[Photoncody]

I've 7-zipped the Fs2_Open into a useable (and mostly smaller archive for 56k users).

Download Link:
Filefront

Get 7-Zip here.

[achtung]

I think the team should start offering 7-zip versions of everything, along with the current .rar archives.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

[BlackDove]

I think everybody should die.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

We all have different opinions.

[WMCoolmon]

I think the team should start offering 7-zip versions of everything, along with the current .rar archives.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

RAR is obscure enough.

[draeath]

RAR is also proprietary enough...

I would rather we all use tar.bz2 and tell the windows users to use 7-zip to extract

 

[Photoncody]

I think everybody should die.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

We all have different opinions.

Translation="blah blah blah blah blah arf arf ARF ARF bark murf."
ROFL ROFL 

[takashi]

why not use swevn izp

[Herra Tohtori]

I think everybody should die.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

We all have different opinions.

"Opinions are like a**holes; everyone has at least one, and generally people are not interested in learning more about it. Exeptions prove the rule." (An old Finnish Army proverb)


7zip has it's advantages compared to other compression/decompression programs on Windows. Main gains being that *.7z files are smaller than comparable *.zip or *.rar files, and obviously the fact that it's open source, not shareware (like WinRar and WinZip unregistered versions that everyone just uses in spite of the registration prompts).

Of course, zip files have the advantage of being more widespread and compatible... and RAR is (AFAIK) easier to part into multiple files forming one archive.

It all depends of the purpose. But 7zip is a good program anyway.

[diceman111]

In order to mix it up I think that everybody should use .ace or even the most secure and if not small then atleast the one with the best name .diceman ooh and by the way that filextention is copyrighted.

(should not eat pizza while typing, too many spelling errors)

However seriusly I think that .rar is just fine (besides I really dont know how many still have 56K)

/Dice

[BlackDove]

I think everybody should die.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

We all have different opinions.

"Opinions are like a**holes; everyone has at least one, and generally people are not interested in learning more about it. Exeptions prove the rule." (An old Finnish Army proverb)

"Excuses are like assholes, everyone's got one" Willem Dafoe - Platoon

Just because the program is more efficient, doesn't mean that it is the preferential one for use. Since the goal here is to have this widespread to as many people as possible, and have them compatible to it instead of forcing some other program down their throats or confusing them (read: not having them install stupid bull**** accompanying the file they just downloaded), Zip and RAR take the cake hands down.

So like you said, it depends on the purpose. 7zip clearly defeats it, no matter how good it is.

[jr2]

...Conveniently sidestepping the fact that neither WinZip or WinRAR are free programs... most people don't have the license for either.  Granted, if you have XP you have built in .zip support, so I guess the answer is ditch .rar, and switch wholly to .zip, unless you want to endorse forcing WinRAR or WinZip down someone's throat (they can both decode .rar files... but of course, it you don't want to pay for the license, you could always use this nifty little program.. hmm, I think it's called 7-zip or something like that )

[Scooby_Doo]

Well it's not like you have to buy winrar.  Their shareware notice is rather mild.
Besides in think winrar handles 7zip files.

Edit yup it does (7zip files are .7z right?)

[Herra Tohtori]

It doesn't matter that you don't really have to buy WinRar/WinZip to use them. Doing it *is* technically illegal to use both WinZip and WinRar without the lisence after the expiration date is gone by the wind... even if it's not actually enforced in seemingly any other way than having to wait a couple of seconds and then clicking "OK"...

But anyway. If you want maximum compatibility, use basic *.zip compression. If, however, you use *.rar (which is done a lot anyway these days), you effectively do "force some other program down their throats" so they can open the file, since they will need some tool to open the rar archive... and because you have to assume they have to download some program anyway, it's best to point them to 7zip directly.

Assumption that they have WinZip or WinRar installed is actually just as valid as assuming that they have 7zip installed already. Granted, they are currently more widespread due to their longer exposure to public, but 7zip is spreading fast, because it's both free and legal to use without registration fees, and it doesn't nag about anything either. And makes smaller archives to boot.

Also, the program install file is a whopping 818 KB (my current version). With a link to 7zip pages, it's not really too much to ask from downloader to go there, grab the file and install it. In exchange of this small task, the file size can decrease substantially which reduces upload time, download time, bandwidth usage and the cost of the transfer to the hosting server's owner.

I really have no problem with archives of multiple formats - as said, purpose should define the archive type used, but in general isn't smaller file a preferable choice?

[Goober5000]

I really have no problem with archives of multiple formats

Naturally not -- you can just ignore the formats you don't want to use.  The SCP coders, on the other hand, have to 1) spend the time to compress the builds into multiple formats; and 2) upload the files onto the warpcore server.  The more formats we use, the more space we take up and the longer it takes to upload.

Generally we release nightly builds because it's convenient for us, not for you.  It helps us track bugs and it gives us input on what builds work better than others.  So we're going to compress the builds using the archive program that's most conveniently on hand.  So far, for me at least, that has been WinZip.

We can consider 7zip for official releases, because those are meant for the convenience of the users, and we want to get them out to as many people as possible.  I'll have to download it and try it out.

[jr2]

Keep in mind that 7-zip doesn't automatically take over your file associations; you have to go to the options and configure them yourself.  (I just select all of them & hit Apply)  7-zip also has a nice dual-pane file explorer, and you can configure it to display your system menu as a submenu when you right-click...

[WMCoolmon]

Anyone who uses 7-zip should be able to open ZIP files anyway, so the only real difference would be download size. I don't think the bandwidth savings would be worth supporting yet another subvariant of the SCP.

[Huggybaby]

Indeed---sometimes WinRAR compresses even more than 7-zip, but not usually. So file size isn't that big a factor, and if you use either 7-zip or rar instead of zip, then you've thrown compatibility out the window. Tough choice...

IMO, 7-zip and rar are equivalent. Since neither is winzip, it requires the same amount of user knowledge. I compress a file with both and see what I get, and if the rar is close to the same size as the 7-zip, I use the rar, because it is so much faster. If the 7-zip is significantly smaller, I tend to use that, especially if it's a torrent.

If it's a direct download, then rar might get the nod, because of the recovery record it can incorporate.

Both 7-zip and rar do multi-part archives and solid compression.

[jr2]

Well, the thing is, to legally use WinZip or WinRAR to encode / decode anything, you're supposed to buy it.  Now, if you use 7-zip, you can legally encode / decode anything, except the RAR format, which however you can decode freely.  The only ppl who need a licence are the distributors.

[WMCoolmon]

RAR is actually more commonly used by OSS, or at least the OSS that I've seen. It's more convenient and easier to use a program you already have, than have to install and learn a new one.

[Scooby_Doo]

We should support WinRK too, since it compresses better than 7-zip   


You know these compressors would be have been miracles 5-10 years ago, but now weeee I saved an extra megabyte