Multiplayer Mod Sync

[Vadise]

Greetings. I have recently found a group of friends to play Factorio with, and so far we all agree that mods make the game better in several aspects, and we always look into the portal for the newest, most interesting thing to date, try some mods and discard some others.

Since servers transfer the map over to the players when they connect, I thought perhaps adding the ability to also transfer the mod packages the server is using at the time of connection would speed things up. For example, when you connect and you dont have the same mods, instead of just closing the window that tells you so, there could be the option to temporarily (just for this game session) or permanently install the mods you dont have (And also temporarily disable the mods you have but the server does not).

[Ranakastrasz]

Quick Note. Also have it ask the Factorio mod server for a checksum. If the checksum doesn't match, or if the mod isn't on the mod portal, add popup window to warn you that it may be modified/isn't on the portal. Might help defend against malicious mods, given that the last post like this died that way.

[Roxor128]

These days it'd be more typical to use a hash like SHA256 rather than just a checksum, but yeah, sharing lists of hashes and downloading the appropriate files from either the mod portal or another player could be a simple way to ensure everyone has the right mods.

[ssilk]

This is plan for 0.16.
Added to viewtopic.php?f=80&t=32968 Collection of Of Ideas around Multiplayer: Lobby-Features, Joining, Mod&Game-Loading, ...