Naming Conventions

[+Jug 99]

There are bunches of add-ons to SFP1 and others here on this site and I, like maybe others tuning in, have a tendency to download and not remember what I downloaded or what is contained in the .rar/.exe/.zip file. I have a suggestion that I am using to help find these puppies when I need them. Once downloaded, I rename them according to the following convention;

 

SimName_Country/Era_NumericDesignation_AircraftName_description.rar

 

for example: SFP1_USAF_F100D_SuperSabre_SEACamo1.rar

LOMAC_SU27B_Stork_9Guards_BlueCamo1.rar

SFP1_GermanyWW2_ME109E_Messerschmit_Jabo52_Camo2.rar

 

Additionally the files are separated into folders that are named for the Country/Era or for a specific campaign. Once I gather all the files available for a campaign and keep them together, it is a piece of cake to load up on a new machine and get started with all necessary. (I build my own computers for fun and am constantly setting one or the other for a specific game and campaigns).

 

At various times during the year, I then store these downloads as named on a DVD for later use.

 

Am I a neat freak or what?

[+streakeagle 871]

I am the kind of person that likes collecting things and then organizing them. I have over 650 music CDs and all of them are arranged alphabetically by artist. I have quite a few model aircraft hanging from my ceiling (almost entirely 1/48 scale) grouped chronologically and by theater of combat (i.e. WW2 Europe, WW2 Pacific). Before SFP1 came along, I collected almost every skin available for Jane's USAF, converted them to be camo-commander compatible, and renamed them to be grouped by aircraft type, service, and unit number.

 

With the arrival of SFP1, I have been overwhelmed by the continuous onslaught of downloads. There have been so many that have come and gone that I am sure I missed a few.

 

The problem I ran into when renaming SFP1 files is that you can't easily tell if a file you are downloading is the same one you already have downloaded. I back up all my files to CD (I haven't gotten around to burning them to DVD yet since not all of my PCs have DVD capability). Instead of renaming the files, I group them in folders. I have a folder for 3d model addons that is separated into aircraft, ships, and ground objects. The aircraft folder contains a folder for each variant of an aircraft (i.e. an F-16C block xx gets a different folder than an F-16C block yy).

 

Some of the download files group several aircraft together, which doesn't really fit my system at all since the whole point is to leave the file intact for easy identification while standardizing the name using a folder with the desired name. Copying the entire package and filing it in separate folders for each variant would maintain the intention of my system, but wastes too much space when making backup discs, so I usually violate my system by breaking those up into their individual aircraft packages.

 

Organizing skins gets even more complicated since I like them organized by aircraft type, branch of service, and unit but also like them organized by their maker. I never was satisfied with any variation of file renaming or folder organization. I ended up with fragments of two different systems floating around on my backup discs :( I think in this case I favor renaming the files:

<Type> <Branch> <Unit> <year> <ampliflying info if any> <creator's name>

 

I must be crazy to spend so much time doing this

[+Dave 2,322]

Streak, your just anal. :) lol j/k