Flagging mods as checksum breaking

[Bosparan]

Hi guys,

one thing that has upon occasion frustrated me in some of the other paradox games was the checksum calculation. It took ages (and depending on the game - yes, I'm badmouthing you, CK2, no use hiding! - it would make me wait for the entire time) to yield a result I could have told it right away:

Yes, my mod-collection breaks the checksum.
I know.

What would you think about a functionality that allows mods to declare that they are breaking the checksum? It would save computation time at the very least (or at least it does so for those who eschew Ironman mode).

Cheers,
Bosparan

 

[potski]

Flag mods, or any other graphics change, won't break the checksum.

 

[GundamMerc]

Flag mods, or any other graphics change, won't break the checksum.

That's not what he means by flagging. In this instance, to flag is "to mark or designate".

 

[potski]

Haha. Too many people going on about flags

 

[linkeagleandzen]

What he's asking is if he can write a small bit of code that will tell the game "don't bother calculating checksum, there is a mod on this build that will break it" so that the game can boot faster.

My prediction: signs point to no.

 

[ringhloth]

The checksum is not solely used to detect whether or not you have mods.

 

[Bosparan]

The checksum is not solely used to detect whether or not you have mods.

What else is it used for? (seriously. I have no idea at all what else it is used for - disabling Ironman when most mods are loaded is the only effect I have been able to observe)

 

[magzh]

What else is it used for?

It is used to confirm that you can play multiplayer with other people. Unless you have the same checksum, you cannot play together.

 

[wright1331]

Check sum is used to know that the versions are the same
The same expansion (in hoi3), same patch, same mods.

Mod that change the pictures in the game will not change the checksum. If they change any stat or map attribute it will change the checksum.

If you read what the mod does, you will know before hand if it will change the checksum (as long as they listed everything they did)

 

[Bosparan]

It is used to confirm that you can play multiplayer with other people. Unless you have the same checksum, you cannot play together.

Ah right, makes sense - never considered playing one of those games in multiplayer, so the thought never occurred to me. In that case, rather than flagging individual mods, an additional multi-choice option in the options menu would be needed, where you get to pick one of three settings:

• Calculate Checksum at start (default)
• Calculate Checksum only when selecting multiplayer (For those who rarely play multiplayer)
• Delay Checksum Calculation (Only start Checksum calculation when idling for some time - say when a player starts the game and goes away. No harm calculating it when noone's using the computer right now anyway)

Check sum is used to know that the versions are the same
The same expansion (in hoi3), same patch, same mods.

Mod that change the pictures in the game will not change the checksum. If they change any stat or map attribute it will change the checksum.

If you read what the mod does, you will know before hand if it will change the checksum (as long as they listed everything they did)

I see I really have chosen a bad title for this thread. As I wrote in my original post that started this thread, I'm concerned with cutting down on system load due to unnecessary checksum calculation. I'm not in the least confused about what kind of mod breaks the checksum and what doesn't. I've written enough mods to know by now.

 

[Art1985]

I see I really have chosen a bad title for this thread. As I wrote in my original post that started this thread, I'm concerned with cutting down on system load due to unnecessary checksum calculation. I'm not in the least confused about what kind of mod breaks the checksum and what doesn't. I've written enough mods to know by now.

Opening doors for cheating? Game can't trust mods, game should and have to check mods so that all players know what mods is used and what they do. Not that I would insert mod in the game that will give me bonuses and no one will know this if I write in mod not to check checksum.
Only option should be to have option to lunch only single player mode game and in this case it's not so important to check checksum.

 

[Bosparan]

Opening doors for cheating? Game can't trust mods, game should and have to check mods so that all players know what mods is used and what they do. Not that I would insert mod in the game that will give me bonuses and no one will know this if I write in mod not to check checksum.
Only option should be to have option to lunch only single player mode game and in this case it's not so important to check checksum.

Hi Art,
as I said in the very same post you quoted, I totally forgot to consider multiplayer - which I've never used with paradox game. I totally agree, checksums are required for multiplayer - for compatibility-reasons at the very least. You can't really prevent cheating with them, but it'd make that harder as well.