Thanks for the reply Omer (any relation to Boris?). And thanks for the welcome.
Perhaps I should have given some context. I see the terms in relation to modding games. Certain mods seem to be compiled (coded?) differently for "packed" or "unpacked" games. I'm not sure which is which or if my game is packed or unpacked & which mods to use or will work with my game.
That said now maybe I should ask for the help I seem to need,
I am trying to use the NFS - SHift HD mod but the files in it are .dds & I don't seem to have those files in that format. I have those files in .bff format.
So perhaps that is the difference in packed vs. unpacked.
FYI The "packed" game is as it installs from disk. The "unpacked" version has been processed to deconstruct files so it's easier for modders & I assume developers, to make changes. So mods are for "unpacked" & sometimes for "packed" games.