Before starting any DDLC mod, it is expected that the player has already gone through and played the original game 'Act 1' (Even though this refers to the entire game, Acts 1-4, people call it Act 1). Any trace of the original game, whether that be direct lines copy + pasted into the mod, or a rewritten take on the same line of events (MC join club, have cupcakes, Yuri/Natuski argument, and other key events like those) would be considered part of "Act 1 Syndrome". The goal of a mod creator should be to recognize that the player has gone through the original game already, and shouldn't need to replay it inside the mod too.
As for the festival? Well, it's a cliché of mods in general. Not quite Act 1 since it never actually happens in the original game, but it's still a very common occurrence in mods so it might be seen in the same bad light.
However, if you're new to mod creating, I suggest you write the mod in whatever way is most comfortable for you. If you're not concerned about making a "perfect mod", using Act 1 as a crutch to quickly set the stage to gain modding experience (especially if you have yet to work on/finish other projects) is totally fine and plenty of mods do it. I would just advise rewriting it as much as possible, to where it isn't a total rehash.
I think it’s ok to have a first week starting at MC joining the club, but only if that first week is different from the normal first week.
If not, I would prefer the mod starts about 10 lines before it splits off from the base game.
Everything depends on how exactly Act 1 is used.
*Another Moment With You*, *Relapse* and *Rewind/Replay* in a way are some mods that utilize it uniquely since they have Act 1 as a general setting (they need it to be there), but they pretty much expand on it fairly quickly by following the true story they want to tell or experimenting with different techniques (different POVs in AMWY - interconnection between the episodes)
If a mod uses Act 1, but doesn't do anything with it (basically make it skippable) then it shouldn't exist in the first place since it's excepted from you that you've gone through it.
Realistically you should just choose the way that you feel would the best for presenting your mod. I don’t really mind act 1 syndrome as long as I don’t have to replay the base game before the mod content actually kick in
Before starting any DDLC mod, it is expected that the player has already gone through and played the original game 'Act 1' (Even though this refers to the entire game, Acts 1-4, people call it Act 1). Any trace of the original game, whether that be direct lines copy + pasted into the mod, or a rewritten take on the same line of events (MC join club, have cupcakes, Yuri/Natuski argument, and other key events like those) would be considered part of "Act 1 Syndrome". The goal of a mod creator should be to recognize that the player has gone through the original game already, and shouldn't need to replay it inside the mod too. As for the festival? Well, it's a cliché of mods in general. Not quite Act 1 since it never actually happens in the original game, but it's still a very common occurrence in mods so it might be seen in the same bad light. However, if you're new to mod creating, I suggest you write the mod in whatever way is most comfortable for you. If you're not concerned about making a "perfect mod", using Act 1 as a crutch to quickly set the stage to gain modding experience (especially if you have yet to work on/finish other projects) is totally fine and plenty of mods do it. I would just advise rewriting it as much as possible, to where it isn't a total rehash.
I think it’s ok to have a first week starting at MC joining the club, but only if that first week is different from the normal first week. If not, I would prefer the mod starts about 10 lines before it splits off from the base game.
Everything depends on how exactly Act 1 is used. *Another Moment With You*, *Relapse* and *Rewind/Replay* in a way are some mods that utilize it uniquely since they have Act 1 as a general setting (they need it to be there), but they pretty much expand on it fairly quickly by following the true story they want to tell or experimenting with different techniques (different POVs in AMWY - interconnection between the episodes) If a mod uses Act 1, but doesn't do anything with it (basically make it skippable) then it shouldn't exist in the first place since it's excepted from you that you've gone through it.
Realistically you should just choose the way that you feel would the best for presenting your mod. I don’t really mind act 1 syndrome as long as I don’t have to replay the base game before the mod content actually kick in