219 lines
7.0 KiB
Markdown
219 lines
7.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Releasing a Mod
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layout: default
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root: ../..
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idx: 7.6
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redirect_from: /en/chapters/releasing.html
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---
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## Introduction
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Releasing, or publishing, a mod allows other people to make use of it. Once a mod has been
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released it might be used in singleplayer games or on servers, including public servers.
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* [License Choices](#license-choices)
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* [Packaging](#packaging)
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* [Uploading](#uploading)
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* [Forum Topic](#forum-topic)
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## License Choices
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You need to specify a license for your mod. This is important because it tells other
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people the ways in which they are allowed to use your work. If your mod doesn't have
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a license, people won't know whether they are allowed to modify, distribute or use your
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mod on a public server.
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Your code and your art need different things from the licenses they use. For example,
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Creative Commons licenses shouldn't be used with source code,
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but can be suitable choices for artistic works such as images, text and meshes.
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You are allowed any license; however, mods which disallow derivatives are banned from the
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official Minetest forum. (For a mod to be allowed on the forum, other developers must be
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able modify it and release the modified version.)
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Please note that **public domain is not a valid licence**, because the definition varies
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in different countries.
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### LGPL and CC-BY-SA
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This is a common license combination in the Minetest community, and is what
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Minetest and minetest_game use.
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You license your code under LGPL 2.1 and your art under CC-BY-SA. This means:
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* Anyone can modify, redistribute and sell modified or unmodified versions.
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* If someone modifies your mod, they must give their version the same license.
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* Your copyright notice must be kept.
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### WTFPL and CC0
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These licenses allows anyone to do what they want with your mod.
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This means they can modify, redistribute, sell, or leave out attribution.
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These licenses can be used for both code and art.
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It is important to note that WTFPL is strongly discouraged and people may
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choose not to use your mod if it has this license.
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### MIT
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This is a common license for mod code. The only restriction it places on users
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of your mod is that they must include the same copyright notice and license
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in any copies of the mod or of substantial parts of the mod.
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## Packaging
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There are some files it is recommended to include in your mod
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when you release it.
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### README.txt
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The readme file should state:
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* What the mod does.
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* What the license is.
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* Current version of mod.
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* How to install the mod.
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* What dependencies there are / what the user needs to install.
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* Where to report problems/bugs or get help.
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### description.txt
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This should explain what your mod does. Be concise without being vague.
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It should be short because it will be displayed in the content installer which has
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limited space.
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Good example:
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Adds soup, cakes, bakes and juices.
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Don't do this:
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(BAD) The food mod for Minetest.
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### screenshot.png
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Screenshots should be 3:2 (3 pixels of width for every 2 pixels of height)
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and have a minimum size of 300 x 200px.
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The screenshot is displayed in the mod store.
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## Uploading
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So that a potential user can download your mod, you need to upload it somewhere
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publicly accessible. There are several ways to do this, but you should use the
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approach that works best for you, as long as it meets these requirements, and any
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others which may be added by forum moderators:
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* **Stable** - The hosting website should be unlikely to shut down without warning.
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* **Direct link** - You should be able to click a link on the forum and download the file
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without having to view another page.
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* **Virus Free** - Mods with malicious content will be removed from the forum.
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### Version Control Systems
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It is recommended that you use a version control system which:
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* Allows other developers to easily submit changes.
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* Allows the code to be previewed before downloading.
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* Allows users to submit bug reports.
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The majority of Minetest modders use GitHub as a website to host their code,
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but alternatives are possible.
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Using a GitHub can be difficult at first. If you need help with this, for
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information on using GitHub, please see:
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* [Pro Git book](http://git-scm.com/book/en/v1/Getting-Started) - Free to read online.
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* [GitHub for Windows app](https://help.github.com/articles/getting-started-with-github-for-windows/) -
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Using a graphical interface on Windows to upload your code.
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### Forum Attachments
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As an alternative to using a version management system, you can use forum attachments to share
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your mods. This can be done when creating a mod's forum topic (covered below).
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You need to zip the files for the mod into a single file. How to do this varies from
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operating system to operating system.
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If you use Windows, go to the mod's folder and select all the files.
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Right click, Send To > Compressed (zipped) folder.
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Rename the resulting zip file to the name of your mod.
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When making a forum topic, on the "Create a Topic" page (see below), go to the
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"Upload Attachment" tab at the bottom.
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Click "Browse" and select the zipped file. It is recommended that you
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enter the version of your mod in the comment field.
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<figure>
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<img src="{{ page.root }}/static/releasing_attachments.png" alt="Upload Attachment">
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<figcaption>
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Upload Attachment tab.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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## Forum Topic
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You can now create a forum topic. You should create it in
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the ["WIP Mods"](https://forum.minetest.net/viewforum.php?f=9) (Work In Progress)
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forum.\\
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When you consider your mod no longer a work in progress, you can
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[request that it be moved](https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=10418)
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to "Mod Releases."
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### Content
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The requirements of a forum topic are mostly the same as the recommendations for
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a readme file. The topic should include:
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* What the mod does.
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* What the license is.
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* Current version of mod.
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* How to install the mod.
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* What dependencies there are.
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* Where to report problems/bugs or get help.
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* Link to download, or an attachment.
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You should also include screenshots of your mod in action, if relevant.
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The Minetest forum uses bbcode for formatting. Here is an example for a
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mod named superspecial:
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Adds magic, rainbows and other special things.
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See download attached.
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[b]Version:[/b] 1.1
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[b]License:[/b] LGPL 2.1 or later
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Dependencies: default mod (found in minetest_game)
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Report bugs or request help on the forum topic.
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[h]Installation[/h]
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Unzip the archive, rename the folder to superspecial and
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place it in minetest/mods/
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( GNU/Linux: If you use a system-wide installation place
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it in ~/.minetest/mods/. )
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( If you only want this to be used in a single world, place
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the folder in worldmods/ in your world directory. )
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For further information or help see:
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[url]http://wiki.minetest.com/wiki/Installing_Mods[/url]
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If you modify the above example for your mod topic, remember to
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change "superspecial" to the name of your mod.
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### Subject
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The subject of topic must be in one of these formats:
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* [Mod] Mod Title [modname]
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* [Mod] Mod Title [version number] [modname]
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For example:
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* [Mod] More Blox [0.1] [moreblox]
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