Adding root Effects component

[Dirk98 354]

Thanks for Addon Organizer.

I have my little design question: some add-ons install their effects in the root Prepar3D v4\Effects folder, but naturally I'm trying to keep all add-on files outside of Prepar3D v4 when possible. How do I better go about it in my particular case? My idea is by using your program to create MyBaseEffects Component pointing to MyBaseEffects folder placed elsewhere. When I find that an add-on requires to install effects in Prepar3D v4\Effects folder I'll just drop these files in that MyBaseEffects folder instead. The only discomfort that I feel with this design is that those add-on effect files would be somewhat detached from their original add-ons and have no traces to their origins unless clearly referred to in their names. Do you think it is a good way to organize the files? 

Thanks,

 

Edited December 9, 2017 by Dirk98

[Dirk98 354]

Or maybe it could be achieved this way more efficiently:

 

Quote

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
  <AddOn.Name>MyBaseFolder</AddOn.Name>
  <AddOn.Description>My Base Layer Content</AddOn.Description>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Scenery</Category>
    <Path>F:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4 Addons\MyBaseFolder\World\scenery</Path>
    <Name>MyBaseFolder</Name>
    <Layer>2</Layer>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Texture</Category>
    <Path>F:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4 Addons\MyBaseFolder\World\texture</Path>
    <Type>WORLD</Type>
  </AddOn.Component>Or
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Effects</Category>
    <Path>F:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4 Addons\MyBaseEffects</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Effects</Category>
    <Path>F:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4 Addons\MyBaseFolder\Effects</Path>
    <Name>MyBaseFolder</Name>
  </AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

Thanks!

PS: Now I don't think the above is what I wanted.

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2017 by Dirk98

[Dirk98 354]

I isolated MyBaseEffects from MyBaseFolder add-on:

Quote

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
  <AddOn.Name>MyBaseEffects</AddOn.Name>
  <AddOn.Description />
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Effects</Category>
    <Path>F:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4 Addons\MyBaseEffects</Path>
    <Name>MyBaseEffects</Name>
  </AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

Now I hope when launching a scenario P3Dv4 will always visit my custom MyBaseEffects AddOn and pick up what it finds there necessary for a specific add-on scenery being loaded, will it not?

Thanks.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Dirk98

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

Hello,

All of your solutions will work as long as the "Path" is correct. What the addon XMLs do is to simply add lookup paths for the simulator. So if it can't find something, it will look there. This has drawbacks too, for example with textures. If you add a lot of individual components or category "Texture", the lookup of these files takes so long for the simulator that you will experience texture corruption (files are not read fast enough).

Not sure what else to tell you, there are so many ways to do this.

Personally I am grouping aircraft addons by developer and scenery addons by continent. I try to avoid to let anything install directly into the simulator (currently impossible to do with ORBX). I never move files around manually (why? Because then the uninstall programm can't see them any more, and it will forget about them or it even might crash when I want to uninstall something. Plus, unless you run a diff program, you don't know what has been installed where)

Basically I do this:

- I create a folder for the developer like this
"C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\JustFlight"
- then add a content folder
"C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\JustFlight\Content"
- then add a Prepar3d.exe and FSX.exe
"C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\JustFlight\Content\prepar3d.exe"
"C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\JustFlight\Content\fsx.exe"

Now, when I am installing an addon, I simply point it at ""C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\JustFlight\Content". Most installers will create the folders they want to put files in automatically, so after a while my "Content" folder has all the subfolders that are necessary for addons (Effects, Fonts, Gauges, Sound, SimObjects, Scenery, Textures)

The "C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\JustFlight\add-on.xml" file would then look something like this:

Quote

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
  <AddOn.Name>JustFlight Aircraft</AddOn.Name>
  <AddOn.Description>Content for JustFlight AC</AddOn.Description>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>SimObjects</Category>
    <Path>Content\SimObjects\Airplanes</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Effects</Category>
    <Path>Content\Effects</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Gauges</Category>
    <Path>Content\Gauges</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

As a result, even if my main P3D folder is deleted, my Addons will live on. Of course, not everyone will want to have their content installed in C:\...\Documents. Personally I don't mind, the SSD is big enough and it really doesn't matter where something is installed on it. But the same approach works when you create that folder on a different drive and reference it there (like you do in your examples). 

Just be aware, that when editing XML files manually, you have to keep the character encoding consistent. All of your above files must be encoded in UTF-8 (with or without BOM doesn't matter).

Best regards

[Dirk98 354]

1 hour ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hello,

Basically I do this:

Best regards

I just bought your WHERE ARE MY AIRCRAFT WAMA FSX P3D and AITRACKER X FSX P3D, thank you very much, Oliver!

Igor.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Dirk98

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

On ‎10‎.‎12‎.‎2017 at 11:19 AM, Dirk98 said:

I just bought your WHERE ARE MY AIRCRAFT WAMA FSX P3D and AITRACKER X FSX P3D, thank you very much, Oliver!

Igor.

Hello Igor,

many thanks! Hope you find them useful.

Best regards