I really like most of the visuals in MV_Effects, but I think I prefer the FS2-style sprite explosions. I have been messing around with Maja and the VP files, and this is what I think I have discovered by trial and error:
Inside MV_Effects.vp, in the "effects" folder, if I get rid of the following files:
* Exp04.eff
* Exp05.eff
* Exp06.eff
* Exp20.eff
* Explode1.eff
* ExpMissileHit.eff
.. then it reverts back to sprite explosions. Also, in the "tables" folder, if I get rid of this file:
* mv_dbrs-sct.tbm
...then the flaming debris effect goes away.
After this, explosions seem to be how I remember them. Occasionally I'm not 100% sure - I sometimes see an explosion and I just get a nagging sensation that there's something not right, like there's still some residual particle effect logic going on intended to be used with the assets I just deleted, but I can't quite put my finger on it, and I could be mistaken anyway.
MV_Advanced does not seem to affect the explosion effects after I have done this.
I also worry that I might have broken something by doing this. The first few missions have seemed fine, and the game hasn't thrown any warnings at me, but I know well that deleting random files can be dangerous, even if nothing obviously bad happens right away.
So I basically have three questions. First, is there an easier way to have FS2 explosions while keeping the rest of the new effects? If not, is there anything else I should do, aside from what I have already done? Third, is there anything I shouldn't have done?