At the Developer Console with DAO Ultimate Edition Step and stuck

[HollownessDevoured]

Background: I recently got back into DAO + AW since my computer was rebuilt/Windows 10 and I am not completely computer illiterate but I am not completely savvy either. I cannot seem to get DAO-Modmanager or DAModder to work also, I can only get mods that I can plunk into the override file (so far just Personal Annoyance Remover mod, just wish it had AW spells included). I have the DAO Ultimate Edition and when trying to create my own gear once I get to the console step (Notepad++ gave symbols, so I assume the wiki is out of date) I can't seem to go any further only youtube videos seem to be for Windows 7 / non-Ultimate Edition (and scripts are above my pay grade). So I can create, export, plunk into override file (following this) but I cannot get the game to let me to enable the console and it appear in my inventory.

 

I play mostly a "for aesthetics" game now, I play without a helm (cause I can't figure out how to get the no helm mod to work without a mod manager) and I play mostly a Spirit/Entropy Robed Arcane Warrior (with Chasind Robes and Robes of the Witch). So my gear is beneath the DLC items and much of the end game upgrades because they are mostly ugly as hell. I would have liked to have replaced the looks of Battledress of the Provocateur or Reaper's Vestments to Robes of the Witch appearance but I don't know how. Or make my own gear but I keep running into road blocks. I have been googling and searching various DAO moding forums for hours. I just think most information is out of date or for another version of the game. But I thought I'd try asking, or maybe I could do a request as a last ditch attempt.

Edited February 14, 2022 by HollownessDevoured

[theskymoves]

Firstly, what 'delivery system' are you using for your game, i.e., is it from EA/Origin, Steam, GOG, or physical media?

 

Secondly, have you tried using an edited shortcut or launcher properties edit to start the game with dev console enabled?

 

Thirdly, have you correctly installed the make console commands visible file? (It has special installation instructions that must be followed precisely, or it won't work.)

 

Next, with regard to DAO-ModManager, not working, exactly HOW are they not working? Are mods installed via the mod managers not showing up in game? Or are you just not able to drag-and-drop into the mod manager? If it is the former, then there's probably something wrong in the settings, like a misidentified folder. If it is the latter, that's a Windows permissions thing. The easiest way around it is to install a non-Microsoft file manager (I use Explorer++) and make sure the that the permissions for both it and DAO ModManager are the same. (DAModder is kind of buggy, so I don't have much experience with it... I assume that the permissions thing would apply there as well, though.)

 

Some suggestions for Awakening VFX removal can be found in this blog post. There's also the VFX disabled file from Awakening in the OC, which can be used without the rest of that mod.

 

And finally, some info on editing item files (to alter an item's appearance or stats) can be found here; active links to the required tools are pyGFF, GDApp, and TlkEdit2. (Alt source for TlkEdit2 is here.) An illustrated tutorial that touches on the basics of editing item files can be found here.

 

Be aware that the files for items from DLC (other than Awakening) are encrypted and cannot be extracted and edited in the usual manner, and that discussions of how to do so are against Nexus rules (so that's all I can say about that)... some workarounds would be to find an existing mod that edits the same item, and edit the mod's UTI to the desired state, or to create a new UTI with the correct file name, that will overwrite/replace the original item file.

Edited February 14, 2022 by theskymoves

[HollownessDevoured]

Firstly, what 'delivery system' are you using for your game, i.e., is it from EA/Origin, Steam, GOG, or physical media?

 

Steam.

 

Secondly, have you tried using an edited shortcut or launcher properties edit to start the game with dev console enabled?

 

Yes, but the video guide I used was out of date Windows 7 or not for Ultimate Edition, so it didn't match. I tried to add -enabledeveloperconsole to the shortcut but there was no field call "target" so I assume that was a Windows 7 thing. I was trying:

 

 

Thirdly, have you correctly installed the make console commands visible file? (It has special installation instructions that must be followed precisely, or it won't work.)

 

No (adding now).

 

Next, with regard to DAO-ModManager, not working, exactly HOW are they not working? Are mods installed via the mod managers not showing up in game? Or are you just not able to drag-and-drop into the mod manager? If it is the former, then there's probably something wrong in the settings, like a misidentified folder. If it is the latter, that's a Windows permissions thing. The easiest way around it is to install a non-Microsoft file manager (I use Explorer++) and make sure the that the permissions for both it and DAO ModManager are the same. (DAModder is kind of buggy, so I don't have much experience with it... I assume that the permissions thing would apply there as well, though.)

