A note to the developers:

This is one of the finest pieces of work in the UT community, and the entire Ballistic team deserves a tremendous amount of credit for their efforts.

However, the fact that successive versions of this mod continually use the same filenames for each package file creates an absolute nightmare for the online community. Gamers who frequent multiple servers are plagued by "version mismatch" errors, and server admins not only are enslaved to keep thoroughly up to date on every single release, but also must rely on every other server admin in the world to do the same in order to retain compatibility with the community.

Obviously, this is a logistical impossibility.

Please consider adopting a naming scheme for the package files that incorporates the version number of the mod, e.g., "Ballistic_v172.u", "BallisticWeapons_v172.utx", etc. This simple change will greatly expand the public exposure to this terrific mod, which is what it certainly deserves.



Thanks,

This has been mentioned before, but long time ago.
Thanks for bringing it up; I don't think it is much trouble adding for example BCore_2_0.u or simply BCore20.u

That would help...I have to manually delete the files from my redirect then resend them when there is a new version.

but why exactly.. doesnt it say version mismatch, if they have different .U files?? i'm not to clued up on this, so maybe u can tell me more? but i'm not sure how Unreal like same classes in different packages and such.. surely everone would stil have to have the latest version anyway?? i'm confused

I don't understand the issue here since I'm an offline player, but I do know that it is easy to fix it by simply adding a version number to the file names.

No problem ... that's basically the idea, but for anyone who's interested in digging into it, I'll try to explain the whole "Version Mismatch" issue a little better:


UT can only distinguish package files from one another based on their file names; i.e., identically named files are assumed to be identical in their content as well. This is why, when releasing a product to the public in stages, you have to provide a reasonably unique name for not only every file but also every version of the same file. For a mod to be usable online, not doing so necessitates something fairly impossible: that every player and every server in the world must keep their machines updated with the same version of the mod.


Here's a real-world example that might help illustrate the point:

Suppose that in June, "Admin A" downloads version 1.71 of the Ballistic pack and uploads it to his public dedicated server, "Server A". Then in July, "Admin B" downloads version 1.72 of the Ballistic pack and uploads it to her public dedicated server, "Server B".

Then, suppose "Player C" has never used Ballistic before and visits Server A. In order to play there, he must be supplied with the all of the Ballistic package files (version 1.71, remember), which Server A pushes to him. So far no problems.

Now, after playing on Server A for awhile, suppose Player C goes to visit Server B (which uses Ballistic version 1.72). When the connection attempt is made, Server B checks Player C's computer to see if it already has the all the files it needs to run Ballistic, e.g., "Ballistic.u", "BCore.u", etc. Because Player C has already visited Server A, he does appear to have those files, since the file names are the same between versions â€â€

why would they want to do that, then they'll be a ton of deleating and crap... and i and alot of other people don't want that, the file system is good like it is.

Uh, I'm almost tempted to call you an idiot after reading that.

Do you have any idea how simple this is what he described above? Not only is this going to make online playing billion times more comfy, but this will also eliminate the possibility of version mismatches for us offline players.

If you are too lazy to spend 20 seconds of your life deleting 6 - 7 files, then don't say other people are that ridiculously lazy as well.

still does this mean more stupid delaeting between versions or not?

THanks for calling me stupid, stupid.

The problem is that the way the UT redirect works is it checks to if the file is there or its newer then downloads it to your cache dir, But sometimes it will download the File and NOT use it! (uses the older file) hence, mismatch. Thats why when you switch versions and play online you should ALWAYS clear your cache out.

Also I think there is a place in the INI file that lets you specify the amount of days to keep the cache, Ill look for it and Get back to you.

I'm all fine with this as long as i don't have to go into any files and edit them... i don't want to do that!

Editing the INI is VERY simple and can gain you performance If you read the Ut tweak guides that are out.

I think RS would make the tweaks already done in a release.

No I mean the UT2004.ini...

still i'm pretty sure that everyone who uses BW won't want to mess with the files. You guys might be PC experts but some of us just want a mod where we install maybe overwrite some old files than play, no one (excpet server admins) wants to go into tons of files and edit them for the sake of the mod... just let RS do whats going on now... cause i really don't want to f**k up my ini file.

No I mean the UT2004.ini...

Stop saying that!

Before stating anything like that, at least get your case straighten out.
First of all, if you are such a computer rookie, then why don't you use the UMod version so you can unInstall the mod with a few mouse clicks from Setup.exe in the System folder?

Second of all, what tons of files are we talking about? A handful maybe, but far away from even 1/1000 of a ton.

Third of all, most people who play mods know the INI editing basics. It's something you learn automaticly as you try out new mods.

Mr.UglyPants,

First of all, you needn't worry â€â€

oh thank you thank you for saying that Poker!

You don't have to do any INI editing, since most settings are already covered in the GUI.

what does GUI standfor?

GUI is a coded interface, the settings in-game can be called a GUI, when you modify the settings there, you are basicly modifying the INI file.

But many INI aliases and commands aren't covered in the GUI though so INI editing is often more effective and precise.

okay, that makes sense. Still i'd rather not have to go into the ini file everytime theirs a new BW version.

OK.. got it thanks.. will experiment a bit, and try get it right

thanks Shadow