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This discussion stemmed from the tag. I'm subscribed to and like answering questions on the tag; however the "Feed the Beast" mod changes the game to such an extent that no matter how much I know about Minecraft, I can't answer any questions regarding "Feed the Beast".

So this discussion can be generalized. If a mod, expansion (or DLC for that matter) changes a game to such an extent where if questions are tagged with the mod/expansion/DLC name, that the question will have nothing to do with the base game; then the base tag of the game should be removed from the question.

We have already done this in the past, consider the Warcraft 3 map no longer carries the tag, since knowing Warcraft 3 strategies does nothing to help you in DotA.

Unfortunately I don't have any more examples right now, however I still think it would be good to generalize this rule.

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  • I remember a similar meta discussion around "When is a mod not a mod, but a separate game?" but I can't find it :/.
    – Robotnik Mod
    Nov 11, 2013 at 7:00
  • Related: meta.gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/7168/…
    – 3ventic
    Nov 11, 2013 at 8:13
  • I think this applies right now to whether questions about xcom-enemy-within (the expansion) should also have the xcom-enemy-unknown tag, unless it's actually a question that applies to the game with and without the expansion.
    – Flyto
    Nov 13, 2013 at 14:21
  • Policy is that expansions always carry the base tag, unless they are non-modular (i.e., you can't not use the content). Hence world-of-warcraft, but civ-5-brave-new-world
    – Raven Dreamer
    Nov 13, 2013 at 16:02
  • 2
    Also related: This and this
    – FAE
    Nov 13, 2013 at 16:20
  • Another exmple: DayZ questions don't get the Arma2 tag.
    – SevenSidedDie
    Nov 13, 2013 at 21:24
  • @RavenDreamer may I ask the reason for this policy? (or can you link where it was decided?). I question it because, for example, this question is totally irrelevant to anybody without the expansion, so I'm not sure why the base game's tag is helpful. Thanks :-)
    – Flyto
    Nov 16, 2013 at 11:04
  • @SimonWaldman It's to help with filtering and favoriting; someone who has put XCOM on their ignored or favorite tags list would presumably also want to do the same for XCOM:EW questions. Also, see Badp's answer here: meta.gaming.stackexchange.com/a/7596/336
    – Raven Dreamer
    Nov 16, 2013 at 13:27
  • @RavenDreamer hmm, thanks. I understand, though I'm not sure that I agree - somebody who owns XCOM:EU and has put that on their favourites list may not have bought XCOM:EW, and thus might not be interested in those messages. But in any case, thanks for the explanation.
    – Flyto
    Nov 16, 2013 at 14:31

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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I think we need to judge it on a case-by-case basis. There are a whole range of different total conversions from huge mods to standalone games that merely use the engine from the original. I don't think we can draw one single line that decides here.

Some factors I think that should be considered when deciding are whether the questions about the conversion are answerable by those who play the base game, which mechanics/assets are different and by how much, and whether the total conversion is launched (or can be launched) using the default launcher, or base game's menu.

The main question here comes down to when is a total conversion considered to be a game of its own? That isn't something we can clearly define. That being said, I don't think Feed The Beast can be called a different game from Minecraft in the same way that heavily modded Skyrim isn't.

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  • This works, but the question then becomes "When do we make these definitions and how are they enforced?"
    – Resorath
    Nov 14, 2013 at 16:32
  • Agreed that the important criterion would seem to be whether the question is at all relevant to somebody who only has the base game.
    – Flyto
    Nov 16, 2013 at 11:05
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If a question is asked that is about a total conversion mod (The Specialists mod for Half-Life) OR DLC (Bioshock Infinite: Beyond the Sea DLC has nothing to do with the first storyline from what I can tell.) where the gameplay changes drastically and the content is strictly of the nature or of the where Extinction is in the base game but is a completely separate issue from Squads and Multiplayer or the campaign (see ) then I personally would tag it/create a tag for the separate issue.

For Instance:

How do I protect the helicopter from being destroyed at the first hive fight in Extinction?

This particular question with doesn't really fit the bill, as while yes it is a base game mode, it would be nice to see the . It will have a different scheme than

How do I make Riley attack?

This question would be beneficial from an edit to make it coincide with the mode.

However if, say there was a command and conquer mod for call of duty ghosts:

How do I force my roving band of rileys to attack a ghost squad?

THIS question would most definitely benefit from the [tag:call-of-duty-ghosts-command-&-conquer] because it has absolutely nothing to do with the multiplayer or the campaign or the extinction mode, thus it would require a mod tag.

TL;DR

I think we should have the expanded tags. It further allows the sorting of questions as they arise. With my limited understand of tagging, I think if the tag benefits the question to get certain expertise on the subject at hand then we should tag questions with the expanded tags.

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  • Can you rewrite the tl;dr part? I can't actually tell what the "it" and "as such" are actually supposed to mean.
    – SevenSidedDie
    Nov 14, 2013 at 1:11
  • @SevenSidedDie Done.
    – Cole Busby
    Nov 14, 2013 at 16:09

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