[Goober5000]

Due to a bug in Windows, it seems that there's an error in precedence in some of the files released for the FSPort.

Certain VP files, such as glowmaps, shinemaps, hi-res textures, etc. are released in separate VP packages so that they can be added as optional enhancements.  I called these files names like fsport_shine.vp to ensure that they would be loaded before the main release fsport3_0.vp and such.  I assumed that the list order would be the same as the load order.  Unfortunately, Windows uses a weird ordering scheme that misleads you about the order in which the VPs are loaded.  In ASCII, certain special symbols come lexicographically before letters and numbers, but for some reason Windows lists them after them.  In the vast majority of cases this doesn't matter, but in certain very specific circumstances the files wouldn't override each other properly.

You probably don't need to understand all that.  All you need to know is that if there is any file in your Port folder whose name begins with "fsport_" (that's an underscore), you should rename it to "fsport-" (that's a dash).  This will cause the files to be loaded in the proper order.  I've updated the files on the website accordingly.

[neoterran]

whoa, this makes a big difference as to how the whole fsport looks and feels !

kind of glad I didn't get a chance to play much of it yet...

[jr2]

Goob, shouldn't you sticky that note?

[Fury]

I just noticed this thread and became curious. I created files fsport3_0.txt, fsport_shine.txt and fsport-shine.txt, Windows XP lists them in that order as well. I assume fs2_open would load the files in this order as well. Tested this on both english and finnish WinXP.

[ARSPR]

I just noticed this thread and became curious. I created files fsport3_0.txt, fsport_shine.txt and fsport-shine.txt, Windows XP lists them in that order as well. I assume fs2_open would load the files in this order as well. Tested this on both english and finnish WinXP.

I don't know why but I have previously asked Goober about this, but it splitted into another thread (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,39522.0.html).

Windows Explorer does really funny things with file sorting. Look my second reply where "-" is sometimes before "_" and others after it. I've got Spanish WXP.

But Goober says Explorer order has nothing to do with the loading order when asked from FS2.

[Goober5000]

Yeah.  The Win98 order is even different from the WinXP order.  So it may not be a bug, just some really, really stupid sorting idea that someone had.

The order in which FreeSpace (and any other standards-compliant program) will sort file names is according to the ASCII character set.

[Fury]

Perhaps this sort of problem could be avoided by introducing some sort of priority system to .vp files, perhaps to the launcher? The launcher searches for .vp files, lists them in a window where user can tick or untick to enable or disable .vp files as well as choose in which order the vp files are loaded. This way it wouldn't really matter how you name your .vp files and would help to keep names more consistent with each other. To make this system nearly fool-proof, the launcher could search for file called priorities.ini and take the values from there, to make the launcher load.vp files in order a MOD project wants, they could include priorities.ini with their mods.

[Goober5000]

Except we want to remain compatible with retail.

[Fury]

Well let it use the default naming based priority system if no priorities.ini is found from FS2 root or mod folders, or user does not use the launcher to create one. Just a suggestion.

[jr2]

Except we want to remain compatible with retail.

It was made in 1998.  You can't have your cake and eat it too for forever... although, could there be an option to switch between "retail-compatible" and SCP modes?  Maybe have that .ini file list certain VPs under a "retail" section, and others as "SCP".  Then, if the retail flag is checked, it only looks at the VPs listed in the retail section, as well as any user-specified ones?  I dunno.