Originally posted by [UB]Elusive on Voobly forums.
We're proud to announce the launch of our new game mod center. Months of work has gone into this over the past year, and we expect to this to be one of the most significant updates we have *ever* done.[READMORELINKDOTS]
Up until now many types of mods haven't been feasible to be mainstream (they would cause sync issues, too complicated for everyone to install them, people stuck with different versions, etc).
The easiest way to explain it is w/ some examples:
Mods are broken down into two categories:
We have create a list of mods for many of the games already, go to the game mod page for your game for a list of mods supported. We will be continue to add more mods over time and have tons of ideas for things that can be added.
Some other quick highlights:
Detailed guide on game mods can be found at http://www.voobly.com/pages/view/gamemods .
We can use your help!
We're proud to announce the launch of our new game mod center. Months of work has gone into this over the past year, and we expect to this to be one of the most significant updates we have *ever* done.[READMORELINKDOTS]
Up until now many types of mods haven't been feasible to be mainstream (they would cause sync issues, too complicated for everyone to install them, people stuck with different versions, etc).
The easiest way to explain it is w/ some examples:
- Game play (or data mods):
- UserPatch 1.2 for AoC -- we will likely launch in through the new game mod center within the next couple months.
- Random map support for Age of Kings - up until now AoK players have had to use AoC to play Michi, LN, FN, Blue Arabia -- no longer. We have now brought those game types to AoK and have a quick and easy way of providing updated maps over time!
- Jurassic 2 for The Conquerors - Try to build a base and survive the onslaught of dinosaurs.
- Visual (or local mods):
- Small Tree for The Conquerors or Age of Kings - this mod replaces original tree graphics with smaller images, providing much better overview of the map. It can be installed in a few seconds -- single click.
- No Desert for The Conquerors or Age of Kings - this mod can be installed in a few seconds.
Mods are broken down into two categories:
- Game Play (or data mods) - This type of mod changes around the game rules. Voobly will now automatically transfer these mods when a users joins a room. Many mods can be transferred and installed in seconds.
- New Visuals or Content - This type of mod changes around the graphics files or adds new maps and doesn't require everyone in the game room to have it installed. This type of mod is also known as a local mod.
We have create a list of mods for many of the games already, go to the game mod page for your game for a list of mods supported. We will be continue to add more mods over time and have tons of ideas for things that can be added.
Some other quick highlights:
- Out of date mods once installed will be automatically updated for you when you join the lobby, e.g.: small trees mod we can push updates automatically.
- For AoE thru AoC - many local mods can be applied at the same time now as we support modifying individual SLP files instead of DRS, so you can install 'no desert' along with 'small trees'
- Many mods are much smaller as we now support individual .slp files being changed instead of full drs files (many mods are KB instead of 50-150 MB), so download time is seconds instead of 30 minutes - 2 hours
- Gone are the old installers, mod packages are simply zips that voobly will now be able to install by itself. Mod authors just need to focus on the changes and that is it! No complicated packaging step.
- Game mods when installed don't replace your original game files, rather they care kept isolated directories, and can easily be uninstalled via the website w/ a single click!
- We created a new webpage per-mod to add more depth, including a spot for screenshots and a comment wall. Lots of thanks for PIN3 for all his work getting these pages up and filled out in the past couple days <3
- We have tons of ideas for how to apply this in many new and exciting areas.
Detailed guide on game mods can be found at http://www.voobly.com/pages/view/gamemods .
We can use your help!
- The possibilities here are enormous, and we can use your help too if you have mod experience and even if you don't you can give it a shot. We've updated our creating game mod guide at http://www.voobly.com/pages/view/gamemo ... r_own_mods , read through that and get in touch with PIN3 and (new zealand) Rambit if you have any questions. Voobly team has also produced a few tools (drsdiff and langconv) to make it easier to create mods and provided download links on the guide's page.