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Started by Maldrick, May 01, 2017, 10:18:56 AM

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Maldrick

Since diving into playing Banished with mods, I've concluded that if you want to just grab a game and play it or watch for good sales, Steam is great.  If you want to play with lots of mods and switch them in and out a lot, Steam is a royal pain in the arse.  There are some older mods from there I'm always using, some situationally, some because you can't update to a newer version because the names are the same, etc etc.  You want to drop some mods and you have to move everything then go to Steam and unsub.  If you are going to be going back, you have to remember to resub.  I backup mods used with saves, but then have to make a paper list of which ones were on Steam so I don't forget to resub lest they get removed by Steam.  And on and on.  In short, Steam is putting a serious damper on my mod-life. :P

Admittedly, a lot of this is of my own creation...I just like to keep the folder clear of anything I'm not currently using.  When sorting out load orders it makes things easy to miss and I just don't like the clutter.  And wouldn't be shocked if disabled extra mods in there affect performance.  I've noticed CC and Megamod make things soupy in the menus at times just having them in there, for example, but haven't tested it in game.

So I was curious what others do to deal with this.

A tip I saw online from another game was to flag your steam mods and any with the same names as Read Only, unsub, and just move them in and out as usual.  That would work, I guess.  Another thing to have to remember to do, but workable.

I was also considering buying the Gog version of the game.  At 20 bucks, it's not a bad option.  Have never used Gog, but being drm-free it should make everything go smoother.  But I think I read someplace it's harder getting updates to the game from Gog, maybe?  Or the beta?  Might have misread that, though, as it's been a while and I wasn't paying close attention.  Getting to redo all the achievements again would be pretty cool, too.

Just some thoughts I've had to make this go smoother.  Curious as to what you guys do.
"We are the architects of our actions and we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic."
― Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Nilla

I don't use Steam. I bought my game on Humble Store way back, as it was new. There has never been a problem with an upgrade or reloading the game to a new computer. I've try most of the mods here on this page and a few from the Black Liquid site. I have a folder, where I store mods I don't use presently. Some of them in different versions. (I'm not sure I have the different versions under control :-\ but I seldom use any older versions anyhow. I guess, I ought to clean my mods folder  :-\)

Abandoned

@Maldrick I got my game from GOG and had no problem getting an update for it.  This last 1.0.7 beta update I downloaded from Shining Rock but have not installed it yet. I don't know if I will even though I will miss out on some great new mods.  I have added a few 107 mods without problem that don't use the new flags, have some red conflict warnings in mod list.

My mod handling system worked pretty well, I pick and choose mods for each map.  I have game changing mods first (red flag problem causers), those are start conditions, maps, spawners, those type followed by major mod sets like cc, NMT, the North, DS Small, the Mission and several others of Kids, then all other mods are listed in alphabetical order. 

I have a notebook with all mods listed, version numbers, what the mod does or contains or doesn't.  Also noted are ones that should not be used together for instance noted not to use EB sunflower with Oil Press because it's already in it.  Also noted are special pieces in the set I really like or think goes well with another mod.  I go through the list as I choose mods to activate for map. 

I think new update will make my system obsolete and update is still beta, final could change.  Will wait and see.

Maldrick

#3
Awesome, good to know.

I've got a pretty good handle on keeping my mods organized and using them.  It's just freaking Steam complicates it endlessly. Nothing that breaks anything it's just constantly irritating to deal with.  Steam has mods on it and you access them by subscribing.  When you launch the game, Steam syncs everything....places mods you are subbed to in the folder if they aren't and removes any that are on steam that you aren't subbed to.  As a player who uses a lot of mods, I think you can see how annoying this can be in certain situations.  It doesn't tell you it's doing any of this as its doing it.  So if you forget to deal with Steam when you make changes it just does all this and at whatever point you realize it did it you have to backtrack, figure out what it removed, etc.  It's a pain.

Was thinking gog as an option, but I just saw you can buy the game directly from the Shining Rock site. If I buy another copy I'll probably do that as it presumably will help Luke out with a sale beyond a third party.
"We are the architects of our actions and we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic."
― Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Paeng

Quote from: Maldrick on May 01, 2017, 10:18:56 AMSteam is a royal pain in the arse.

:D

Just monitor Gog or Humble - Banished is on sale quite regularly... else, like you said, 20 bucks ain't that bad... Even should they not update while stuff is in beta (not sure how the different sellers handle this), you can always dl the beta builds directly from Shining Rock...

DL, install, enjoy a drm-free game and set up your mods any which way you like.  ;)


QuoteI just like to keep the folder clear of anything I'm not currently using.

Same here, I have all my mods on an external (well sorted, up2date and all) and only load what I need for my current town...
[i]Heads are round so thoughts can take a turn[/i]
[color=teal][size=8pt]Editor's Choice [b]here[/b][/size][/color]

embx61

I wish I was so neat as Paeng and others.

All the mods are all scattered over the place here. Quite frankly it is a huge mess. LOL
It was the same a while ago with all my modding files. Textures, code snippets, examples, sprites, etc. everywhere and nowhere. I finally after I had to look yet again for that 1 texture I knew I had but of course I had no clue where it was I have now 1 partition on 1 of my hard drives dedicated to Banished and Modding.

Textures, code snippets, and stuff are more and more moved to categories like roofs, walls, brick, wood, etc. and it speed up the modding process.

I hardly play Banished anymore because of the modding but if I ever play Banished again I have to get all the mods together in 1 folder with sub folders too.

Regarding Steam. I have Steam but have not used it in about 2 years and probably never will again. I buy mostly from Humble, Gog. or directly from developers anyway and support the developers who go with no DRM all the way.
I understand that piracy is a big issue and the developers want to do something about it but DRM is mostly negatively affecting the legal buyers as the cracks go around Steam all together.

Sheesh, I remember I downloaded a cracked version of a game I had the legal purchased game copy of just to get rid of all the Steam DRM overhead. LOL
[size=8pt][color=teal]My beloved Kathy
As you were you will always be
Treasured forever in my memory[/color][/size]

[size=10pt]For my list of Mods with download links go here[/size]

Paeng

Quote from: embx61 on May 01, 2017, 10:08:32 PMIt was the same a while ago with all my modding files. Textures, code snippets, examples, sprites, etc. everywhere and nowhere.

Yeah, I know what you mean... call it the hard SC4 school - tenthousands of 3rd-party mods, plus hundreds of my own taught me some tough lessons... nothing so bad as "losing" code, textures or finished mods...  ???   :)
[i]Heads are round so thoughts can take a turn[/i]
[color=teal][size=8pt]Editor's Choice [b]here[/b][/size][/color]

Maldrick

Thanks for the replies, guys.

So, it sounds like most people just avoid steam altogether.  That works. :)
"We are the architects of our actions and we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic."
― Ezio Auditore da Firenze