![what is a pk3 file what is a pk3 file](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/j4WXXW97PQk/maxresdefault.jpg)
Our archive reader implements a set of rules which on load, will automatically map files into other parts of the virtual file system. Thus, in this respect Doomsday is 'easier' under 'normal' usage (i.e., playing as opposed to modding) when dealing with resources structured in this way.Įdit: for the record there is no 'Doomsday PK3 structure'. Its the other way around in this instance:ĭoomsday can load nested ZIP archives whereas ZDoom can not.
#What is a pk3 file mod#
An engine that expects users to potentially take customizing before running a mod (Doomsday?) may prefer to make access to the internal contents more straightforward way, but another that focuses on quick and easy usage (ZDoom?) might benefit from a custom extension. It might also depend on the engine's focus. Normal usage to a player is to use a mod to play a game, not to extract files. eg if you rename myfile.zip to x and load it like this zdoom -file x it will work just as well as if you had called it myfile.pk3 (and loaded it appropriately).Īnd now, of course, Zdoom also supports 7zip files so some people are now using PK7 to distinguish them from so-called PK3 files. DMZ?) but, for whatever reason, the first people to put them together started calling them PK3 files and it was therefore set.ĭespite this, any extension you like will work. The extension could have been something far more meaningful for Doom ZIP files (ie something that identifies it specifically as a compressed archive intended for use with a Doom port - eg. If you accept that, the so-called PK3s that Doom ports use aren't really PK3s anyway.ĭoom "PK3s" are merely renamed zip files that share a 3 letter extension with another game (Quake3) that also uses renamed zip files but the internal layout of these files are different.
#What is a pk3 file zip file#
So, if a PK3 has any standardised definition in Quake3, it would be a ZIP file with a particular internal directory structure that is set up to provide the various game resources required and expected by the Quake3 engine.
![what is a pk3 file what is a pk3 file](http://home.chinalonghair.cn/picture/UploadFiles_2693/201011/20101120012719942.jpg)
The expected internal structure of a Quake3 PK3 file is different to what is expected by Doom ports that support "PK3" files. However, for some reason, the Doom community fixated on the rather specific PK3 extension. This is also true for Doom supported PK3 files but Doom has no real connection to the Quake series of games and other id games where the PAK, PK2, PK3, PK4 series of names at least makes sense from a logical progression point of view. In Quake a PK3 file is nothing more than a ZIP file that has been renamed. PK3 is the name used for Quake3 (and derivative games) data files. And just for completeness, I'll add my £0.02 about how I think pk3 is an annoying name to use.