Vanilla Mods to Community Mods-The *CML*

HoneyBadger · #1 April 22nd, 2007, 06:16 PM

No what?

and Yes, you could have as many personal rules for your own personal game as you want-that's not the point at all. The point is to give certain mods which would work fine with the nations that already come with the game, recognition as being balanced, accepted, and of quality.

HoneyBadger · #2 April 22nd, 2007, 06:22 PM

If you don't have some kind of consensus about what's a "standard mod" and what isn't, then noone will ever accept those mods into the game as a standard. They'll always remain exceptions and outcasts.

Gandalf Parker · #3 April 22nd, 2007, 06:43 PM

NO
I think there are many tags that we can put out there as a community. But "Official Mod" is not one of them. I would pick a new name as this one gives the wrong impression.

How about "Play-Tested Mods? or even "Preferred Mods"?

HoneyBadger · #4 April 22nd, 2007, 06:45 PM

That's why it's got the word "unofficial" right there in the title. I would have thought that would be reasonably obvious, despite it being inside little ( ) marks?

HoneyBadger · #5 April 22nd, 2007, 06:52 PM

I guess the name could be changed easily enough, but, it's just a word, you know? It has more than one meaning, I know, but I did take steps to assure that the meaning wasn't ambiguous.

HoneyBadger · #6 April 22nd, 2007, 07:03 PM

How about "Community Mods"?

And-if we can hopefully climb over all the red tape and legaleze of this (non)issue-does anyone have any mods they'd like to submit?

I've got quite a few, but I don't want to be the first to submit any, as it would be impolite and needlessly preferential.

Foodstamp · #7 April 22nd, 2007, 07:08 PM

If you do follow through with this idea, I would suggest limiting it to mods other than Nation mods. I would call the initiative something related to multiplayer, maybe something like "The Community Multiplayer Ruleset".

I think the initiative would benefit the community in that aspect, if the changes are general mods that are normally accepted in MP games like the ones I listed. Then the game host could choose to use the rules or not.

HoneyBadger · #8 April 22nd, 2007, 07:09 PM

Foodstamp, I'm not proposing that mods be distinguished between what is a "good" mod and what is a "bad" mod. It's not about that, except maybe in cases where something is obviously a shoddy effort and should be excluded until it's been improved.

This is about getting people to admit that yes, certain mod nations are just as good as the nations the Devs came up with.

It shouldn't hurt any relationships, unless people are being overly sensitive and unrealistic. It doesn't force anyone to change anything they currently do or don't do. It just says that a particular mod has been approved by the community for use in "vanilla-style" games. It gives our creative efforts more weight than they currently have.

Foodstamp · #9 April 22nd, 2007, 07:01 PM

Currently I don't think mods are exceptions and outcasts. I think the modding community has done a great job of providing people mods to enhance their single player experience and in some instance, the multiplayer aspect of the game.

Nation mods will probably never find a niche in multiplayer because even if it is accepted as being balanced, only one player gets to play as that nation, which makes the game pretty much vanilla for anyone else.

Mods that affect things other than specific nations tend to be more accepted by the multiplayer community because the effects usually apply to everyone. Example would include Worthy Heroes mod, Conceptional Balance or Nova Deus (Although I have never seen this one used in MP).

I like the way modding is right now, and how it is accepted. The only mod I have ever seen proselytized around the forums is the Conceptional Balance mod, and it was not even being pushed by the creator. I think this has left a bad impression on some people and has been the center of a few heated arguments. Creating a list of "officially" accepted mods would have a similar effect on the mods included on the list, souring some people before they even try the mod, or causing discourse and hard feelings for people who did not make the list, possibly even discouraging and pushing modders away.

It's like I said in another thread, the relationship between the player and the mod is a personal one. The player downloads the mod of their own freewill if they are interested in it, and then they play the mod if they like it.

I feel that creating a list like you propose would hurt that relationship.