Quote from OpenClutch :

Hope this helps!

Thanks, unfortunately the solutions aren't simple, though I'm sure we'll do something eventually.

I'm wondering about a partial solution I could do on my side, an option to export the 7z without including the png files, to reduce the upload size.

For a lot of mods that wouldn't make any difference. The png versions of the texture aren't included in the mod that is downloaded in game. The pngs are really only included in the upload for people who want to make a mod derived from the original mod (if allowed) or maybe if the author's computer dies, they could get a copy of their mod with the original png files. Although we don't guarantee safe storage for mods, this has actually happened before. So there is good reason to have the pngs in there. But I wonder if there should be an option, when exporting from the editor, include png or not?

Quote from Scawen :

Thanks, unfortunately the solutions aren't simple, though I'm sure we'll do...

That solution could work. I often share out of the share folder anyways to preserve the png naming convention. Even if I had the dds in the online version, and somehow I lost it locally, I could always convert the dds back to png, even one at a time wouldn't be an issue considering the situation (and hopefully learn to backup using any of the free cloud services).

As a test on my private car (deriv off), I opened the 7z, deleted all the pngs out of the folder, then uploaded, and not using any vpn from Canada, it was 55 seconds to update. I'll change the car back to the original untouched 7z (reverted to orig now) as I just wanted a comparison before you worked on the workaround.

That does seem like it could be a good solution for the time being, as well as decreasing overall storage space for you guys by about half. I could just let the modders know that want to use my mod, to contact me to share them a copy of the mod through the share folder.

Editor E8 has an option to exclude the PNG files for faster upload.

Option to include or exclude PNG textures when exporting for upload
- Exclude PNG to reduce file size and allow a faster upload
- This does not affect the appearance of a mod in game
- The PNG textures are not required for a functioning mod
- DDS (in-game textures) are included whichever option you choose
- PNG files can be useful if you allow derivatives of your mod

https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106792