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Hakpak | Put contents of hakpak into cache
[describe]
Hakpak | Single Hak Mode
Normally you have multiple hakpak files inside hak directory - one for each
server you play on. This is generally a waste of space, especially because
a lot of content is probably share, plus ALL of it is inside your cache.
If you enable Single Hak Mode, then when you choose 'Connect to' option,
all hakpaks except one needed to play on given server will be deleted. Warning:
This also include hakpaks which are not registered inside Hak Updater. So
if you plan to use such hakpaks, do not use this option and manage hak directory
yourself (you can just delete file there - it will be regenerated when you
update next time with Hak Updater).
Config | Compressed Cache
All files downloaded by hak updater are kept in cache. It can grow over time
- at minimum it will be as large as your largest hakpak, probably somewhat
larger. This is in addition to size of ready-to-use hakpaks in nwn
hak directory. Basic benefit of it is that you delete your hakpaks and be
able to regenerated them easily, plus you share all files between all hakpaks
- but this takes some space on disk.
If you check this option (Compressed Cache), files in cache will be compressed
(what a surprise...). They will take less space, but repacking hakpak will
take more time. This is classical space/time tradeoff. From my tests, you
should get around 50% size reduction, while packing hakpak will take about
two times as much time. For example, my test hakpak, containing 89MB of images,
normally take up 89MB in cache and packs in 10-15s (with average 10s) , while
compressed it take up 55MB and packs in 17-24s (with average 20s). Here you
do not see 50% reduction in size, but these are images only, text should compress
better.
Warning: to compress/uncompress you will need free space equal to missing
part - so for decompression of above cache taking 55MB, you will need extra
89MB (because first all files are unpacked and only then originals deleted).
Compressed repositories
Edit your pakinfo.txt and change UpdateCompressed to true. Then, do everything
as usual, including 'Generate listing...'. Now, press 'Prepare compressed
contents...' - 'gzipped' directory should appear in place you have
placed you hak files. Copy it's contents to server, instead of normal files.
Important note - DO NOT put it into 'gzipped' dir on server - you should
put it exactly in same place where noncompressed files should go. So, if
paklist.txt used to be at http://myhost.com/pak/paklist.txt now it will be
at http://myhost.com/pak/paklist.txt.gz, NOT http://myhost.com/pak/gzipped/paklist.txt.gz.
After that your players will enjoy compressed downloads on updates. Just
remember correct order when adding new content - first 'Generate listing...',
then 'Prepare compressed contents...'.
Compression level will vary. It ranges from 30-40% gain for tga up to 80-90%
for wok files. For image heavy hakpak, you can expect around 50% gain, but
for example for Arcanius 25in1 tileset pack, compression took size from 570MB
down to 170MB - this means 400MB less to download on first run...
Library repositories
[describe] - LibraryURL
Override directory
Unfortunately, not all files can be overridden by putting them in hakpak.
Bioware hopefully will fix it, but it can be non-trivial in some cases - so
for now, there is a temporary solution. Pakinfo spec allows you to specify
some files which will be put into override folder. Just pack them normally
into your hakpak and then list their names with extensions in Override= field
in pakinfo.txt. Separate files with commas.
Override=appearance.2da,spells.2da,feats.2da
This is an example. These files will still be packed into hakpak !!! So if
at any point Bioware will support hakpaking all resources, your hakpak is
ready for it. You then just need to empty Override line - but no need to hurry
(there is nothing wrong with having same file both in hakpak and in override
dir).
Now, said that, please note that this system does not scale easily for large
number of files. Keeping a list of them in one line, comma separated is tiresome.
I have done it on purpose - to make putting files in override harder for hakpak
creator. DO IT ONLY FOR FILES WHERE IT IS REALLY NEEDED. Do not put textures,
models etc into override.
Every time player will start NWN using Hak Updater, IF you have any entry
in Override or DialogDiff, there will be some extra activity Hak Updater needs
to do. First it needs to delete override directory, then copy everything from
backup, add your files and patch dialog.tlk. This can take quite a few seconds
- 10-20s I think on average. So remember, that it will be a bit of nuisance
to user - use this things only if you really want to. Good news is that it
will be done only on server change - as long as player plays only on your
server, no copying/patching will need to be done (unless of course you will
upgrade dialog/override contents).
Dialog.tlk patching
It works in similar way to override directory support, but instead of putting
things in override dir, Hak Updater modified dialog.tlk to contain your entries.
To enable this option, put comma delimited list of patches (more on that in
the moment) in DialogDiff= line. All changes from patches will be taken applied
to copy of original Bioware dialog.tlk and modified file will be used for
given game.
Dialog.tlk patch is text file, with one entry per line. Every entry adds
or modifies strref inside dialog.tlk. Format for the file is:
index [extra] Text comes here until end of line.
index [extra]:flen Text comes here until end of line.
Examples
1 [] Barbarians
223 [] Type of Feat: General\nPrerequisite: Armor Proficiency (Light) and
Armor Proficiency (Medium).\nSpecifics: This feat grants the knowledge to
make effective use of heavy armor.\nUse: Automatic. Fighters, paladins, and
clerics receive this feat for free.\n
2373 [P_FemaA046]
3000 [P_FemaJ034] I'm really sorry. Not that it helps, but like "the fire's
out" and "the swelling's gone," it's just kind of nice to hear.
11195 [vs_favhen3m_050]:2.0917969 Yes, {Sir/Madam}. Is there something you
need?
New lines have to be escaped using \n - because entire entry has to fit on
one line in patch file. Only changed entries should appear in patch - there
is no point to care about padding, Hak Updater will do it automatically.
This also means, that if you use some very large number, dialog.tlk will
grow tremedously. Cost is about 1MB per 30.000 empty entries. This is not
much if we are talking about indices like 100.000, but for multi-million
indices it is out of question.
Format of line is mostly obvious. First comes the index. Then, inside []
you see meta data. It is used mostly for voice sets - I suppose that you
will leave it empty. There is an optional :flen parameter after it - I have
no idea what it is for, maybe length of voice set ? If it is omitted, I presume
it is 0. Then comes the string, to end of line.
Some extra info:
First space after ] is ignored - it is not a part of string. Next character
is part of string, even if it is another space.
There can be any number of white characters at start of line or between index
and [extra string].
flen has to go exactly after ]: - there can be no space (in other case it
should be interpreted as part of string)
Behavior of system if [extra string] is longer that 16 characters is undefined
(probably it should display error on import and truncucate).
You can use any extension recognizable by NWN for dialog patch, but it will
be safest to stick to .txt. If you specify more than one patch, all of them
will be applied, in alphabetical order of filenames (in case they are any
conflicts, zzzzzz.txt patch will be one which takes precedence - but non-conflicting
entries will be merged peacefully :).
Media files
[Describe media/ subdirectory handling at server]
[Describe allow custom content options on client]
You can contact me at abies@pg.gda.pl
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