Factorio Forums

As someone who has spent thousands of hours experimenting and exploring mods on Factorio, I'm really sorry that such a great game doesn't have a MODERN mod manager. Even though this post includes an advertisement for another game (perhaps the post will be deleted...), I would very much like to be able to tell you how my dream mod manager is. Recently, the feature of adding tags to mods has been introduced on the factorio mod site and it is extremely successful. But the user's demands are much more. Having an improved mod manager along with the "P-production stats screen" in the game are the 2 big innovations I'd most like to see. I hope we can experience these in Factorio, which has successfully evolved over the years and reached a very high level.

-In order to group the mods, "Separator" feature. (Coloring, Naming)

-Make the bracket group visible-hidden.

-To activate or deactivate the mode with one click outside the game.

- Defined profiles. (For example, I can set the mods I will use while playing KR in a profile, the mods I will use while playing vanilla in a separate profile, etc. and make them ready with one click.)

-Version, Category information etc...

I'm not sure I understand the complaint. The other mod manager solutions you point out for Skyrim were not developed by the game developers. In fact, there isn't even 1 true all in one solution as most all of them still rely on LOOT, and several still recommend Wrye Bash and others to help resolve mod conflicts.

What I want to tell you is why does not factorio have an independent mod manager like this? I have about 300 mods installed. It is very troublesome to search, select, activate/deactivate them in-game. For example, I, 1./2./3. etc. I wish I could group my priority mods and activate/deactivate them with one option...

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 1:03 pm What I want to tell you is why does not factorio have an independent mod manager like this? I have about 300 mods installed. It is very troublesome to search, select, activate/deactivate them in-game. For example, I, 1./2./3. etc. I wish I could group my priority mods and activate/deactivate them with one option...

Because no one has created it? Or maybe someone has, but it isn't well known/popular because the game already has a built-in mod manager, which, by its mere presence, is already more than what many other games with independent mod managers (like Skyrim) have? And I would suspect that there's a large portion of people out there that would rather use a built-in mod manager over a 3rd party one, even if the 3rd party one had better/more features. And yes, that's including people with huge mod lists (I have 269, myself).

That said, the built-in one could still do with improvements, but I believe there are a few threads on these various subjects already that could use some +1'ing. Maybe we'll get it, maybe we won't, but to me, the built-in one is already good enough that I have no desire to look for a 3rd party one.

Ultimately, though, I'm not sure that creating a thread in the subforum for feature requests to the game itself, asking why a 3rd party mod manager doesn't exist yet, is going to get you anywhere.

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 1:03 pmI wish I could group my priority mods and activate/deactivate them with one option...

How are you using mods? Even if I'm going back and forth between SE, A+B, and Nullius, I set up the mods once per game, and then use the "Sync mods and load" option when I want to switch which map I'm working on.

I think at least having profiles, especially for the active mod combination, is a good idea.

Factoruser wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:38 pm I think at least having profiles, especially for the active mod combination, is a good idea.

Sure, perhaps. You can also use save files for this, or have separate mod-list.json & mod-settings.dat files that you swap in and out via a batch script (there's the 3rd party mod manager... ).

But as I mentioned...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=32470 Selectable mod "profiles" / Mod Presets / Mod Manager / Mods Config / Mods Folders
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=27805 Suggestion around Game-Internal Mods-Handling/Mods-Management
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=27741 Mod Presets
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28229 Mod Manager - Profiles or Groups?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24939 Mod Management
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=53027 Mods Profile Option
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=95355 Mods depending on the map
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=94047 Preset in the mod's ui for different playstyles
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=83688 Mod Folders
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=99656 Mod Profiles
...there are a lot of existing threads on the subject already.

Or different standalone installations. Game is only like 2 GB in size. Mods can be also in that realm.
But it's really not that much, even for SSD usage.

FuryoftheStars wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:22 pm

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 1:03 pm What I want to tell you is why does not factorio have an independent mod manager like this? I have about 300 mods installed. It is very troublesome to search, select, activate/deactivate them in-game. For example, I, 1./2./3. etc. I wish I could group my priority mods and activate/deactivate them with one option...

