Is that new mpq for all files or only local-relevant stuff?
@OP: Analogous question to you: What do you consider new content/what is the core you do not want to touch?
Well, my idea of new content, is stuff like new races, new units, and extra files for the map editor (such as songs, models, etc, without map limitations). As I wish to refrain from modifying any of the core files (War3.mpq, War3Local, War3Patch, War3x.mpq, and War3xLocal) as I wish to be able to switch from modded to vanilla very quickly without overwriting the entire game files, and to answer your first question, it overrides any files with the same name in other MPQs, so it works like Frozen Throne on top of Reign of Chaos, but it's on top of Frozen Throne. So it's a safe method to use if you want to do potentially game-breaking modifications to the MPQs without 'corrupting' your MPQs if you forgot to make a backup. So it's for all files of course. (Tested doing some script modifications that went horribly). As long as the file has the same path as another file in one of the other MPQs, it will replace that file whenever the game is loaded, so you can in turn, override a file or two from War3.mpq without modifying War3.mpq directly.
(At the moment i'm currently using War3Mod.mpq as a method to stream a series of models and textures across maps so my two friends and I can create some sort of sandbox type-thing with the same units and structures on multiple different maps. It's a little private thing we're doing, but i'm doing it mainly for research purposes at the moment, as you can do all sorts of things with this.)
(I can also simply rename it to War3ModX.mpq and then it would not load the MPQ, and this proves useful in switching from modded to vanilla.)
(As seen above, I can simply rename War3Mod.mpq to anything other than War3Mod.mpq, and the game would ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist)
I see no reason for it to be removed. Although they should probably add a check to the game that if it loads that MPQ it automatically disables BattleNet (but not LAN) so people do not accidently try to play online with modified data.
I think it should be allowed on Battle.Net, but the player with it cannot play any of the ranked/unranked modes, since it should be forced to generate a checksum like how Paradox Interactive's Europa Universalis IV or Hearts of Iron 4 do it, and compare it with the other players in the lobby of a match. However cosmetic mods that replace only cosmetic data such as sounds and models, should not generate a checksum that invalidates ranked play. So basically if I were to run a War3Mod.mpq with modded unit data, it wouldn't let me play with anyone who didn't have the same checksum as me. But if I were to run a War3Mod.mpq with only modded models and sounds, it would let me play with just about anyone. As it would generate the same checksum as a vanilla client.
