New Doomer's Etiquette Guide: Mods

[Major Arlene]

Hi All! This is a guide I wrote on my website for proper usage and troubleshooting when using mods with Doom maps, custom or otherwise. Let me know what you think or if I've missed anything. 
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Understandably, vanilla Doom can be a little boring after a while, and you want to branch out into the big wide world of mods. So how do you get started?
 

You need to ask yourself a few questions before you get started:
 

1. Is this a vanity mod or a gameplay mod?
Vanity mods generally will only change the visuals or sounds of a game, not necessarily the game’s behavior, although that won’t necessarily mean the mod will be compatible with everything you play, or with other mods. Visual mods would include things like Beautiful Doom or Smooth Doom, and sound mods may include things like Text to Doom (although this is a meme, it just changes sound).
Gameplay mods change the game’s behavior and are more prone to breaking when used in conjunction with other mods and custom content. This includes Brutal Doom, Project Brutality, Supercharge, or most mods that include new enemies and weapons. These mods replace vanilla sprites and change vanilla game behavior.
 

2. Is the map I’m using the mod with using custom content, or does it already have a mod included?
A map that uses custom enemies or weapons already will likely not be a good candidate for using a mod. Off the top of my head, I cannot say how many times I saw people complain about the Cybruisers in Eviternity either breaking or becoming immortal- and then when asked, they were using a mod. Custom DEHACKED and DECORATE already existing in a map can conflict with a mod’s DECORATE and break things. This goes for maps with mods already included. For example, I bundled Supercharge with Technicolor Antichrist Box because I didn’t want people to load other mods with it- TAB was carefully balanced around Supercharge and I didn’t want to be responsible for the map potentially breaking or becoming unbalanced if another mod was used.
 

3. Am I planning on using more than one mod?
Not every mod is compatible with each other, and load order is crucial. Check each mod’s read me file for information on compatibilities or things that may cause it to break.
 

So what happens if you use the mod and something breaks?
 

• Check the mod’s read-me file. It may give information about what it is and is not compatible with.
• Ask the mod author about the issue, or check the mod’s forum thread. DO NOT bring mod issues up with map makers. If you want to see if it’s actually an issue with the map, play the map vanilla and see if you can replicate your issue. If you can, then bring up the issue with the map maker.
• Move your mod load order around if you’re using more than one mod.
   

 If you try all these steps and things still break, you may just want to stick to one mod only or not use a mod at all. I always recommend that people play maps as intended, generally vanilla, before adding mods to them, to get a feel for what the combat is like before adding mods on top, since some mods (like Corruption Cards) can actually make combat a lot harder. In any case, etiquette around mods should be observed for best relationships with maps, mappers, modders, and players.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Major Arlene : replaced website link with actual body of post

[Biodegradable]

Reads well, Arlene. As arguably a member of the target audience, I think this will be a helpful guide for new Doomers who are enthusiastic about mods.

[leodoom85]

12 minutes ago, Major Arlene said:

I got tired of seeing the same questions and complaints about people using mods so I wrote a handy-dandy little guide about things that you should look out for when using mods with custom maps. Let me know if there's anything I missed!

Ok. Seen the 3 major points and this is what I think:

• First point is crystal clear. No objections.
• Second point. Don't forget to add that total conversions are their own thing, which obviously will cause conflicts with other mods. (Like trying to add Brutal Doom to Total Chaos)
• Third point. Some mappers recommend to NOT use mods in their maps but that's quite a phrase that's easily ignored. People needs to respect the mapper's conditions.

And that's it. AH, there's one thing that's missing.........................................................

The mods, obviously :D

[Catpho]

Thanks for writing this. Perhaps this should be pinned in Wads & Mods?

[Horus]

Just now, Catpho said:

Thanks for writing this. Perhaps this should be pinned in Wads & Mods?

 

If it gets pinned, I would rather it be here. WADs & Mods already has a few pins, and adding one more will leave less room for people's projects per page, in a sub-forum where it's already an issue that people's threads get buried quickly.

[Catpho]

Sure, makes sense. I just thought that people who usually have trouble with mods and maps post in W&M often, so it might be more visible there.

[Silhouette 03]

I second the pinning of this thread.

[Azuris]

18 minutes ago, Horus said:

 

If it gets pinned, I would rather it be here. WADs & Mods already has a few pins, and adding one more will leave less room for people's projects per page, in a sub-forum where it's already an issue that people's threads get buried quickly.

 

Maybe merge some pinned or all Threads into one by quoting the original Authors and linking to the Original Threads and than depin the others :)

 

 

[Jimmy]

This is seriously such important advice.

