Did 2.2 Just Kill Mods?
Posted by HJfod on 12/01/2024
Well, this is quite funny. Less than two weeks ago, I made a blog post praising 2.2 and how it could breathe new life into the modding scene. Now, three minor updates later, it seems that 2.2 may actually be the end of modding, or at least the end of modding as we know it.
Every update is a reset
Every time Geometry Dash receives an update, no matter how minor it is, always causes some kind of reset to the modding scene. This is not just because the game has new features, causing some mods to become obsolete (like the latest updates adding a bunch of previous Mega Hack features); the bigger problem is that it completely mixes the game's binary code.
I won't delve too much into the details so this stays understandable for non-modders, but basically we have to re-examine the whole game from scratch every time an update happens. We have been working on a lot of tooling that would ease the process, but there's really no way to make it completely go away. And it can take from days to weeks to finish the re-examination, and only after all of its done can we start actually making mods. Basically, in our current landscape of official updates being released weekly, modding is practically impossible.
It could be made possible
There is one way modding could be made possible even with RobTop's new frequent updates: a PDB. A PDB would basically make 99% of the re-examining part go away - and as such, make modding much much more easy and fast. With a PDB, mods could be updated without basically any hassle - it could even be possible for mods to work with new updates without the mods needing any changes at all.
However, it's completely up to RobTop whether he wants to give modders access to a PDB, and even if so whether he'd want all modders to have it or just a select few.
Geode already makes porting mods between updates a heck of a lot easier (porting GDShare from 2.1 to 2.2 for example took literally zero code changes), but a PDB would be even stronger. Or to be more accurate, the combination of a PDB and Geode would be even stronger.
But do we want that?
But there is a bigger issue at play here; RobTop has shown that he's not weary of implementing what used to be mod-only features into the vanilla game. Every week, we seem to be blessed with another old Mega Hack or BetterEdit feature landing into the base game.
And to be honest, this does raise a question - do we even need mods anymore?
After all, the reason Mega Hack and BetterEdit got so popular was because they fixed issues and meaningfully improved the base game. However, the more of the same QoL changes RobTop adds to GD, the less their reason to exist. There are many players who have said they won't be using Mega Hack in 2.2, because they don't need it anymore.
And honestly, I think it might very well be for the better. After all, mods are inherently more inaccessible - they require a separate download from a third-party site, and have so far been mostly PC-only (though Android modding has become a thing recently thanks to Geode). Adding what used to be mod-only features to the base game just makes the base game a more enjoyable experience for more people.
It's up to RobTop
It's up to RobTop, honestly. If he keeps releasing updates as often as he is currently, then we likely won't see the modding scene flourish again. Although it is very likely that when he's satisfied with his bugfixes and moves on to working on 2.21 that releases will slow down, so we might see mods make a return then. Or if he just decided to take a well-deserved break.
If RobTop wants to keep modding a part of the community, the best way to support that would be to release a PDB. And if he doesn't, well, honestly, I would be happy to see him make modding obsolete by just making the base game better. After all, the reason I started BetterEdit in the first place was to improve a game I loved - it's even better to see those improvements make it into the game itself.
That's a bit of my past-midnight rambling, thanks for reading. Cya ;)
-HJfod