Curating BGS Modpack (judgment skill)

A BGS modpack is not a shopping cart of impressive files. It is a declared world-style, built in recoverable increments, with enough naming, attribution, and rollback discipline that future-you can still explain what every layer is doing. Stability is the floor. 风格 is the soul. The curator is co-authoring a systemic world, not proving they can install more mods than a Vault-Tec procurement clerk can misfile requisitions.

The Iron Law

text
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| Declare the pack's 风格 first, then add mods in named, reversible batches; if you cannot say     |
| what role a batch plays or how to roll it back, you are stockpiling files, not curating a pack. |
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Route gate (one primary skill per intent)

Use this skill when the question is how to build or reshape the whole pack: declared style, batch sizing, rollback boundaries, separators, naming convention, attribution, and devlog discipline.

Do not use this skill as the primary skill for adjacent intents:

| User intent | Primary skill | |---|---| | "Should this mod be included?" / judge quality, risk, and pack fit | evaluating-bgs-mods | | "How do I install this mod correctly?" / read author instructions / choose files or FOMOD options | interpreting-mod-author-instructions | | Record a pack decision, batch boundary, or lesson learned | writing-modpack-devlog | | Enable/disable/sort plugins.txt or loadorder.txt | writing-bgs-load-order | | Inspect actual conflicts, winning overrides, or whether reorder-vs-patch is safe | xedit-conflict-audit |

Terminal handoff: after this skill defines the style and next batch boundary, hand each candidate mod to evaluating-bgs-mods. After a batch decision is made, hand the decision to writing-modpack-devlog. Inclusion says "belongs in the next plan"; it does not mean "install loose files however you feel like it."

When to use / When NOT

Use when:

• The user asks to build a modpack, plan the pack, or decide the next batch strategy.
• The pack lacks a declared 风格 and per-mod evaluation has no axis.
• A batch needs a rollback point, separator name, naming convention, or attribution policy.
• The mod list is growing and future debugging would depend on memory rather than structure.
• The user is tempted to call the pack done because it boots or seems stable.
• The pack needs a release/devlog boundary: what changed, what was learned, what future batches must avoid.

Do not use when:

• The only question is whether one mod should be included; use evaluating-bgs-mods.
• The user has already chosen the mod and needs install instructions; use interpreting-mod-author-instructions.
• The question is actual plugin order, master ordering, ESL flagging, or xEdit record state.
• You are about to write FO4/Skyrim/Starfield-specific facts into this skill. Query KB; do not fossilize game lore here.
• You are trying to replace judgment with a checklist of "N mods per batch". BB84's framework is anti-checklist: situational thought over ritual.

Process Flow

dot
digraph curating_bgs_modpack {
  rankdir=TB;
  node [shape=box];

  start [shape=doublecircle, label="Whole-pack intent"];
  declare_style [label="Declare 风格 first\nWhat world is this pack trying to become?\nWho is it for / not for?"];
  map_roles [label="Map pack roles\nframework, world, gameplay, visuals, translation, optimization, patches"];
  kb_query [label="Query KB for game-specific scale risks\ninstall-planning / engine / archive-precedence / save-file"];
  batch [label="Define next batch\nsmall enough to explain and roll back\nlarge enough to express one coherent role"];
  name_sep [label="Name and separate\nseparator/group name, mod names, patch names, source IDs, attribution"];
  rollback [shape=diamond, label="Rollback boundary real?\nprofile/devlog/save/readback path named?"];
  evaluate [label="Hand each candidate to evaluating-bgs-mods\nthen install-instruction skill"];
  record [label="Record decision and lesson\nwriting-modpack-devlog"];
  stop [shape=doublecircle, label="Batch ready for implementation"];
  shrink [label="Shrink or split batch\nmove risky/script/content-heavy mods later"];
  style_gap [shape=doublecircle, label="STOP\nNo declared 风格 = no fit decisions"];

  start -> declare_style;
  declare_style -> style_gap [label="not declared"];
  declare_style -> map_roles [label="declared"];
  map_roles -> kb_query -> batch -> name_sep -> rollback;
  rollback -> evaluate [label="yes"];
  rollback -> shrink [label="no"];
  shrink -> batch;
  evaluate -> record -> stop;
}

KB query discipline

This skill teaches the whole-pack judgment posture. It does not inline current game-specific operational facts. Query KB before turning scale risk into a batch decision.

Use these query shapes as the default:

text
bgs_kb_query({
  query: "pack curation incremental batching rollback boundaries",
  domains: ["install-planning", "save-file"],
  games: ["<current game>"]
})

bgs_kb_query({
  query: "<current game> modpack scale risk scripts archives animation precombine LOD",
  domains: ["install-planning", "engine", "archive-precedence", "debugging"],
  games: ["<current game>"]
})

bgs_kb_query({
  query: "load order grouping templates separators modlist naming",
  domains: ["load-order", "install-planning"],
  games: ["<current game>"]
})

STOP] If you are about to write "FO4 BA2 limit is X", "Skyrim animation stacks should use Y", or "Starfield currently needs Z" into this skill, STOP. Put that in a KB record or query an existing KB record. This skill may say "query game-specific scale risks"; it must not become a stale game-fact scrapbook.

