What Makes a Modpack

[InfidelGB]

Just wondering about peoples opinions on what makes a modpack more than just a collection of mods in a folder into a good/great modpack?

I personally like kitchen sink type modpacks and quite often get a pack like infinity and add in mods that i would lke to play with that arent present but sometimes feel like theres something missing. My current pack im working on is based on infinity with things like Reika's mods, Mekanism and others. I'm currently working on world gen so only one of each type of ore spawns and trying to tweak the amounts so it feels right. Just wondering if there is more i could do to make it feel less like a collection of mods and more like a pack.

 

[Yusunoha]

to me a modpack is about mod compatibility. it's easy to throw some mods together and call it a modpack, but if you don't work on the configurations of the mods you might get some very bad bugs or exploits happening in your pack.
and a good modpack for me is a modpack with a story behind it and reasoning why you've done the things you've done, such as adding or leaving out certain mods, certain configuration options or tweaks.

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

to me a modpack is about mod compatibility. it's easy to throw some mods together and call it a modpack, but if you don't work on the configurations of the mods you might get some very bad bugs or exploits happening in your pack.
and a good modpack for me is a modpack with a story behind it and reasoning why you've done the things you've done, such as adding or leaving out certain mods, certain configuration options or tweaks.

Basically everything @Yusunoha has said - regardless of whether there is a quest line or written story (although that can be awesome), just that extra time spent looking at the mod interactions, tweaking things so they work in harmony instead of discord, that really makes a difference.

While the extreme challenge of the modpack Blood N Bones is not to my taste, it is a beautifully put together pack - I'd say it serves as a paragon example of what you can get when you really put some thought into it. I'd always suggest looking into it, just to see how well it's been constructed, with a really cohesive tech and magic progression.

 

[jordsta95]

such as adding or leaving out certain mods, certain configuration options or tweaks.

I like that bit!
I see a lot of packs adding mods that don't fit, aren't integrated, or throw balance on it's head, etc. And why? Because people complained about the mod not being in the pack to start with.
For example, people could complain to me 24/7 about EnderIO not being in my packs, and I still wouldn't add it, unless it actually had something I NEEDED... but some people do cave into "peer pressure", not saying they are bad for that, but mods shouldn't be added unless the mod pack author themselves want to add it, even if it could make the pack more interesting, harder/easier, etc.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

A modpack for me is the most number of mods that will load before my PC crashes

Different strokes for different folks I guess, tried CL and AS after my last big world in 1.6.4 and couldn't get into them at all. Now running Infinity(adding mods often) and I've clocked more hours in 2 weeks than the 2 HQM modpacks combined in 3 months.

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

A modpack for me is the most number of mods that will load before my PC crashes

Different strokes for different folks I guess, tried CL and AS after my last big world in 1.6.4 and couldn't get into them at all. Now running Infinity(adding mods often) and I've clocked more hours in 2 weeks than the 2 HQM modpacks combined in 3 months.

Each to their own! I get lost in big packs (and my computer massively struggles to run them), so the HQM mods and FTB Lite 2 really appeal to me, but I totally get wanting one with everything.

 

[epidemia78]

A modpack for me is the most number of mods that will load before my PC crashes

Different strokes for different folks I guess, tried CL and AS after my last big world in 1.6.4 and couldn't get into them at all. Now running Infinity(adding mods often) and I've clocked more hours in 2 weeks than the 2 HQM modpacks combined in 3 months.

Ive played modded long enough that I am okay with leaving out mods I know I will never use which accounts for at least a third of the stuff in Infinity. Every mod adds to the load time and potential reasons for the game to crash and burn. I want my worlds to be long term and stable so I can plan out big projects that do something useful and also look cool. But some of the coolest machines and whatnot are underutilized and rarely *required* for anything and only within that mod's recipes. Like BC lasers and Magma Crucibles, the TC smeltery... So in my opinion, a good modpack should have well thought out tweaks to recipes so that the best elements of the mods included are integrated into the whole experience. And not just vanilla crafting table style tweaks which I have noticed is the typical method employed by modpack developers (lazy) but mod specific ones too.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

Each to their own! I get lost in big packs (and my computer massively struggles to run them), so the HQM mods and FTB Lite 2 really appeal to me, but I totally get wanting one with everything.

