
But, here is an important concern as to file size and resourcing...
Make sure that copy of your .wmv files are also not packed into your .wrs folder.... If they did, your final folder size is larger than is should be...
This has caused questions for me in the past.
Sometimes, I don't know how, but even if the .wmv files are not in the project folder, the resource procedure somehow finds a copy and still includes it into the .wrs folder...
After the resourcing procedure, review the list of resourced files and make sure copies of your .wmv files didn't get resourced too...
Just remove the .wmv files from your project folder. Then resource and you will get a warning message that the process can't find your .wmv files. Answer that it is ok...
Finish resourcing and ckeck the list...
Add copies of your .wmv's into your final project folder... Then run...
G'd luck...

Thank you so much for the info. that was what i was looking for. Another question. do i remove the includes from the other levels, since the main script has them included?

No you don't have to, Once they are loaded that's it, I don't think they can load again. Unless you want to tidy up your code and cut down on the size of the scripts.

Thanks, Nidhogg. i had to go back in and re-write my story and cut down on my levels a bit. i was getting overly ambitious again, lol. now that i think i know what i want, i want to make sure i can finish the game off.

How's it going Blink?
Is the packed final project running?

no, still have a little work left to do to get back to trying to pack. i need to fix up my menu and get it working right, and few level redesigns. i changed my storyline a bit to make it one area instaed of several. i will keep you posted. thanks for asking.

My pleasure...
I like to help when I can...
So many users have helped me but mostly I have just tried and tried and tried...
On that note... I almost always pack and create a final game almost every time that I recompile...
That way I don't get any crappy problems right when I think that I'm done...
That way if a problem occurs I have an easier time de-bugging...
A question... for you...
Have you made a trailer/video to show it off...
Please let me/us all know when you are done...

anyone have any tips for keeping framerate or increasing it. i just rebuilt a level and started adding mdls. and now my framerate has dropped significantly. any tips on how to get it back? the level isnt too big and i didnt add too many models to it or map entities. i am not sure if my far clip is small enough either it set at 2000. i am at a loss. i dont want to eliminate the models or the added areas, as this will change the way the level looks, making it really empty. any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

What I would do is this, Any shaders, particles or things that are heavy on framerate and not in a players FOV either stop or pause them.