Answered is Depence.txt needed at all?

[capta134]

For testing purposes I deleted several Depend.txt files and all related scenes still loaded properly with no error in the log.

So are Depends text files needed at all or they are just informative?

 

[RandomVAMUser]

...searching for 'depend' or 'depend.txt'
...some results:

Depend...txt

Hi. Where do i put the depence.txt files?? Im new here thaks :cool: jim

hub.virtamate.com

Answered - What's the point of those *.var.depend.txt files anyway?

Well, this (slightly provocative) questions is actually two questions, really: 1) Do *.var.depend.txt files contain any information that VaM itself makes any use of? 2) Are *.var.depend.txt a leftover from an earlier version of the .var system? Or, phrased differently: Is it safe to simply...

hub.virtamate.com

Question - Help needed for uploading a scene with subscenes

I succesfully completed a scene with additionally 2 subscenes, made them to a new package. The package is now in the ''AddonPackagesBuilder'' folder and also works on a clean version. Now my question is; do I upload these file all together to the HUB or is there a trick to make them to a single...

hub.virtamate.com

Allow authors to provide their var filename to help find dependencies

I think encouraging resources to be hosted on Hub makes sense, however it's not always the case (paid or not). A suggestion to help finding dependencies: allow creators to provide a "var name" (regex /^[^.]+\.[^.]+(\.[0-9]+)?(\.var)?$/) in their resource, and in the Dependencies tab if no actual...

hub.virtamate.com

Automatically reject .depend.txt files

I think people upload them in Hub because they don't know whether it's useful or not. Since dependencies are already extracted from the var, it would be nice to just refuse them at upload time, or silently strip them. I'm guessing people who download may not know either what it's used for and...

hub.virtamate.com

 

[vamurai]

Just informative.

 

[capta134]

Ok they are not needed!

 

[RandomVAMUser]

Ok they are not needed!

In the bin!

Didn't wanna sound harsh, so i'll break it down...

personally:
I don't see what 'useful' info you can pull out of it...
that is not already provided inside packageManager, meta or hub(site/dependencies)?
plus you can't even use it for proper CC attribution

(1) it lists all dependencies (main+sub) = same as manager, same as hub tab
↑ you can get better idea by looking inside package meta.json to see main/sub dependencies
(2) it lists 'exact' reference package version (xyz.1, xyz.2, xyz.latest, xyz.whatever) = same as manager, same as hub tab
(3) it lists reference package licenses = same as ↑↑
(4?) What is different? it provides promo-links from all reference packages, IF there are any provided in the first place
↑ that link can be anything (it's mostly 'general' patreon), so not exact info "where to get it" or if "reference package is paid or free"
However, exact link is displayed for hub-hosted packages, on the side "...support the other creators whose content was used to make this resource!" (same inside client hub)

Really don't see anything useful about it... unless you are one of those 5% creators that like to create 'free' externally hosted content.
...than 'maybe' users can discover your majestic patreon through that 'promo-link' ...idk
...lately most creators are avoiding external/non hub-hosted references...so

 

[WolfmanVR]

My 2 cents -- Save the depend files. They take up very little disk space, and if you ever want to migrate a specific VAR from one computer to another, it can be a handy extra reference point. Not all assets can be discovered from the Package Manager. If the author of the package does a good job, every required asset (regardless of whether VaM / Package Manager knows its URL) should be included in the file. Personally, after I build a package, I modify/fix the depend file to include additional information to make it more useful. Perhaps most creators don't do that though. IMMV.

 

[capta134]

My 2 cents -- Save the depend files. They take up very little disk space, and if you ever want to migrate a specific VAR from one computer to another, it can be a handy extra reference point. Not all assets can be discovered from the Package Manager. If the author of the package does a good job, every required asset (regardless of whether VaM / Package Manager knows its URL) should be included in the file. Personally, after I build a package, I modify/fix the depend file to include additional information to make it more useful. Perhaps most creators don't do that though. IMMV.

Well , that'd one way to do it. For me if package Manager does not find it I will see what is missing in the Log window anyway.

 

[WolfmanVR]

Well , that'd one way to do it. For me if package Manager does not find it I will see what is missing in the Log window anyway.

True, but the Log Window won't tell you where that asset was obtained. For most VARs it's a non-issue, but some assets can be hard to track down again.

 

[RandomVAMUser]

True, but the Log Window won't tell you where that asset was obtained. For most VARs it's a non-issue, but some assets can be hard to track down again.

I am bit confused, how depend.txt helps you obtain missing asset?
(if promo-link is not provided, asset is just bundled in/not original reference, or not packaged at all)

All you get is creatorName.packageName.Version (most of the time), same info is already provided elsewere.

 

[WolfmanVR]

I am bit confused, how depend.txt helps you obtain missing asset?
(if promo-link is not provided, asset is just bundled in/not original reference, or not packaged at all)

All you get is creatorName.packageName.Version (most of the time), same info is already provided elsewere.

As I eluded to earlier, I modify the depend file to contain actual direct links to each piece of dependency content. I'm guessing a lot of creators don't take the time to do that though, which is why I also said "YMMV".

 

[RandomVAMUser]

As I eluded to earlier, I modify the depend file to contain actual direct links to each piece of dependency content. I'm guessing a lot of creators don't take the time to do that though, which is why I also said "YMMV".

Gotcha! abbreviation and acronyms (Your Mileage May Vary).
I just wanted to clarify that there isn't something i missed (looking from general use case),
but now i get it, that's your ('custom') use case.

on side note: wtf is IMMV?

 

[WolfmanVR]

Gotcha! abbreviation and acronyms (Your Mileage May Vary).
I just wanted to clarify that there isn't something i missed (looking from general use case),
but now i get it, that's your ('custom') use case.

on side note: wtf is IMMV?

Oh yeah, sorry, I figured everyone knew YMMV. You figured it out though...

I'm sure I'm not the only creator who makes sure the depend file is accurate, but I've also seen people who don't include a depend file at all, so ....