[Sanqui] Odd behaviour when posting mods against two major Factorio releases

[PantherX]

Now that 0.17 is out I'm posting updates to Dectorio with both 0.17 and 0.16 releases as many players are electing to play both versions. I've noticed that this introduces some odd behaviour when using the mod portal. It seems like it assumes that the last uploaded zip file is the 'latest' version and this introduces a few issues. Specifically...

• The changelog only shows information on the last uploaded zip.
  The download page shows dependency information for the last uploaded zip.
  The latest Factorio version incorrectly.

In this screenshot it incorrectly states the latest version is 0.8.11, when it should be 0.9.4. It also shows Factorio version as 0.16 when the latest release is supported on 0.17. The dependencies listed here have also changed in the 0.17 version.

Therefore if I release a hot fix for 0.16 it removes all the latest version information for my 0.17 uploads. A better solution would be to use the latest version number when determining which changelog/stats to show on the mod portal. And then assume ones for prior builds (like 0.16 in this case) are just hot fix releases.

[Sanqui]

Yeah... the mod portal was never designed to work with "branching" releases like this. I'll try to make it use the latest version number-wise in most places, though.

[PantherX]

Thanks!! I assume most people don't post branches like either this but there's plenty of people playing both versions of the base game at the moment to warrant it. It's really only a display issue on the portal as the game handles the correct latest file for each major Factorio build. Just getting the portal to use the latest version number when choosing what to show would be a great solution as the changelog that I package in the "highest version number" version of the mod contains the changes in all the lower version numbers (regardless of what point in time they were posted).

The same goes for the display of the "latest version" and "factorio version" on the downloads page - as long as it shows the latest versions supported by the mod, then that should avoid anyone getting confused. At the moment you could be incorrectly mistaken that the mod doesn't support 0.17.

[Squelch]

I've just fallen across this myself. The version tabs do sort the listings appropriately. ie 0.18 shows only those mods that have been updated to support 0.18, but the 0.17 tab also lists those same mods as having been updated, and the default download is the latest for 0.18, not 0.17 as would be expected.

The game's mod manager does filter according to the currently running game's version, so this would be preferred, but it would be nice if the Mod Portal filters selected the latest download for the chosen game version too.

[fishycat]

Yeah... the mod portal was never designed to work with "branching" releases like this. I'll try to make it use the latest version number-wise in most places, though.

Any news on this? Yesterday I updated my mod and didn't think of that special bahavior. Now it has version 0.16 on top and so no changelog and only dependencies from that version.

[Pi-C]

Yeah... the mod portal was never designed to work with "branching" releases like this. I'll try to make it use the latest version number-wise in most places, though.

Any news on this? Yesterday I updated my mod and didn't think of that special bahavior. Now it has version 0.16 on top and so no changelog and only dependencies from that version.

Using the highest version number isn't foolproof either!

BI-versions.png (40.69 KiB) Viewed 5404 times

The author switched to the (more useful, IMHO) versioning scheme where the mod version corresponds to the game version. Now we're at version 0.18.14, which is smaller then 2.7.0. (By the way, just today another mod fixed a conflict with the latest version of BI. The other mod still had a dependency on 2.7.0 …)

[fishycat]

...

Versioning is serious business it seems

I wonder if it is a big problem to implement some kind of order to the mod-portal, or just isn't a priority or wanted?


edit: sorry, was in a hurry before. Why not giving version number like 17.6, 17.7 ... that way you can stay with your preferred way and you have the higher number.

[Pi-C]

...

edit: sorry, was in a hurry before. Why not giving version number like 17.6, 17.7 ... that way you can stay with your preferred way and you have the higher number.

What would I do then once Factorio 1.0.0 is out?

Actually, this will become an issue! It would have been easier if the current versioning scheme had been used from the start. Of course, we could delete the old versions from the mod portal -- but that's like destroying history or burning books. Also, you can still download Factorio 0.6.4. It's not very likely that many people would do this, but if somebody decided to play a game of Factorio 0.14 for whatever reason, there should be some mods for it as well.

[fishycat]

What would I do then once Factorio 1.0.0 is out?

