What does zzz mean at the beginning of a pk3 file name?

[Xanemus]

I've seen some pk3 files include this at the beginning of their name and i'm not sure what it means. I'm working on my own mod so i was wondering if i should include it or not, and why.
Thanks.

[Circa]

The game loads PK3 files in alphabetical order, which means the asset0-3.pk3 files are loaded first, and anything that comes after that alphabetically are loaded after, and overwrite anything that is the same in the previous files. So if you have a mod that changes the skin of Tavion in a pk3 called aSkinOfTavion.pk3, it wouldn't overwrite anything because the assets are being loaded after it, thus overwriting the pk3.

 

So, many people put the letter Z in their file name so it is loaded either last or as far down the list as possible, ensuring there are no conflicts with other mods that may change something theirs does.

 

In my opinion, its a bad habit to get into. You should only put Z's in your file name if you know its going to cause issues with other common PK3s. Otherwise you should just name it something normal, and let the user put Z's on it if they need to. I like to keep my base folder as organized as possible, and I make sure only the pk3s with Z's are the ones that need it. Otherwise it just makes it harder to find things.

[Xanemus]

The game loads PK3 files in alphabetical order, which means the asset0-3.pk3 files are loaded first, and anything that comes after that alphabetically are loaded after, and overwrite anything that is the same in the previous files. So if you have a mod that changes the skin of Tavion in a pk3 called aSkinOfTavion.pk3, it wouldn't overwrite anything because the assets are being loaded after it, thus overwriting the pk3.

 

So, many people put the letter Z in their file name so it is loaded either last or as far down the list as possible, ensuring there are no conflicts with other mods that may change something theirs does.

 

In my opinion, its a bad habit to get into. You should only put Z's in your file name if you know its going to cause issues with other common PK3s. Otherwise you should just name it something normal, and let the user put Z's on it if they need to. I like to keep my base folder as organized as possible, and I make sure only the pk3s with Z's are the ones that need it. Otherwise it just makes it harder to find things.

That makes sense, thank you very much.

[Apprentice]

The game loads PK3 files in alphabetical order, which means the asset0-3.pk3 files are loaded first, and anything that comes after that alphabetically are loaded after, and overwrite anything that is the same in the previous files. So if you have a mod that changes the skin of Tavion in a pk3 called aSkinOfTavion.pk3, it wouldn't overwrite anything because the assets are being loaded after it, thus overwriting the pk3.

 

So, many people put the letter Z in their file name so it is loaded either last or as far down the list as possible, ensuring there are no conflicts with other mods that may change something theirs does.

 

In my opinion, its a bad habit to get into. You should only put Z's in your file name if you know its going to cause issues with other common PK3s. Otherwise you should just name it something normal, and let the user put Z's on it if they need to. I like to keep my base folder as organized as possible, and I make sure only the pk3s with Z's are the ones that need it. Otherwise it just makes it harder to find things.

Not entirely. If I decided to name the PK3 file of my Asteroid Base maps (AB and AB2), then they would've been loaded before the main assetsX.pk3 files, which will cause inconsistencies with my maps itself. Soundsets that aren't found and at certain points even shaders and textures that have gone 'missing'. A single 'z' won't matter much, a dozen is overreacting (which does occur in the Elite Force/RPG-X scene) . . .

[Circa]

One z should suffice. If it doesn't, then that means there's something interfering in-between the assets and your file. It's not like the game checks for how many Z's you have.

[ensiform]

Actually the game loads in reverse alphabetical order. Hence why assets3 or zzz overrides assets0.

[Daedra]

To be fair, you can just rename the .pk3 files yourself if you want them to load differently or switch them around. I've done that with other mods before.

[Circa]

Actually the game loads in reverse alphabetical order. Hence why assets3 or zzz overrides assets0.

Wouldn't that mean it loads in normal order? If it overrides, then its loading those after the ones before it. Or does it load in reverse and it just skips things that are already loaded?

[ensiform]

It prioritizes z before a. And 9 before 0. This applies to pk3 files only.

[Apprentice]

To be fair, you can just rename the .pk3 files yourself if you want them to load differently or switch them around. I've done that with other mods before.

It would help for local issues but not when online. The game doesn't see if you have the assets in any way, it just looks for a PK3 file that is identical to the one the server is running. If the game doesn't find it, it will try to download it from the server and then it can happen that you have the same map twice (filename.pk3, zfilename.pk3). In that respect has it been another oversight from Raven/Lucasarts, though the root of this 'problem' sits with id Software . . .

[Circa]

Again, not true at all. I have tons of map PK3s in my base named something different than my server does, and they work perfectly fine.

[ensiform]

That works, but it wouldn't in a pure server. Plus the references are messed up so if a mod or OpenJK finally gets http downloads working soon, it'll not know what to do in that case of renames.

[Siegfried]

I was really curious about that too, but now i know what those "zzzzzz" means xD

[AshuraDX]

I honestly allways just thought that those files were sleepy and simply snoring