NoMansSky:Modding Etiquette

NMS Modding Etiquette

by: Lo2k

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Introduction

In each community, the question of what is acceptable and what isn't comes back on the front of the scene every now and then.
Like when some "new" mod is the exact same as one released 2 months before. Or when some all-in-one mod includes some features that remind some standalone mods but there's no credit anywhere about them.
So this topic is quite subjective as everyone will have its own point of view or ethic but here are a few guide lines that seem reasonable to follow to participate in a modding scene whithout risking any backfire or drama.

Releasing a new mod

Here, just simple advices :

Before creating your mod, did you check that no other mod was already doing the same thing ? If this mod already exists, you might save your energy and work on another mod. Everyone wins. You don't loose your time and players will have two mods instead of twice the same.
If some mods are doing the same thing, is yours really bringing a difference ? If another mod exists with little differences. Maybe it's better to post a comment on the other mod thread to ask the particular feature you feel missing. If no other people ask for the same feature and the modder don't plan to add it, maybe you can derive the initial mod to your liking for a private usage, but without releasing it. And if another user replies it would also be interested, then maybe releasing yours as an alternative if the original modder is not interested in adding it.
Did you check that no other existing mod has the same name or a name close to your new mod ? Having a new mod is fine but finding an original name for it is also important even if it could be tricky, because a lot of mods already exist :)

Updating a mod not working anymore

It could happen at any time, to find a good mod but that is not up-to-date.
In that case, here are some first steps :

For how long has the mod not been updated ? How many game updates were released since then ? If a new update just broke the mod, gives a little time to the modder to update its mod. Sometimes he also needs to wait for MBINCompiler to be updated. Sometimes he is just busy with some real life stuff. A week or two is not something uncommon before a modder updates its mod, even more if a big update just broke a lot of mods.
If some days/weeks have passed and the modder didn't comment himself his will to update his mod, then leave a comment in the mod thread to know if the author is still around and plans to update the mod. Sometimes, modders are just doing something else and seeing a comment will bring them back to a mod they released in the past
If you still have no reply, or the mod is very old then it's time for a private message, on Nexusmods or Discord. It is time to expose that you were waiting for the update and are offering to create an update for all the other players that would also use this mod again and that you will of course give credits to him for the original mod.
If some time (a week or more) after your pm, you still have no reply, then you can humbly release your mod update. Always remind that doing so doesn't make you the mod author, so never forget to give credits to the original author with a link toward the original mod.

Including another mod in your mod

Either you want to merge several mods in a one working set, or you really want to build the ultimate terrain-creature-space-ship changing mod, you might always ask yourself what part of your mod is yours and what is the work of another.
Here are the two major cases :

You took another mod and just merged it with others, then you really took the work of someone else. In this case, list the mods you used and put in the description their names and authors. Even better, before releasing your mod, ask each modder if they agree for their mod to be released in another set. It could be long and could result in no's that will crop your set vision, but at least you won't get any backfire.
You really integrated the mod from another modder in a whole mod of yours, and tweaked values, changed settings, and overall reworked the mod in something quite different from the original mod, then despite you used another mod as a template, all the work you did is yours. In that case, all you can eventually mention is that you based your mod on this mod made by this author, but changed it completely to match your own vision. But ultimately, you also did your part and the result of your tweaking is yours.

For any other case, the question is always the same :
Is this mod the result of my work, or the work from another modder ? If the answer is "my work" then you have the credit for it, if the answer is "the work from another", then you need to credit someone.