[Poll/Suggestion] Plugin Download Standards

[semininja]

In the downloads for plugins which also use a part or set of parts, some modders have subfolders that allow for simpler extraction into KSP, in this form:

\mod archive\

--\Parts\

----\part1\

----\part2\

---- etc.

--\Plugins\

----plugin.dll

This means that the contents of the archive can be extracted all at once directly into the \KSP\ folder, rather than needing individual pick-and-choose extractions or extracting and copying folders around. For the most part, this isn\'t too much of an issue, but as plugins become more complex, or if a modder wants to release a large collection, this kind of thing gets to be more important.

Thoughts?

[Quinton]

I think the nicest way to handle plugins/parts/etc would involve an actual change to the game, but if the developers are in the mood for a feature request or suggestion, mine would be:

Game looks in the Addons folder for any .zip file, which may contain Parts/... and Plugins/... paths. Adding stuff to the game for the enduser becomes 'download cool-stuff-addon.zip and drop it in the Addons' folder, and removing it becomes as easy as deleting it.

Or, to get extra fancy, an addon.zip file may contain an addon.cfg which has information about the addon (author, version, description, etc) and UI could be provided to see installed addons, disable or enable them, etc.

[N3X15]

I think the nicest way to handle plugins/parts/etc would involve an actual change to the game, but if the developers are in the mood for a feature request or suggestion, mine would be:

Game looks in the Addons folder for any .zip file, which may contain Parts/... and Plugins/... paths. Adding stuff to the game for the enduser becomes 'download cool-stuff-addon.zip and drop it in the Addons' folder, and removing it becomes as easy as deleting it.

Or, to get extra fancy, an addon.zip file may contain an addon.cfg which has information about the addon (author, version, description, etc) and UI could be provided to see installed addons, disable or enable them, etc.

It\'s possible, but I\'d rather keep the system simple.

Also, regarding standards, I was already considering the following:

• 
  [li]Parts/ - Duh.[/li]
  [li]Plugins/PluginName/ - DLL file(s)[/li]
  [li]Plugins/PluginName/Source - Sourcecode[/li]
  [li]Plugins/PluginName/Data - Config files, databases, etc.[/li]
  

[Tiberion]

Well, the old standard was Zip -> PackNameFolder -> Subfolders for Parts and Ships

To make it work with GME mod installer, so you can just copy PackNameFolder into the Mods folder (basically your mod repository, which GME uses to enable/disable mods in the main game folders) and then when you enable it in GME, it copies both your ships and parts into the main folder. This works just as well for plugins too.

[N3X15]

Well, the old standard was Zip -> PackNameFolder -> Subfolders for Parts and Ships

To make it work with GME mod installer, so you can just copy PackNameFolder into the Mods folder (basically your mod repository, which GME uses to enable/disable mods in the main game folders) and then when you enable it in GME, it copies both your ships and parts into the main folder. This works just as well for plugins too.

That works, too.

[semininja]

That\'s pretty much what I said, except without the top-level folder. You don\'t really need it anyways, because you can just tell the .zip to create a folder upon extraction.

[witeken]

I save the .zips (/.rars?) in a folder of KSP 0.14+ exclusive content and plugins. Then I move the things in the .zip manually to the right folder. This works fine for me.