Mod-tags

[drmccoy]

Mod-tags

Since the Construction Set (like most modding tools) is highly dependant on the name of it's contents (Items, NPCs, etc...), i'd like to introduce the mod-tag thread. It's going to be used as a database for the used tags aswell as a little guide.

What are mod-tags?
In a comunity of game designers or modders, everybody is creating bits and pieces here and there. While the human mind can tell the difference between two objects created by different humans appart, the Construction Set cannot. You can think of it as a nametag for all your loaded mods.

Why should we use it?
Lets pretend we downloaded two mods for Oblivion. Even though they are completely stand-alone and do not depend on each other, they are both loaded in the same step while the game is booting. Now lets imagine, both mods bring in new rooms. And even though the development teams never got to know each other, they both called one of their rooms "newRoom01". Now, if you want to enter that specific room, Oblivion gets confused. Which room shall it use? This can lead to serious damage to your savegames and more, not to mention it leaves the mod unplayable. That is why we're using mod-tags.

How do we use mod-tags?
Mod-tags are generally used in the following way: [Abreviation for the mod name]+[Abbreviation for the modders name]+[the actual name you want it to give]
Now, our tag on the Valenwood project is VW. My tag as a modder is DR. Now, if i wanted to create a new magic scroll, i had to call it "VWdrScroll01". Of course I could call it whatever i want ("scroll02, scroll03"), as long as i put a VWdr infront of it. This keeps the interfierence mention in the above example from happening.

The Tags

Every modder who is to contribute to the mod is asked to write his tag in this thread, to prevent an interference inside the Valenwood mod itself. Please stick to the following syntax:

[Tag] = dr
I will always put a "VWdr" infront of every content I create for the Valenwood Project.

[morcroft]

I totally agree with the Doc about the need for this, and the 2+2 character prefix seems to work very well.

I don't know how Sandor and the rest of the Silgrad core feel about this, but can I suggest we try to keep the modder IDs here synchronised to the main Silgrad project? Each project has its own members, of course, but we do tend to move between boards so I think it's best to register your id in Modders' abbreviations if you haven't already.

And I'm MD over there.

[Deeza]

I'd second morcroft's suggestion. Unless there are conflicts, we should keep to the same names to avoid confusion.

I'm DZ everywhere else.

[sandor]

Originally posted by morcroft
I don't know how Sandor and the rest of the Silgrad core feel about this, but can I suggest we try to keep the modder IDs here synchronised to the main Silgrad project? Each project has its own members, of course, but we do tend to move between boards so I think it's best to register your id in Modders' abbreviations if you haven't already.

And I'm MD over there.

We clean our list from time to time, meaning unused ID's are removed. So synchronising an ID with ST is not a good idea. However to use the same ID's for the various BC projects sounds good to me.
It's up to the various BC mod leaders if they agree.