Because no one has created it? Or maybe someone has, but it isn't well known/popular because the game already has a built-in mod manager, which, by its mere presence, is already more than what many other games with independent mod managers (like Skyrim) have? And I would suspect that there's a large portion of people out there that would rather use a built-in mod manager over a 3rd party one, even if the 3rd party one had better/more features. And yes, that's including people with huge mod lists (I have 269, myself).

That said, the built-in one could still do with improvements, but I believe there are a few threads on these various subjects already that could use some +1'ing. Maybe we'll get it, maybe we won't, but to me, the built-in one is already good enough that I have no desire to look for a 3rd party one.

Ultimately, though, I'm not sure that creating a thread in the subforum for feature requests to the game itself, asking why a 3rd party mod manager doesn't exist yet, is going to get you anywhere.

Is there a prohibition/violation/inconvenience in repeating what has already been stated? On the contrary, in my opinion, the things that are said more (which is your statement that similar requests have been made in the forum before) cause the managers to show a tendency to work and develop in that direction.

I ask why not and demand it. You, on the other hand, say with your unique intelligence, "Because no one has created it?" Making a mockery of themselves, giving minds away from intelligence. What satisfaction do you experience within yourself, shame!

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:23 am Is there a prohibition/violation/inconvenience in repeating what has already been stated? On the contrary, in my opinion, the things that are said more (which is your statement that similar requests have been made in the forum before) cause the managers to show a tendency to work and develop in that direction.

It is generally asked that you post to existing threads on a subject to support rather than creating new threads, yes. The mods even merge threads if they can.

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:23 amI ask why not and demand it. You, on the other hand, say with your unique intelligence, "Because no one has created it?" Making a mockery of themselves, giving minds away from intelligence. What satisfaction do you experience within yourself, shame!

Erm, you're asking about why no one has made a 3rd party mod manager tool yet (the obvious answer to which is because no one made it, and gave possible reasons as to why) in a section about requests for the vanilla (ie, built-in) game. And then you insult me for pointing that out to you?

FuryoftheStars wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 5:01 am

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:23 am Is there a prohibition/violation/inconvenience in repeating what has already been stated? On the contrary, in my opinion, the things that are said more (which is your statement that similar requests have been made in the forum before) cause the managers to show a tendency to work and develop in that direction.

It is generally asked that you post to existing threads on a subject to support rather than creating new threads, yes. The mods even merge threads if they can.

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:23 amI ask why not and demand it. You, on the other hand, say with your unique intelligence, "Because no one has created it?" Making a mockery of themselves, giving minds away from intelligence. What satisfaction do you experience within yourself, shame!

Erm, you're asking about why no one has made a 3rd party mod manager tool yet (the obvious answer to which is because no one made it, and gave possible reasons as to why) in a section about requests for the vanilla (ie, built-in) game. And then you insult me for pointing that out to you?

finally, not long after I wrote this (not because I wrote it, of course...) fact. Work has been done on the interface of the mod page. These make me happy and excited. So it's important for game developers not to be shallow-minded like you. That's why forums exist. By the way, I'm not insulting, I'm just pointing out that those who make fun of people like you are actually tragicomic.

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:01 pm finally, not long after I wrote this (not because I wrote it, of course...) fact. Work has been done on the interface of the mod page.

You mean this?
Reducing the number of categories

Yeah, that's been asked for and being worked on for a long time. That thread, in fact, was started over a year ago. But that's the mod portal page (for which there's a whole separate subforum dedicated to it). Not a 3rd party mod manager like you were asking about in the opening post.

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:01 pm So it's important for game developers not to be shallow-minded like you. That's why forums exist. By the way, I'm not insulting, I'm just pointing out that those who make fun of people like you are actually tragicomic.

Again with the insults:

not to be shallow-minded like you

And yes, commenting on my intelligence and how I'm "making a mockery of [myself]", is insulting.

I am not making fun of jack-****. You are asking about why a 3rd party mod manager tool, something the devs have no control over, doesn't exist yet in a subforum that is meant for suggesting ideas to the devs for the base game.

Oh, and look what I find when I start looking:
Board index -> Contributions -> Tools -> Mod-/Installation-Handling
A whole subforum dedicated to exactly what you were looking for! There's even a couple of threads specifically for different 3rd party tools right near the top! So, I guess that means I was probably right:

FuryoftheStars wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:22 pm Or maybe someone has, but it isn't well known/popular

FuryoftheStars wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 3:31 pm

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:01 pm finally, not long after I wrote this (not because I wrote it, of course...) fact. Work has been done on the interface of the mod page.