Checklist

1. State the pack 风格 in one or two sentences before evaluating new mods.
2. State who the pack is for and who will probably dislike it. A real style has exclusion power.
3. Split the pack into role lanes: framework, world/content, mechanics, visuals, translation, optimization, compatibility patches, and testing/proof.
4. Define the next batch by one coherent role, not by "everything I felt like adding today."
5. Keep the batch small enough that you can disable/revert it as a unit during diagnosis.
6. Treat script-heavy, quest/content-heavy, animation/behavior, archive-heavy, and engine-touching batches as higher-risk; query KB before sizing them.
7. Create a separator/group name that states the batch's role, not a vague date or mood.
8. Rename mods, patches, archives, and local folders so parent/patch relationships remain obvious two months later.
9. Preserve source attribution: author, original page/source, translator, paid dependency status, and any local edits.
10. Record the batch decision in writing-modpack-devlog: why this batch exists, rollback boundary, known risks, and what must be tested.
11. Hand each candidate mod to evaluating-bgs-mods; whole-pack style does not replace per-mod fit judgment.
12. Do not call the pack done because it boots. Stability is the floor; the pack must still express its declared 风格.

Red Flags (STOP)

| Thought | Reality | |---|---| | "稳定 = 整合包做完了." | Stability is only the entry threshold. The pack's declared 风格 is the thing users remember. | | "We'll define the style after installing enough mods." | Without 风格, every per-mod fit verdict is floating in empty air. | | "This batch is big, but each mod is good." | Good individual mods can drown the pack when the batch has no single role or rollback boundary. | | "I can always disable the batch later." | Script-heavy and save-touching mods may not disable cleanly. Rollback has to be designed before risk enters the save. | | "The separator can just say Misc." | Misc is where future diagnosis goes to die. Name the role. | | "I know what this patch belongs to." | You know today. Future-you staring at hundreds of mods does not. Name parent and purpose now. | | "I'll patch everything in xEdit after the list is complete." | Theoretically possible is not operationally sane at whole-pack scale. Reduce repair debt before it becomes a vault-wide containment breach. | | "The pack can claim no crashes / perfect FPS." | BB84's own devlog walked back that overconfidence after real play coverage found missed problems. |

Rationalizations

| Excuse | Reality | |---|---| | "Naming and attribution are paperwork." | They are diagnostic infrastructure and author respect. A pack that cannot explain its layers cannot maintain them. | | "More content makes the pack richer." | More content makes the pack louder. Richness comes from reinforcing the declared world style. | | "I can use one giant batch because I have a mod manager." | A mod manager can toggle files; it cannot retroactively create a clean conceptual rollback boundary. | | "If it breaks, binary search will find it." | Binary search only helps when the search units are coherent and reversible. Script/save-state risk breaks the assumption. | | "The pack is mine, so I can absorb authorship into my brand." | The pack is co-authorship. Credit mod authors, translators, and paid dependencies explicitly. | | "Perfection before release is safer." | Perfectionism can turn into 烂尾. Ship only when honest, but do not confuse infinite polishing with responsibility. | | "Game-specific rules are common knowledge; I'll put them here." | Common knowledge ages. Game facts belong in KB so they can be versioned, filtered, and updated per game. | | "A checklist can replace the style call." | BB84's posture is anti-checklist: use structure to force thought, not to avoid it. |

Recommended Approach: Senior Curator's Lens

> This section reflects an experienced curator's perspective, distilled from BB84's > BGS modpack curation work. It is RECOMMENDED guidance, not enforced rule. > If the user has explicit alternative intent (different style, different priority, > different scale), the agent SHOULD adapt rather than push these defaults. The > objective rules in this skill body still apply regardless.

When the user does not have an overriding style preference, the recommended curation approach is:

1. Declare 风格 before adding any mod. Style anchors what fits and what

doesn't. Vagueness here costs more than vagueness anywhere else.

1. Build incrementally with rollback points. Each batch should have a save

commit before it starts. The "deprecate not delete" discipline (KB record pack-curation.deprecate-not-delete-on-upgrade) is your insurance.

1. Treat invisible compatibility work as the main job, not as polish. BB84

notes most of his time goes to record-conflict patches, LL coherence, item classification, sorting customization, localization integration — not to choosing mods. Plan accordingly.

1. The world should make sense. When a mod doesn't fit the curator's

declared world, exclude it even if it's individually excellent.

1. Ship over polish. Avoid perfectionism that ends in abandonment. BB84

2.0 video reference: "If chasing absolute perfection, the pack ends up abandoned."

1. Localization is curation infrastructure, not polish. In non-English

locales (KB record pack-curation.localization-layer-discipline).

See KB record mod-evaluation.bb84-curator-perspective-reference for the full curator essay.

See also

• evaluating-bgs-mods — downstream per-mod fit gate. This skill declares the pack axis; that skill decides whether a candidate reinforces it.
• interpreting-mod-author-instructions — downstream install-instruction reading after a mod has passed the include gate.
• writing-modpack-devlog — terminal handoff for recording style declarations, batch boundaries, rollback points, and lessons learned.
• writing-bgs-load-order — plugin activation and load-order mechanics after the batch exists.
• xedit-conflict-audit — actual record-level conflict readback; do not infer conflict safety from curation notes.
• bgs_kb_query — query install-planning, engine, archive-precedence, save-file, and load-order for game-specific scale and tooling facts.