Mods Database/Guidelines

This page documents the guidelines on how the Mods Database is maintained, such as rules for the addition, removal and classification of mod entries, if you are not a Mod Creator or Wiki Editor, this page is likely irrelevant to you!

Mod Entries Fields Rules

Field	Sections	Description
Name	ALL	MUST contain the mod's full, unabbreviated name in plain text As an exception, for mods which just append something to the exact unmodified base game names, the base game name MUST be abbreviated as NSMBU or NSLU respectively Another exception is made for excessively long mod names that would deform the wiki table, which can be and if abbreviated, the full unabbreviated name MUST be written in the Description field of the mod for searchability IF the mod has a logo, it MUST be present as a Frameless thumbnail image with Text Wrap set to Center and placed ABOVE the plain text name, which must ALWAYS be present regardless of logo existence Mod logos must attempt to make a best fit to the current width of the Name field, neither larger nor too smaller Vertically tall mod logos should be downscaled to avoid overly tall mod entries
Creators	ALL	A plain text list of the main creators of the mod (plain text meaning no use of bulleted lists like these!) Use newlines where possible, "&" instead of "and", and apply the Small text modifier to extra-long names to keep this field short in width to give priority to Description and Links For mods with too many "main creators" (3+), a mod team name should be preferred if available DO NOT combine team names with individual names (eg: Do not do "WillyMaker & Team Evolution", it should instead be just "Team Evolution")
Game	Cancelled only	This field is necessary because the Cancelled section holds mods of both games together. CAN ONLY BE EITHER "NSMBU", "NSLU" OR "NSMBU & NSLU". DO NOT write "NSMBU + NSLU" at all costs! This can easily be confused for the Bundle version of the games instead of a mod having levels on both NSMBU and NSLU parts of the game
Nº of Worlds	ALL	The number of worlds the mod has (released mod) or is/was planned to have (upcoming/cancelled mod) MUST be a whole number or a numeric range between 1 and 18 The minimum value IS 1, even if a mod only has 2 levels in World 1 rather than the full world, it should still be listed as 1 world. For upcoming or cancelled mods where this is unknown, "???" should be used.
Nº of Levels	ALL	The number of levels the mod has (released mod) or is/was planned to have (upcoming/cancelled mod) MUST be a whole number or a numeric range between 2 and 4294967295. For upcoming or cancelled mods where this is unknown, "???" should be used.
Description	ALL	General information about the mod. This field is optional and may be left blank.
Release Date	Non-Cancelled only	For released mods, the date in which it was released. For upcoming mods, the planned or estimated release date which is subject to change, prefixed by "TBA - ". If no planned or estimated date is known, simply "TBA" should be used. All dates in this field MUST use the YYYY-MM-DD format or a partial form of it (YYYY-MM or YYYY) if not all date fields are known. Additional informative text such as what version of the mod a release date is for CAN be added but MUST be AFTER the formatted date, example: 2024-04-19 (v3.1) Multiple dates of multiple relevant versions of the mod may be listed separated by newlines, but MUST be sorted in DESCENDING order. (Latest release first at the top)
Links	ALL	Links to resources related to the mod. All are optional except for a single REQUIRED Download link for released mods. Not all links are allowed! ONLY the types of links below are permitted: Download links: Any number of links to download the playable assets of the mod itself, prefer official links by the creator, only using mirrors and archives if necessary. Download links MUST end in the word "Download" AND specify the download provider in parenthesis next to the link, such as: Demo Download (Mediafire) Trailer links: Trailer links MUST be YouTube links, other video platforms or self-hosted videos are NOT ALLOWED. Therefore specifying (YouTube) next to trailer links is unnecessary. > For Released mods: -- Only 1 link to the most relevant up to date release trailer of the mod allowed. Reveal, teaser, preview, etc. trailers must be removed upon a mod's release to give space to download links. > For Upcoming/Cancelled mods: -- Up to 4 links to watch reveal, teaser, preview, etc. trailers for the mod. The type of trailer (reveal, teaser, etc) can be specified such as: Release Trailer but MUST end in "Trailer". Website link: Link to a dedicated website for the mod, if any. Only ONE allowed per mod. Dead trailer and website links will be removed. For dead download links refer to the Mod Entry Removal -> Released Mods section of this page.