I get lost in forced progression, well maybe not lost but I get bored. Do this, then this etc etc. Just not my cuppa tea I'm realising... Luckily my PC is easily able to handle even the biggest of modpacks and even if it can't I play a world till I kill it.

Ive played modded long enough that I am okay with leaving out mods I know I will never use which accounts for at least a third of the stuff in Infinity. Every mod adds to the load time and potential reasons for the game to crash and burn. I want my worlds to be long term and stable so I can plan out big projects that do something useful and also look cool. But some of the coolest machines and whatnot are underutilized and rarely *required* for anything and only within that mod's recipes. Like BC lasers and Magma Crucibles, the TC smeltery... So in my opinion, a good modpack should have well thought out tweaks to recipes so that the best elements of the mods included are integrated into the whole experience. And not just vanilla crafting table style tweaks which I have noticed is the typical method employed by modpack developers (lazy) but mod specific ones too.

Oh I remove mods as well, if I don't like it it's gone. Infinity is the first world I've played that I haven't set the mods up myself so still tweaking it. But if a mod is in my pack I'll figure out a way to use it if it kills me, my 1.6.4 world(in sig) is a perfect example of this but doubt I'll be doing the same thing again for a while.

As for the tweaking for integration I've no experience with letting others do that and have always done it myself(via adding/removing or configs only), and for my first experience I don't really like it. I've changed so much in Infinity that it's not really the same anymore.

Obviously all this is my play style(never ever played vanilla) and others may do exactly what they want!

 

[b0bst3r]

I hate kitchen sink mod packs, they are the absolute pits. As are any mod packs which are just a random number of mods just thrown in.

What I love are themed packs, like Magic Farm, like Regrowth (currently hooked on this), like so so sooooooo many of the player put together packs in the mod pack forum. It takes a ton of work to get a themed mod pack working right and next to no time to just throw a random set of mods together. Anyone can do the latter now with 1.7 being so easy to pack. Which is why I'm so disappointed in the FTB packs, personally they should do away with them and put some of the player based packs as main packs on the launcher.

 

[SatanicSanta]

GregTech + some others not worth mentioning

 

[joseff amador]

I prefer kitchen-sink styled modpacks (packs with anything and everything thrown in) that have been made compatible. I don't care much for themed modpacks because Minecraft is a sandbox game, and I like knowing I have all the tools available to do anything I want. I like knowing a mod is available to me if and when I choose to use it and start teching up in it.

 

[Reika]

My word of advice is if you want to experience the mods as they were intended, or are learning them for the first time, avoid strongly themed packs at all costs. They dramatically - or even unrecognizably - change the way those mods work, and rather little of the gameplay will be the same as you are expecting (and if you are learning the mod, just about everything you learn about how it works will likely prove useless as soon as you play a different pack).

 

[LokiChaos]

There is nothing wrong with kitchen sink packs gameplay-wise, but I do not care for how they are currently done. Overall modpack distribution is needlessly complex because there isn't a good way to define and distribute a pack w/o actually distributing the mods themselves (the Curse client somewhat fixes this, but Quickmods/WonkoTheSane are more promising systems). Once the problem of mod distribution is solved, kitchen-sink packs will probably fall out of favour, since it will become trivial for anyone to define a collection of mods and it will be easy for others to replicate it (for playing on servers).

As for me, I prefer packs like AgS over "just a collection of mods config'd to not utterly screwup each other" The former is something that is truly greater the sum of it's parts, the latter is something I can make myself in an afternoon (if I don't mind bugtesting as I play). The only reason I play a kitchen sink pack is for servers and to avoid the hassle of getting my pack to my friends.

 

[PhilHibbs]

The only requirement for me to qualify as a "modpack" is the debugging and compatibility work. I'm not worried about "balance" as an abstract concept, if there are any obvious cross-mod dupe exploits like the old GT vs Forestry Bronze then that is something that should be addressed by the pack maker. If the pack's aesthetic calls for a limited set of integrated mods with no significant overlap, e.g. either TE or EIO but not both, then that's fine but it's not a prerequisite IMO. I do see the value in carefully curated packs with a strong focus, and I usually have one "kitchen sink" pack world on the go, such as DW20 or Horizons or Infinity, and one themed pack world such as Crash Landings or Agrarian Skies.

