diff --git a/src/command.c b/src/command.c
index 90a28d59c..b60bed77e 100644
--- a/src/command.c
+++ b/src/command.c
@@ -853,7 +853,7 @@ static void COM_Exec_f(void)
 		// Now try by searching the file path
 		// filename is modified with the full found path
 		strcpy(filename, COM_Argv(1));
-		if (findfile(filename, NULL, true) != FS_NOTFOUND)
+		if (findfile(filename, NULL, NULL, true) != FS_NOTFOUND)
 			FIL_ReadFile(filename, &buf);
 
 		if (!buf)
diff --git a/src/d_main.cpp b/src/d_main.cpp
index 2eba82a6d..0b367f1d2 100644
--- a/src/d_main.cpp
+++ b/src/d_main.cpp
@@ -1434,7 +1434,7 @@ static void IdentifyVersion(void)
 
 #define MUSICTEST(str) \
 		musicpath = va(spandf,srb2waddir,"data",str);\
-		handle = W_OpenWadFile(&musicpath, false); \
+		handle = W_OpenWadFile(&musicpath, NULL, false); \
 		if (handle) \
 		{ \
 			int ms = W_VerifyNMUSlumps(musicpath, handle, false); \
diff --git a/src/d_netcmd.c b/src/d_netcmd.c
index 58bee1b6a..090c7edaf 100644
--- a/src/d_netcmd.c
+++ b/src/d_netcmd.c
@@ -4311,7 +4311,7 @@ static void Got_RunSOCcmd(const UINT8 **cp, INT32 playernum)
 	// Maybe add md5 support?
 	if (strstr(filename, ".soc") != NULL)
 	{
-		ncs = findfile(filename,NULL,true);
+		ncs = findfile(filename, "addons", NULL, true);
 
 		if (ncs != FS_FOUND)
 		{
@@ -4397,7 +4397,7 @@ static void Command_Addfile(void)
 			fhandle = NULL;
 		}
 
-		if ((fhandle = W_OpenWadFile(&fn, true)) != NULL)
+		if ((fhandle = W_OpenWadFile(&fn, "addons", true)) != NULL)
 		{
 			musiconly = W_VerifyNMUSlumps(fn, fhandle, false);
 		}
@@ -4523,7 +4523,7 @@ static void Got_RequestAddfilecmd(const UINT8 **cp, INT32 playernum)
 	if (numwadfiles >= MAX_WADFILES)
 		toomany = true;
 	else
-		ncs = findfile(filename,md5sum,true);
+		ncs = findfile(filename, "addons", md5sum, true);
 
 	if (ncs != FS_FOUND || toomany)
 	{
@@ -4567,7 +4567,7 @@ static void Got_Addfilecmd(const UINT8 **cp, INT32 playernum)
 		return;
 	}
 
-	ncs = findfile(filename,md5sum,true);
+	ncs = findfile(filename, "addons", md5sum, true);
 
 	if (ncs != FS_FOUND || !P_AddWadFile(filename))
 	{
diff --git a/src/d_netfil.c b/src/d_netfil.c
index 6b23abbdb..061f587a0 100644
--- a/src/d_netfil.c
+++ b/src/d_netfil.c
@@ -636,7 +636,7 @@ INT32 CL_CheckFiles(void)
 
 		packetsize += nameonlylength(fileneeded[i].filename) + 22;
 
-		fileneeded[i].status = findfile(fileneeded[i].filename, fileneeded[i].md5sum, true);
+		fileneeded[i].status = findfile(fileneeded[i].filename, "addons", fileneeded[i].md5sum, true);
 		CONS_Debug(DBG_NETPLAY, "found %d\n", fileneeded[i].status);
 		return 4;
 	}
@@ -1759,13 +1759,13 @@ filestatus_t checkfilemd5(char *filename, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum)
 // Rewritten by Monster Iestyn to be less stupid
 // Note: if completepath is true, "filename" is modified, but only if FS_FOUND is going to be returned
 // (Don't worry about WinCE's version of filesearch, nobody cares about that OS anymore)
-filestatus_t findfile(char *filename, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum, boolean completepath)
+filestatus_t findfile(char *filename, const char *priorityfolder, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum, boolean completepath)
 {
 	filestatus_t homecheck; // store result of last file search
 	boolean badmd5 = false; // store whether md5 was bad from either of the first two searches (if nothing was found in the third)
 
