"- how do I package the extension for github? Are there conventions to use? all-in-one .ini or I've seen _lights being separated."
dont think there are conventions for that per se; just need to match the kn5 name to the model replacement entry - and make sure you´re not replacing any existing file, of course!
as for the actual ini file, it needs to be named the same as the track folder name (or track kn5? not sure but im confident it's the folder's name)
"- what to do with textures?"
Release them as a separate skin; again textures aren´t read in the github file. The trees kn5 you made, however, could be uploaded since you´re using multiple textures there, i´m guessing you either added new meshes or just swapped some uv maps.
I´d advise against uploading a bunch of kn5 files; people would have to download a ton of mb for an extension, at which point you might as well make a new version of the track. But in your case, again, half the textures can be packed as a new skin an published here in racedept.
"- who approves/merges PRs there?"
Theres a bunch of maintainers there, you could send an email to rusty or trawa if you´re in a hurry or something. Personally I just upload stuff and let it sit there until someone takes notice, no need to rush that.
"At what point community "embrace" a specific extension? Do players have a choice to pull the latest version?"
There´s only 1 version per track/car at any one time in the repository, that´s what you download through content manager (automatically or manually). As to what the community "embraces", well that´s all personal choice - you´ll see a bunch of people making loose extensions in gtp and whatnot. As I said, I prefer to use github for most things - if I don´t like an extension there I can turn it off, make my own version or "fix" it, if there´s something obviously wrong, and people can just download it autmatically, no need to do any manual search on some forum.
