Inferno requires a bumped limit version of FS Open which has become known as an 'INF_Build' This includes many alterations such as increasing the ship limit to 250 and others such as the max spawn weapon limit. Inferno will not work on FS2 retail or the standard FS Open builds. Multiplayer is not avaliable in an INF_Build and is disabled both by code and through the interface art.
After the pilot code changes and some other major changes, we decided to produce a stand alone mod similar to TBP. We'll include a current INF_Build and an INF Fred build with the mod, and updates will be avaliable when we compile new ones. No additional files are required from retail FS2 or the FS Open media VPs. Any new files required from the media vps (such as new interface art for a new feature) will be added via patch to the mod.
Since we've ripped out all the FS2 maps, renamed them and optimised them for our use, no shinemaps, glowmaps, animated glowmaps or any other type of maps in the media vps will work. Any FS2 ships that use the standard tile maps that you want to use in mods will have to be converted to the INF map names to work. (This is why there's an archives request thread for stuff to port over, I'll do the basics for you beforehand)
Adding mods will be done via -mod directories and most mods (including all the ones I have planned) should be released in a VP file. Misc stuff like a single new ship can go in our default mod folder, anything bigger (such as SAH for R1) should make their own mod folder. No files in the data directory should ever be changed except by official patches. Mods should use .tbm files and not .tbl files to avoid conflicts with patches. All INF core mod files are stored in the data directory and not in a VP file to allow far easier patching and access for modders who need specific things (such as texture maps from ships) You won't need to download the entire thing again unless there was a major change to FS Open that breaks most of the core mod.
