Releasing mods for GP4 has been quite difficult as getting all necessary permissions can be cumbersome.
As a result there are template mods. With a template mod the end user needs to download the content him/herself and place stuff in the correct folders.
Once you know what you are doing, it's not too hard as the ini's are already set up for you, but it's a lot and to the less tech savvy users it can be disencouraging.
So I have been thinking a little bit about it and might have come to a 'solution' - a compromise.
Let me try to explain in a few steps.
Imagine downloading an empty mod and the readme contains things like:
"The author suggests you use the ferrari by michael bolton
Download it here www.gp4.com/downloads/ferraribolton.rar"
Nothing wrong with that.
What if the readme was loaded in csm in rich text so the link is clickable?
Nothing really wrong with that as well.
Well, what if the author of the mod includes a script to unrar a downloaded file and puts the right stuff at the right places?
See where I'm going?
How about a CSM detecting a mod is not complete yet and CSM offering you to 'Get the Ferrari by Michael Bolton now!', which then takes you to the download page by using its internal browser.
That way mistakes are hard to make. By doing it this way and not completely hidden, the website(s) show all necessary banners and get the clicks they want.
Once you download the file via the internal browser, CSM monitors it and once it's done, it will do all things necessary to place it in the mod like magic.
Links change and 'die', so there's an online database also where my tools look at.
You can download complete mods and trackpacks from there also.
Anyway, this is a thing I have been working on, but would like to get opinions.
IMHO it's not disrespecting for the authors who are lost or didn't give permission to include in the mod itself.
Once you download a template it was already possible to place just about anything in the mod.
The only limitation is how tech savvy you are.
With this, things will just get easier and take far less time.
Ok, now it's your turn.
Go.
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy