A Desperate Plea to MM for Better Mod Support

[ColdSteel]

There's no doubt in my mind that SE4 is the most customizable game ever in the 4X genre. MM has very thoughtfully provided the data files for the game in a text format that is easily accessible by gamers. This is great. What's not so great is that implementing and playing any given mod is a real pain in the buttocks for the gamer because there is no real integrated mod support built into the game. MM recently added a "Path" file that tells the game to look in the "data" subdirectory specified in the Path file instead of the default Data directory but this does not extend to the other subdirectories where you must still replace the original files with the modified ones.

What this does is lead to mass chaos and confusion for those not accustomed to dealing with these kinds of things, even tripping up experienced players after installing a new game patch. This is quite apparent from reading the many Posts here on this forum dealing with these issues.

MM, I beg of you, implement mod support similar to that employed by the Id Quake games so that the entire mod structure may be packaged in a subdirectory beneath the main SE4 directory.

Here is how it could easily work:

1) For each new mod installed, the user creates a subdirectory beneath the main SE4 directory.

2) In that subdirectory is a text file created by the mod author that contains:
- The name of the mod.
- The subdirectories for the mod that replace the default game subdirectories.
- You could also have there a list of the files in each of the subdirectories that are replaced by the mod. This would save space on duplicate files but is not absolutely needed.

3) Underneath the main mod subdirectory are then all of the mod subdirectories that replace the default game subdirectories.

4) MM could add a "Mod" tab to the game setup which would simply look at the standard Mod text files under the SE4 directory that contain the names of all the mods installed and available. The user chooses the mod he/she wishes to play.

5) SE4 looks at the mod information in the text file for the mod chosen and uses the mod files for the appropriate mod and not the game default files.

It is important to note that by doing it this way the following benefits are achieved:

1) Anyone can install a new mod by just unzipping it (and its directory) to the SE4 directory.

2) Because the main default files remain in place and are never touched, subsequent patches either by MM or the Mod author will then be much easier to implement.

3) Everything is organized nice and neat. Mod authors can just zip up their mods with the appropriate subdirectories and unzipping to install is a snap.

Since you are never messing with the original game data files, you always have the base, default game available and are never faced with a reinstall.

MM already has code in place that allows you to create new strategies and give them names. This would use some similar routines for the mod selection in the game configuration so it shouldn't be much work for MM to set up.

Quake has used a similar scheme for mods very successfully for many years. I can't emphasize enough how important it is for MM to recognize that the way mods work in the game right now is very messy, inelegant and hurts the burgeoning mod community. The Mods are one of the big strengths of this game and gives it real legs and replay value. Please do something about this situation soon in an upcoming patch.

Please, please, oh pretty please?

I hope that other modders and SE4 players feel the same way that I do about this issue.

[Trancejeremy]

Ditto.

It's also not that hard to do.

[Londo]

DLing and installing the mods right now isn't that difficult, even a moron like me has figured it out. So while I agree that it would be nice for MM to do this, I would much rather see their very limited man hours devoted to tcp/ip and improved AI performance.

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Vir! You have made a mess of this post once again, now give me a large cup of brivari so that I may begin to forget the bad times and remember the glory of the great Centauri Republic.

[Derek]

I, as a diligent modder, who also would like to easily use other people's mods, would definitely like to see something along these lines. As it stands now, it is hard to switch between my mods, other mods, and the basic game.

So, I would love to see this!

Derek

[ColdSteel]

Londo,

That may well be true but what about when the next MM patch comes out and you have to reinstall your changed files all over again?

This change wouldn't be that hard for MM to do and would greatly simplify things. JMHO.

[Jubala]

I agree completely with you ColdSteel. I have had a similar idea simmering at the back of my mind since the dawn of time (when I found out se4 ws coming and could be moded ) but never bothered to put it into words. Have you mailed this to MM?

[Jubala]

And another thing, savegames should also tell you what mod they are in when you load them. Maybe they should be saved in a savegame folder under the appropriate mod, or better yet, in folder named atfer the mod under the main savegame folder.

[ColdSteel]

Jubala,

Yes, I did mail it off to MM today. Your suggestion does sound good too. They could just stick the name of the mod as identified in the mod header file into the savegame as another variable. Easy to do except it may break savegame compatibility between Versions.

Maybe you could pass that suggestion on to them? I think it would be good if they heard support for this whole idea from multiple people.

[Instar]

Actually, the path.txt allows you to put the mods into separate folders. However, the game doesn't have any way of choosing which mod is run. You have to change path.txt before every game.

[Tomgs]

As far as I know the path.txt is only for modified files in the Data directory. A lot of things I modify are in the \pictures\races folder and also the AI folder so the path.txt doesn't help. I have 3 full installs of the game on my HD now 2 mods and the as patched 1.19 unmodified Version. The Data files if modified significantly will need to be addressed in the races folders to implement the changes or else the AI won't be able to utilize some of the changes. Especially if you create new technologies to research or new components to put on the ships or just change the components enough that the designs need to be modified.

Speaking of mods I was trying to modify the General.txt files for the races to min/max some of the races and it seems that they will ignore any numbers under 100 for their racial traits. Is there a way around this or am I just out of luck trying to give the AI a bonus to racial picks the way humans can?