 	// first, check SRB2's "home" directory
-	homecheck = filesearch(filename, srb2home, wantedmd5sum, completepath, 10);
+	homecheck = filesearch(filename, srb2home, priorityfolder, wantedmd5sum, completepath, 10);
 
 	if (homecheck == FS_FOUND) // we found the file, so return that we have :)
 		return FS_FOUND;
@@ -1774,7 +1774,7 @@ filestatus_t findfile(char *filename, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum, boolean complet
 	// if not found at all, just move on without doing anything
 
 	// next, check SRB2's "path" directory
-	homecheck = filesearch(filename, srb2path, wantedmd5sum, completepath, 10);
+	homecheck = filesearch(filename, srb2path, priorityfolder, wantedmd5sum, completepath, 10);
 
 	if (homecheck == FS_FOUND) // we found the file, so return that we have :)
 		return FS_FOUND;
@@ -1783,7 +1783,7 @@ filestatus_t findfile(char *filename, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum, boolean complet
 	// if not found at all, just move on without doing anything
 
 	// finally check "." directory
-	homecheck = filesearch(filename, ".", wantedmd5sum, completepath, 10);
+	homecheck = filesearch(filename, ".", priorityfolder, wantedmd5sum, completepath, 10);
 
 	if (homecheck != FS_NOTFOUND) // if not found this time, fall back on the below return statement
 		return homecheck; // otherwise return the result we got
diff --git a/src/d_netfil.h b/src/d_netfil.h
index 71eaca2de..d457cb43f 100644
--- a/src/d_netfil.h
+++ b/src/d_netfil.h
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ void Command_Downloads_f(void);
 boolean fileexist(char *filename, time_t ptime);
 
 // Search a file in the wadpath, return FS_FOUND when found
-filestatus_t findfile(char *filename, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
+filestatus_t findfile(char *filename, const char *suggestedfolder, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
 	boolean completepath);
 filestatus_t checkfilemd5(char *filename, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum);
 
diff --git a/src/filesrch.c b/src/filesrch.c
index 17b7d70c7..5ec0c8a9f 100644
--- a/src/filesrch.c
+++ b/src/filesrch.c
@@ -333,7 +333,8 @@ char *refreshdirname = NULL;
 
 
 #if defined (_XBOX) && defined (_MSC_VER)
-filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
+filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath,
+	const char *priorityfolder, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
 	boolean completepath, int maxsearchdepth)
 {
 //NONE?
@@ -364,7 +365,8 @@ boolean preparefilemenu(boolean samedepth, boolean replayhut)
 }
 
 #elif defined (_WIN32_WCE)
-filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
+filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath,
+	const char *priorityfolder, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
 	boolean completepath, int maxsearchdepth)
 {
 #ifdef __GNUC__
@@ -378,6 +380,8 @@ filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const UINT8 *want
 	HANDLE searchhandle = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
 	const wchar_t wm[4] = L"*.*";
 
+	(void)priorityfolder;
+
 	//if (startpath) SetCurrentDirectory(startpath);
 	if (FIL_ReadFileOK(filename))
 	{
@@ -396,7 +400,7 @@ filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const UINT8 *want
 				//if (SetCurrentDirectory(dta.cFileName))
 				{ // can fail if we haven't the right
 					filestatus_t found;
-					found = filesearch(filename,NULL,wantedmd5sum,completepath,maxsearchdepth-1);
+					found = filesearch(filename,NULL,NULL,wantedmd5sum,completepath,maxsearchdepth-1);
 					//SetCurrentDirectory("..");
 					if (found == FS_FOUND || found == FS_MD5SUMBAD)
 					{
@@ -442,7 +446,9 @@ static const char *filesearch_exclude[] = {
 	NULL
 };
 
-filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum, boolean completepath, int maxsearchdepth)
+filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath,
+	const char *priorityfolder, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
+	boolean completepath, int maxsearchdepth)
 {
 	filestatus_t retval = FS_NOTFOUND;
 	DIR **dirhandle;
@@ -479,6 +485,27 @@ filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const UINT8 *want
 	else
 		searchpathindex[depthleft]--;
 
