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Contraband programmer Bill "Burger" Heineman has just updated the Ambrosia Software progress log with news on how to archive Escape Velocity: Nova plug-ins for multi-platform distribution. Heineman is currently working on the Windows port of Nova, and this new technique will allow all platforms to share in the many plug-ins available:

Use DropZip from Aladdin Systems.

In preferences, make sure in the option "MacBinary" you check the box "Smart" or "Always". Do NOT .zip your plug-ins with the option "Never". I will be sad. EV Nova will be sad. And you will be sad since your file will not work on the PC version.

Save your files in the .zip archive as usual.

Now on the PC version, you can use ANY .zip utility to decompress. You will notice that all files (Most of them anyways) will end with .bin appened to the filename. This is normal. Nothing to be alarmed about. EV Nova on the PC will read MacBinary encoded files and do the magic to use the data as is. Please, do NOT remove the .bin extension. EV Nova PC will hate you.

Then put the files in the proper folders (Plug ins) and run EV Nova.exe and the plug ins will install just like the mac version. You don't need to much else.

Ambrosia Software's Web Board: EV Nova Progress Log

Ambrosia Software

Escape Velocity: Nova

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