View source for Data Container Formats

While ECWolf can load data from the original game with the help of [[WL6 Maps|map]] files, doing so is not recommended for mods.  ECWolf can load various other, more advanced, formats.
== Format Comparison ==
Below is a list of formats supported by ECWolf in recommendation order.
{|border="1"
!Format!!Compression!!Paths!!Notes
|-
|Zip (PK3)||Yes||Yes||Fast decompression, recommended format
|-
|WAD||No||No||Basic uncompressed format
|-
|7z||Yes||Yes||Slow decompression
|-
|PAK||No||Yes||No standard tools
|-
|GRP||No||No||No access to name spaces
|-
|RFF||No||No||No access to name spaces
|}
Overall the zip format is preferred as it allows your data to be easily organized into logical directories and its compression is fast enough for general purpose use.

== Name Spaces ==
ECWolf uses various name spaces to logically organize data.  In WADs in some cases use empty marker lumps (XY_START and XY_END) to signify a change in name space, but may be automatically detected.  Below is a table describing the various name spaces used by ECWolf.
{|border="1"
!Directory!!WAD Marker!!Description
|-
|graphics/||'' None ''||Graphics such as title picture or sign on screens are placed in this directory.
|-
|hires/||''' [[ZDoom:HI_START|HI]] '''||High resolution textures. The scale factor for the high resolution texture will be determined by the size of the similarly named low resolution texture.
|-
|flats/||''' [[ZDoom:F_START|F]] '''||Floor and ceiling textures.  Lumps here should be of type "Graphic (Flat)" or PNG.  "Graphic (Doom)" lumps will not work.
|-
|maps/||'' None ''||Maps stored within wad files. Maps must contain the data for a single level and the name of the file will be used as the map label.
|-
|music/||'' None ''||Background music.
|-
|patches/||'' None ''||Small textures which are to be referenced by the [[TEXTURES]] lump.
|-
|sounds/||'' None ''||Sounds to be referenced by [[SNDINFO]].
|-
|sprites/||''' [[ZDoom:S_START|S]] '''||Sprites for actors. Sprites may be organized into sub-directories.
|-
|textures/||''' [[ZDoom:TX_START|TX]] '''||Textures to be used as-is.
|}

== Notes ==
* In formats which support paths the '^' character is sprites is changed to a '\'.  This is a carry over from ZDoom where this was needed in order to be compatible with the arch-vile sprites.
* Although in general the order of lumps should not be relied upon.  For formats which support full paths, the lumps are loaded alphabetically.
* It is strongly recommended that you do not use the zip/7z extension when using the respective formats since the average user is used to decompressing those files.  Use PK3/PK7 instead.
== See Also ==
* [[ZDoom:Using_ZIPs_as_WAD_replacement|Using ZIPs as WAD replacement]]