Dang, good point. Maybe 100 straight or a deceptive version 19, because 18.0.0+1.0.0

[Squelch]

Using the highest version number isn't foolproof either!
BI-versions.png
The author switched to the (more useful, IMHO) versioning scheme where the mod version corresponds to the game version. Now we're at version 0.18.14, which is smaller then 2.7.0. (By the way, just today another mod fixed a conflict with the latest version of BI. The other mod still had a dependency on 2.7.0 …)

The "core game" version apparently takes precedence over the mod version. I see much of the confusion seems to come from the default download assuming the latest core game version regardless of the original "target" version for the mod. (which may still be 0.17 for example)

If the user can set a persistent filter for the game version they want, and the download payload respects this accordingly, there would be much less confusion when people download the first offering only to find later they have an incorrect version. I still note that even more confusion may come from the default filter remaining at 0.17 too. This probably leaves the user believing they are downloading 0.17 content, but the default download is the latest uploaded version that does not necessarily correspond.

[Edit]
As serendipity has it, there happens to be an excellent example of the confusion that may occur as of this time.
The following is from the landing page on the mod portal. Note that the filter is set to 0.17 on recently updated.

Default filter.PNG (158.98 KiB) Viewed 5359 times

I would not blame a user for believing that the download link will fetch a 0.18 targeted version. Note the filter set to 0.17 by default, the version range shows 0.17-0.18. The "Download" button will fetch the latest upload.

However:

Default Filter First hit Downloads.PNG (155.27 KiB) Viewed 5359 times

The actual download will be for 0.17 (the most recent upload) not 0.18 as seemingly indicated on the recently updated page. The filter is correct in that 0.17 is included (0.17-0.18) but as we know, there are marked differences between 0.17 and 0.18 that can render the mismatch incompatible. Intuitively, it would seem that the filter should show mods up to 0.17, but not just including 0.17. The difference is subtle, but the consequences are great. Even if the filter is set to 0.18 on the recently updated page, the same mod is offered, but with the same payload of 0.17 targeted update.

TLDR:
All in all a rather confusing affair for both users and mod authors. The filter does not match the default offered download version, and the filter uses "inclusive" not "Exclusive" filtering.

[Pi-C]

The "core game" version apparently takes precedence over the mod version. I see much of the confusion seems to come from the default download assuming the latest core game version regardless of the original "target" version for the mod. (which may still be 0.17 for example)

If the user can set a persistent filter for the game version they want, and the download payload respects this accordingly, there would be much less confusion when people download the first offering only to find later they have an incorrect version. I still note that even more confusion may come from the default filter remaining at 0.17 too. This probably leaves the user believing they are downloading 0.17 content, but the default download is the latest uploaded version that does not necessarily correspond.

I agree. As to default filter remaining at 0.17: that actually makes sense as 0.17 still is the stable branch of Factorio.

[Edit]
As serendipity has it, there happens to be an excellent example of the confusion that may occur as of this time.
The following is from the landing page on the mod portal. Note that the filter is set to 0.17 on recently updated.
Default filter.PNG
I would not blame a user for believing that the download link will fetch a 0.18 targeted version. Note the filter set to 0.17 by default, the version range shows 0.17-0.18. The "Download" button will fetch the latest upload.

Interesting. Seems I never noticed these Download buttons! Well, I never use them. I like to check out a mod before downloading, so I select a mod from the list, go to its info page, check the changelog, and look at the discussion board. Unless I need a specific version of a mod (for testing or for reference during modding), I always use the in-game mods' manager to fetch updates or install a new mod. If I need a specific version, I go to the mod's Download page on the modportal and directly chose the version I want.

However:

Default Filter First hit Downloads.PNG
The actual download will be for 0.17 (the most recent upload) not 0.18 as seemingly indicated on the recently updated page. The filter is correct in that 0.17 is included (0.17-0.18) but as we know, there are marked differences between 0.17 and 0.18 that can render the mismatch incompatible. Intuitively, it would seem that the filter should show mods up to 0.17, but not just including 0.17. The difference is subtle, but the consequences are great. Even if the filter is set to 0.18 on the recently updated page, the same mod is offered, but with the same payload of 0.17 targeted update.

Just checked for Bio Industries, and it's true. The download button on the search results' page links to the mod version that has been uploaded last, without honoring the filter settings. I usually make double uploads, first for 0.17, then for 0.18. So people using that button and hoping to get the latest version for 0.17 will get the wrong version. Quite a mess!