CLR_DEV9 and v1.7.0

[Messiaen]

For anyone using the 3rd-party CLR_DEV9.dll plugin (the only working and reliable method of implementing a PS2 HDD into PCSX2 that I know of), you should not try using any 1.7.0 development version later than build 500 (released 30-Oct-20).

For some reason the powers that be decided to remove the DEV9 plugin avenue which CLR takes advantage of, and so (at least until PCSX2 provides its own HDD support), any HDD you created won't be recognised.  To be fair, the only game I know of which actively takes useful advantage of this feature is ESPN NFL 2K5, but as that alone is worth the price of admission, this unfortunate change is noteworthy.

Note that CLR_DEV9 continues to work fine with the 1.6.0 release, and any 1.7.0 up to and including 500, so... basically just don't update anymore.  

Obviously this message is only useful to those who like to update to the latest-and-greatest, and yet inexplicably don't read (or cannot understand) the changelogs provided... you are, as you have always been, your own worst enemy.

[refraction]

just to be clear we haven't "decided to remove the DEV9 plugin avenue which CLR takes advantage of", we have just opted to integrate Dev9Ghz in to the core as CLRDev9 is written in the wrong language, so we can't do that, we would have preferred to but had no choice.

We are working with the CLR Dev9 plugin author to implement missing functionalty, so please be patient.

[Messiaen]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or anything (complex projects never progress in straight lines), just letting others know to be aware of what they might be temporarily losing if trying the new versions, as the changelog did not explicitly state that dev9 plugins couldn't even be selected anymore.

[refraction]

Yes, we're in the process of removing all plugin systems, so we've been picking the best plugins we can to merge, or rewriting stuff if nothing was feasible, so please be patient with us. If you do need to use the other plugins we recommend sticking with 1.6