You mean this?
Reducing the number of categories

Yeah, that's been asked for and being worked on for a long time. That thread, in fact, was started over a year ago. But that's the mod portal page (for which there's a whole separate subforum dedicated to it). Not a 3rd party mod manager like you were asking about in the opening post.

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:01 pm So it's important for game developers not to be shallow-minded like you. That's why forums exist. By the way, I'm not insulting, I'm just pointing out that those who make fun of people like you are actually tragicomic.

Again with the insults:

not to be shallow-minded like you

And yes, commenting on my intelligence and how I'm "making a mockery of [myself]", is insulting.

I am not making fun of jack-****. You are asking about why a 3rd party mod manager tool, something the devs have no control over, doesn't exist yet in a subforum that is meant for suggesting ideas to the devs for the base game.

Oh, and look what I find when I start looking:
Board index -> Contributions -> Tools -> Mod-/Installation-Handling
A whole subforum dedicated to exactly what you were looking for! There's even a couple of threads specifically for different 3rd party tools right near the top! So, I guess that means I was probably right:

FuryoftheStars wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:22 pm Or maybe someone has, but it isn't well known/popular

You are definitely an extremely shallow person. Moreover, a simple character satisfied with dry opposition...

1-) I didn't necessarily want a mod manager developed by third parties like MO2 (which I shared with ss). Similar to this, I requested that there be a study on this concept. But you dilute the issue with unnecessary explanations that people would prefer the built-in app (as used for skyrim) etc.

2-) EU4 (paradox launcher) also has a user-friendly launcher, even an old game. (Many examples can be written from many games) Individual profiles can be created for mods. Unfortunately, Factorio quality does not have this. Even the tag issue has just been added, previously I only had a chrome tab file where I added the mods. It soon swelled. But the good thing is that factorio has always improved, he has come a long way. Why not these too, it makes you dream.

3-) I may not be a good forum user, yes, perhaps it would be more correct to continue the previously opened topic. (There are cases where they need to be separate in order to attract attention in a way, even the moderators do not collect them all in one thread without exception. To a certain extent, this is tolerated.) But that was not your problem from the very beginning, you are just talking bullshit:

"Made for Skyrim." (As if I said why does he not support factorio)
-"People request built-in mod manager." (As if I said it should belong to the 3rd party. I requested a similar launcher, mod manager.)
-"Because no one has created it?" A clever, unique statement.
-"but it isn't well known/popular " If there is such a program, show, teach, describe, inform... Just bullshit...
"asking why a 3rd party mod manager doesn't exist yet, is going to get you anywhere. " A juicy laugh. By looking at the ss, you insisted on 3rd parties because you are narrow-minded.
-The moderators will make the necessary intervention if the subject is crowded, or a normal person will politely state this in a clear language. You, on the other hand, show a juicy behavior with unnecessary explanations from the very beginning, and at the end, you rise to the top like olive oil by saying that there are many such topics!)

Lastly, I ask: If there is an external application for Factorio where we can select our active mod group with short adjustments without going into the game (loading the mods for hours on mod trials and starting the game, entering and exiting), OR if there is a launcher belonging to the factorio, wouldn't people use it with admiration? I think it will be an excellent development for many people.

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:14 am You are definitely an extremely shallow person. Moreover, a simple character satisfied with dry opposition...

Please stop personal assaults. You can discuss other opinions, other ideas, etc. but what we cannot discuss here is other persons. Otherwise I need to close the thread.

To the topic

I thought about the reasons why there is no external mod-manager, even that it is wanted since over 7 years.

It is at first glance extremely easy to make your own mod-manager (and some have already been made), because in the end you need just to write a mod list.json file and download the mods into some directory.
But with the second look you suddenly see, that’s only half of work. Because it’s enormously hard to make sure that you collection of mods really works then. Modders can make thousands of things wrong. There is no clever workaround : you need really need to look into the mods, load the mods with a lua-interpreter in the correct order, execute them and handle all the errors that can result out of that. That might be the reason, why there is a mod-manager for Skyrim, but not for Factorio, but I just guess, that the mod-handling for Skyrim might be easier.

