DevnullMod for SEV

Devnullicus · #1 September 4th, 2007, 05:59 PM

As new versions of BM Mod come out, I will try to keep DevnullMod updated with relevant changes (assuming I have time...and we all know how my schedule goes

). I know that the FQM stuff that's in 1.09 was a straight port to DevnullMod from BM Mod as I made no edits to those files. What will be harder to integrate are future changes to Tech Areas, Components, Component Enhancements, and Facilities. However, I've added some enhancements to the editor to make comparing two mods much easier, so hopefully that will make slurping in future changes from other mods into DevnullMod relatively easy.

Devnullicus · #2 September 4th, 2007, 06:03 PM

As for the multimedia pack, I hadn't seen that before now. I would indeed be very interested in utilizing some of that and will have to consider how much work it would take to integrate it. I don't want to have to require users to download multiple files and do multiple installs to get my mod working, so I'd probably want to integrate the files into DevnullMod. However, I'd also like to avoid having a really HUGE mod download file, though, so we'll see how much extra filesize it adds.

Fyron · #3 September 4th, 2007, 08:08 PM

Integrating the multimedia pack files into your mod download defeats the whole purpose of it. Please do not do that; it will set a bad precedent. Just like the image mod for SE4, the whole point is an install once type deal, and all mods have access to the images automatically without requiring a ton of excessive downloading for all.

Suicide Junkie · #4 September 4th, 2007, 08:11 PM

It is just like the Imagemod packs for SE4; just use it and then post a link to the mirrors/torrent along with your mod files.

Devnullicus · #5 September 4th, 2007, 08:40 PM

Requiring users to download adjunct packages for a mod requires the users to have some technical savvy, though. It's far easier to just provide a .exe installer and have it do all the work (like I do with the editor).

What I might do, though, is have the installer do an optional install of the multimedia pack that I'll bundle in the .exe. That way, if you already have it, you don't need to install it and it will still keep it a separate mod.

Fyron · #6 September 4th, 2007, 09:06 PM

Personally, I find mod installers somewhat annoying when the game has a well-defined structure. Hopefully a nice rar version (sans MMP) will be available as well.

What if the installer checked for the presence of the proper MMP version, then downloaded the pack(s) if they were missing? That could potentially waste less bandwidth..

Each pack of the MMP comes with a "_credits.txt" file, though it doesn't list any sort of version numbering... It would probably help your installer if it had such things in it.

AstralWanderer · #7 September 5th, 2007, 05:48 AM

I'm happy to hear of this since I have fond memories of DevNullMod (aka "Kitchen Sink Mod") from SEIV.

I would agree though with keeping the likes of the Multimedia Pack separate (not least since bundling an older version of MMP could cause problems with other MMP-reliant mods). If an installer is going to be used, then it could just check for the MMP and give a message (including a download URL) if it isn't found.