ezQuake Manual: File loading

When loading a file (model, sound, graphics, textures, crosshairs, ...), the client looks into many different places to load it from. This manual page explains how files are looked up.

There is a list of places to look for a file. Client takes this list and goes from it's first item to the last one and checks if the file is found in the place described by the entry. As soon as the file is found, the process stops and further entries on the list are not checked.

So if the file is found in the very first location in the list, all the remaining entries in the list will not be visited and the file will be loaded from the first location.

Loading locations

To list in which locations the client looks for files, type the following command in the console:

/path

The list mentioned in the previous part will get printed into the console, starting with the first item (location with highest priority), ending with the last one (files in there have the lowest priority).

Typically the list will look like this:

homedir/ezquake
quakedir/qw/package_a.pak
quakedir/qw/package_b.pak
quakedir/qw/
quakedir/ezquake/base.pk3
quakedir/ezquake/...pk3
quakedir/ezquake/
quakedir/id1/pak0.pak
quakedir/id1/pak1.pak
quakedir/id1

As visible on this example, pak and pk3 archives are always searched before the directory they are in is searched. For pak and pk3 archives also custom pak rules apply.

Graphics loading

As for textures and other images, the basic process of look up is the same, however there is a special behavior based on file name extension. The file name extension of the picture loaded has higher priority than the location.

Images with .tga extension have always higher priority than images with .png extension, then come .jpg images and images with .pcx extension have the lowest priority.

That means if there is a .tga texture you want to override, you cannot use image with .png or .jpg extension. The .tga image will always be loaded first. You have to remove it from the searched directories to let other images be loaded.

For textures loading also link files rules apply.

Last update: 05.11.2009 20:00 UTC
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