Friday Facts #141 - Mod Portal

[bobingabout]

There is zero hassle logging in once using the factorio account you already have, and then clicking "remember me".

In your opinion.

Even these very forums seem to have trouble with "remember me".

[Zeblote]

There is zero hassle logging in once using the factorio account you already have, and then clicking "remember me".

In your opinion.

Even these very forums seem to have trouble with "remember me".

Really? I can't even remember the last time I had to log in...

[Mengmoshu]

I think any complexity added to the review system needs to be carefully considered. I don't think a multi-dimensional review system will help much, it would just spread the same problems to each of it's dimensions.

Doing something like Steam recently did with their review system sounds awesome, especially given the ongoing nature of most mods. Giving a recent and an all time score to judge a game by plus requiring a short review makes binary voting pretty informative. Combine that with categories or tags selected by the mod developer to indicate things like degree of completion (Proof of concept, Alpha, Beta, Release), and the sort of broad categories we've been using on the forum, and we'd have a pretty effective system that hopefully wouldn't cause too much overhead for Wube.

[aRatNamedSammy]

nice train graph.. i love it

about the mod portal, is that me, or they forgot the button to bookmark the mod (there is a bookmark section)

[fleashosio]

Holy crap, guys! That new train sprite is absolutely bad-ass!

But... You know, I have quite a fondness for the current graphic. Any plans to have multiple kinds of locomotives, and maybe re-render the current train with separate wheels, so it may live on? It is still a very impressive looking sprite set, it would be a shame to throw it out. But then again.... Oh god, that new locomotive is factorio's aesthetic pumped into something right out of Mad Max, cranked to 11. It's beautiful. I hope we can get some beefier sounds to go with it.

[Asekhan]

Hello Honza =), must be great to work on factorio!

There seem to be quite the controversy about the five star rating. I for one think the rating system is unneeded as a whole. Take for example Curse Forge which established itself as the main Minecraft mods platform (which is quite similar to the Factorio mod ecosystem IMO), the only info you have is the number of time downloaded and a hidden "recent download" when you sort by popularity and as a whole it works really well as long as the category are well defined. New mods can get visibility through "recent" and modpacks make them rise.

How will you deal with configurations? as of now, configs file are within the mods themselves and making a change mean the mod as a whole will be different, so any update will reset the config, and any modpacks will need a different set of the mods. As I understand most keep the config at default because it's a chore to change them, any plan to help that aspect?

That new locomotive though, it's awesome! But now you made me realize the wheel problem with the old one, I cannot unsee it

[brunzenstein]

The mods GUI is looking very retro. Late 1960th. (not to say ugly)
Ok - also Factorio as a whole is no design price winner but let robust content by far overwhelm the design question - anyhow:
Please give the planned mod's GUI a second thought - look how Steam, GOG or the Mac iBook store sort this out.
Beautiful and nice to look atI
One rather prefers a beautiful presented beer with a lot of spume even thought it tastes the same as a plain one one in a only slightly washed overused glass.
Take your time...

[tehroach]

Current GIF

Could we please have a complete looping GIF of the train completing a full loop

Eyegasm!

or Eyespasm?
Either way I definitely get a twitch.

5 star scoring never works. There are a million places you can look for this to be demonstrated, any app store for starters. The bad apps have 1 star, the great ones have 4 3/4 stars and every single on in between has 4 1/2 stars. It's a horrible system and it never works despite the 3 people commenting in this thread who are convinced they are somehow different from every other human on earth. Binary ratings work amazingly, just look at Steam's ratings they are typically spot on.

Yes for definite
A 5 star system basically gives a minority person 4 votes, when voting against the majority.

maybe instead of having a like/dislike, there should be a "will be downloading the next version" / "Will NOT be downloading the next version"

As total number of downloads is generally a good sign of a good mod, because people just don't keep downloading bad mods version after version.

[Mion]

Please tell me you fixed this along with the new train graphics

+1 on selectable train colors. Oh how amazing that would be. Iron ore train could be blue, copper: red, coal: black/gray, have green, yellow, purple, white for other items, so you could identify passing trains with ease.

I ablosutely agree with these suggestions!

And yes, give us full "train.gif" please

[HeiRos]

The mod portal can be viewed by anyone, but you will have to log in with your factorio account to download mods, same goes for the in-game version.

So, just to confirm: you want to lock people with pirated copies (who may become customers at some point or recommend/PR the game to their friends) out of using mod portal? What if some mod authors are willing to serve their mods via their direct links (e.g., .zip's from github) to them?

I also want to know this. Seems pointless and annoying for the user. Do we have to pirate the game to avoid this? Or is there a way for paying customers continue to download mods without this hassle if they want to?

There is zero hassle logging in once using the factorio account you already have, and then clicking "remember me".

It's possible to purchase the game without a factorio account via steam. I also call it annoying to create an factorio account and link it to steam only for downloading a mod.

[brunzenstein]

The mod portal can be viewed by anyone, but you will have to log in with your factorio account to download mods, same goes for the in-game version.

So, just to confirm: you want to lock people with pirated copies (who may become customers at some point or recommend/PR the game to their friends) out of using mod portal? What if some mod authors are willing to serve their mods via their direct links (e.g., .zip's from github) to them?

