Mod ID Registry: Preventing Mod Conflicts

[Psientist]

One issue is that you really only need to get rid of conflicts between mods that run in the same era

Interesting point! I wasn't aware of that. I did however find out that trying to make a monster that is available in more than one age doesn't understand the "#copystats" command unless you assign completely unique ids.

Of course, if you then want to cross-pollinate the mods (for example, one of my nations totally wants some of Amos' sweet-looking horror summons)...

Actually, that's part of what I was looking to streamline. In my mind, I want to make every mod out there that is balanced and interesting available all the time, for me and my PBEM players. More surprises, more interesting! However, if players default to "all mods disabled except for just the one we are currently choosing to use" there is far less need for any type of collective list.

Finally, there's the problem of running out of numbers. Mods will tend to want to use continuous blocks 24xx for example. That only leaves room for ten mods - if you let the computer handle the unit numbering, you can go ahead and have one mod use 2375-2416, which would be a pain to administer but causes the computer no problems at all.

And this is *precisely* why I thought a collective list might be a good idea. Mod authors would know which "blocks" other mods are using. If there are conflicts, they can either be noted for the sake of the player, or intentionally left (e.g., they are for different ages or intentionally rebalance or change something).

It seems, however, that the idea is probably more trouble than it's worth.