Mod Entry Addition

Released Mods

• Any already fully released or partially released (demos) NSMBU or NSLU mod instantly qualifies for addition to the database, with a few exceptions:
• To qualify as a proper mod, at least 2 custom levels must be present, single level releases are custom levels, not mods.
• A logo must exist for the mod and be used in the mod's titlescreen. (More specifically, a Title.szs with the custom logo must be present in the released download, whether it works or fails on NSMBU Bundle and etc is irrelevant)

Upcoming Mods

NOTICE: Before the creation of these guidelines, many upcoming mods were added to the database without meeting these requirements, they will not be backwards-removed, but future mods will be required to meet the requirements below.

• To qualify for addition as an upcoming (TBA release) mod, the initial obvious requirement is to be a NSMBU or NSLU mod, with at least a full world or more worth of custom levels planned to be made.
• To reduce additions of mods cancelled shortly after their announcement, initial progress must have already been made in the mod:
  • A final name for the mod must already have been decided.
  • The mod must have a finished initial logo designed (Does not need to be the final logo).
  • An estimated initial number of worlds planned to be made must have been decided. (Does not need to be final)
  • An estimated release date must have been decided (at minimum a specific year, month/day optional)
    • This does not need to be a final deadline, extending it after addition to the database is perfectly fine.
    • However, failure to extend the deadline with no public updates on the mod's status will result in it being assumed cancelled after too long has passed since the deadline registered on the database.
  • An official reveal announcement for the mod must have been made on the Evolution Discord server #mod-announcements channel.
    • You may be exempt of this requirement if you explicitly reach out to us on the Zenith Discord server with a mod addition request and reasoning (All other requirements must still be met and will require proof).
  • Extra requirements for first-time mod creators: (Recurring Mod Creators who have previously successfully released 1 or more NSMBU / NSLU mods in the past are exempt from these, for team mods the team leader is considered)
    • The mod must already be in development for at least 90 days since the initial official reveal announcement was made.
    • The mod must have shown real public development progress during those 90+ days, at bare minimum 1 level preview (image or video, but bonus points if video) but ideally more.
    • Having a high quality video trailer drastically increases qualification chance, but is not strictly required. (Level showcases & previews do not count)
  • Conversely you may be disqualified or required more things if you have a historical bad reputation of frequently starting mods and not finishing them, at staff discretion.

Cancelled Mods

• Mods for NSMBU or NSLU that are known to have existed and been cancelled prior to the creation of the database instantly qualify for addition, with the exception of fake joke mods.
• Mods started and cancelled after the creation of the database must have first been accepted into the database while they were still in active development as an upcoming mod. (Thus must have passed all the requirements above for Upcoming Mods)
  • In other words, direct addition of a mod to the cancelled section is disallowed, future mods may only enter the cancelled section through being moved from the main database sections.

Mod Entry Removal

Released Mods

Released mods may never be fully removed from the database. At explicit request of the original creator(s), the Creators field may be blanked out and all instances of their name(s) removed from an archived download in the Links field, should they desire to remove their traces from the internet, however the preservation of the mod's existence and its anonymized assets (excluding extraneous content such as trailers) is non-negotiable as long as its possible to preserve.

In the event of a mod being taken down, by the author, Nintendo or another party, resulting in all links of the mod to be gone, the links section is simply cleared of dead links as usual minus the download link, which is marked as (DEAD LINK) or (ARCHIVE) if one exists.

Upcoming Mods

Upcoming mods are the most volatile of all and therefore the most prone to removal, or, in most cases, being transferred to the cancelled section.

• An upcoming mod may be freely fully removed from the database at explicit request of the original creator(s).
• An upcoming mod will be moved to the cancelled section if any of the following are met and all attempts of contact with the creators have failed:
  • The mod has exceeded it's registered expected release date by over 6 months with no public announcement regarding the delay. (For mods with only an estimated year, the deadline overflow starts at December 31st of that year)
  • The mod has had no publicly noticeable activity in its development for over 6 months. (Even if still within the expected release date deadline!)
  • The mod creator(s) have deleted all their known internet accounts without warning and are therefore unreachable. (No delay for this one, the instant their digital presence is gone, the mod will be considered cancelled)
  • The mod has been officially announced as cancelled.

Cancelled Mods

Cancelled mods may never be fully removed from the database. At explicit request of the original creator(s), the Creators field may be blanked out and if applicable, all instances of their name(s) removed from an archived download in the Links field, should they desire to remove their traces from the internet, however the preservation of the mod's once existence and if applicable, its anonymized assets (excluding extraneous content such as trailers), is non-negotiable as long as its possible to preserve.

Exceptions

This is not a legal document and as such nothing here is set in stone nor to be taken literally. Use common sense when reading.

As such, exceptions to these rules are always possible with permission from Zenith staff and will be handled on a case-by-case basis with direct requests to the staff on the Zenith Discord server.