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?