NoMansSky:Modding Etiquette

 

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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. This list is definitely not exhaustive but each time it could end in some futile community tensions or even worst in dramas...
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 a the particular new feature that you feel is 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 original mod is fine, finding a good name for it could be tricky :)

Updating a mod not working anymore

It could happen at any time, just after a game update or years later a mod was released and you suddenly discover the best mod ever, but never updated. In that case, here are some first steps :

• Since how many time has the mod not been updated ? How many times was updated 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. Sometime he just is busy with some real life stuff.
• If quite some time has passed and the modder didn't comment itself in the mod description about his will to update his mod, leave a comment in the mod thread to know if the author is still around and plan 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, then it's time for a private message, on Nexusmods or Discord. It's the time to expose you were waiting for the update and are offering to create an update for all the other players that would also used this mod again and that of course you will credit him for the original mod.
• If after some time (a week or more), you still have no reply, then you can release your mod update. Remind that doing so doesn't make you the mod author, so never forget to credit 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 if 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.

• If you took another mod and just merged it with others, list the mods you used and put in tdescription 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.
• If you really integrated the mod from another modder in a whole mod of yours, and tweaked values, changed settings, and overall reworkk 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 eventualy 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.

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