After talking with Chow Guy, I am posting here to talk about a way the mod packs can become more "organized" and "consistent." Unfortunately, the system right now of making mod packs has become very convoluted. The rules2.bat has been altered by each mod maker to make it like the Warlocks install (by adding his own mod pack to it), but there is not enough being done to make the installation easy enough. Any person can figure out how to install the mod packs in the most basic form of using the rules2.bat, but it becomes more difficult when files are moved around. Many of the .ILBs have been copied by multiple mod packs into the UNITS directory, yet there is no centralized form of where to put these files. I am proposing that there be made a standard directory, where all the .ILBS (the ones not defaultly in the UNIT directory) are kept.
Also, the lack of compatibility of the mod packs with existing AOW maps will continue to hamper the popularity of the mods. The only way to fix this problem will be to set down an "untouchable" template of TS136 and/or Warlocks (depending on which mod pack the mod is based off of). What I mean by this is that if a mod pack, let's say Lighthawk ruleset, is based off of Warlocks ruleset, the Warlocks units and buildings must stay overall constant from the new changes of the mod. There can't be a change of unit/building/etc. ID, where there is nothing added. For example, the undead guild swordsmen has been deleted in Lighthawk ruleset and not replaced, therefore causing a crash in any Warlock based map that has a guild swordsmen on the map. This causes Lighthawk to become incompatible with its template, Warlocks. I am not going to say further on this problem or name any other names, except that if any person is making a mod pack and has compatibility problems with its template mod pack, please fix it.
The latest problem in mod pack compatibility is the availability of the portrait inserter. The rules2.bat that has classically handled the mod packs is now becoming inefficient with in not only handling the portrait inserter problem, but also the above mentioned problem of copying .ILBs to the UNIT folder. The best way of correcting this problem, that I can see will be to make a modified rules2.bat for every mod pack. This modified rules2.bat could go under the standard title of rules- Or the other solution is... Chow Guy is right now creating a rules2.bat that should fix some of the mod pack problems and make it possible for the mod maker to not ever have to make a *.bat for his/her mod pack. It should be available soon if the mod makers are interested in having it. The last thing that I can think of that should be addressed is the changing of units in the mod pack. For example, in Heavenly mod the Giant has an evil alignment while in TS136 the giant has a good alignment. This can severely hamper the mod packs, because the races in the maps have become out of balance with the new tinkering. With the hampering of the author's intent, the maps become crazily imbalanced and loose much of their fun factor. However, that does not mean a mod pack can't modify the "normal" units, just that it should be noted that severe changes can hamper the compatibility of the mod pack with existing maps. This also includes level changes of units/drastic changes to the inner working of a unit/the change of costs of the unit. Now, I am hopeful to hear what all of you mod makers out there think about the things I have mentioned. It would nice if there could become a consensus on these issues of organization and compatibility in the mod packs. And feedback, comments, and suggestions are welcomed.