+	if (priorityfolder != NULL)
+	{
+		// Start the search at [startpath]/priorityfolder
+
+		strcpy(&searchpath[searchpathindex[depthleft]], priorityfolder);
+
+		if (stat(searchpath,&fsstat) < 0) // do we want to follow symlinks? if not: change it to lstat
+			; // was the file (re)moved? can't stat it
+		else if (S_ISDIR(fsstat.st_mode) && depthleft)
+		{
+			if ((dirhandle[depthleft-1] = opendir(searchpath)) != NULL)
+			{
+				// Got read permissions!
+				searchpathindex[--depthleft] = strlen(searchpath) + 1;
+
+				searchpath[searchpathindex[depthleft]-1] = PATHSEP[0];
+				searchpath[searchpathindex[depthleft]] = 0;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	while ((!found) && (depthleft < maxsearchdepth))
 	{
 		searchpath[searchpathindex[depthleft]]=0;
@@ -517,7 +544,14 @@ filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const UINT8 *want
 			if (depthleft == maxsearchdepth-1)
 			{
 				// When we're at the root of the search, we exclude certain folders.
-				for (; *path; path++)
+
+				if (priorityfolder != NULL
+					&& strcasecmp(priorityfolder, dent->d_name))
+				{
+					// We skip revisiting the priority by pretending
+					// it matched the first exclude directory instead
+				}
+				else for (; *path; path++)
 				{
 					if (strcasecmp(*path, dent->d_name))
 						continue;
diff --git a/src/filesrch.h b/src/filesrch.h
index f29360f87..d151af035 100644
--- a/src/filesrch.h
+++ b/src/filesrch.h
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ extern consvar_t cv_addons_md5, cv_addons_showall, cv_addons_search_case, cv_add
 
 	\param	filename	the file to look for
 	\param	startpath	where to start look from
+	\param 	priorityfolder	priority for starting checking, then go back up?
 	\param	wantedmd5sum	want to check with MD5
 	\param	completepath	want to return the complete path of the file?
 	\param	maxsearchdepth	the max depth to search for the file
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ extern consvar_t cv_addons_md5, cv_addons_showall, cv_addons_search_case, cv_add
 
 */
 
-filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
+filestatus_t filesearch(char *filename, const char *startpath, const char *priorityfolder, const UINT8 *wantedmd5sum,
 	boolean completepath, int maxsearchdepth);
 
 #define menudepth 20
diff --git a/src/g_demo.cpp b/src/g_demo.cpp
index c4ceaa65d..5564f5506 100644
--- a/src/g_demo.cpp
+++ b/src/g_demo.cpp
@@ -1785,7 +1785,7 @@ static void G_LoadDemoExtraFiles(UINT8 **pp)
 			if (numwadfiles >= MAX_WADFILES)
 				toomany = true;
 			else
-				ncs = findfile(filename, md5sum, false);
+				ncs = findfile(filename, "addons", md5sum, false);
 
 			if (toomany)
 			{
@@ -1894,7 +1894,7 @@ static UINT8 G_CheckDemoExtraFiles(savebuffer_t *info, boolean quick)
 
 			if (numwadfiles >= MAX_WADFILES)
 				error = DFILE_ERROR_CANNOTLOAD;
-			else if (!quick && findfile(filename, md5sum, false) != FS_FOUND)
+			else if (!quick && findfile(filename, "addons", md5sum, false) != FS_FOUND)
 				error = DFILE_ERROR_CANNOTLOAD;
 			else if (error < DFILE_ERROR_INCOMPLETEOUTOFORDER)
 				error |= DFILE_ERROR_NOTLOADED;
diff --git a/src/lua_script.c b/src/lua_script.c
index 26ea7d8e7..b0ba602f4 100644
--- a/src/lua_script.c
+++ b/src/lua_script.c
@@ -628,7 +628,7 @@ void LUA_DumpFile(const char *filename)
 
 		// If findfile finds the file, the full path will be returned
 		// in filenamebuf == filename.
-		if (findfile(filenamebuf, NULL, true))
+		if (findfile(filenamebuf, NULL, NULL, true))
 		{
 			if ((handle = fopen(filename, "rb")) == NULL)
 			{
diff --git a/src/sdl/i_system.cpp b/src/sdl/i_system.cpp
index 31fb8bbef..4014e980c 100644
--- a/src/sdl/i_system.cpp
+++ b/src/sdl/i_system.cpp
@@ -2160,7 +2160,7 @@ static const char *searchWad(const char *searchDir)
 	filestatus_t fstemp;
 
