To mod or not to mod, where do you stand.

[Zackreaver]

I've been a modder for a decent time now, definitely not as well known as the others but long enough to have gotten a grasp on how things are done.

I've got a couple mod's publicized, which is one of the hardest things to do in my opinion as getting judged by the public is always a terrifying thing, the other mod's in my workshop are kept to friends only still under development as there are some finishing touches needed before they meet my standard for publicizing.

 

But more importantly I've noticed there is definitely a divide of players with how many mod's that get used.  There are some players who use no mods, either due to not knowing how or refusing to taint their vanilla experience of the game.  Then there are players who use some mods, just enough for quality of life in the form of Always on status, status announcements, wormhole marks, large chest.  Nothing game-breaking but just stuff that makes doing stuff you can already do easier.  Then there's the players who want to heavily mod, such as using character mods, mods that adjust the entire server, completely change how the game plays, and even some things that I probably haven't even experienced.

 

I fully see the appeal to mod the game, as it extends the lifespan for it once you've grown tired of what was already given to us.  And with character mod's being one of the easiest to create (Thanks to Dleowolf's amazing character template) it's incredibly easy to put in your own personal character (Or fanservice from another game >.<).  There will always be a desire to have the game adjusted in at least some way to bring it into a state that those kinds of players enjoy the most, whether it's making the game harder, easier, or a mixture of both in different areas.

 

I personally stand on the side of keeping the mod's to a minimal, usually just quality of life mod's like the ones listed above.  The reason for this is I tend to find the vanilla setup for don't starve together to be pretty fine as it is.  Everything is there for a reason, obstacles have solutions, items have uses, biomes specialize in purposes while having weakness's that need to be overcomed.  Time is a resource so distance traveled between areas is just as important as the areas themselves.  It's not perfect obviously, with crock pot recipes pretty much all of them are overshadowed by meatballs being incredibly easy to make and incredible powerful, tallbird raising ends up being more costly than it is effective unless your using the tallbird mod or being masochistic, and the ability to disconnect from a server at the immediate sign of death to circumvent it or otherwise skip seasons is a rather silly yet very hard to counter cheese.

 

In term's of game modes, I primarily stick to endless, my reason against survival is primarily because I play with a group of friends who have a tendency for dying and it's much more relaxing for all of us if they can just revive at the portal, rather than relying on me to effectively revive them everytime they die.  Not to mention, the cheese of simply disconnecting to avoid draining sanity tends to be the preferred countermeasure, but that results in the player effectively not playing until we get them Resurrection.  And wilderness seems better suited for a server setup for PVP, which personally I don't feel like the game was really designed for just yet, and I'd rather wait until the game gets more development on that before trying a server with those settings.

Granted, endless mode tends to remove some of the challenge from the game, as your effectively capable of living forever, but in reality we could be playing don't starve single player if we wanted that, instead we like to think of this as a way to enjoy the game together.  And by no means are we in a rush to die an infinite amount of deaths, so we end up treating it like survival anyway just without the risk of restarting the server and having to begin in autumn... AGAIN.

 

But that much being said, even though I'm against heavily modding a server, there are particular mod's that I tend to look out for.  I am highly supportive of any mod's that add monsters into the game, such as the ewecus, or a giant.  The interesting part of these kinds of mod's would come in how these creatures come into play, what mechanics you would have to utilize in order to exploit them, and what resources would you be granted for your efforts.  The fun of putting meat on the ground to attract crows, or luring a mole with a rock to smack with a hammer, or running a rabbit/spider into a trap, or setting up an eyeplant garden to deal with the hound attacks, hell even luring the hound attacks to a herd of beefalo can be just as entertaining as fighting them yourself, and in other cases more entertaining.  So any mod's that add in new types of creatures with their own little unique way of interacting with them is always something I look forward too.  Unfortunately I tend to have trouble finding these types of mod's as they are heavily overshadowed by the shear amount of character mods on the workshop, I would appreciate if anyone is aware of some to mention them.

Additionally, I've mentioned this before in another thread, but mods that adjust how summer works are also in my interest, because at the moment with the dragonfly being all year around summer has lost it's actual purpose outside of collecting cactus flowers, so any mods that make summer less boring are also something I'm interested in, at least until klei does something about it.

 

 

At any rate to get back on topic, which side are you on, do you prefer to keep the game more vanilla'ish like me, retaining what the game already offers and avoid trivilizing too much of it?  Perhaps you enjoy modded characters that are no stronger than the default cast, as to avoid making them never get played in comparison to the modded cast?  

Or do you prefer to heavily mod the server instead?  Feeling like the mod's you add change the game for the greater good, bringing out an even greater game than what was already given to us, brightening the overall experience and breathing a new life into a game that we've played for a long time now?   Adding characters that are either insanely powerful or incredibly weak, perhaps you don't care if they are strong or weak and just want to play as your favorite character from that other anime/videogame/etc and also play a little don't starve as well.  Perhaps play don't starve like an RPG, or a strategy game, or whatever crazy setup the mod's have turned the game into, thanks to the workshop the possibilities are endless.

