Prospect

One folder per instance. Its game version, its mods, its worlds: everything lives together, apart from every other instance.

A four-step wizard. Name, version, icon, summary: the folder is created right away, ready for mods and worlds.

Creation installs when it must. Pick a version you do not have yet: the wizard states its download size, fetches it and installs it before the instance is created.

Rename, duplicate, delete. The copy suggests its own name, deletion counts its files and owns up to anything it could not finish.

Cards that state the essentials. Version and channel, last launch, time played, and the update count once a check has found some.

Filter and sort. Find an instance by name, sort by last launched or alphabetically.

The Worlds tab. Every world in the instance, with its size and its last change.

Options per instance. Arguments appended after --dataPath, KEY=value environment variables, mesa_glthread on Linux: applied at the next launch.

Side by side. Versions install into one shared folder: several instances use the same one without downloading anything twice.

Stable, test, previews. The official catalog filtered by channel; test versions stay behind their own switch.

An honest install bar. Download, check, install; on Windows the progress is estimated, and labeled as an estimate.

A guard for the Windows installer. The game’s own setup sometimes shows an uninstall prompt that nothing can suppress. Prospect installs into its own folder, checks the game truly landed there, and tells you what to answer.

Uninstalling that names names. Before a version goes, the list of instances that rely on it.

Broken installs, shown. An install cut short or unreadable is listed apart, with its reason.

The catalog, offline. When it cannot be reached it says so, and the versions you already installed stay on screen.

The official ModDB, built in. Search, categories, sorting by downloads, last updated, trending or name.

The page as published. The author’s description, a one-line summary on top, and their links: source code, issues, wiki, website.

The logo wherever the data exists. A mod’s artwork follows it onto every screen that names it.

The exact version, your call. Every published release can be picked, with its notes and the game versions its author declares.

Compatibility, labeled. “Assumed compatibility” when only the series matches, “not declared compatible” otherwise: you install knowing what you are doing.

Dependencies proposed, never imposed. The install plan lists what is missing and leaves the decision to you: nothing installs behind your back.

Verdicts that tell things apart. Not found on ModDB, no release published for your game version, present but disabled: three cases, three different messages, each with what to do.

Replace and downgrade, cleanly. Changing a mod’s version goes through the same plan, which says which one replaces which.

Update checks with a verdict. “Everything is up to date”, or the exact count, newer releases not declared for your game version included.

Update everything in one move. With a closing tally that names whatever failed, if anything did.

“Works with”, “expects content from”. The Mods tab says what your mods bring each other, and what is missing.

The log read back after the session. A mod whose launch wrote errors carries a badge on its row, sample lines included.

Removal that warns. Uninstalling names the mods that depend on the one you are removing.

Hand-dropped zips, recognized. A mod dropped into the Mods folder is identified, and can be enabled or disabled without removing it; unreadable, it is marked unidentified, with its reason.

Offline without pretending. When ModDB is unreachable, the list in memory serves if fresh enough, otherwise the screen admits it is too old; your installed mods keep working.

Launching that checks first. Version installed, .NET required: what is missing is named before the game can fail without a word.

The instance checkup. Five local checks (game version, .NET, dependencies, compatibility, disk space), no network call, and every finding comes with its own fix.

Backups per instance. A full archive of the data folder, kept outside it, never carried along by a duplicate.

The pre-launch net. An automatic backup before every session if you turn it on; a failure never blocks the launch, and says so.

Restoring that covers itself. Restore backs up the current state first, then brings worlds, configs and mods back to the chosen date.

The instance log, on board. The last launch’s log reads inside the app, even while the game is running.

The Logs page, export included. Prospect’s own log re-reads itself while the page is open, and exports as a zip, ready for a bug report.

Downloads in plain sight. A history with each line’s outcome (done, failed, canceled), cancelation midway, a smoothed speed readout, and the file checked on arrival whenever upstream publishes a checksum.

Broken states, never hidden. An instance that would not load is listed apart with its reason, instead of vanishing.

Eleven backdrops under glass. In-game captures behind the interface’s panes; the change applies on the spot.

Dark, light, or system. The theme follows your choice and remembers it.

French and English. Deduced from the system on first start, changeable after; each language is written as an original, not traced from the other.

Built-in instance icons. Pick from the icons that ship with the app; custom ones will come later, and the app says so rather than leaving you to search.

Simultaneous downloads, adjustable. One limit, applying to game versions and mods alike.

The data folder in the open. The path is shown, the folder opens in one click; moving it is not possible yet, and that is written down.

A guided first start. A checklist (data folder, one game version, the account if you play multiplayer), replayable from Settings, skippable with one button.

The VS Launcher import, by copy. Your folders are copied, never changed or moved: VS Launcher keeps working exactly as before. A line-by-line report at the end.

The account, for multiplayer only. The password obtains the session and is then forgotten, Prospect keeps it nowhere; the six-digit code is handled if your account requires one.

Solo without an account. Downloading, installing and playing alone never ask you to sign in.

Signing out, for real. Your session is erased from this machine; the game launches without multiplayer until you sign in again.

The verdict first. Long messages open with the conclusion; dialogs name the instance or the date, never a generic “are you sure?”.