[Goober5000]

Um, no.

[Goober5000]

Originally posted by WMCoolmon
Not to mention you could save the updated models in the data/models folder so the next time it would load normally.

This is one of the things I was thinking.  We could whip up a cache system where the game itself would convert new or changed models and save them in a special directory.  Probably not data/models, since it would get crowded, but howabout data/modelcache?

[StratComm]

I have an idea that would kill the backwards compatability in terms of models.  Create a second models directory in the data folder, and save the new pof there when converted.  Then, write a converter that can be run stand-alone (batch converts everything in Data/Models or Mod/Data/Models and saves out to appropriate models2 directory) or during the loading process for individual models.  If FSO does not find a model it needs in new format, it loads the old format version into the converter, saves out the converted form, and loads that into memory.  That way you maintain backwards compatability with only a one-time wait during load.

EDIT: Yeah, essentially what Goober said.

[Kazan]

i like goobers/stratcomm's idea

[Nuke]

i take it it would be part of freespaces code so all youd really need to do is run the game, the first time it will take a while but after that it would be instantanious. hey kaz, will ferrium do something like that when runnig original freespace formats?

[Kazan]

no - the will be preconverted before being accepted

[Ransom]

Down with backwards compatibility!

Goober/StratComm's idea sounds good to me.

[Unknown Target]

I'd really like some new, animation-capable formats, so I'll have to go with the "don't care" option.

[Flipside]

I don't really mind if compatability with Vanilla is broken. As long as it doesn't force any of the Mods to have to rewrite loads of missions or redesign loads of ships, which it doesn't sound like it will, I'm fine with it