VPKs get a big speed boost by not having to search the local disk for loose files. We're aware of the inconvenience this causes for modders though, so we're looking into a command line option that overrides the behavior. You can enable that while working to quickly iterate.
Regarding mods, we're only a week from release and still fixing critical issues, so the code is being updated frequently. It will settle down. I would always recommend integrating the latest source code changes though, else your mod will be left with bugs that are fixed in the main game. BeyondCompare or Perforce can make copying over the changes quick and easy. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Yorg Kuijs Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 4:49 AM To: Discussion of Half-Life Programming Subject: [hlcoders] Alien Swarm VPK Hey list, As some of you may know, Alien Swarm uses some VPK files to store some stuff, for some reason it will load files in it over files directly in the folder, which means making your own vpk. Can anyone tell me the advantages of rebuilding a .vpk over and over just to make one line of change in a .res, script or other files. Additionaly, todays Alien Swarm update broke all Alien Swarm mods, I wonder if getting rid of the .vpk/copying it over to my mod's folder is going to be helpfull to avoid that(probably not since there's still a load of other stuff that's not in the .vpk that it loads from the main game. It may be just me, but this way of modding seems extremely inneffecient(not talking about the .vpk's), Alien Swarm is constantly getting updated, why not have an Alien Swarm SDK Base so we don't randomly get our mods broken or altered in way we do not want it to be altered just because the main game gets updated. DLL's are loaded just fine, yet changes in scripts and whatnot being loaded from Alien Swarm are resulting in mods breaking, that's just nasty. Were the early days of Source modding as bad as this? TL:DR version: Todays Alien Swarm update broke mods, in a way that gameplay changes can't be tested, because the camera has become extremely screwed. ------- I may be rambling some non-sense here, but there do seem to be some new ways to approach Alien Swarm modding, not explained and breaking stuff for everyone, it makes the SDK seem very modding unfriendly towards mods, was the only purpose really just showing off and not get a new influx of modders? Regards, Yorg "DuckSauce" Kuijs _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlcoders _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlcoders
