New favorite deployment method

Having run into so many crazy errors from installing MSI's, I've settled on a new favorite deployment mechanism: NAnt (or MSBuild).  Here's how it works:

• Package application and build scripts into one ZIP file
• Package any tools needed for the build (NAnt, NUnit, etc.)
• Package a bootstrapper batch file that calls NAnt and your build file with the appropriate targets
• Run the batch file

Pros

• Install script can be the same script as run on a local dev box
• Can package NAnt along with application, so no need to install any tools on their machine
• More robust than XCopy deployment
• Far fewer headaches than with MSI deployment
• No need for proprietary scripting languages to do complex work, instead use open-source, standard tasks
  • No more Wise script or InstallScript

Cons

• Not for commercial products
• MSI's do take care of a lot of boilerplate tasks
• MSI's have rollback and uninstall built in
  • Though with custom actions, still a pain
• Nice UI
• Familiar interface

Here's what my final ZIP file looks like:

• Product-Dist.zip
  • Product.zip (zipped up application)
  • Tools
    • NAnt
    • NUnit
  • install.build
  • Install.bat
  • Uninstall.bat
  • Go.bat

What's really cool is that the structure of the distribution zip file matches my local structure, so installing locally is the exact same as installing on a clean box.  Also, I can deploy NUnit and the tests, so I can run tests on deployed machines for some extra build verification.