Why do files with the name gamedata work, But not ones w/ other names?

[KerbalKyle45kk]

I saw mostly when i install mods that they go with the file name "Gamedata" this allows the mod to work. but when i use ones with any other name it doesnt work. Why Does it Happen?

[tg626]

First thing that comes to mind is that some mods (mine for example) have paths defined in their code like 

GameData/Mymodfolder/somesubfolder

because they have to, and it's not unreasonable to expect your mod's folder structure to remain intact.

When a mod gets moved, either to some place besides "GameData" or sometimes even some place besides "GameData/Mymodfolder" the game can no longer "find" an asset it needs (model, texture, etc.) and can't load the mod.

EDIT: Oh, and if you download a mod and inside the Zip is just some folder name and NOT GameData, stick that folder inside of GameData and it should work.  Most modders make it so their zip has GameData inside it, to kind of show you where everything goes, but some do not.

Edited June 17, 2016 by tg626

[Vanamonde]

If not a modding question, modders would still be the folks to ask. And so, thread moved to Add-on Discussions. 

[Wolf Baginski]

As the other bear said, some Mods explicitly include the Gamedata folder, some don't. And sometimes a user will end up wth:

./Gamedata/Gamedata/Modname

It's easy to make a mistake like that, and also easy to check for that install error. At least, it looks easy for this bear, but he is old enough to have used MS-DOS, before Windows came on the scene.