 

Let me know how you feel about this games current state, what you like to adjust the most.  And more importantly, what kind of mod's you'd want to see the most.  While your at it, share the mod's you like to use the most and the reason for why you like using them, it's always nice to see the justifications for mod's people tend to select, it helps get a better foresight on what people expect in this game.

 

I look forward to reading what you have to say, and it might even inspire me to make some newer mods, I'm always looking for some kind of inspiration.

 

Also, if a topic like this was posted before, feel free to link it to me so I can join it.

[Maslak]

 I'm so sorry, but I just didn't read it whole ;_; But most of it. I use some hud mods like you do, always on status etc. I'm against character mods and other mods at all - larger chests, more tent uses, extra equip slots - that's not my thing.

 I play only survival. But there should be a gamemode just like survival, only without world resetting - if there is a one player on server and dies, the game carry on. It would be cool, because it allows us to make some dedicated server for friends and let them play alone when they have time etc. If they die and there is no touchstone nearby etc. they can just leave the game and wait for other friends to continue playing. Dead players can be kicked as well, if the server is public - this will help avoid smoldering around ghost etc.

[Asparagus]

I use mainly "Quality of Life Mods" (is this what they're really called?) Like Geometric Placement, Status Announcement, and Always On Status Mods... I like the minimalist approach to mods as well. And since a friend of mine will be making a mod of me, I guess I can say I will be into that stuff as well...

(off topic, I just realized that @Maslak's Avatar blinks! That is quite sugoi and kawaii  )

[Aquaterion]

I think most people seem to like characters, or anything that has good art/effects(especially HUD modifications)

 

Quote

(off topic, I just realized that @Maslak's Avatar blinks! That is quite sugoi and kawaii  )

Yea when I saw it first, I was like oh he finally changed it to a non gif again, then it blinked it me

Edited May 25, 2016 by Aquaterion

[Maslak]

9 minutes ago, Asparagus said:

off topic, I just realized that @Maslak's Avatar blinks! That is quite sugoi and kawaii

Sugoi? Should I be afraid? D:

Topic: I just can't live without geometric placement, some of my friends too. Well, the other ones... They don't deserve our attention xD

Edit:
Now I now. Please, do not punch me ;_;

This made my day, thanks to you @Asparagus!

Edited May 25, 2016 by Maslak

[Asparagus]

3 minutes ago, Maslak said:

Sugoi? Should I be afraid? D:

Ahh I mean the version of Sugoi which is "awesome" and not "awful". most people use the former though I suppose rather than the latter :3

[DrSmugleaf]

People definitely prefer some of the quality of life mods and then character mods over anything else. Which isn't wrong, since there's a bigger chance someone is going to appreciate more being able to play their favorite character from an anime or another game than being able to have the console not suck thanks to Squeek (when it did in the past).

Personally, for client mods I always use Combined Status, DST Where's My Beefalo, Minimap Hud and SmartCrockPot even when developing a mod, and the previous plus Geometric Placement and PickyPickyPicky when I'm not.

There's a place for every type of mod, the problem comes when the first two dozen pages of the workshop is nearly all character mods that are Wilson + something that makes them overpowered. The only character I have seen that has impressed me is Musha, which I never bothered looking into the code of because it's insane.

The abundance of "Wilson + that" characters that get made from asking DarkXero "how to character" on the forums and the fact that I can't art is the reason I made Mod Character Rebalancing in the first place before it got taken down for no reason by a pissy self-entitled mod author, which is why Mod Character Rebalancing 2 is under development right now. My 2 mods are the ones I have used the most, or I wouldn't have made them in the first place. Use as in the 50 hours I have had time to play DST out of 700 hours on Steam, 650 of those spent modding.

About light or heavy modding and difficulty, in my experience someone who wants the game to be harder is going to spend more time and effort to make it harder than someone who wants to make it easier, and in the short hours that I have gotten to play with friends we would always get screwed and have to restart or cheat a portal in and godmode because the difficulty is that annoying if you don't know how to play already. Then there's of course the people that put everything in the world generation to minimum, install every hard mode mod and survive just fine, reason why MCR1 had 3 presets for character stats, to make it easier or more difficult, with the default being the easiest.

Honestly, if you start to mod in DST the most appealing thing is to make a character by grabbing the template and drawing your favorite anime/game character and then somehow managing to make it more overpowered than Wickerbottom without raising an eyebrow in the process. Combined with the fact that you have to sacrifice a puppy to find anything that teaches you Lua in a good manner and theres no API or anything to look at in the game to find out "what the hell does this function do" other than reading the code, you have the constant influx of people in the forums making "Wilson + that" overpowered characters that I then get a headache to balance with my mod because I end up adding more new mechanics than anyone ever intended. Case in point: 

 

Is that a bad thing? The headache yes, the influx of people making simple characters no, never, because that's how you get a modding community that's alive and not the Simcity situation. Even though I didn't start by making a character and instead made MCR1, let's admit it, I also came for help to the forums, as almost everyone is going to, and my code base for that mod was absolute garbage, but an """easy""" (looking at you Lua tutorials) entry to modding means more people interested in modding that will eventually have the chance to make something great. I'm not saying MCR2 is great, since I barely understand Lua still, but point being maybe I will by the time MCR5 comes around. Then again, I have spent almost 2 months now making MCR2 and it isn't even out yet, and I don't have near enough time to test every character's balance, and all I want to do is play some god damn The Talos Principle by the time I finish so I'm not holding hope for that.

