Re: [Enigma-devel] Reorganizing levels?

[Karen Pouelle]

> Relocating existing levels is problematic, cause it will break the
> solved status / par time.
> Ralf

First of all, did you try the script on a test install?

In hindsight, the restructuring should have been done in as
soon as possible, before the user base became so large to
call it "problematic" to organize the levels root folder.  

It's also problematic in some way to leave the levels root
folder containing so many files.  There currently exists
duplicate and unused files in the levels folders after a 
first-time install.

If your only objection is that it will cause newer versions of
Enigma to "forget" users'  solved status and best time status,
then there's a solution to that, as well -- I can script that status
information to be re-indexed to coincide with the changed
locations of the levels (which I have done myself on my own install).
There are some things that can be done in the code to minimize
this "forgetting" of user information by just matching the level's
file name in a transitional series of release versions where a
unique file name record will be re-written to the correct restructured
path.  The people who might be affected the most would be those who
would change from 0.81 to 0.95 for instance - having never tried versions
between those.  

It also occurs to me that users are playing an unfinished game, 
and (like myself) may want to start over again and enjoy going back
to the levels again, playing them in the order they appear on the
level menu instead of skipping around trying to solve as many
as soon as possible.  

Version 1.00 should be the latest the levels are restructured into
a level pack-centric form where folders (or even separate zip files)
can be dropped in to install/uninstall level packs.

The sooner, the better, I say.  Daniel Heck says this to me in email
more than a week ago:

"This is something I wanted to do for a very long time.   Not only is the
current levels folder a real mess, it also makes installation and
loading the game from CD for example much slower than it needs to be.  I
once tried to sort the levels manually, but I gave up because it's
simply too much work..."

Also, Illmind of http://www.mag-heut.net/ has made comments about how
troubling it is to have so many files are in the levels root folder.

The levels root folder of version 0.92 is quite a disarray of files:
1,192 files, 4 folders in levels root
5,750,660 bytes of levels.

But after running my script:
16 files, 9 folders in levels root
5,510,288 bytes of levels.

So consider how soon and how you want to do this - doing it right as soon
as possible would be best, but tempering it for existing users and "backward"
compatibility is equally noble.  Perhaps we can create a transition to have
the best of both?