[omx32x]

this is all good but the questions will never stop coming

at least now we can link then to here

[Biodegradable]

That's the plan, basically.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Biodegradable

[Major Arlene]

1 minute ago, omalefico32x said:

this is all good but the questions will never stop coming

at least now we can link then to here

That's the idea! I also have a new mapper's etiquette guide to asking for mapping advice somewhere in the Doom Editing section and I often refer new mappers to it so they know how to get the most out of their mapping questions and inquiries. Asking a question about something technical should work much like a flow chart- yes to one question leads to one path, no to the resulting question leads to another, etc. Knowing what questions to ask is half the battle!

[omx32x]

6 minutes ago, Major Arlene said:

Knowing what questions to ask is half the battle!

i guess this guy here really lost the battle

 

[omx32x]

unless we get another guy like that asking about mods i think this will suffice

[Major Arlene]

Oh shit we got pinned! Glad I can be of help. <3

[Stupid Bunny]

5 hours ago, leodoom85 said:

Third point. Some mappers recommend to NOT use mods in their maps but that's quite a phrase that's easily ignored. People needs to respect the mapper's conditions.

Yes very important, the map set I’m working on now relies on dehackery for a bunch of decorations and a few of the monsters and I know already that Brütal Døøm breaks those, as well as some of the animated wall textures. I don’t look forward to complaints of random Nazis and hanging corpses in the sky from people who didn’t read the instructions.

[Silhouette 03]

1 minute ago, StupidBunny said:

I don’t look forward to complaints of random Nazis and hanging corpses in the sky from people who didn’t read the instructions.

The lack of context in this one gave me a laugh..

[Gaia74]

This will be of great help, it will be less common to see people who play brutal doom with maps that don't have support for it or can be broken

[Master O]

On 3/10/2021 at 7:04 AM, Major Arlene said:

Hi All! This is a guide I wrote on my website for proper usage and troubleshooting when using mods with Doom maps, custom or otherwise. Let me know what you think or if I've missed anything. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Understandably, vanilla Doom can be a little boring after a while, and you want to branch out into the big wide world of mods. So how do you get started?
 

You need to ask yourself a few questions before you get started:
 

1. Is this a vanity mod or a gameplay mod?
Vanity mods generally will only change the visuals or sounds of a game, not necessarily the game’s behavior, although that won’t necessarily mean the mod will be compatible with everything you play, or with other mods. Visual mods would include things like Beautiful Doom or Smooth Doom, and sound mods may include things like Text to Doom (although this is a meme, it just changes sound).
Gameplay mods change the game’s behavior and are more prone to breaking when used in conjunction with other mods and custom content. This includes Brutal Doom, Project Brutality, Supercharge, or most mods that include new enemies and weapons. These mods replace vanilla sprites and change vanilla game behavior.
 

2. Is the map I’m using the mod with using custom content, or does it already have a mod included?
A map that uses custom enemies or weapons already will likely not be a good candidate for using a mod. Off the top of my head, I cannot say how many times I saw people complain about the Cybruisers in Eviternity either breaking or becoming immortal- and then when asked, they were using a mod. Custom DEHACKED and DECORATE already existing in a map can conflict with a mod’s DECORATE and break things. This goes for maps with mods already included. For example, I bundled Supercharge with Technicolor Antichrist Box because I didn’t want people to load other mods with it- TAB was carefully balanced around Supercharge and I didn’t want to be responsible for the map potentially breaking or becoming unbalanced if another mod was used.
 

3. Am I planning on using more than one mod?
Not every mod is compatible with each other, and load order is crucial. Check each mod’s read me file for information on compatibilities or things that may cause it to break.
 

So what happens if you use the mod and something breaks?
 

• Check the mod’s read-me file. It may give information about what it is and is not compatible with.
• Ask the mod author about the issue, or check the mod’s forum thread. DO NOT bring mod issues up with map makers. If you want to see if it’s actually an issue with the map, play the map vanilla and see if you can replicate your issue. If you can, then bring up the issue with the map maker.
• Move your mod load order around if you’re using more than one mod.
   

 If you try all these steps and things still break, you may just want to stick to one mod only or not use a mod at all. I always recommend that people play maps as intended, generally vanilla, before adding mods to them, to get a feel for what the combat is like before adding mods on top, since some mods (like Corruption Cards) can actually make combat a lot harder. In any case, etiquette around mods should be observed for best relationships with maps, mappers, modders, and players.

 

 

[Sokoro]

On 3/10/2021 at 6:37 PM, StupidBunny said:

Yes very important, the map set I’m working on now relies on dehackery for a bunch of decorations and a few of the monsters and I know already that Brütal Døøm breaks those, as well as some of the animated wall textures. I don’t look forward to complaints of random Nazis and hanging corpses in the sky from people who didn’t read the instructions.

Sometimes you get hanging corpses in the sky even without mods. Looking at DTWiD, but also some iwad maps, i think.... or some abstract 20+ years old maps.