Basic question: What causes a mod to go out of date?

[RyansPlace]

In other games, mods are accomponied by txt docs stating what version of the game the mod supports. Rome 2 doesn't have that. If an update doesnt change the files the mod uses, what actually causes that mod to go out of date?

[Migz - DH]

The fact that it wasn't updated after the most recent game version was released.

[RyansPlace]

I get that, but how does the game know? Does it look at the last modified date on the .pack files?

[Migz - DH]

Originally posted by RyansPlace:

I get that, but how does the game know? Does it look at the last modified date on the .pack files?

I believe that the game talks with Steam's Workshop to find out when the workshop item was last updated. But, I don't know for certain.

Any homemade mod we make is always considered to be out of date though until it's uploaded to the workshop.

[RyansPlace]

That's right:

From the Total War Center forums:

2) All mods you make will appear as "outdated" in the Steam mod manager until you upload them to the Steam Workshop. Outdated means only that the mod hasn't been uploaded to the Steam Workshop since the last update of the game. It doesn't mean the mod won't work. Any non-Steam mods will also show as outdated for the same reason. It doesn't mean anything. Just check that "enable out of date mods" option, and you're good to go. Of course, you can also upload your mod to the Steam Workshop if you want.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?730344-Whenever-I-make-a-new-mod-It-s-always-Outdated

So many of these old out-of-date mods may work just fine so long as the files they adjust are not relocated elsewhere or structurally changed in the update.

[Migz - DH]

Yes. But, depending on how old the mods are, they almost certainly won't work with the current version. Even innocuous-seeming ones could have a conflict. It's much safer to stick with updated mods unless the player knows how to solve mod problems by his/herself, which, unfortuantely, the vast majority of players do not.