User:Erorr404/My Suggestions

Resource Categories

Problem: Currently all resources on a server reside in a single folder (MTA San Andreas\server\mods\deathmatch\resources), but this is messy because the number of resources usually numbers in the 10s if not 100s. Thus, finding resources is difficult because of their sheer number and the lack of organization.

Possible solution: One solution would be to put resources into seperate categories. These categories would be represented by folders under the resource directory, which would in turn contain the actual resources (folders and zip files, as we have now).

These categories can either be MTA imposed, or the user can be allowed to create arbirtrary categories to organize the resorces on their server as they see fit.

In the case of imposed categories, here are some possible ones:

• Essentials - contains important background resources that are most often used - admin, resourcemanager, scoreboard, etc.
• Game modes - game mode resources as well as their corresponding map resources
• Services - scripts that provide neat little features but are not game modes (such as building interiors, ammunations, and clothes shops)
• Utilities - useful scripts that are more technical than the ones listed above: the effects of these are not directly visible to players in the world - they do not create and manage elements - rather, they provide useful tools for scripters to assist in making their scripts

These categories may or may not have any special significance to other parts of the mod. They can either be 'resource groups' with their own attributes that apply to all resources in the group, and with their own elements and objects that can be used in scripts (much as regular resources have now). Or, they can serve only an organizational role with no impact on other parts of the mod and no real difference between the resources they contain (they just have different paths). The first approach is harder to implement and may unnecessarily complicate the resource system, while the second approach should be trivial to implement but may not warrant the change. Other implementations of resource categorization are also possible. In any case, splitting resources into manageable categories is a good way to improve organization and makes resoures easier to find and edit.