Just learned that approved modded games are hidden by default

[Pizzarugi]

I only exclusively host my games, so I have little to no reason to ever visit the server list. Well recently I decided to take a look and see which of the hazards are the most popular (it's 4) and I noticed there were no modded games running. Then I noticed that I have to toggle and enable approved mod games for them to appear.

While I almost always play pubs with verified mods, I've had some people tell me how much they liked the personal mini mules mod so I wanted to try taking it into more games. You could imagine my surprise when my games became an absolute ghost town doing so. Sometimes I wonder if people even realize my game even exists when it's hidden away by default if it has an approved mod active.

TL;DR: Please make approved mods enabled on the server list by default. If people don't want to play on a modded game, they can disable the setting or simply avoid the ones that have big blue text.

[RENGOKU]

Then we just have people asking for the opposite, seems kind of pointless.

[SCamp]

There are just so many reasons why approved mods are NOT default: Despite being approved, there are still a bunch of garbage mods floating around. I also don't want to be downloading random mods every time I want to join servers.

And opt-in is still the superior choice to opt-out, in all instances where there is the decision to be made (even outside of the context of DRG).

If you don't like modding ghost town, get friends who are into gameplay mods.

[Jimmy Hunter]

Please keep approved mods disabled on the server list by default. If people want to play on a modded game, they can enable the setting and look for the ones that have big blue text.

[Chibbity]

They are hidden by default for a reason, modded games are a nightmare for new players, who have barely grasped the vanilla game; and will come scrambling here asking questions about things they don't even understand are mods.

Then as if that wasn't enough, now they've got mods installed from joining you, they don't understand how to turn them off, they don't understand what they are or what they do; they may not even realize they have mods at all.

Plus, let's get real, there are so few people actually playing with Approved mods; it's not like those lobbies are missed.

[JeanneOskoure]

In Game mod integration is ass. Use external tools if you want to use mods.

[Kblocks]

Originally posted by Pizzarugi:

my games became an absolute ghost town doing so

because they aren't interested, not because they can't see you

[Driftkel]

Because I'm sure some people out there do not want to waste 30 minutes to download the 100 propriety mods the host has downloaded in order to join their game.

[RUCKUS RELOADED]

official integration is designed to punish anything beyond the verified category by making it as difficult as possible to join lobbies with approved mods. they're hidden by default, you're forced to download all the host's mods to play with them (even those that aren't tagged as requiredbyall) and those mods remain enabled even after you leave which is incredibly confusing if you're not aware that happens

if you want to play approved mods with others, get mint:
https://github.com/trumank/mint

[Jeslis]

^ +1 mint.

[Karn]

dont care for mods. if they were enabled by default i would disable them.

[Pizzarugi]

Originally posted by rupert paymoney:

official integration is designed to punish anything beyond the verified category by making it as difficult as possible to join lobbies with approved mods. they're hidden by default, you're forced to download all the host's mods to play with them (even those that aren't tagged as requiredbyall) and those mods remain enabled even after you leave which is incredibly confusing if you're not aware that happens

if you want to play approved mods with others, get mint:
https://github.com/trumank/mint

How does mint work exactly? Suppose I host a game as I always do and I use mods that are considered approved. Does this mean when people join my games, they won't download the mods, but I still get to use them?

Wouldn't that be considered deceptive or unfair? Since I used the Personal Mini Mules mod as an example in the OP, we'll continue using it in this discussion. Wouldn't such a thing result in me exclusively having my own mule, but everyone else has to make due with the one vanilla mule?

I remember seeing a brief uptick in topics being made here on the forums of people being upset with mint users cheating the game by bypassing the restrictions.

[RUCKUS RELOADED]

Originally posted by Pizzarugi:

How does mint work exactly? Suppose I host a game as I always do and I use mods that are considered approved. Does this mean when people join my games, they won't download the mods, but I still get to use them?

Wouldn't that be considered deceptive or unfair? Since I used the Personal Mini Mules mod as an example in the OP, we'll continue using it in this discussion. Wouldn't such a thing result in me exclusively having my own mule, but everyone else has to make due with the one vanilla mule?

I remember seeing a brief uptick in topics being made here on the forums of people being upset with mint users cheating the game by bypassing the restrictions.

MINT patches the game with whatever mods you choose but disables official integration in the process, so the game considers itself to be unmodded but still works with whatever it's been patched with, effectively bypassing the categorization system and allowing your lobby to appear in the default server list

however, this comes with the downside that you aren't passing any data to your clients. some mods (particularly those which affect terrain generation or equipment) won't work properly because you aren't passing the changes made by the mod to anyone who joins you, which will result in bugs and desynchronization
(fwiw i have used the minimules mod in my lobby before and it works fine)
MINT will tell you if a mod has the "RequiredByAll" tag alongside the categorization. a mod being RequiredByAll doesn't guarantee it won't work, but always be careful and test things first if you can

MINT forcibly appends your lobby's title with "[MODDED]" to warn players ahead of time that you are running a modded game. you can also take steps yourself to increase transparency to those who join you - personally i run the MOTD mod[mod.io] and i list the most impactful (usually approved-class) mods i'm using at the time, such as big dirt holes[mod.io] or bigger badder bulks.[mod.io] you could do the same with the personal mini MULEs mod

there is a degree of personal responsibility with MINT. you shouldn't use it to run cheat mods and give yourself unlimited XP, and you definitely shouldn't join vanilla lobbies with intrusive mods enabled that will affect other players. however i suspect you're more interested in hosting your own games, and as far as i'm concerned, you can do whatever you want when you're hosting
i've ran MINT for over a year now and %99 of players are fine with joining my lobby. if anyone has an issue, just kick them, they have no right to be entitled to the type of experience they want to play from your lobby

[ShugoTheRipper]

Originally posted by rupert paymoney:

i've ran MINT for over a year now and %99 of players are fine with joining my lobby.

I will never recover from the trauma of joining and playing in your lobby...

[armbarchris]

I don't want to play with your mods. Off by default is fine.

[Pizzarugi]

Originally posted by armbarchris:

I don't want to play with your mods. Off by default is fine.

Then don't join my game? The server list makes it very obvious what games are or aren't modded.