RELEASED ModDrop (Mod Manager for Stardew Valley) 2018-11-06

Install, Uninstall, Backup Files, Drag and Drop support, Auto Updates, Sharing and lots more.

  1. M0dScientist

    M0dScientist Void-Bound Voyager

    M0dScientist submitted a new mod:

    ModDrop (Mod Manager for SDV) - Install, Uninstall, Backup Files, Drag and Drop support, Auto Updates, Sharing and lots more.

    Read more about this mod...
     
    • malchmih

      malchmih Space Hobo

      Not working for me - indefinitely stuck on loading screen

      upload_2017-3-11_11-48-13.png
       
      • ibrokemypie

        ibrokemypie Orbital Explorer

        Does this support macos?
         
        • M0dScientist

          M0dScientist Void-Bound Voyager

          Hey all,

          We’re building the framework to enable "Loadout Sharing” to ModDrop and I'd like to run through some of the ideas we have and get the communities input before moving forward.

          In case you’re not familiar with our Loadout feature, it basically allows a user to save different collections of mod installations and switch between them with a single click. If you’ve used “Profiles” in Mod Organizer, then you should have an idea of how this works.

          Here are some of the ways we foresee Loadout sharing being used. None of the features mentioned are set in stone and we’re open to your feedback on every feature.

          Publishing a Loadout:

          We’d like to enable users to “Publish” Loadouts to the community, similar to how playlists are shared on Spotify. We believe this will be a great way for experienced mod users to create and share a curated experience with others players. Published Loadouts will appear in the “Browse” section of ModDrop, where users can sort and filter Loadouts by category or search the title and description for something specific. Users can subscribe to published Loadouts and receive updates when the user who published it makes changes. Any changes made by a publisher (curator) would be reflected in subscribed copies.

          Only mods the Loadout curator has permission to share could be included in a published Loadout. This would include mods that have been published via ModDrop, or that the curator has told us they have permission to share. If a published Loadout is flagged for including mods that a developer didn’t give permission to share, it would be removed.

          Subscribing to a Published Loadout:

          Subscribing to a Loadout wouldn’t automatically add the mods included in that Loadout to your library. Subscribed Loadouts would be an all or nothing situation. i.e. You can install or uninstall a subscribed Loadout in it’s entirety, but you can’t install a subset of the mods. You also can’t install mods not included in the subscribed Loadout while it’s active.

          If a Published Loadout is deleted or un-published by the curator, user’s who were subscribed to it will continue to have access to the Loadout as-is, but won’t be able to alter it. They can continue to use it, delete it (un-subscribe) or clone it (see below).

          Cloning a Subscribed Loadout:

          We’d also like to have a “Clone” option where you can make a personal (non subscribed) copy of a Loadout. Cloning a Loadout would also add those mods to your library.

          You would only have the option to clone a published Loadout if all the mods in the Loadout were individually published on ModDrop (we know the developers have given ModDrop permission to share them).

          However, if you are friends with the curator, you could clone a subscribed Loadout even if it includes non-published mods. We view this the same as if the curator shared the mods with a friend directly.

          Sharing Loadouts with friends:

          Users can already share individual mods via the sidebar so we’re looking at making shared loadouts function as subscriptions. In other words, if you share a Loadout with someone, they would get a copy that links back to your Loadout. If you make changes to the Loadout (add or remove a mod) those changes would affect your friend’s shared copy as well.

          When accepting a Loadout that’s been shared with you by a friend, you will have the option of subscribing to it or making cloned (personal) copy.

          Subscribing to a Loadout doesn’t automatically add the mods included in that Loadout to your library. If you are friends with the curator of a subscribed Loadout, you would be able to add individual mods in the Loadout to your library, but they wouldn’t show up their otherwise. You could also clone the Loadout, which would make a personal copy and add all the mods in that Loadout to your library.

          Un-subscribing from a subscribed Loadout removes it and all the mods associated with it from your library, unless those mods already existed in your library or you added them individually.

          Sharing a Link:

          In addition to publishing a subscribed Loadout and sharing it with a friend, we’d like to add the ability for curators to share a link to their Loadout with friends online. Clicking the link would bring up page on our website that showed all the mods included in the Loadout. The page will also have a “Subscribe” button which would automatically open ModDrop (via a custom protocol link) and subscribe the user to the Loadout. We are debating whether to always show the “Subscribe” button, or to require the user to login first. We’re also trying to decide whether the user has to be friends with the curator before they can subscribe to the link.

          In Full Transparency:

          As many of you know, we’ve had a difficult time getting the word out about ModDrop. We were getting a really positive response from the Nexus community after uploading the client earlier this year, but were kicked off because they saw us as a threat.

          We’ve been looking for ways to raise awareness and have found some streamers on YouTube and Twitch that are interested in promoting us. The feature that they’ve expressed the most interest in is Loadouts; specifically the ability to create and share Loadouts to go with mod reviews and letsplay videos. They like the idea of offering their followers the ability to download and install the same mods they use in their videos with one click.

