Review: Car Mechanic Simulator 2021

[zsjavorszky]

Nexus Username

TheSupremeSky

Extension URL

https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/1117

Game URL

https://www.nexusmods.com/carmechanicsimulator2021

Existing Extension URL

No response

New features

There is no vortex extension exists for CMS2021. The implementation is a simple basic loader.
I created a collection. It contains the melon loaded and 3 of the most popular mods.
https://next.nexusmods.com/carmechanicsimulator2021/collections/jrp9jm

Information

• I confirm the above is accurate

Packaging

• This extension is packaged correctly

Testing

• This game extension has been tested

Review Tasks

If a task fails, contact the author to request changes before continuing.

• Double-check for existing extension
• Is the extension packaged correctly?
• Does it install into Vortex?
• Does it correctly discover the game?
• Does it successfully install a mod?
• Does it successfully install a collection?
• Does the game run correctly with the mods installed? ​

When reviewed and passed, please complete the following tasks:

• Run the GitHub Actions to add to manifest
• Contact author
• Ask Community to enable the Vortex button for the game
• Update the #vortex-announcements channel on Discord

[IDCs]

Hi there @zsjavorszky,

I reviewed your game extension and I'm afraid that it's currently too basic to fully support the game. We usually apply a 80/20 mod support rule when reviewing an extension, and I'm afraid that the lack of information presented to the user regarding the MelonLoader hard requirement is causing the extension to fall below the mark.

To add your extension to the Vortex extensions manifest you would have to either notify the user of this requirement and point him to a download location, or even better, download and install the requirement during your game registration's setup.

Have a look at the automatic downloader for Stardew Valley's SMAPI as an example.
https://github.com/Nexus-Mods/vortex-games/blob/master/game-stardewvalley/SMAPI.ts

[zsjavorszky]

Hello @IDCs ,

Thank you for taking the time to review my game extension.

I utilized the collection system of Vortex to bundle MelonLoader with the mods, eliminating the need for manual installation. MelonLoader is a required dependency and it configured directly within the collection. I see the Vortex collection system as a very basic package manager, although I’m not certain of the developers' original intentions.

You can test the extension alongside the collection here:
https://next.nexusmods.com/carmechanicsimulator2021/collections/jrp9jm/mods

I understand you have established policies, standards, and workflows that guided your current system design. However, I’d like to highlight a few areas where I believe there are opportunities for improvement.

Game Registration

• Current Issue: Overlapping responsibilities in the extension.
• Suggested Change: Game registration should be a separate, simplified module.

Benefits:

• Allows for small, simple and independent community contribution, development and release cycles.
• Allows automatic server-side validation (e.g., image type, size).
• Enables users to handle registration directly through the Vortex UI with client-side validation.

Game Detection

• Current Issue: Overlapping responsibilities in the extension.
• Suggested Change: Game detection should be a separate, simplified module.

Benefits:

• Allows for small, simple and independent community contribution, development and release cycles.
• Supports implementation of multiple independent detectors (e.g., Steam, GOG) under a standardized approach.
• Enables server-side validation (e.g., ID length).
• Enables users to configure detection via the Vortex UI.

Game Mod Installation

• Current Issue: Integrated too deeply with other extension features.
• Suggested Change: Separate mod installation as an independent module

Benefits:

• Allows for small, simple and independent community contribution, development and release cycles.
• Facilitates describing and managing dependencies between modules.

I appreciate your work, but by by decoupling game registration, detection, and mod installation into smaller, independent modules, you could achieve a simpler development process, faster release cycles, and greater community involvement.

Best regards,
Sky

[IDCs]

Hi there @zsjavorszky,

Thank you for your feedback. You are correct, collections is indeed a very basic package manager, but so is Vortex's extensions system. Nothing is stopping you from having an extension which provides the most basic game registration call, then have that extension "extended" by yet another extension which is solely responsible for installing mods for that game, or even offer an entirely different dependency control system.

Our main issue is documentation and not providing enough examples to showcase what Vortex is capable of.

Going back to the game extension - I get that the collection will indeed create a working modding environment, but keep in mind that some Vortex users will find your game extension through Vortex's UI, potentially entirely missing your extension page description. The user has to be notified of any hard requirements (even if it's a collection) as soon as he manages the game.

You could download the collection automatically on start-up, but I'm unsure if this makes sense UX-wise.

Regardless, you can do it this way:

async function downloadCollection(api) {
    const revisionArray = await api.emitAndAwait('get-nexus-collection-revision', 'jrp9jm', 1);
    const downloadUrls = await api.emitAndAwait('resolve-collection-url', revisionArray[0].downloadLink);
    const downloadLink = downloadUrls[0]?.[0]?.URI;
    if (!downloadLink) {
        throw new Error('Failed to resolve download link');
    }
    await util.toPromise(cb =>
        api.events.emit('start-download', [downloadLink], undefined, undefined, cb, undefined, { allowInstall: true }));
}

[zsjavorszky]

Hello @IDCs,

Thank you for your quick response and for being open to my suggestions.

I understand that Vortex’s extension system already supports separating components into smaller, independent pieces, much like what I suggested. I believe the system is great and highly flexible. I’d like to confirm your intentions and future plans for its development.

As you mentioned, the lack of documentation presents a significant challenge. I’ve been brainstorming about how to approach separation, but I believe Vortex support may be required to install dependency extensions. Could you please clarify whether it's possible to install other extensions from within an extension? If so, would you be able to share a small example?

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance!

Kind regards,
Sky

[IDCs]

Hi @zsjavorszky,

To highlight an extension requirement it has to be published on the website and it has to be added to Vortex's extensions manifest. Adding a dependency is then as simple as:

/*
* (string) Name of the extension (the name in your info.json file)
* (string) Version of the extension (leave undefined for latest)
* (boolean) Whether the extension is optional or not.
*/
context.requireExtension('Fallout New Vegas Sanity Checks', undefined, true);

Keep in mind that you could just use the name of the extension in the requireExtension call and it will resolve to the latest version of that extension as long as it's present in the extensions manifest.

TBH there's no reason why you'd have to split a game extension's functionality into different extensions unless you're planning on writing a global MelonLoader handler. I get that separation of concerns and modularity is beneficial for medium-large projects, but for something as small as a game extension, it feels like overkill.