The code, that can do that is already existing. It’s needed to start Factorio, it’s already been there since forever. To make a working external mod-editor you need to duplicate that code. Sad enough this code is not open source. That might be the second reason, why there is no third party mod-editor. Nobody wants to write that code, it’s complicated, and it changes over time.

Well, yes, that code could be moved into some library, so that it can be used from both programs (the mod-editor and Factorio game).

So what we can achieve with that step is, that we have an external mod-editor, that works exactly like the internal. But the external has all its pros and cons as the internal. Like that it takes a while to load/test the mods after changing the set.

So the good question is: What features exactly would make such an external mod-editor so much more useful, than the current internal? I don’t know the exact features of the mentioned Skyrim-editor.

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:14 am you are just talking bullshit:

"Made for Skyrim." (As if I said why does he not support factorio)
-"People request built-in mod manager." (As if I said it should belong to the 3rd party. I requested a similar launcher, mod manager.)
-"Because no one has created it?" A clever, unique statement.
-"but it isn't well known/popular " If there is such a program, show, teach, describe, inform... Just bullshit...
"asking why a 3rd party mod manager doesn't exist yet, is going to get you anywhere. " A juicy laugh. By looking at the ss, you insisted on 3rd parties because you are narrow-minded.
-The moderators will make the necessary intervention if the subject is crowded, or a normal person will politely state this in a clear language. You, on the other hand, show a juicy behavior with unnecessary explanations from the very beginning, and at the end, you rise to the top like olive oil by saying that there are many such topics!)

I started to go through your post trying to explain things, but as I tried going through this bit, I found so much wrong with complete misquotes or quotes with key parts left out that completely change the meaning, that I just simply gave up because it was turning into a huge wall of quotes and was just simply messy looking. Additionally, any attempts at rebuttal at this point I can only see as perpetuating the issue and prone to further misquoting.

You're either having a serious issue with comprehension, or you're purposely trolling.

FuryoftheStars wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:56 pm

Factoruser wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:38 pm I think at least having profiles, especially for the active mod combination, is a good idea.

Sure, perhaps. You can also use save files for this, or have separate mod-list.json & mod-settings.dat files that you swap in and out via a batch script (there's the 3rd party mod manager... ).

That's rather inconvenient, almost like trying to work with Windows... The good thing is that the savefiles store the used mod combination and allow to switch to it before loading. Further, only a few players will have the trouble of managing their mods in a different way. In principle only if you use several total conversions with additional mods. So although it's not THAT much work to implement a profile manager, it wouldn't be really worth the effort.

And in case if Wube wants to implement it: the profile should additionally store the last used map settings for presetting.

Factoruser wrote: Thu Dec 22, 2022 3:14 pm

FuryoftheStars wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:56 pm

Factoruser wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 8:38 pm I think at least having profiles, especially for the active mod combination, is a good idea.

Sure, perhaps. You can also use save files for this, or have separate mod-list.json & mod-settings.dat files that you swap in and out via a batch script (there's the 3rd party mod manager... ).

That's rather inconvenient, almost like trying to work with Windows... The good thing is that the savefiles store the used mod combination and allow to switch to it before loading. Further, only a few players will have the trouble of managing their mods in a different way. In principle only if you use several total conversions with additional mods. So although it's not THAT much work to implement a profile manager, it wouldn't be really worth the effort.

And in case if Wube wants to implement it: the profile should additionally store the last used map settings for presetting.

I won't debate that having profiles readily available right from the game's mod manager wouldn't be better... it is, and has been requested in a few of those threads I linked.

That said, the separate mod json and dat files that you swap with a batch script isn't much different from an external mod manager. You can use the in-game mod manager to build out your list, then just create a very simple batch script to swap the two files (easiest way would be to copy them out to a separate folder somewhere, then just have the script delete the ones the game loads and copy (not move) your desired files in). If you wanted to get fancy, you could add in the choice command and build out the list of different "profiles" and then use goto or if...else if statements to swap the chosen ones in, thus only having 1 script for all of it. The batch script, though, allows you to swap your "profiles" before even starting the game, which any profile management for the built-in mod manager (or save game method) will not be able to accomplish (due to the nature of how the prototypes are loaded). So in that sense, I feel like that's easier.