          They want to post a link to a Loadout they made for their followers, but they don’t necessarily want to “Publish” the mods, because that would require them getting explicit permission from each developer. They’re also not interested in managing hundreds or thousands of friend requests just so users can access their loadouts.

          In their experience, there’s a tacit (unspoken) agreement that using mods in streams / videos is ok and they think the same should apply to Loadouts. We’re not so sure modders feel the same way, and are trying to find a way to make this work that the modding community is on board with. We’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on this.

          I know there’s a lot to read over and I appreciate anyone who’s taken the time. I look forward to your feedback.
           
            Last edited: Apr 22, 2017
          • TehPers

            TehPers Void-Bound Voyager

            I think that loadouts would be a great addition to ModDrop, as it'd give users a system for creating mod packs. My only concern is getting permission for sharing the mods in those packs. Instead of requiring each mod to be included in the loadout, how about hashing the mods that the creator doesn't have permission to share as well as storing a link to the mod, then waiting for the user to download the mod on the site (you'd display a link to the mod)? Then, the user just needs to drag the mod into ModDrop, and the ModDrop client would recognize that the mod is part of the loadout based on the hash. Obviously this would only apply to mods that aren't allowed to be shared, and it would allow creators to create shared loadouts with them anyway. It'd just be an extra step for the user, and it would encourage mod creators to post their mods on ModDrop so that their mods are shareable. Also, I understand this might be a lot of work. It's just an idea for the future. Also, I believe sharing links to the mods is okay and doesn't require permission, but I'm not exactly the most educated on copyright laws, so you'd probably want to check that to be sure.

            Edit: I haven't been following the updates to ModDrop too closely, so sorry if this is already implemented. Basically, if you're going to be adding a custom URI scheme for loadouts, can you add one for individual mods published on ModDrop as well? Basically something as simple as "moddrop://stardew-valley/215" or whatever that users can click on to see mod 215 (a unique ID) on ModDrop
             
              Last edited: Apr 22, 2017
            • M0dScientist

              M0dScientist Void-Bound Voyager

              Thanks for your reply TehPers!

              That's an interesting idea and certainly something we could explore. Technical and UI challenges aside, do you think users would be willing to go through the effort of downloading all the mods needed for a loadout and dropping them in the client? For larger loadouts, it could take several minutes of downloading and drag n' dropping files into the client. It's certainly not a bad idea, I'm just not sure that users would be willing to go through the effort for larger loadouts. I appreciate you thinking out of the box and coming up with new ideas. We need more brainstorming like this if we're going to come up with an optimum solution.

              Absolutely! This is one of the things folks have been asking for and we plan to build it into the new site we are working on.
               
              • Pathoschild

                Pathoschild Tiy's Beard

                Nope, this is Windows-only for now. I think Linux/Mac support is planned for the future, though.
                 
                  s0118p likes this.
                • M0dScientist

                  M0dScientist Void-Bound Voyager

                  Did you figure out the issue? Have you tried restarting the client? There was a bug where the backend service wasn't connecting right after first installing the client. I'm pretty sure that bug was fixed, but if you're still having problems I can look into it again.
                   
                  • Pathoschild

                    Pathoschild Tiy's Beard

                    I think mod packs are a great idea, but the current proposal is flawed for a few reasons. Here are the problems I see and how to fix them.
                    1. Letting users republish non-ModDrop mods is very problematic.
                      Most republished mods won't be updated when the official mod updates, and many mods will be republished without the permission or knowledge of the author. Since loadouts are all-or-nothing, the player won't be able to update manually; they'll need to unsubscribe from the loadout and manually reinstall every mod. Encouraging users to republish mods will also remind many modders of how sites like stardewvalleymods.net operate.

                      I think these issues would create friction for players, annoy modders who get support requests from players with ancient versions (who'll insist they have the latest version from ModDrop), and maybe even breed hostility from some modders who'll be reminded of other republishing sites. None of these are likely to help ModDrop adoption.

                      I suggest restricting this feature to ModDrop mods. This would directly drive ModDrop adoption, since modders would be encouraged to publish their mods so streamers and Let's Players can promote them. Fundamentally most modders want players to use their mods and keep them updated, and ModDrop can fill that need. That addresses the update problem (since the mods would be updated automatically when an official update is published) and involves the original modders instead of encouraging users to republish their mods.

                    2. Mod packs are a great idea, but loadouts are too limited.
                      Since loadouts are all-or-nothing, they're very limited. You can only subscribe to one loadout at a time, and you can't add any other mods while you're subscribed. This might be useful in some specific cases, but it's not something most players would use since they'd want to install other mods too.

                      I think mod packs (bundles of ModDrop mods) would be much more useful — maybe even a killer feature. Players could quickly start using mods without needing to choose each mod (e.g. a Quality-of-Life Mods pack), install a set of related mods that complement each other (e.g. an Expanded Farm Mods pack), install a streamer's recommended set of mods, etc.