I also want to know this. Seems pointless and annoying for the user. Do we have to pirate the game to avoid this? Or is there a way for paying customers continue to download mods without this hassle if they want to?

There is zero hassle logging in once using the factorio account you already have, and then clicking "remember me".

It's possible to purchase the game without a factorio account via steam. I also call it annoying to create an factorio account and link it to steam only for downloading a mod.

Annoying especially for copycats
I think the rest of us can live with that "burden" quite easily,
given that every legal buyer Steam or direct may for free acquire a DRM free copy anyhow and has unhindered access to every update as well its App or mod.
The way Factorio developers hunts down with such a ultra-light fence fake Steam account holders (and there are quite a few of them around selling fake accounts ) e.g. pirates, e.g. thieves (by mostly neglecting them) is as soft as could be...

[slindenau]

Update is not posted on Steam store again guys . Maybe automate the process, hmmm...

[bNarFProfCrazy]

The way Factorio developers hunts down with such a ultra-light fence fake Steam account holders (and there are quite a few of them around selling fake accounts ) e.g. pirates, e.g. thieves (by mostly neglecting them) is as soft as could be...

I have never heart of fake steam accounts.
What are you referring to? Are you referring to the steam-free download version that can be downloaded here and used without account? Is there such a thing here? Why?

The term "hunt down" is just plain wrong. They just don't let them fully in (Like a VIP area in the disco for all those who have bought the game). But for us "VIPs" its just annoying, since (both zones are separated and) you have to carry your ID with you to authenticate.
And soon there will be an unofficial mod portal that (illegally/without permission) offers all mods to everyone and earns some money via ads). Or maybe they will still use the forum for it.

[Zeblote]

The mod portal can be viewed by anyone, but you will have to log in with your factorio account to download mods, same goes for the in-game version.

So, just to confirm: you want to lock people with pirated copies (who may become customers at some point or recommend/PR the game to their friends) out of using mod portal? What if some mod authors are willing to serve their mods via their direct links (e.g., .zip's from github) to them?

I also want to know this. Seems pointless and annoying for the user. Do we have to pirate the game to avoid this? Or is there a way for paying customers continue to download mods without this hassle if they want to?

There is zero hassle logging in once using the factorio account you already have, and then clicking "remember me".

It's possible to purchase the game without a factorio account via steam. I also call it annoying to create an factorio account and link it to steam only for downloading a mod.

This process could be automatic in the future. It's not a problem.

[indjev99]

The new train graphics are amazing!!!

Me when I saw that no 0.13 for today
http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/
But the train graphics are awesome!
Take your time, and make this game even more wonderful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFI ... rUWvuiQnzZ

[brunzenstein]

I have never heart of fake steam accounts.

I did - and so did many

What are you referring to? Are you referring to the steam-free download version that can be downloaded here and used without account? Is there such a thing here? Why?

No&Yes - there is if you bought direct from the developers site. You only have to register once then your reminded automatically. You can run Factorio offline but as soon as your getting online you will be announced to download any possible new update - very convenient, transparent and without hassle e.g. needed user interference or update checking.

The term "hunt down" is just plain wrong.

Agree - my wording was plainly wrong - sorry for that

They just don't let them fully in (Like a VIP area in the disco for all those who have bought the game).

true - and I'm all for it

But for us "VIPs" its just annoying, since (both zones are separated and) you have to carry your ID with you to authenticate.

No.
There is no problem for Steam buyers to acquire a DRM free key from the dev and get the updates direct from the developers site in the future. Without using the intermediary Steam site and its shaggy software. This has several robust benefits for the user (as well as financial ones for the developer bcs. the middlemen is cut out):
From security reasons, avoiding having to install a proprietary Steam sw to run the bought program in first place, no internet connection needed, till immediate problemless updates and direct connection to the master and not the intermediary sales clerk.(Steam is a sales outlet only)

[brunzenstein]

There is zero hassle logging in once using the factorio account you already have, and then clicking "remember me".

right!

It's possible to purchase the game without a factorio account via steam. I also call it annoying to create an factorio account and link it to steam only for downloading a mod.

The exact opposite is true.
With a Steam account you can demand a DRM free software from the Factorio dev and you can kiss Steam Good By - this has several benefits for the developers as well as for the customers

[brunzenstein]

Update is not posted on Steam store again guys . Maybe automate the process, hmmm...

Its automated if you bought from the developers site thought...

[Zeblote]

Update is not posted on Steam store again guys . Maybe automate the process, hmmm...

Its automated if you bought from the developers site thought...

He's talking about the blog post. It's not available on the steam news feed yet, they forget to post it there every time

[Klonan]

The mod portal can be viewed by anyone, but you will have to log in with your factorio account to download mods, same goes for the in-game version.

So, just to confirm: you want to lock people with pirated copies (who may become customers at some point or recommend/PR the game to their friends) out of using mod portal? What if some mod authors are willing to serve their mods via their direct links (e.g., .zip's from github) to them?

I also want to know this. Seems pointless and annoying for the user. Do we have to pirate the game to avoid this? Or is there a way for paying customers continue to download mods without this hassle if they want to?

There is zero hassle logging in once using the factorio account you already have, and then clicking "remember me".

It's possible to purchase the game without a factorio account via steam. I also call it annoying to create an factorio account and link it to steam only for downloading a mod.

You are free to download mods from any other website