Utility: The Mod Compatibility Index

[Gregstrom]

Files brought pretty much up to date. Tell me if I've missed anything.
The issue of mod intercompatibility has been annoying me for a little while now. I experienced quite a lot of problems putting together the mods for Unsanity, and the game wouldn't have nearly the possibilities it does if it weren't for llamabeast's most excellent mod combiner script.

The script is great, and especially so for setting up MP games because it means players only have to download 1 mod to get a game working. However, for quick home play I think many people may not want to go through the process of running a perl script to plug together a series of mods which may or may not have been compatible in the first place.

So: I have put together a chart that indexes the various unit/weapon/etc. numbers (and the number of spell slots, of course) used by different mods, so that mods can be easily checked for compatibility. As a bonus, people creating new mods can also view this chart to select an unused range of ID numbers for the creation of the new mod.

The index now covers over 100 mods, taken from the full depth of the mods forum. Some tiny mods and some that appeared to have been abandoned before they could be considered complete have been left out. I'be been through 1189 threads to get this far, and it's likely I've left out some popular nation mods by accident. If so, please make me aware and I'll rectify the decision.

It also has a sheet with a (regrettably) short list of mods that can be used together without worrying about unfortunate consequences.

The format and features of the index will need developing as the list grows and requirements are made clear.

As I won't necessarily have the time to go through every mod personally and tot up all the different id #s used, I'm hoping people will volunteer to supply data on mods they have created.

Thought 1: If a mod is not yet final (or gets regular updates by its nature - e.g. CBM), people may want to reserve ranges of id #s for future additions. Is this a reasonable or sensible idea?

Thought 2: It's probably a PITA writing a mod you think should be fully compatible with other mods and then having to renumber all your units etc. to avoid clashes with a new mod someone else just released. Should people be allowed to reserve id# ranges for mods that are not yet ready for release?

[Panpiper]

I think this is a great idea. I am having to renumber things for a mod of my own and failing to do the work largely because of the complexity of checking everything. Such a listing would 'vastly' facilitate the task.

My 'Three Races Mod':

--nationslots 72, 73, 74
--unitslots 2401-2423, 2454-2458

My Warhammer Chaos Mod I'll list once I've done the renumbering.

[Gregstrom]

Thanks Panpiper. I hadn't thought of nation #s either, so I'll add them in as appropriate. I'm guessing 3 Nations doesn't use custom weapons or armour, btw.

3 Races Mod added to top post.

[Panpiper]

Originally Posted by Gregstrom

Thanks Panpiper. I hadn't thought of nation #s either, so I'll add them in as appropriate. I'm guessing 3 Nations doesn't use custom weapons or armour, btw.

No, they don't use custom weapons or armour. I was thinking of defining the standard equipment with names and descriptions more appropriate to the race conceptions, but I expect these races will get used far more often as AI opponents than as races to play (to the extent they are used at all), so I'd rather keep the number of possible conflicts to an absolute minimum.

[llamabeast]

lch has a script (maybe in the tools thread) which spurts out these numbers automagically.

Also I will fix my mod combiner script shortly so it no longer has the bugs/missing features you suffered with in Unsanity. It should then be completely reliable. I still think this is a good idea, because you're right that it's generally far preferably if you can just turn mods on and off without worrying.

[lch]

Originally Posted by llamabeast

lch has a script (maybe in the tools thread) which spurts out these numbers automagically.

Yes, here: http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showp...4&postcount=26
It does not show nation IDs, but that would be easy to add or check by hand.

[Gregstrom]

Thanks for pointing out the awk script, llama & lch. In my next decent chunk of free time I guess I'll do things like find an awk shell for Windows and start indexing the mods I already have downloaded.

[Sombre]

If you resolve all the conflicts (which may or may not even be accidental) you're still going to get people who put on a whole load of mods at once hitting the boundaries in terms of spell slots etc.

[Gregstrom]

Resolving conflicts would be a bonus. Allowing people to check for conflicts in advance is all I'm aiming for at the moment. As you'll see in the OP, numbers of spell slots being used are being counted so that hitting the cap can be avoided.

In the longer term, I was thinking of putting the mods in a spreadsheet for ease of reference and possibly some sort of automated calculation.

[Sombre]

That sounds like it would be hard to keep updated, but I admire the spirit in which this thread proceeds.