                      Players could install mod packs from the 'Browse' view just like regular mods, they'd appear in the regular loadout view (maybe with a different icon or color), and players could install/uninstall them the same way. Players could install multiple mod packs, or install them alongside other mods.

                      Here's a quick mockup of how it could work. Clicking a mod pack would show a list of the included mods.
                      upload_2017-4-22_19-13-55.png

                    3. Automatic updates should be visible to the player.
                      When a loadout or mod pack I use adds/updates/removes a mod, I'd want to see what changed. This could just be a notification or history view, like: "Quality-of-Life Mods just updated! This updates Lookup Anything (1.12 to 1.14) and adds Some Other Mod 1.5."
                    For all intents and purposes, publishing a loadout that installs a mod is publishing the mod.
                     
                      M0dScientist likes this.
                    • BrandonPotter0

                      BrandonPotter0 Big Damn Hero

                      When is this gonna get XNB Image Merging? Tis literally the only reason why Im not using this manager yet >-<
                       
                      • Oblitus

                        Oblitus Scruffy Nerf-Herder

                        Have the same problem. Nothing helps - tried to reboot, restart client and service.
                         
                        • TehPers

                          TehPers Void-Bound Voyager

                          It's not a matter of "would they do it" so much as it is a matter of "how can they do it". Seeing as you can't republish mods without permission, your only option for loadouts containing mods not in ModDrop would be to make the user download it manually from the website, and drag it into ModDrop. You could restrict loadouts to only include mods on ModDrop (which I wouldn't be entirely against, to be honest), but as of writing this post, there are only 22 mods on ModDrop to choose from.

                          Edit: I completely agree with Pathos' mod pack idea.
                           
                            M0dScientist likes this.
                          • M0dScientist

                            M0dScientist Void-Bound Voyager

                            I agree. Only mods published on ModDrop should be able to be included in published loadouts (and modpacks). Thanks for making such a strong argument.




                            I think there are some specific use cases where loadouts are the best solution. For example, multiplayer games like MineCraft and Torchlight 2 require every player to have the same exact mods installed if they want to play together. Subscribing to the same loadout accomplishes this.



                            This is an excellent idea! I see tons of applications for this and love the idea of enabling multiple mod packs at the same time. It raises some technical and usability questions, but nothing we can’t solve with feedback from the community. I’ll make a new post with some follow up questions.


                            I’m working on some UI mockups for this and will share them soon.

                            Totally agree. Designing mockups for this as well.


                            I see your point, but I think there's a distinction. I can imagine a mod developer giving a curator permission to include their mod in a published loadout, while not wanting their mod to be published on it’s own.

                            That being said, I see where you are coming from here and your argument is persuasive. We won’t allow published loadouts (or published modpacks) to include non-published mods.


                            Thanks for your recommendations Pathoschild! Thoughtful discussions like this are helping shape what ModDrop becomes.

                            [Edited: My comments were mixed in with the quotes and hidden unless you hit "Expand". Should be easier to read now.]
                             
                              Last edited: Apr 26, 2017
                            • M0dScientist

                              M0dScientist Void-Bound Voyager

                              Do you know what version of the client you are using?
                               
                              • Oblitus

                                Oblitus Scruffy Nerf-Herder

                                1.1.1171
                                 
                                • M0dScientist

                                  M0dScientist Void-Bound Voyager

                                  It looks like the service is dead locking. I'm trying to recreate it with dev tools to see if I can figure out why. Stay tuned.

                                  [Edit: In the mean time...]

                                  You can get it running again by doing the following:

                                  - Open the Task Manager and go to the "Details" tab (or "Processes" on Win 7). Right click on "Service.exe" and select "End Task."
                                  - Restart ModDrop and choose "Restart Service"
                                   
                                    Last edited: Apr 27, 2017
                                  • BrandonPotter0

                                    BrandonPotter0 Big Damn Hero

                                    Might I throw in a suggestion? Maybe if a mod has a generated config.json file, maybe right clicking the load in the mod library will show an option to open it up, so the person can make edits to it without diving into their actual mods folder?

                                    I also noticed, that after a mod has generated new files, if that mod is uninstalled, the newly created files are left behind and cause bad errors in teh game.
                                     
                                    • Oblitus

                                      Oblitus Scruffy Nerf-Herder

                                       
                                      • M0dScientist

                                        M0dScientist Void-Bound Voyager

                                        Can you give me an idea of your computer's specs (RAM, CPU and OS)?

                                        We've got a fix together that shows a "Restart Service" option if it doesn't log in after 15 seconds. It's the best we can do while we track down the underlying issue. Should have the update live this week.

                                        [​IMG]
                                         
                                        • Oblitus

                                          Oblitus Scruffy Nerf-Herder

                                          Windows 10 Pro, i7 6700k, 32 GB RAM.

                                          Restarting the service has no result.
                                           

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