 

Couldn't figure out how to open the mod. When I downloaded, nothing launched nor opened and I couldn't figure out what to do.

 

Some suggestions for Awakening VFX removal can be found in this blog post. There's also the VFX disabled file from Awakening in the OC, which can be used without the rest of that mod.

 

And finally, some info on editing item files (to alter an item's appearance or stats) can be found here; active links to the required tools are pyGFF, GDApp, and TlkEdit2. (Alt source for TlkEdit2 is here.) An illustrated tutorial that touches on the basics of editing item files can be found here.

 

Be aware that the files for items from DLC (other than Awakening) are encrypted and cannot be extracted and edited in the usual manner, and that discussions of how to do so are against Nexus rules (so that's all I can say about that)... some workarounds would be to find an existing mod that edits the same item, and edit the mod's UTI to the desired state, or to create a new UTI with the correct file name, that will overwrite/replace the original item file.

 

Ty, I'll look into this.

 

And finally, some info on editing item files (to alter an item's appearance or stats) can be found here; active links to the required tools are pyGFF, GDApp, and TlkEdit2. (Alt source for TlkEdit2 is here.) An illustrated tutorial that touches on the basics of editing item files can be found here.

 

Edit: Some of the links provided has various out of date links, that redirects just back to the bioware social network main page.

Edited February 14, 2022 by HollownessDevoured

[theskymoves]

For a Steam install, try following either this or this. (I'm not a Steam user myself, but as far as I know, replacing the executable is the most efficient method of enabling the console.)

 

Editing the shortcut or game properties won't work for the Steam version.

 

Re DAO-ModManager... it doesn't function like the mod managers for Bethesda games, or Nexus Modmanager/Vortex. It doesn't automagically open the mod or put it in a particular folder or any of those things... you have to manually add the DAzip and override package mods to the storage folders you created/configured during DAO-MM setup, and then tell the mod manager to install them. (DAO-MM doesn't install manual override mods. Those need to be installed by copy/pasting or moving the files from the decompressed download into the game's manual override folder, as per the documentation of the mod.)

 

Briefly, download and install DAO-ModManager... it can be installed anywhere, apart from the Bioware 'Dragon Age' folder hierarchy. (You may want to set the mod manager to run as an adminstrator, and to use either Windows 7 or Windows XP SP3 compatibility mode, if the program doesn't seem to be working correctly.)

 

Create a storage folder for the mods to be installed, again, anywhere but nested inside the Bioware 'Dragon Age' folders. Inside of that folder, create two folders 'override' and 'dazip'. Run DAO-MM, and select the 'Options' tab. In the fields under the 'DAO-ModManager Folder Path' section, browse to the two storage folders you just created. Confirm that the paths under the 'Dragon Age: Origins' and 'Program path' sections are correct. After setting/confirming the folder paths, close DAO-MM.

 

This is an example of the folder configuration:

 

Unzip/unrar your downloaded mod. If the mod is a manual override mod, just copy/paste or move it to the game's manual override folder... DAO-MM can't install manual overrides. (Note that some DAzip mods are not packaged in zip/7zip/rar archives and download as 'naked' DAzips... it's a good idea to set your Windows file handling to show extensions on known file types, so you know what you are dealing with.)

 

If the mod is a DAzip installer, place it in the 'dazip' storage folder you created and configured previously. If the mod is an .override package (such as NBaio), place it in the 'override' storage folder.

 

Run DAO-ModManager. The mods you placed in the storage folders should be displayed in the lower panel of the 'Mods' tab. Off-mouser click on the mod to be installed, and select 'Install' from the popup menu. Easy-peasy.

 

 

And yes, there are old!Bioware Social Network links in the item editing tutorial that are out-of-date. That's why I provided you with current, working links for the same files. (Which also appear on the tutorial thread page, if you scroll down through the discussion.)

[HollownessDevoured]

Thank you for the detailed response. I am going to make a cup of tea and see what I can do with this info :D

[HollownessDevoured]

Which app do you use to unzip rar files? I need a free app suggestion (I think this is was one of my road blocks).

 

Edit: nvm I am dumb

Edited February 14, 2022 by HollownessDevoured

[HollownessDevoured]

Omg finally! Thank you so much, I just needed that last bit of hand holding XD