OpenArena Message Boards

is there a specific reason that oa puts everything in the user/app data folder instead of OA's home folder where the *.exe is run from?

with this be changed later??

So people can have preferences on the same computer and it keeps the OA folder tidy (for stuff like reinstallations, upgrades, etc)

Can we change that folder to another if we like?

You can compile a binary with a different setting or use a startup parameter like "+set fs_homepath ."

It is always a bad idea to store user settings outside a users personal folders. Soon no games will do that.

I can understand why servers are set like that. But since some of the exe's are compiled to store maps there, while others dl maps to the primary baseoa then it's a bad idea for me as I keep game stuff on a different drive which has alot more space.

You could always create a shortcut. You might also need to do /fs_homepath "." in console when it first loads if the home folder is set in the config. You should only need to do that once (You cant change it once you connect to a server).

If your running different versions the downside is you will probably have duplicate maps in each baseoa. There's probably other/better ways to manage it.

(http://q3eu.com/site/file/chicken/startingoa.gif)

fs_homepath cannot be stored in config files or be changed through the console as it is set by the engine on launch. Servers can (could?) theoretically change it forcefully but they never do.

i see. I was changing the value to it's current setting so the console didnt report the write protect.

I'm sure it didnt work first time I tried this but if anyone starts a game like this then you can verify it works by doing /cvarlist and the fs_ values are usually at the bottom. The fs_homepath should show a . (current folder) rather than the apps one.

(http://q3eu.com/site/file/chicken/oa.gif)

You don't change fs_homepath once the game is initialized.

I just clear anything extra out of the app data folders periodically.
I too, like to have programs on a separate drive, and usually make my windows partition fairly small. I might try fs_homepath, I usually launch from shortcuts that have the server IP in them anyway.

I no longer use Windows enough to care. But I think that it is possible to move Application Data to another drive (or mount the folder on another drive), so that you can keep all your settings in one place and easy to remember in your backup routines. 

I asked that because I have D&S in a 2GB partition, (I have an 80GB HD) in case I need to format and not to lose anything I (and the others) have.

Armageddon_Man, if you are comfortable with the Windows registry, and don't care about the times and dates of files:

You can do this (http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/1409/move-your-documents-and-settings-username-profile-off-of-the-c-drive/) (or read Microsoft's version (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/236621)) for Windows 2000 or XP.

Attempt at your own risk.

That's what I actually did.