Content Packs

This feature has been introduced in version 20.1230a.

RVGL has a flexible content management system that works similar to tools like Mod Organizer. Content can be placed in multiple folders and enabled selectively through a packlist file.

Each pack is a folder containing some content. Any file that is part of the game data counts for pack content. The player profile, i.e., the profiles, times, replays and cache folders are not loaded from packs.

When a packlist is active, only content from the listed packs are enabled. The result is as though each of those pack folders were extracted one after the other, saying yes to overwrites (so files belonging to a later listed pack has priority). The game sees a merged view of all the pack content.

Features

The system is quite powerful and gives you a lot of freedom in managing your content. Here are a couple of things you can do:

  • Keep mods in separate folders and enable / disable them without affecting the main installation.
  • Manage multiple content sets (eg, for online events) and switch between them.
  • No files are actually copied or moved, which means zero overhead.
  • Save in-game edits to a separate local folder.

Managing Packs

Packs and packlists are loaded from the packs folder. The default packlist is called default.txt. This is active when no other packlist is used. A sample packlist file sample.txt is included with RVGL. Make a copy of it and name it default.txt.

Place all your packs in the packs folder, then edit the default packlist and list packs that must be enabled. Packs are read-only by default. When a packlist is active, all in-game edits made with the editor get saved to a special pack called local. To learn about the available options when editing a packlist, see the next section.

The command line -packlist <name> can be used to select a packlist different from the default packlist. This causes the packlist at packs\<name>.txt to be loaded.

The Packlist Format

A packlist is a simple text file that lists the enabled packs, one on each line. Suppose your packs folder contains the following packs:

  • addon1
  • addon2
  • special
  • local

Then, your packlist can be written like this:

Example #1

default
addon1
addon2
local

This enables your root content, then applies addon1, addon2 and your local edits on top of it, in the listed order. In this example, the special pack remains disabled.

  • The keyword default refers to the main installation or root folder. Unless this is listed, your root content will not be loaded.
  • The special pack local holds your in-game edits, made either through the editor or with an option such as Save Car Info. If you don't list this pack, your edits still get saved, but they won't show up in-game.
  • Pack names with spaces must be covered with quotes. Lines starting with a semi-colon are ignored.

Example #2

default
addon1
"my pack"
;this is a comment
  • Packs are read-only by default. An asterisk next to the pack name marks it as writable. A packlist can have at most one writable pack. The default writable pack, as we've seen above, is local. To ensure that your in-game edits show up correctly, list the writable pack last.

Example #3

default
addon1
addon2
myedits *

The above example enables the root content and applies addon1, followed by addon2. In-game edits go into the myedits pack, which is applied last.

Example #4

default *

The above example has a single entry that enables the root content, and makes it writable. This is identical to the default behavior when no packlist is active.