posted 05-18- 10:59 AM               

If the plane pack is in a parfile, that makes any given plane sort of inaccessible to the average guy, but you can always add a folder to the Media/Aircraft/P47d folder with extras, and the sim will "read" the add-ons, right? And as long as you don't change the P47d.sm file, the plane still works online, right?

So maybe keep the cockpit files as separate .sm files, outside the parfile, and release them as an "optional upgrade" zipfile. All it would need to contain is the media/aircraft/p47d folder with the cockpit.sm files in there. You wouldn't even need to put out a new plane when you update the cockpit that way--I think?

posted 05-18- 12:27 PM               

The standard is in the parfile so if you just want the high detail no reflection cockpit you don't need anything in the P47D directory.

I have the installer installing all 3 files in the P47D directory so they are there to be renamed by the end user if they want. I also have the installer prompt you which one to use and install the appropriate one also.

posted 05-18- 12:37 PM            

How about setting up a seperate section on simFiles where users can get each individual zip files that contain the exact same aircraft as in the .par files? Say a person just wants to try out the Hurricane or something by itself. Maybe they dont want to download the whole large Plane Pack. They could just download the Hurricane by itself. It would contain the same exact airplane as the Plane Pack, so there would be no online chaos.

My whole reasoning for this idea is that often, I want to get just a certain plane...the Zero for instance...so I can paint it, and I don't want the hassle of having the Unbig it and sort through 15 megs of stuff I don't want. Maybe its a little selfish, but some of us download planes for different reasons

posted 05-18- 03:27 PM               

As an alternate solution however, I think it might be better to just contact the author and tell them your intentions and have them provide you with the apropriate files for creating skins. That would make the indevidual plane less accessable and less prone to end up flown online.

My next project is a versioning system similar to Source Safe or CVS that will help keep things a little more organized. I wouldn't be opposed to at least hear a argument for having an access level that would allow read only access to the planes for skinners.