 

[b0bst3r]

My word of advice is if you want to experience the mods as they were intended, or are learning them for the first time, avoid strongly themed packs at all costs. They dramatically - or even unrecognizably - change the way those mods work, and rather little of the gameplay will be the same as you are expecting (and if you are learning the mod, just about everything you learn about how it works will likely prove useless as soon as you play a different pack).

Whilst that's true for players who have never played the mods before it's complete opposite for us "veterans" who have played modded MC to death and back. The changes themed packs bring also brings a refreshing change.

 

[jordsta95]

The only requirement for me to qualify as a "modpack" is the debugging and compatibility work. I'm not worried about "balance" as an abstract concept, if there are any obvious cross-mod dupe exploits like the old GT vs Forestry Bronze then that is something that should be addressed by the pack maker. If the pack's aesthetic calls for a limited set of integrated mods with no significant overlap, e.g. either TE or EIO but not both, then that's fine but it's not a prerequisite IMO. I do see the value in carefully curated packs with a strong focus, and I usually have one "kitchen sink" pack world on the go, such as DW20 or Horizons or Infinity, and one themed pack world such as Crash Landings or Agrarian Skies.

I don't like this sort of thinking. If 2 mods do, practically, the same thing, but in a different way (for example IC2-exp and TE) then the less popular should be removed (in this case, as the less popular is the older of the two - if the less popular is newer, and has great potential, then I'd always go for that).
But yeah, my main issue with Infinity was Ic2-exp being in there. I despise the way the mod has changed over the last year or so. BUT THAT'S JUST ME. Some people like it, which is fine. However, if there's 3+ mods which do the same things (Ic2-exp, TE, EiO - for infinity, for example), then that is when a mod pack starts to lose its flair IMO.

 

[Reika]

I don't like this sort of thinking. If 2 mods do, practically, the same thing, but in a different way (for example IC2-exp and TE) then the less popular should be removed (in this case, as the less popular is the older of the two - if the less popular is newer, and has great potential, then I'd always go for that).
But yeah, my main issue with Infinity was Ic2-exp being in there. I despise the way the mod has changed over the last year or so. BUT THAT'S JUST ME. Some people like it, which is fine. However, if there's 3+ mods which do the same things (Ic2-exp, TE, EiO - for infinity, for example), then that is when a mod pack starts to lose its flair IMO.

Assuming including an additional mod has no noticeable performance impact, what is the detriment to including it?

 

[jordsta95]

Assuming including an additional mod has no noticeable performance impact, what is the detriment to including it?

Well if it has a performance impact, the obviously there's that, but as you said there isn't then...
1) Cluttering NEI. I know this may not bother some people, but if there's a mod that adds 30 pages of stuff in NEI, and they have a common word in minecraft (e.g. ingot) and you know you want <x> ingot, but you don't know what <x> is, so you search ingot until you see the texture you recognize

2) There's no need. If there's 3+ other mods that cover every aspect of whatever that mod does, it's just a waste being there, especially if that mod has something that means it doesn't work with other mods, e.g. a different power system, or it only accepts items through the mod's own piping system, etc.

3) Over-simplification/complication. Let's say there's a mod that replicates Rotarycraft, a complex mod, but it runs entirely off of the RF system, no need for gearboxes, etc. BUT it has what is essentially the same machines. That would intgerate it, but that would make something which should be hard, too easy. Or if there was a mod like JABBA, but it required End Stone to make the barrels (overly complicated). When a mod makes something which other mods do too easy/too hard, they (in my opinion) shouldn't be included.

There's probably other reasons, but they are probably my main 3.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Assuming including an additional mod has no noticeable performance impact, what is the detriment to including it?

More mods equals more problems. For example, I know have a stack and a half of IC2 lapis dust because the Thermal Expansion pulverizer grinds up nether ores into IC2 dusts.

 

[jordsta95]

More mods equals more problems. For example, I know have a stack and a half of IC2 lapis dust because the Thermal Expansion pulverizer grinds up nether ores into IC2 dusts.

Oh I hate that... But my issue in Infinity was trying to make the Electrolyzed water cells (for overclockers) the wiki documentation is outdated, so I gave up. I made 20 diamonds using the default stuff, before I had worked out how to get the buggers (still don't know how)