Hi, there are lots of InSim addons and also some tools like InSim Gateway Companion wich provides more then one tool working. But I don´t think thats a good deal because of much configuration work and more important very much network traffic.
Then there is a good tool lualfs with wich you can write own "programs" in the scripting language lua.

I ever wonder about those very good plugin systems like in firefox, miranda, winamp... wich are so powerful. So I thought for myselv how that works and want to make such a interface.

The idea is to load the plugins (DLLs) dynamic while the program is working into it. Then get the insim packets and provide them over the interface (control wich packets to get (same like LFS does)

So in my opinion that could be a good part of LFS with some points

1. Some addon writer have to use it (best is to write there addon for this, should be not to much work)
2. It should have a easy but detailed interface wich is easy to use


I ask here for some feedback good or bad from everyone and some developers wich are willing to write plugins, working on the interface (idea) and/or implement it .

If this is to be done, then I would recomend a Metamod (C/C++) -> AMX Mod (C/C++) -> Plugins (SmallC/PAWN) style complex. If you don't know what Metamod is, it's a addon dll for the Half Life engine that takes the engine function calls and makes them accessible to AMX Mod in turn, AMX Mod makes them accessible to the SmallC (now known as PAWN) plugins.

Speaking as an X Dev for AMX Mod, we really had something there. It worked EXTREMELY well, and there was a massive online community built just around that project. There where at lest 500 plugins, and I would have to say around 35 plugin authors. SmallC really is very easy to learn, and that makes it readily accessible to the general public.

sounds interesting

Overall I would prefer if lfs could handle multiple insim connections so no program would need to be rewritten

Yes you are right, but the second argument for such a system would be that it minimizes the (local) network traffic, but I don´t know how heavy it is for windows.

On an almost full server...
Server -> LFS: ~3,5 kB/s
LFS -> insim app: ~7kB/s (with outgauge and racetracking enabled)

Yes but LFS is local. I have not really the knowledge how it works.
But I know such a plugin system makes developing much easier because you don´t have network management.
And it´s faster and cleaner, how bad many InSim connections are or not