Please Share File Locations When Sharing Mod Code

from Elemental Forums

One thing that makes it hard to get started modding this game is that when people share mods, they almost never say what files they're modding from. They just straight up give the mod code or share an XML that in no way indicates where the code in the XML came from. That's great for people who just want to plug it in and play the game, but it's extremely frustrating for new modders who are trying to get started. So please, next time you share a mod also mention where you got the code you're modding. It takes no effort on your part and doing so grows the modding community by pointing others in the right direction to get started.

2,989 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

There are a couple good modding guides in the forums but you need to search for them and they are not being read or posted in. I've tried placing up two or three guides but either nobody reads them or they get lost in the boards. I'm trying to help people as much as possible but with little feedback and guidance it's difficult.

The best way to learn is to just get out there and start messing around with things. See what other people are doing and learn.

Modding isn't easy. My mods, for example, are too various and all over the place to document exactly what I'm modding. It would take more then considerable effort and time that is either better spent on documenting what I am doing or working on the mod. However, there is usually documentation inside them to indicate where it came from (I take many notes). To be honest with you, most my modding time is spent testing, debugging, and fixing errors. It's a pain in the ass!

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

The problem isn't that there aren't guides, the problem is that people aren't sharing where the code they changed was located. Think about it, put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn't know the location of absolutely every file and string of code, who comes across a mod that does something similar to what he wants. Maybe he'd like to go poke around the file and change a few things too, that's the best way to get started, but he has no way of knowing where the code came from.

Sure if you're making a big mod and changing a lot of things you can't be bothered to keep track of every little thing, I just came from modding the heck out of Guild 2: Renaissance I know how that goes, but if someone is asking for a single simple change it would take practically nothing for the person posting the mod to say "This was in CoreRaceConfigs.xml".

Instead people are basically saying "here insert this into your My Games/Elemental folder" and that's great for people who just want to play the game, but incredibly frustrating for people who don't already know where everything is and would like to just jump in and start looking around modding and tweaking things.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

If you want to adept some things and mods have done something similiar I suggest just to look inside the modded files.

Many of the modded things are custom additions with code that wasn't there before. Probably in similar form but like I said, just adept the modded XMLs?

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Valentine82, reply 2
The problem isn't that there aren't guides, the problem is that people aren't sharing where the code they changed was located. Think about it, put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn't know the location of absolutely every file and string of code, who comes across a mod that does something similar to what he wants. Maybe he'd like to go poke around the file and change a few things too, that's the best way to get started, but he has no way of knowing where the code came from.

Sure if you're making a big mod and changing a lot of things you can't be bothered to keep track of every little thing, I just came from modding the heck out of Guild 2: Renaissance I know how that goes, but if someone is asking for a single simple change it would take practically nothing for the person posting the mod to say "This was in CoreRaceConfigs.xml".

Instead people are basically saying "here insert this into your My Games/Elemental folder" and that's great for people who just want to play the game, but incredibly frustrating for people who don't already know where everything is and would like to just jump in and start looking around modding and tweaking things.
End of Valentine82's quote

I'm hoping alot of that will change once they guys at stardock get things hammered out with the mod library in impulse. Then people can just post their mods, leaving the forums with more modder to modder banter.

 

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Most mods are self-descriptive. For example, you mentioned boots was something you downloaded and wanted to mod then go look into CoreBoots.XML. Most the core files are quite organized. It just takes a little detective work on your part.