Counter-strike was definitively a mod, you had to install it in the same folder as Half-Life and start it with 'hl.exe -game cstrike'. It became a standalone game later with the retail release.
replyedit:
https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Counter-Strike#Vers...
Are we getting so old that people are forgetting cs was a mod.
replyCalling DotA just a custom map is a bit of a stretch. That was merely the packaging. These "custom maps" had various scripting capabilities that made them more than just some terrain.
replyAlso custom maps are mods by definitions anyways, with the exception of games where the creation of maps is a component of gameplay.
I mean, to those who played them, 'custom map' is basically just a term of art indicating the things you said. In the parlance of the mid-2000s WC3 scene, you would call them custom games or custom maps.
replyOr, if you were slightly older, you might call them UMS, as they were in Starcraft. Short for "Use Map Settings", indicating that the game logic should come from the scripts and triggers in the map file rather than the built-in logic for ladder games.
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replyI like how you keep doubling down, and people keep destroying you. Please keep going. It is very informative for me to watch people correct you.
replyDota is a wc3 map but, pendanticism aside, there is no distinction between a "map" and a mod in this context.
reply>This was a custom map. Not a mod.
replyThis is even better. Because it's a map you can start it without modifying your game installation.
There were "real" WC3 mods, but it was always cumbersome and worked reliably only in singleplayer.
Gameplay-wise it's a mod obviously.