Just by replacing all of the DDS DXT3 and TGA files that don't need to be in bloated MATs where appropriate could save you 30-40% of your file size. Many of Porche's ships have fairly large MATs that could be shrunk by a large amount. Things like your Room CMPs could also lose a lot've MB by having their texture usage checked out.

I'm willing to take a look at this issue for you.

Thank you Argh. I think we have someone already looking at getting the ship TGA's / DDS sorted out, but an extra pair of hands and eyes would always be handy (especially in regards to the modular stations and the THN Rooms which haven't been touched so far). Did you want access to the latest test mod by the way to see what we have so far?

Sure... post me a link to the file

I will email it to you now

How big is the MOD now?
I've seen the Mod Manager handle MOD's that were 100 MB with no problem.
Depending on what file compression program you're using they can make an exe.
Winrar can make exe's I know.
Also there are free installer programs out there such as the one by the click team. I have a copy of that.

If I read what Argh is referring to, then yes changing your files to Direct Draw (DDS) will cut down a lot on the size.

Well, the current test mod stands at 170meg compressed, but we have quite a few more THN's and their models to go in yet and new cockpit designs and interface changes while the latest Patch for the test mod is around 20-30meg now (that is before the above mentioned stuff, though it does include some new THN's in there). I am pretty sure most of our Ship Models are done in DDS anyway (but there is over 270 ships in the mod, so we were kind of expecting the mod to big anyway), it is the station and thn models that aren't at the moment, so yes, that would shave a bit off.

It's only been reports from one or two testers so far that FLMM has been having problems with it, and that is more of the unzipping of the mod itself than the installation. It just that I am a little worried that the closer we get towards completion, the mod is just going to get even bigger which means even more people *might* experience problems with it. Also, we have found that a number of people haven't been able to use FLMM to uninstall the mod properly, because once they have uninstalled the mod, they need to reinstall Freelancer anyway to get any other mod to work properly (I'm not sure why that would be to be honest though).

EDIT: I should also note that save space as well on some models, we have also had some models sharing Mat files. This works exception well with the room models and the station models.

Edited by - Aldebaran28 on 7/27/2005 2:10:28 PM

Are you talking about not using FLMM at all or just bypassing the install stage and still using FLMM for activating/deactivating the mod?

Wow! Freeworlds certainly has grown into the largest MOD size wise that I've seen.
270 ships? That's an incredible amount.
The most I've seen in a MOD is WTS-World which adds over 130.
You must have a lot of dedicated people working on the project.

As far as bypassing the Mod Manager goes that's fine. You can make an exe or zip file that extracts directly into the Freelancer folder.
If you want to try an install program check out the Clickteam website http://www.clickteam.com/English/index.php go to the download page at http://www.clickteam.com/English/ourdownloads.php they still offer a freeware version and an evaluation version of their Install Creator software.

Most likely there are files that get left behind when people are saying they are experiencing problems when deactivating the MOD.
DLL files are notorious for causing trouble.
I've even seen DLL files get left behind after deactivating the MOD, in other words they stay in the folder and that can cause trouble especially if you switch MOD's or upgrade to a different version of the same MOD.
That's why I say a lot in post that deleting the Freelancer folder before a reinstall is the best way to make sure you get a clean install.

@baked potato: Thanks for that, I will have to look into that installer/compressor, that might be just what we are after. And yes, we have a fully dedicated team building models, not just ships, but also stations and room THN's. Every station in the mod has already been replaced with unique custom stations (you've probably seen the pictures floating around from time to time from the FW test mod) and we are heading very quickly to replacing all Dealer, Bar and Landing Scenes in the Mod as well. All I can say is FW 1.66 will possibly be the biggest Mod out there to date with the amount that's included, and that is not just considering the ship count alone.

@Louva-Deus: Yes, we are talking about by-passing FLMM altogether. It appears you can't use any other mod after using Freeworlds anyway and as some people are experiencing problems with it in regards to it dealing with a mod of this size, just installing Freeworlds direct now seems the best option, though I will probably release two versions, one as a FLMM File, and one as a self installer. It doesn't mean that FLMM will be redundant though with Freeworlds, as it should be fantastic for use with the three additional patches we are planning to release at the same time as Freeworlds (The mod will be the balanced version, but we want to release an Unbalanced Mod Patch, Open-SP Patch, and a 'Lite' Patch (removes NPC's for Territorial Engagements for those Servers that have them)), plus it will also be handy for the Expansion Packs we have planned based on the 1.66 basis.

For note, some of the stuff that is being included (though not all ) in the Mod can be seen here: http://www.phpbber.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=3&mforum=fwt

wow over 100mb man freeworlds is defintly huge even bigger then terra empire mod and well thats saying something at least to me anywayz *lol* For phase 2 beta myself I've been using installsheild since I happen to have it anywayz, pretty powerfull and such and easy for people to install. If you can get it i'd recommend it esppicaly since you can read the registry entrys you need to find where flmm is and install the mod there with no real fuss, I highly recommend it. If not i know theres quite a few (at least 2) free ones out there that are like installshield-lite *can't recall there names but doing a google search should produce results*

Hope any of this helps, but anywayz regardless goodluck and of course happy freelancing

James "Quickshot14" Greenwood
QSD (Quickshot14's Domain http://qsd.xpi.org.uk)
Home of QFL & QWC And Quicks Mix Radio

Edited by - Quickshot14 on 7/27/2005 5:55:29 PM

Edited by - Quickshot14 on 7/27/2005 5:56:28 PM

You are basically asking people to have another copy of Freelancer installed just for your mod. While that may seem fine in some cases, in others people already have two and three copies of the game installed just for the various mods that require a dedicated copy. When you consider that each install weighs in at nearly a gig of space many people are turned off by that prospect. It is also a hassle for some people to figure out how to install the game more than once without messing up menu groups and whatnot.

Just making sure you are aware of what your decision entails. If FLMM still works for activation/deactivation you might want to stick to that rather than limiting your already dwindling audience.

Freeworlds really hasn't lost that much in audience wise. Sure, we have lost some people, we have also gained some people, but the numbers I see playing the mod are still about the same as they were a year ago. And that's just across the servers I've seen, I also know Freeworlds has in the last year gained several server and has gone 'international' so to speak. We have translators standing by to translate Freeworlds into French and German because there are people in those countries also wishing to play. We haven't dwindled as much as most other mods.

And as I noted above, I plan to have two types of FW released, the normal mod version for those who have FLMM's that can handle it, and the self-install version for those who are either a) dedicated FW players (and there are a few) or b) whose FLMM can't handle the installation of the mod. Off course, there is little point in doing it via FLMM if when you remove the mod, you can't play anything else anyway, but I might have a solution to that too....

I've been taking a look, and all I'm going to say in public is that there is a lot've room for optimization, and I am confident that I can shrink the current size of the mod by 40% or more

A big thanks for this Argh, your assistance in this is much appreciated.