theskymoves

There aren't any. No toolset or source files for Awakening were ever released.

Per this guide, be sure to run the executables in this order: DAUServiceSetup_Steam.exe DAOU_UpdateAddinsXML_Steam.exe

One way to safeguard NSS files, for released mods at least, is to include them in the uploaded mod archive. (It also has the additional benefit of adding to the the DAO modding knowledge base, by giving other modders access to the uncompiled scripts.)

It's perfectly playable if you don't try it force it to do things it was never intended to do. I play DAO (with hundreds of mods installed) on modern mid-range gaming rig (Ryzen 5 3600, Radeon RX 5700XT, 16 GB RAM). The game is 100% stable. I actually cannot recall the last time it crashed, locked up, or refused to load.

'Compatible duplicate files' would need to be 100% identical for no conflicts to exist. While theoretically it is okay to have conflicting files in override, in practice it is better to avoid that situation, since the game will sometimes ignore all the conflicting files and revert to the vanilla version. While area files could be the cause of your issues, it is far more like that it is caused by those 'lots of texture packs' especially if they are what passes for high resolution texures for DAO. The games engine handles large textures poorly. The easiest way to troubleshoot would be to remove the textures. If the game works correctly, that's what is causing the issue.

I've never encountered the missing quest-starter issue either, but it has come up enough over the years that I'm familiar with the usual cause and the remedy.

Absent quest starters (Levi Dryden in camp, Felix de Grosbois/Sulcher's Pass, Elric Maraigne/Bann Loren's Lands) are usually caused by the DLC offer file not being installed. The offer files can be downloaded (from here) and manually installed to correct the deficiency.

Can you be more specific? (I don't want to give you a primer on using TlkEdit for UTI edits, if the question is actually something like 'what numbers should I be entering?' or 'where are the properties in the UTI?')

Just stumbled on some info regarding the recent GOG updating DAO as part of their Preservation Program, and it seems that their 'tinkering' broke the game. They've since made some alterations (looks like they rolled the installer back to an earlier version) in an attempt to remedy the issues, but from the feedback, it's still not 100% fixed. (And it ooks like they've also removed the 4GB prepatch from the files, so that's a thing in flux... I'd keep an eye on the patch notes on the DAO GOG store.) Links: GOG store - Dragon Age: Origins Current plan for the issues with DA:O Dragon Age: Origin...in GOG is broken.

Do you just have the single, compiled chargenmorphcfg.xml file in your override? Are the hairstyles the only non-replacer cosmetic mods you are using? If not (you do have other non-replacer cosmetic mods installed) do they appear in the character creator? When you say that they 'won't appear', are there positions on the slider where the hair is absent (head is missing the back of the skull) or is there just the vanilla hairstyles? And as @BlickJustice notes, a list of the mods might be helpful.

I'm still not convinced the issue lies with a simple mod conflict (i.e., two mods editing the same file), but by Andraste's fiery butt, that is a lot of mods. And far too many conflicting files for any level of comfort, to be honest. I recommend starting over, and being more selective in terms of what is installed. DAO can tolerate and even play optimally with a large number of mods installed, but it doesn't handle file conflicts well. I'd also suggest keeping mods in discrete folders, rather than putting files loose in the override folder... troubleshooting issues is much simpler when the files for a mod are in a folder and easily identified as being from that mod. Also, if I understand DAO 'load order' (or really, just how the game gives priority to files), loose files have the lowest priority in terms of being used. Edited to add that some duplicate files are perfectly okay, and won't cause any issues... for example, both Morrigan Restoration Patch and Zevran Dialogue Fix include identically named files that would appear to be in conflict, but since the files are identical, there's no issue with them both being installed. However, a conflict would arise if a third mod, like Improved Romance Scenes - Alistair includes different edits of the same files. Likewise, a customizable mod like Dain's Fixes may intentionally include multiple copies of the same file, each in the folder of a different optional component. And something like a texture replacer for an armor mod (both in override, with the replacer given priority through its folder name) is unlikely to result in any conflict related issues (though the high resolution textures may be problematic).

It could be a conflict between two mods, or it could be caused by an issue inherent to a mod... for example, some armor/clothing mods are known to cause crashes in certain maps, or when equipped by specific characters. (IIRC, in that example it's an issue with the mesh and the animations used.) Once I encountered a hairstyle from a mod that caused my game to CTD. It could even be a bad texture. A complete list of installed mods would be helpful for long-distance troubleshooting, especially if it is an obvious or well known issue. You can also troubleshoot through good old trial and elimination, if you are certain that the cause is in the override folder: 1. Move all mods in the override to another location (you can even just rename the folder to something like override.BACKUP). 2. Run the game without any override mods, to establish a 'known good' baseline, when the game is working correctly. 3. Add a small group of mods (10 at most) back to the override, and run the game to confirm that the issue isn't occurring. 4. Repeat step 3 until the issue crops up again. 5. Remove all the mods in the last installed group, and add them back one at a time. Again, run the game after installing each one. Having isolated and eliminated a problem mod, I would then continue to add any remaining mods back in small lots. If the mod causing the issue was a chargen mod, be sure to recompile/edit the chargenmorphcfg.xml to remove invalid entries.

According to the GOG listing for DAO, as of 13 November downloads of their version of the game are pre-patched to use 4GB of memory. And what OP has described doesn't have the typical symptoms of a LAA issue. @rebelatnight, do any of the mods you'd installed add additional standalone quest campaigns, to be played outside of the regular DAO campaign?

Impossible to give any advice without a complete list of all mods installed. How they were installed (DAupdater.exe, DAO-ModManager, Vortex, DA Modder, etc) may also be relevant.

Changing the 3D weapon model is simple, as long as it is already a model available in the game: edit the UTI for the sword, and assign the desired model variation. See this tutorial for instructions on that; all three of the tools mentioned in the tutorial can be found on the Nexus: pyGFF GDApp TlkEdit2 If you want the material color to be fixed, then either assign a fixed material tier to the sword, or use an all black tint map; the latter will prevent an item from changing tint appearance when the material changes. To add glow, you'll need to create an emission texture and (add that information to the MAO file) for the sword... I don't have any working bookmarks to point you to on that subject, unfortunately. When I find myself in a modding situation like that (no handy tutorials or explainers), I look at the parts of the game and existing mods that do the thing I want to do, pull them apart, and try to reverse engineer how the thing is done. The unfortunately, the vanilla files for Starfang are locked behind an encrypted DLC archive, but there's no impediment to accessing the files for the glowing armor and weapons in Awakening (Vigilance, Sentinel chest, etc.) And I'd also take a look at mods that add glowing elements to equippable items, like Glowy Staves, Star Blades, Branch of the Cursed Tree Barnstokkr, and Elvhenan Weapons. (There are quite a few other older weapon mods that incorporate glowing elements, as well.)