 	strcpy(tempsw, WADKEYWORD);
-	fstemp = filesearch(tempsw,searchDir,NULL,true,20);
+	fstemp = filesearch(tempsw, searchDir, NULL, NULL, true, 20);
 	if (fstemp == FS_FOUND)
 	{
 		pathonly(tempsw);
diff --git a/src/sdl/i_ttf.c b/src/sdl/i_ttf.c
index fe8547289..a0eccf36c 100644
--- a/src/sdl/i_ttf.c
+++ b/src/sdl/i_ttf.c
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ static char *searchFont(const char *fontsearchDir)
 	filestatus_t fstemp;
 
 	strcpy(tempsw, FONTFILE);
-	fstemp = filesearch(tempsw, fontsearchDir, NULL, true, 20);
+	fstemp = filesearch(tempsw, fontsearchDir, NULL, NULL, true, 20);
 	if (fstemp == FS_FOUND)
 	{
 		return tempsw;
diff --git a/src/sdl12/i_system.c b/src/sdl12/i_system.c
index 18d28abd4..0050fdb21 100644
--- a/src/sdl12/i_system.c
+++ b/src/sdl12/i_system.c
@@ -3432,7 +3432,7 @@ static const char *searchWad(const char *searchDir)
 	filestatus_t fstemp;
 
 	strcpy(tempsw, WADKEYWORD);
-	fstemp = filesearch(tempsw,searchDir,NULL,true,20);
+	fstemp = filesearch(tempsw, searchDir, NULL, NULL, true, 20);
 	if (fstemp == FS_FOUND)
 	{
 		pathonly(tempsw);
diff --git a/src/w_wad.cpp b/src/w_wad.cpp
index 857be69ab..efbc752cc 100644
--- a/src/w_wad.cpp
+++ b/src/w_wad.cpp
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ static char filenamebuf[MAX_WADPATH];
 // Returns the FILE * handle for the file, or NULL if not found or could not be opened
 // If "useerrors" is true then print errors in the console, else just don't bother
 // "filename" may be modified to have the correct path the actual file is located in, if necessary
-FILE *W_OpenWadFile(const char **filename, boolean useerrors)
+FILE *W_OpenWadFile(const char **filename, const char *priorityfolder, boolean useerrors)
 {
 	FILE *handle;
 
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ FILE *W_OpenWadFile(const char **filename, boolean useerrors)
 
 		// If findfile finds the file, the full path will be returned
 		// in filenamebuf == *filename.
-		if (findfile(filenamebuf, NULL, true))
+		if (findfile(filenamebuf, priorityfolder, NULL, true))
 		{
 			if ((handle = fopen(*filename, "rb")) == NULL)
 			{
@@ -845,7 +845,7 @@ UINT16 W_InitFile(const char *filename, boolean mainfile, boolean startup, const
 	}
 
 	// open wad file
-	if ((handle = W_OpenWadFile(&filename, true)) == NULL)
+	if ((handle = W_OpenWadFile(&filename, (mainfile ? NULL : "addons"), true)) == NULL)
 		return W_InitFileError(filename, startup);
 
 	important = W_VerifyNMUSlumps(filename, handle, startup);
@@ -2472,17 +2472,11 @@ void W_InitShaderLookup(const char *filename)
 	{
 		nameonly(filename_buf);
 
-		if (findfile(filename_buf, NULL, true))
-		{
-			if ((handle = fopen(filename_buf, "rb")) == NULL)
-			{
-				return;
-			}
-		}
-		else
-		{
+		if (!findfile(filename_buf, "data", NULL, true))
+			return;
+
+		if ((handle = fopen(filename_buf, "rb")) == NULL)
 			return;
-		}
 	}
 
 	// It is acceptable to fail opening the pk3 lookup.
diff --git a/src/w_wad.h b/src/w_wad.h
index 6c479aae5..06553ea28 100644
--- a/src/w_wad.h
+++ b/src/w_wad.h
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ extern wadfile_t *wadfiles[MAX_WADFILES];
 void W_Shutdown(void);
 
 // Opens a WAD file. Returns the FILE * handle for the file, or NULL if not found or could not be opened
-FILE *W_OpenWadFile(const char **filename, boolean useerrors);
+FILE *W_OpenWadFile(const char **filename, const char *priorityfolder, boolean useerrors);
 // Load and add a wadfile to the active wad files, returns numbers of lumps, INT16_MAX on error
 UINT16 W_InitFile(const char *filename, boolean mainfile, boolean startup, const char *md5expected);