Patch proofing your mod?

[zenspiderz]

OK i am making a mod which is ambitious enough that it will take me years to complete. So i started thinking what will i do if a patch comes out before or soon after it is complete? Well maybe there will be no more patches. But then i thought; if i understand it correctly a patch just changes core game files not mod files. And so the reason why most mods have problems running after a patch is that some of the files it uses are from the main game and some from the mod. So what if ALL of the game files were put into the mod folder even ones not modified? Would that mean that the mod would contiue to work even after the patch is applied to the main game? Or have i misunderstood something?

 

[Refar]

Unless you want the people to use the older (pre-patch) exe as well for you mod (never tried, but could be possible...), there still will be some changes.

If your mod is to include a custom DLL, you will need to update/recompile it. This is most likely the biggest piece of work, if there are many changes (in your mod). Some other smallish updates might be necessary as well - if the Patch adds new Tags in the XML for example, you will still have to update your files. Shouldn't be a big deal, unless the basic mechanics change.

Both could mean some work, but shouldn't pose any serious problem for the creator of tha mod, who's familiar with its inner working.

I wouldn't count on future patches to come, so you should be safe either way...