You're right. When it comes to the nuts-and-bolts, I-don't-have-the-time-to-read-the-fine-print tit-for-tat comparisons, there isn't some manner of huge difference. They're both mod packs built on technical mods expanding Minecraft gameplay. One could make arguments about FTB's criteria for mod choice involving some esoteric ideal of balance and synergy and all that junk, but when it comes down to it, that's what this mod pack is at the nuts-and-bolts: a mod pack with a launcher.
What you so casually dismiss is the intangible, and I'll sum it up for you in one word: Goodwill.
For anybody involved in industry, and especially in the valuation of not only products and services but the organizations that provide them, goodwill is the intangible value derived from that organization's relations with its clients, its partners, and its suppliers. You can get a basic number of what an organization is worth based off of the balance sheets, but when it comes time to apply those esoteric modifiers to the EBITDA and provide a price tag, you generally do something like a SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Goodwill looms very strongly in that kind of analysis. It's not only a strength in itself, but it opens up opportunities, provides a basis to conquer weakness, and can ward off threats. Relevant example? I can play the FTB pack knowing that tomorrow all my rail lines, coke ovens, blast furnaces and iron tanks won't suddenly disappear or even randomly explode, because Slowpoke actually asked CovertJaguar permission to use Railcraft. An exploding mod item scenario with FTB is highly improbable because under the circumstances and with the transparent means that Slowpoke painstakingly obtained the permissions for his packs, any mod author that did such a thing would be a very unsympathetic figure. In the same vein, when incompatibilities pop up between mods, now there's somebody with some pull who can get it resolved more expeditiously because FTB works with the mod authors rather than despite them. That's the kind of stuff you can see as avoided threats and unique opportunities for this pack, them, because of that goodwill.
Right now, while there may be deficits in not having a polished product that's been released for over a year and in still working out the kinks associated with an emerging brand, you have to ask yourself: am I in it for the right now, or for the long haul? The T-packs are widely popular and the byname in modded Minecraft gameplay, but there's some serious concerns as to their longevity for reasons that some may consider highly subjective and I won't go into here. Needless to say a number of people are here because they believe it's the future of modded Minecraft, not the past or necessarily even the present.
That said, goodwill alone doesn't make something good or successful. Many ventures have fallen flat because of other logistical issues. We're in the sink-or-swim stage here right now and the true value of goodwill won't matter if it doesn't pan out for other reasons. For those worried about the seemingly bumpy ride, though, I'll share another tidbit: Real boats rock. Anybody touting a completely smooth operation is only adept at covering their butt, and that kind of thing falls apart sooner rather than later. The hiccups we're experiencing right now should be reassuring rather than alarming at this stage, then. Provided we make it over this hump, I believe we'll see something pretty amazing, though. =)
What you so casually dismiss is the intangible, and I'll sum it up for you in one word: Goodwill.
For anybody involved in industry, and especially in the valuation of not only products and services but the organizations that provide them, goodwill is the intangible value derived from that organization's relations with its clients, its partners, and its suppliers. You can get a basic number of what an organization is worth based off of the balance sheets, but when it comes time to apply those esoteric modifiers to the EBITDA and provide a price tag, you generally do something like a SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Goodwill looms very strongly in that kind of analysis. It's not only a strength in itself, but it opens up opportunities, provides a basis to conquer weakness, and can ward off threats. Relevant example? I can play the FTB pack knowing that tomorrow all my rail lines, coke ovens, blast furnaces and iron tanks won't suddenly disappear or even randomly explode, because Slowpoke actually asked CovertJaguar permission to use Railcraft. An exploding mod item scenario with FTB is highly improbable because under the circumstances and with the transparent means that Slowpoke painstakingly obtained the permissions for his packs, any mod author that did such a thing would be a very unsympathetic figure. In the same vein, when incompatibilities pop up between mods, now there's somebody with some pull who can get it resolved more expeditiously because FTB works with the mod authors rather than despite them. That's the kind of stuff you can see as avoided threats and unique opportunities for this pack, them, because of that goodwill.
Right now, while there may be deficits in not having a polished product that's been released for over a year and in still working out the kinks associated with an emerging brand, you have to ask yourself: am I in it for the right now, or for the long haul? The T-packs are widely popular and the byname in modded Minecraft gameplay, but there's some serious concerns as to their longevity for reasons that some may consider highly subjective and I won't go into here. Needless to say a number of people are here because they believe it's the future of modded Minecraft, not the past or necessarily even the present.
That said, goodwill alone doesn't make something good or successful. Many ventures have fallen flat because of other logistical issues. We're in the sink-or-swim stage here right now and the true value of goodwill won't matter if it doesn't pan out for other reasons. For those worried about the seemingly bumpy ride, though, I'll share another tidbit: Real boats rock. Anybody touting a completely smooth operation is only adept at covering their butt, and that kind of thing falls apart sooner rather than later. The hiccups we're experiencing right now should be reassuring rather than alarming at this stage, then. Provided we make it over this hump, I believe we'll see something pretty amazing, though. =)
