Mod Distribution Documentation And Publisher Guide

Task: TODOS.phase-72.72.14.2.15

This guide is the publisher-facing release path for V2 .mayamod distribution. It ties together the mod documentation set, the release checklist, provider-specific publishing requirements, legal/review gates, update handling, and support evidence publishers need before a community mod is exposed to players.

Documentation Inventory#

Publishers must keep these documents linked from release tickets and store submission packets:

V2/docs/modding/mod-loading-system.md for package discovery and manifest validation.
V2/docs/modding/steam-workshop-integration.md for Steam Workshop upload, update, subscribe, download, and rating operations.
V2/docs/modding/modio-integration.md for non-Steam and cross-platform mod.io distribution.
V2/docs/modding/mod-review-pipeline.md for malware, prohibited content, performance, and manual review stages.
V2/docs/modding/mod-content-policy.md for prohibited content and safety rule enforcement.
V2/docs/modding/mod-legal-framework.md for EULA for modders, license terms, content ownership policy, counsel approval, third-party attribution, and commercial-use grants.
V2/docs/modding/mod-auto-update.md for update cadence, metered network behavior, and rollback expectations.
V2/docs/modding/mod-save-game-compatibility.md for disabling mods referenced by saves.
V2/docs/modding/mod-multiplayer-compatibility.md for host-required mods, auto-downloads, and join blockers.
V2/docs/modding/mod-author-dashboard.md and V2/docs/modding/mod-download-analytics.md for author-facing status, feedback, and publisher support evidence.

Publisher Release Path#

Confirm the .mayamod package has a valid manifest, stable mod id, publisher id, version, preview image, dependencies, permissions, and package hash.
Run the legal framework gate and record counsel approval for the active EULA, license terms, content ownership policy, and any commercial-use grant.
Submit the mod to the review pipeline and attach malware, prohibited content, performance, content policy, and manual review evidence.
Prepare provider metadata for Steam Workshop and mod.io, including title, description, tags, preview media, changelog, visibility, platform targets, and provider mod ids.
Validate save-game compatibility and multiplayer compatibility before any release, forced update, disabling action, or delisting.
Publish through the correct provider bridge, then verify download, subscription, rating, author dashboard, and analytics telemetry.
Record rollback, takedown, and support ownership before the release is marked publisher-approved.

Provider Matrix#

Surface	Required Inputs	Blocking Gates
First-party QA	`.mayamod` package, manifest, package hash, review evidence, legal report	manifest validation, legal framework, review pipeline, content policy
Steam Workshop	Steam AppId, Workshop legal agreement, preview, tags, changelog, visibility	Steam policy, legal framework, review pipeline, provider bridge
mod.io	game id, API key, OAuth author, platform targets, terms link, modfile metadata	mod.io policy, legal framework, review pipeline, provider bridge
Multiplayer	host-required mods, provider ids, versions, download sizes, package hashes	multiplayer compatibility, auto-download limits, provider availability
Save games	referenced mod ids, save slots, fallback status, migration/backup availability	save-game compatibility and rollback planning

Release Checklist#

Every publisher release ticket must include:

Package manifest validation output and package hash.
Legal framework report with EULA acceptance, license terms, content ownership policy, third-party attribution status, counsel approval, and commercial-use grant status.
Review pipeline report with malware, content policy, performance, and manual review disposition.
Provider metadata packet for Steam Workshop or mod.io.
Cross-platform target list and storefront/platform exclusions.
Save-game compatibility report and migration or fallback decision.
Multiplayer compatibility report for host-required mods and auto-download behavior.
Update, rollback, delisting, and takedown owner.
Author dashboard notification copy and support escalation route.
Analytics verification plan for downloads, ratings, reviews, and update adoption.

Updates, Rollback, And Takedown#

Update releases repeat the same legal, review, provider, save-game, multiplayer, and analytics checks as first publication. Publishers must block releases that change permissions, add third-party content, request commercial distribution, or break host-required multiplayer mods until the affected gate has new evidence.

Rollback plans must identify the previous provider file id, package hash, manifest version, save migration impact, multiplayer compatibility impact, and author/player communication route. Takedowns must preserve review evidence, legal rationale, provider request ids, support ticket ids, and analytics snapshots for audit.

Verification#

Run:

bash

python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-mod-distribution-publisher-guide.py
python3 -m json.tool V2/ue/Content/V2/Modding/ModDistributionPublisherGuide_V2_Contract.json
python3 V2/ue/Tools/check-v2-ci-workflow.py
python3 V2/tools/validate-v2-docs.py

The focused checker verifies documentation inventory, publisher release path, provider matrix, release checklist, legal/review references, CI/Horde wiring, and TODO evidence for 72.14.2.15.