This email is mostly addressed to anyone within Valve that's still maintaining the TF2 branch of the source engine, and I suppose anyone on this mailing list that'd like to comment on this recommendation.
There's one frustrating issue with clients downloading custom content (maps, models, etc) in particular: it's fairly painful when unaware mappers and server operators release or update maps (and other content) without modifying the filename of the content. For maps this is particularly destructive because many clients would be left unable to connect and play on the server in question if the map differs from what the server is running. Additionally, there are some documented cases of clients having their map downloads not get fully completed or get into a corrupt state which is equally as painful for the same reasons. Many users are simply unaware of how to solve this problem by locating and deleting the files in question. I'm sure this is something that can get an ideal solution, so I'd like to propose a few: 1. If the content differs, force a redownload and overwrite the existing file on the client. Now that clients have a separate search path for downloaded content thanks to Fletcher's hard work in refactoring custom content and downloads search paths, there's less risk to overwriting stock game content. 2. Allow multiple downloads side-by-side, perhaps differing in filename by a checksum (or some other recommendation). This would probably have to be virtualized in some way so that the filesystem is aware of the actual name of the map for soundscripts, particle manifests, etc. This issue affects other content such as models and materials, but getting a solution for at least map downloading would be a great step forward.
_______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hlds
