I think it would be easier for mod (game) makers and texture pack creators if there were some sort of standard way to create texture packs etc that weren't part of a specific game or mod, but rather were universal. I know that there is the /textures directory, but for shared texture packs this could get very full if they're not organised in some way (especially if two people use the same filename for their textures)
I was wondering whether it might make sense to introduce the concept of 'namespaces' and a 'packages' directory in the root of the minetest directory (or in ~/.minetest for dist-installed users) where mods and texture packs can be installed.
Obviously then the game.conf file could have a [depends] section, which references packages. So if someone creates a texture pack called 'UltimateGrassTextures' and it was in the global packages directory, any game could have a depends=Package:UltimateGrassTextures entry in game.conf (which would be checked it existed, and if not obviously the game wouldn't be started). A corresponding node declaration in a mod's init.lua could be as follows:
minetest.register_node("impassableFoliage:bamboo", {
description = "Bamboo",
drawtype = "glasslike",
tile_images = {"UltimateGrassTextures/reeds.png"},
light_source = 14,
groups = {igniter=2,dig_immediate=3},
drop = '',
walkable = false,
})
Whereby there's a mod called impassableFoliage made by someone, who is registering a node called bamboo, but using a texture from the UltimateGrassTextures package.
It'd be even more awesome if there were a package registry on the web which the client could automatically download the 'UltimateGrassTextures' package if it were connecting to a game which used a texture pack that it didn't already have installed.
I would be willing to put some work into this, but I'm unsure whether anyone wants it (and whether it's already been done) - i've not tried connecting two PC's together and connecting via multiplayer, so I don't know how much of this already happens.
For example, if I develop a new game on a server, and someone else connects to it, does the client already need a copy of the game folder for it to work?
Thanks