UModManager 0.1.0
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 5:48 am
So this isn't super clean or well tested (in fact, the last few things I added were super dirty), but I'm putting it out here now, because I probably won't have a lot of time to work on it in the next few weeks, and I figure it needs to be released as early as possible if it's to have any chance of actually getting used 
This is a umod meant for the purpose of managing other umods.
For players: UModManager lets you enable/disable mods from the main menu, which many will find more convenient than editing mods.cfg directly and manually restarting, and can warn you of conflicts between mods.
For modders: You can add an info section to your umod files to describe them to players using UModManager, and give hints to the manager as to which other umods your mod is and isn't compatible with. For the details of this, look at UModManager.lua itself; it's all explained in a comment at the top.
Download it (and example/test mods) here.
Please feel free to do whatever you want with it, and with the included example mods...as long as you stay within the modding terms, of course!
If by some miracle you feel like improving this thing yourself, here's what I'd suggest working on:
- The message area has no scrollbar, largely due to a boneheaded interface design decision (showing descriptions for hovered mods, instead of requiring you to click on them like the Custom Dungeons menu does), so long descriptions or long compatibility warning messages don't fit in the box
- Multiple versions of the same mod should probably be collapsed into one list entry, with a dropdown menu to select which version you want
- Maybe the compatibility rules should be harsher?
- Come up with a better name
Although I'm not calling this version 1.0.0, I don't think the basic interface for the info section, or the meanings of the fields therein, will change, so if/when UModManager gets updated you will not need to update your own mod in turn.
This is a umod meant for the purpose of managing other umods.
For players: UModManager lets you enable/disable mods from the main menu, which many will find more convenient than editing mods.cfg directly and manually restarting, and can warn you of conflicts between mods.
For modders: You can add an info section to your umod files to describe them to players using UModManager, and give hints to the manager as to which other umods your mod is and isn't compatible with. For the details of this, look at UModManager.lua itself; it's all explained in a comment at the top.
Download it (and example/test mods) here.
Please feel free to do whatever you want with it, and with the included example mods...as long as you stay within the modding terms, of course!
If by some miracle you feel like improving this thing yourself, here's what I'd suggest working on:
- The message area has no scrollbar, largely due to a boneheaded interface design decision (showing descriptions for hovered mods, instead of requiring you to click on them like the Custom Dungeons menu does), so long descriptions or long compatibility warning messages don't fit in the box
- Multiple versions of the same mod should probably be collapsed into one list entry, with a dropdown menu to select which version you want
- Maybe the compatibility rules should be harsher?
- Come up with a better name
Although I'm not calling this version 1.0.0, I don't think the basic interface for the info section, or the meanings of the fields therein, will change, so if/when UModManager gets updated you will not need to update your own mod in turn.
Thank you for making this!