As for meatballs being overpowered, I have played a whole fantastic 50 hours so I don't know a whole lot about the balancing of food items, but having an item that is simple to make/use and powerful relative to everything else is a good thing, if you don't want new players ragequitting because the game is too hard to start to understand. Now I don't know if its tuned up way too much, but then again I make Mod Character Rebalancing, not Le Cuisine Rebalancing.

More mods means more options available to different types of people and servers, and in the end you will see the popularity of your mods by looking at the numbers in the Steam Workshop or the amount of players in the servers that use them. That doesn't mean you should base your mods entirely off of how many players use them, which is sadly what many people do and that combined with characters being the easiest thing to make is why we end up with 1122 entries in the workshop with the tag "character", and why to me a character balancing mod seemed more valuable than the 1123rd "Wilson + that".

So in the end, make and use what you want, because it's your server and you decide how to run it. But please god Arcade stop using DoTaskInTime nestled inside a DoTaskInTime instead of DoPeriodicTask.

[SenpaiArtorias]

I use Mods for everygame where its possibel. The Reason is simpel i love to Customize the Game, as good a game can be any guy have something that he Like a lot or not. And the Possibility to change that to ur own preference is wonderful it makes the Game more interesting or challenging depending on what u like etc... Even when u Finished a Game in Vanilla status u still can go and Add mods and make a new Whole run with a complete different experience~

Thats the beuty part of the Modding. The bad Part is that u sadly need coding experience atleast the Basics to make some decent mods otherwise u need to ask for Help from someone who knows it, Dont missunderstand me its okay to ask Help but its time consuming as heck for both sides. If u cant do it urself u have to wait if anytime someone does the right mod u exactly wanted all the time.

For my Part I love every mod expect mods that make the game tooo easy or cheating like hell. But i also using mods like more tent uses or Mandrake Tree etc...~ When i can Balance it means i need 1. Work for it not easy to obtain  or  2. It can be tweaked. Exampel when the Mod calls "Infinity Tent uses" it would be cheating but when u can tweak it, it can be balanced and Rough exampel Vanilla : 5 Tent uses - Tweaked : 20 Tent uses. Also to mention is i try to add as much possibel content / Additional Content as i can. I love to explore and doing much stuff in the world. Thats my Personal Like about mods.
On the Sidenote Modding for games opened my eyes for me and i know that my Lifetimedream is to be a Game Devolper its the Ultimate way to make ur own stuff for games and i try to make it true with my 0 Experience in coding i dont give up and hope someday i can make it come true.

Greetings

Edited May 25, 2016 by SenpaiArtorias

[Zackreaver]

6 hours ago, Maslak said:

I'm so sorry, but I just didn't read it whole ;_; But most of it

It's quite alright, I get a little carried away with how detailed I want to be.  I wouldn't be surprised if someone got bored with what I was saying after the first few seconds of reading it, I appreciate the effort though.

 

2 hours ago, DrSmugleaf said:

As for meatballs being overpowered, I have played a whole fantastic 50 hours so I don't know a whole lot about the balancing of food items, but having an item that is simple to make/use and powerful relative to everything else is a good thing,

Well mostly it's overpowered because every other recipe sucks in comparison, there are only a few good recipes worth making outside of meatballs and I feel that's where the lack of balance comes in, it would be nice for players trying to intentionally make specific recipes in order to get their specific stats, but the 62 hunger from meatballs outweighs that almost everytime.  I actually am working on a chef character who gets a unique buff from each crock pot recipe to kind of work around this, his downside is he can't eat anything that's not from a crockpot.  And with Warley recently coming out in shipwrecked, I was able to "borrow" his portable crock pot for the character as well.  It's features like these that I find the most inspiring, you might never want to make fistful of jam or ratatouille as any other character, but as my chef character there's an actual benefit for it.

 

So far I'm loving the read, it helps me to get to know all the different kinds of players out there.  I'm actually surprised so many people enjoy playing character mods, I actually would've thought with the over saturation on the workshop that it might be what people get tired of seeing.  But I can see the appeal as it's the type of mod you can immediately notice, and some of the mod's are actually pretty interesting.  Yes I also saw Musha and think that character is insanely detailed.  I would never use that character though seeing as how it feels like it changes the game so much that it doesn't feel like don't starve anymore, but I can't help but to adore the attention to detail, as well as the splash art that has every single don't starve character in a type of "Anime" appearance.