(I just want to note here, too, as I've seen some suggestions now and again to just have different whole mod folders with only the mods you need/want (even if that means duplicate mods between some of the folders)... no, this is not necessary. You can have one mod folder with all of your mods, and then just have separate mod-list.json & mod-settings.dat files. That's all that's needed. Much simpler.)

If it were easy to do, it could be suggested to make it so the game's mod manager can be fired up separately from the game. In this way, you can access the mod manager, make changes, etc, without having to first wait for the game to load all of the mods on the first round. Though, tbh, that's probably all it would be saving you is the first round startup loading time.

This is a good sign why we (we) need an advanced mod manager. Thank you Factorio.

And I think I have experienced 1k mods so far. (before 2022)

ssilk wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:42 am

oyunbagimlisi wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:14 am You are definitely an extremely shallow person. Moreover, a simple character satisfied with dry opposition...

Please stop personal assaults. .


So the good question is: What features exactly would make such an external mod-editor so much more useful, than the current internal? I don’t know the exact features of the mentioned Skyrim-editor.

Since I couldn't stand the friend who replied at the time of the post, I kept silent at that time. Now I would like to dwell a little more on my request. In the other posts/forums mentioned, the subject that is mostly emphasized is to activate/deactivate the "mod group" at once. Yes, I started the subject by drawing attention to this, but I think factorio is really inadequate in this regard. Why editing the mod list or installing specific mods for the saved game is not a practical solution for me, let me explain it.

1-) It is not possible to align only the currently active (selected) mods to the top and the passive (other unselected) mods to the bottom row. There is this feature for the version. But how useful/necessary would it be to sort by version?

2-) The mod group can be easily accessed by the ways mentioned, yes I accept (mod list or save a game) but I have 350-odd mods. For example, I don't use my Even Distribution mode sometimes thinking it's cheating, sometimes I do. Should I include it in my never cheat mod pack like Max Rate Calculator? From battle modes, sometimes fortified walls, turrets, technologies, weapons and shells, let's say I grouped them all together. I may or may not always want to use them as a whole in themselves. So I can create my mod group with countless combinations. My understanding of gaming is changing fast. Will I use Repair Turret or not, will I use K2 turrets or not, Spidetron-Weapon-Bullet-Technology(military) which ones will I choose. Or from my "production oriented mods", in a group I created, advanced furnaces/advanced refining/chemical plant/mine/solar panels/greenhouse etc. Which ones will I choose, in this game or not, I always choose them one by one among 300-400 modes. Countless combinations will/will pop up for the group.

The issue here is also this; 1-) the number of mods seriously affects the game loading time. I don't want the mode I won't be using to remain selected. 2-) Mods can inflate my recipe list too much. I don't want the mod I won't use to stay. For example, I can't just say I won't use the Factorissimo2 mod. Or, while I want to use it at the beginning of the game on the loaded map, I may not want to use it later.

THE CONCLUSION IS: I can't find the mod I'm looking for quickly among the 300-400 mods. If only the currently selected / unselected ones were aligned to the bottom / top, I think even something as simple as this would be useful for a lot of users.

My two best clear recommendations are:

1-) Selected active modes and passive modes must be aligned separately under/over.
2-) I would like to label my mods externally, such as 1A Production- 1B Production- 2A Military- 2B Military. Then I would like to see the guide grouped again according to these tags. If this external tagging is not possible, as well as the favorite mods tag; very simply, seeing the Starred-Unstarred mods separately in 2 groups upside-down will make choosing between them much simpler. Thanks.

Here we can see which of our tagged moldars have been "downloaded". But we cannot see "active-passive".

-Downloaded ones; It should be able to be sorted separately, as in the Version-Updated-Popular-Downloads columns.

-Downloaded ones; In addition to the "white checkmark" it should show whether it is currently active or inactive. (If it is written in red, it is downloaded but currently inactive. If it is in the default state, it is downloaded and active) (And these active-passive ones should be specified in a separate column (Version-Updated-Popular-Downloads-) and aligned with similar logic.

A workaround I found myself: I added dependencies in a simple mod (encyclopedia style) (Factoripedia in the example). I changed the title so it would appear at the top. (1A) Among the mods I have added to this group, inactive ones are indicated in red. This is a nice detail. But it took me hours to prepare it. Spelling names right was torture. It is never a complete and perfect solution. We're not improving this with a simple tag/favorites feature?!