QVM uses a fully-fledged IDE. Like I said, nothing more, nothing less. You compile a DLL file just as you would any other. The only difference is that Quake 3 loads the file and accesses its functions to run the mod and the DLL in turn has access to Quake 3 internal functions.Chilvence wrote:Heh, the only reason I prefer it is because its a lot less scary than having a massive fully fledged IDE hanging over my head ... And I've never even looked at qvm...
Another reason to modify the actual EXE... Keep in mind even if we had DoomScript, ZDoom might add features that break support for old DS mods. An EXE file will never become obsolete when the main ZDoom build is updated. A few Quake 3 versions broke support for older QVM-based mods. Of course with Q3 people didn't have the option of editting the source. With ZDoom, they do.Graf Zahl wrote:There are a few old JHexen mods out there which are practically dead because you need an obsolete version to play them
Exactly.Enjay wrote:If the mod always required you to use a different exe, then there is no change. You still have to install the special exe to play the mod, regardless of whether it is based on an older version of the engine or not.
I assume you don't download mods that come with a batch file for the same reason... Okay, maybe that's not fair. You CAN easily read a batch file.Chris wrote:Not only that, but I always avoid mods that come with their own executable. Call it lack of trust if you want, but I don't want it doing something like:anywhere in the code. And anyone that's the least bit concerned about getting a virus would be cautious, too.Code: Select all
system("format c: /q /x");
There is always the risk that some unsavory individual would put something like that in an EXE file. People do that with other files and the results are called "viruses". If someone were to do something like that, you can be pretty sure that A) The file would be removed from all download sites pretty quickly, B) Nobody would ever trust that individual again, and C) 99% of end-users would never experience the problem because most places test user-made levels before they make them available for download. (That would make an interesting /newdoom post though wouldn't it)
BTW, you run the same risk every time you download and use a freeware (and to a lesser extent, shareware) program. Alot of this stuff is written by people no one's ever heard of (Randy Heit, who's he??) and yet it'd be pretty silly to never ever trust such a program just to keep your computer safe. Believe it or not, most programmers out there don't want their name associated with a program that deletes a user's hard drive. Who'd have thought?