Creating a curated mod collection

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haloterm
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Re: Creating a curated mod collection

Post by haloterm »

Ralzar wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 5:04 pm This is what I think Nexus is hoping to offer a solution for. Same as you can load up a "playlist" in an mp3 player (am I dating myself now? Anyone got any good winamp skins?) you can select a modlist that a user has made and curates on Nexus.
Yes, that "playlist" comparison is really good. Just multiplatform compatiblity would be needed (although I don't know how many users use DFU on Linux or macOS, though).

l3lessed
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Re: Creating a curated mod collection

Post by l3lessed »

Nexus is actually working on offering something like this. I got a notification a little while back asking for testers.
This is the long term plan for nexus. They are working towards making peoples builds completely independent packages that can be saved, shared, and redownloaded by any other users. This is part of the reason they had that large change recently in being able to not permanently delete mods as an author; Once it is uploaded to nexus, it is not going disappearing anymore (It can be hidden, but never deleted). It was what caused a some of mod authors to remove their mods and leave, which sucks for new players who haven't archived them yet.

This is required for them to get their mod package idea going and working. Can't have mod packages if one mod author breaks them by getting upset and removing their mod from nexus, which we all know happens semi-routinely.

I personally recommend nexus for people new to modding. It is easiest to setup and run, and downloading and installing mods is pretty simple and straightforward on it. It has a good update feature to check for mod updates. It won't install them for you, but I don't think it should ever auto update mods on their own, as that can break a game build easily,
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Regnier
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Re: Creating a curated mod collection

Post by Regnier »

this probably treads on too many toes but

could someone get their modlist and settings saved into a downloadable that acts as a version of DFU?

So there could be mod curators who release builds that include mods and assets. Theyd have a description of what to expect (more difficult, all visual mods etc).

This would at least get around the updates issue as it would be siloed as a stable build.

l3lessed
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Re: Creating a curated mod collection

Post by l3lessed »

Yeah, as long as all mod authors give permission to include it in the compiled rar file. That is the tricky part. Many mod authors rightfully want control of the distribution of their mod too, as it makes it far easier for them to maintain and address mod issues discussed by users.

You would put all the mod files and their assets into a single rar that could be unzipped/installed.
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haloterm
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Re: Creating a curated mod collection

Post by haloterm »

l3lessed wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 3:59 am Yeah, as long as all mod authors give permission to include it in the compiled rar file. That is the tricky part. Many mod authors rightfully want control of the distribution of their mod too, as it makes it far easier for them to maintain and address mod issues discussed by users.

You would put all the mod files and their assets into a single rar that could be unzipped/installed.
Yeah well that basically what I asked / suggested in this thread. Curated packages. Install and forget.

The issue is not technical, but getting the modder's consent, and two very important arguments against such consent have been given (modders want to have control and be able to solve mod issues directly with users; modders would lose Nexus Mod points).

l3lessed
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Re: Creating a curated mod collection

Post by l3lessed »

So you pretty much answered your own question. If you want this, either work with someone to do it and have them verify with the differing authors they can create the package for you/other users or get the permissions yourself and create the package yourself.

Yes, there is no way to do this ourselves without clearly getting modders consent, which yes, limits what can be in the package.
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haloterm
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Re: Creating a curated mod collection

Post by haloterm »

l3lessed wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:43 pm So you pretty much answered your own question. If you want this, either work with someone to do it and have them verify with the differing authors they can create the package for you/other users or get the permissions yourself and create the package yourself.

Yes, there is no way to do this ourselves without clearly getting modders consent, which yes, limits what can be in the package.
The intention of this thread was to get opinions about the idea which was raised by readers of my article.

So far only a few modders have replied in this thread, but with valid concerns, so the idea won't be realized (as it is not worth to invest time in it given the concerns).

After all, mod installing is not complicated, and the number of mods still small, so a curated package would just be nice to have anyway, but not very important.

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Re: Creating a curated mod collection

Post by l3lessed »

What can be created, that I have seen a number of times, is mod build setup documentation. This does work too, even if it is not as easy as a simple package installer.

Create a list of the mods the user would need, provide all the links and descriptions in the documentation, and then provide the install order/directions below that. All a user has to do at that point is que up all the mods for download and then follow install directions. This is the closest to a package install you can get without having to deal with permissions issues.
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