FTB's Declassified Community Survival Guide

Potatoes?


  • Total voters
    16

ShneekeyTheLost

Too Much Free Time
Dec 8, 2012
3,728
3,004
333
Lost as always
For mod pack creators:

DON'T: just take someone else's pack, toss in/remove a couple of mods, then call it all good.
DO: Come up with a 'Mission Statement' for your pack, then choose mods that fit that mission statement.

For example, you can see the Mission Statement I had for ShneekeyCraft in my sig: less is more. Basically, I had a 'minimalist' or 'lite' mod pack with fewer mods that was able to run on lower-end machines with fewer problems. I also put a LOT of time into the config files for cross-mod compatibility and synergy. So I had a tightly knit lite pack designed primarily for people newer to the modded minecraft scene. Unfortunately, the target audience was not particularly large, so there were very few tears shed when I stopped development.

DON'T: be a douche to mod authors, particularly when it comes to distribution rights.
DO: make sure you comply with any mod pack requirements for the mods you plan on including in your pack.

Seriously. It doesn't matter if your personal ideologies consider the idea of restricted distribution rights to be abhorrent... the rest of the dev community will be very upset with you. At the very least, every single launcher that I am aware of demands that you have permissions for distribution for every mod in your pack (unless you roll on the Curse launcher and restrict yourself to mods hosted on Curse, in which case they do it for you), and your pack will get yanked and your reputation completely ruined if you just start tossing mods into your pack and the mod devs get upset with you. If a mod author is not letting you put that mod in your pack, then shrug it off and use some other mod.

DON'T: be 'that guy' and spam every thread under the sun with adds for your mod pack you just made. The only thing that will happen is you will very upset forum moderators cleaning up after you and issuing various warnings or vacations. In fact, that's probably the fastest way to kill off any chance of your mod pack getting popular. Everyone will simply recall you being 'that guy' and ignore your pack entirely.
DO: feel free to have a link in your sig, a SINGLE thread in the APPROPRIATE forum, and discuss it if the topic comes up.

DON'T: spam updates too rapidly, unless you are fixing bugs, in which case you should probably be on 'dev' versions until you get to another stable 'release' version. Spammed updates make server populations cry.
DON'T: ignore bug reports and never update. Because then people lose interest.
DO: set yourself an update schedule. Not necessarily 'weekly' or 'monthly', but more along the lines of 'when I get enough mods updating with relevant content'. To give you an idea: Vaskii updates Botania like some kind of super sayan ninja. Every time I update... there's another dang update. Don't bother trying to keep up with the updates, just make sure if there's a major relevant update (for example, the Hydrodrangea not consuming water on infinite sources patch), it goes into your next update.

This is a fine line to tread. You need to make sure your pack doesn't contain crash bugs, but on the other hand, updating too rapidly can cause servers to have issues because then everyone needs to download your new pack.

DON'T: put your pack download behind adf.ly or other paid service. In addition to being a violation of the terms of most mods use, it also arguably violates Mojang's EULA. So don't do it, mmkay?
DO: put your pack on a launcher that makes sense for you. In fact, you can even have it on multiple launchers if you want. Each launcher has pros and cons, find one that suits you.
 

Type1Ninja

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,393
-7
0
Updated the list.
Suggestions: Instead of quote boxes you could use spoilers, and then put the suggestions in plaintext instead of quote boxes, and also maybe add an empty line between every entry to distinguish them better. To me, the text size is a little small and bunched up in the current format. Of course, that could just be the fact that I'm viewing this on my phone... ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1SDAN and gold49

1SDAN

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
1,189
-15
0
Suggestions: Instead of quote boxes you could use spoilers, and then put the suggestions in plaintext instead of quote boxes, and also maybe add an empty line between every entry to distinguish them better. To me, the text size is a little small and bunched up in the current format. Of course, that could just be the fact that I'm viewing this on my phone... ;)

Done and Done :)
 

gold49

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
415
0
0
Spell/grammar check your post at least twice in serious conversations, you never know who will quote you
  • I have learned to never ask for a ETA of any kind myself, and expect any announced ETAs to be delayed at least once before the project is repeated. May be a little overkill, but better than being hyped up and then be disappointed/mad.

Edit: Also check three times when correcting grammar/spelling mistakes, you may be "fixing" what was actually correct
 

ShneekeyTheLost

Too Much Free Time
Dec 8, 2012
3,728
3,004
333
Lost as always
This. By respecting my policies, people gain goodwill points. I respect modpack authors if they respect me. I might even grant them extended permissions if they provide a good reason.

On the opposite side, I think most people here know how I treat unauthorized redistribution.
Respect is a two-way street. Those creating packs showing respect for those creating mods invite a reciprocal response. Communication is the vehicle for that street. If you have a question or concern, bring it up!

For example, if I wanted to use Mod X in a mod pack, and that particular mod's developer is wanting you to get permission first, reach out to them. "Say, I'm looking at making this pack, and I think your mod would fit in really well here because of these reasons. Here's some of the other mods I plan on including. Can I include your mod in my pack?".

This has several things that I would like to explicitly address as to why I put them in there.

First off, you state your intent. I have a mod pack, I would like your mod in the pack.
Second off, you show to the mod dev/team that you don't just want to exploit one or two features, you're wanting to showcase their mod as an integral part of your pack. Not just 'lol u got ez bedrokium', but 'your power system is unique and it would fit well in my steampunk-themed pack as the primary tech mod, and I am using the configs to tier the content from other mods likewise because I like how it keeps people from rushing to end-game content'. It demonstrates that you are respecting their hard work and their vision and how it fits in with the pack you are creating.
Third off, you are showing the environment in which the mod will be used, so they can tell if there are going to be any issues. Some mods just don't do well in the same pack, the mod devs are aware of this, most of the pack devs are as well.
Fourth off, respect, you haz it. You show the mod dev/team that you've done your 'due diligence', that you understand their vision and honor it, and that you don't plan on 'abusing' their mod in ways it was not intended to be used.