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[Halnoth]

Even users who are using the "entity_default.insert" file to manually install the entity tags can use the pre-installed version as a guide on where to put them.

I just read over how Dirst explains installation. I'm working on it now. I want to point out though that you can add entity tags anywhere in that entity above the nobles and it will work. In Dirst's mod he specifically says to put them between X and Y but in reality you could put them right below [TRANSLATION:DWARF] or whatever and still be good to go. That's what I normally do so that all of my modded tags are at the top and easy to find. Heck, I think you can even put the tags right below [ENTITY:MOUNTAIN] and it ought to work, but I haven't tried.

[milo christiansen]

If you really want to make a bunch of mods work together you need Rubble. The LNP mod tool's abilities are but a pale shadow of what Rubble can do.

The only "drawback" to using Rubble is that if you really want things to work together smoothly you need to insert a few hundred templates, but Rubble come with an addon that automates this process for the most part ("Dev/SO Insert").

[Enemy post]

Out of curiosity, who is voting? The OP indicates that someone is.

[jecowa]

If you really want to make a bunch of mods work together you need Rubble. The LNP mod tool's abilities are but a pale shadow of what Rubble can do.

The only "drawback" to using Rubble is that if you really want things to work together smoothly you need to insert a few hundred templates, but Rubble come with an addon that automates this process for the most part ("Dev/SO Insert").

It looks like I was misunderstanding what Rubble is before. When I was reading the First Landing post I thought Rubble must be a programming language like Python, Java, or Ruby or something. I see now it looks like a browser app that can be included in the Dwarf Fortress folder.

I like it's features. It some how addresses the problem of a user trying to open a world with the wrong set of mods installed. I guess the templates are used by Rubble to patch the vanilla raws, and the templates probably won't have to be updated very often?

Out of curiosity, who is voting? The OP indicates that someone is.

I posted a poll to the Dwarf Fortress forum and /r/dwarffortress a few days ago to get a rough idea of how popular the mods are. Users were able to "vote" on as many mods as they wished, but I didn't really have any instructions telling them they could do so. If I ever do another poll, I'll encourage users to pick as many as they like.

[milo christiansen]

Rubble is a tool that takes "almost raws" and generates true DF raws. On top of this tool (the Rubble engine) there are several parts:

* A web UI for displaying documentation, selecting the mods you want to install, and changing settings for mods, amongst other things.
* A powerful standard library designed to make it easier to write mods and make mods work together.

The Rubble engine itself has powerful scripting abilities (using Lua), as well as a custom template language used inside your raw files. Additionally the engine has several other "side features" such as automatic update for addons (via DFFD or a custom update server), file banks (a system for copying arbitrary files such as stonesense graphics), a tileset patcher (based on BAMM, but slightly more flexible), and many more features.

Basically you are right, Rubble is a programing language, but it is also a mod manager, mod updater, mod documentation reader, and many other things.

EDIT: Accidentally hit the post button.

It some how addresses the problem of a user trying to open a world with the wrong set of mods installed.

Rubble goes out of it's way not to make changes outside of the raw directory, so most times you can have several Rubble generated world on a single install. A special DFHack script loader is used to keep all DFHack content local to a single world, this greatly enhances the ability to move saves from one install to another. Generally if a mod needs non-raw changes made they are supposed to be bundled into a small addon that can be applied separately as needed, but this is a rare problem.

and the templates probably won't have to be updated very often?

Exactly. And the best part? If you use stuff from the standard library then updating it is my problem, you don't need to worry about it

Speaking of the standard library: It contains some awesome DFHack scripts and modules that can do some amazing things. Automated or mechanically powered workshops with as little as one line of DFHack Lua code? Check. Disabling hardcoded buildings? Check. Customisable replacement for vanilla item melting? That too, and many more. The best part? All are packed up in small self-contained packages that you can use with minimal fuss and bother.

I have a standing policy that I will port any mod to Rubble. provided that the person requesting the port will maintain the result when I am done. If you just want to see what Rubble can do in the hands of an expert, take a look at my Underhive Settlement reboot, it does some amazing things and still doesn't use all the Rubble features.

[Dirst]

Even users who are using the "entity_default.insert" file to manually install the entity tags can use the pre-installed version as a guide on where to put them.

I just read over how Dirst explains installation. I'm working on it now. I want to point out though that you can add entity tags anywhere in that entity above the nobles and it will work. In Dirst's mod he specifically says to put them between X and Y but in reality you could put them right below [TRANSLATION:DWARF] or whatever and still be good to go. That's what I normally do so that all of my modded tags are at the top and easy to find. Heck, I think you can even put the tags right below [ENTITY:MOUNTAIN] and it ought to work, but I haven't tried.

I was a little over-specific, but following those directions on a vanilla entity file reproduces the pre-built one included with the mod.  The instructions for Stonesense, however, do require the TESB entry in the index to be after certain default entries... Putting it last ensures this works properly.

[Dirst]

I find Rubble really helpful for managing the repetitive parts of my raws (most things come in two dozen varieties to match specific layer stones) and validating that the right things vary with each variety.  I actually generate most of the standard mod files from the Rubble module using default options (Rubble is a little different in how it organizes creature graphics, so I update that manually).

That said, I go thru the effort to make a standard pack so it is available outside Rubble, such as in an LNP.

[Halnoth]

Jecowa does the LNP auto update the mods you are including? I'm just curious if that automatically happens when I post an update/new version or if you would like notification of some sort. I just want to make it as easy as possible on everyone involved. Also, thanks for doing all this. I'm sure everyone appreciates it.

[jecowa]

LNP doesn't auto update its mods, graphics packs, or utilities, but there are some scripts available that will automatically download the latest versions of content hosted on GitHub and DFFD and maybe others. Anything that's hosted on one of those places should be fine for anyone using a script to automatically fetch the latest versions of mods, utilities, or graphics packs.