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Plug-in is the term used for the add-on files used to modify the ''Escape Velocity'' series of games by Ambrosia Software. They are similar to what is now often referred to as a "mod" for other games, but that term was not common when ''Escape Velocity'' was first created, and in any case the Macintosh development community generally prefers clearer and more accessible terminology. Another difference in the terminology is that while ‘mods” often involve a certain amount of reverse-engineering of the game engine (since developers prefer to sell their own expansion packs), plug-ins are specifically authorised and facilitated by the developers. Plug-ins are collected on the official web sites for the ''Escape Velocity'' games (or, of course, can be downloaded from a plug-in creator’s own site) and are installed by placing them in the ‘Plug-ins’ folder within the game folder. The effects of the plug-in will be active so long as the game is run with the file in the correct folder. ==Format== The plug-in architecture takes advantage of the Macintosh resource fork, and a plug-in is composed of multiple resources, most of which are graphical or textual in nature. Each aspect of an ''Escape Velocity'' game (including the space ships, graphics for various animated items, missions, planets, and description texts for different items) is described by a different type of resource. A special file type that ‘flattens’ these resources (with the file extension .rez) is used by the Windows version of ''EV Nova''. To distinguish them from this new format, the traditional resource fork-based plug-ins are sometimes referred to by their Macintosh type code Npïf or, especially among Windows users, by the extension .rsrc which they are given by some Windows-based expansion tools. Neither version of ''EV Nova'' can use the other’s format without conversion. The Windows version includes an Npïf-to-.rez converter, which is a common source of confusion to new users. The Macintosh version does not include a converter, but third-party utilities are available to convert in both directions. Converting .rez plug-ins to Npïf on Windows is not possible, since resource forks cannot exist on Windows; this is, in fact, why the .rez format was originally required. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Plug-in (Escape Velocity)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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