Zuriki wrote:bas wrote:Dal wrote:This game desperately needs an override folder for loose files. There's so much potential but it's inordinately difficult to use (or distribute legally) when it has to be repacked first.
.dat files are easy to manipulate in place -- it is easy to add or change a file without repacking everything.
A mod could just be a zip file with the changed files. It would not be too hard to write a tool to apply such a zip to the dat files. If someone has some serious modding plans, then I would be glad to help out.
Your tool could be used to install mods pretty easily:
1. Automatically back-up existing files
2. Unpack existing files
3. Copy mod files into the directory with the unpacked files
4. Repack
Doesn't require distribution of original files, it's not an ideal solution, but it's not exactly a
bad solution.
That would do the trick, but it is a bit indirect.
I though about the following. A mod is a zip file that contains diffs[1] (/deltas). A mod is applied, by applying all the diffs in it. The graphical tool to manage mods would list all installed mods, and would allow the user to enable and disable certain mods. Some mods will apply cleanly together, others won't. Before applying a diff (in-place), the tool backs up the original file in another file.
In this way, multiple mods can be active at the same time; we do not need to redistribute game files and it would be fast.
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[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diff