broken party screen and mods not working

[bbe]

I have 2 characters, one I made recently and one I made a couple weeks ago. However, when I installed all the armor mods and such they were both already in play yet only the earlier character seems to pick them up. All of the mods I installed show up in the downloadable content-> installed list but just don't show up in my newer character's inventory, however the mods such as Dog being a permanent member, Circles Be Gone, and forced deathblows work on both the characters. What's more is that newer character's party selection screen is broken as well, with all I get being a top down view of the character's scalp making it unable to choose other teammates, yet the older one works just fine.

 

Would anyone know what this is about? thanks

[DarkeWolf]

heyas bbe-

 

Ok, all of this is related to the saved file for the character that isnt working.

 

theres a really bad bug with custom content. What you need to do is go thru and deactivate these mods before you start the new character up. then load the new character into the game, play him/her until you get to a point where you can save the game. save, then exit DA. After that, go back in and reactivate all the mods, then load up that save. they should load for you then. Keep in mind that some mods dont load until you get to a certain point, like 1st/2nd time that you get to camp. A few others, believe it or not.... will not load until your character has the necessary requirements to be able to actually equip the item.

 

the problem with the character screen is bad news, I'm afraid. The file for that character is corrupted. It either didnt save properly, or some other factor screwed it up. I am sorry to have to tell you this, but you're going to have to delete the save file for it, and start from an earlier savegame. :(

[bbe]

I see. I've tried a bunch of things regarding saves/ deactivating / uninstalling mods / etc... but to no avail. I will simply have to play this one character without mods is all, as for the party selection I've decided to add them in via the dev console since there is no other alternative.

 

thanks though

[DarkeWolf]

when you are doing your uninstalls and such. Are you doing a clean save? As in creating an all new savegame with the mods not listed in the savegame before reinstalling them?

And what patch are you running? There was already an issue with some of these mods not loading right, due to the way that the scripts work. Patch 1.03 made it worse, and 1.04 made it even worse. Unfortunately, if you're running DAA, Leliana's Song, or Darkspawn Chronicles, then there's nothing that you can do about patch 1.03 :(

 

The reason that the mods arent loading onto the characters as they are supposed to is savegame bleedover. The scripts read that the items have been given (to other characters), and then think that they dont have to give them again. One thing that you can try doing, is to remove ALL your savegames, except for your new clean save. go into documents/bioware/dragon age/characters inside characters you will find the list of all your characters. Select ALL of those folders, and then copy and paste them to a secure area somewhere else on your computer. Or burn them onto a cd, or move them to a usb stick, sd card, or whatever. However, some of these files are LARGE. So I dont recommend backing them up all at once via copy and paste, as you can risk file corruption. Take them in chunks ;)

 

Once you have all those files and folders backed up, get them out of the documents folder. I dont recommend using Cut and Paste, but Copy and paste, just in case the system locks up or something interferes with the transfer. that will keep the original file.

But once you have them backed up, REMOVE ALL OTHER SAVES from the documents folder, EXCEPT for the clean save that you made of the character with the mods uninstalled.

 

This will make it so that the game cannot read any other save file except for the one that you want it to, and will prevent ANY kind of savegame bleedover when you go to run the clean save with the mods reinstalled.

 

If this doesnt work, there's a few alternatives via console and the toolset. However, they do require the toolset. so if you dont have that, you will need it, and hopefully will not have any issues with it running. You can get the toolset by doing a google search for bioware dragon age toolset or fileplanet dragon age toolset. tho fileplanet requires membership to dl from their servers, but it's free to sign up.

 

One alternative is hdhd's additem script. this mod allows you to add items to your character via console command. http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1131

now with this tho, you will need to open up the mod files to get the filenames of a lot of the items, and then add those names to the script, so that they can be added via console.

Most of those files are contained in .erf files inside the mod files. These are usually located in either documents/bioware/dragon age/packages/core/override OR documents/bioware/dragon age/addins

the ones you want will be .uti files. they will be in the mod files either seperately, or packed into a ,erf file. If in a .erf you just need to open the .erf in the toolset, and you'll see them there.

Once you've got the filenames, you can then add it into hdhd's script, and he has instructions on what you need to do.

 

Another alternative is to add the items to your inventory via a savegame edit. http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/8/index/214765/1

 

I am sorry that I cant give more insight to the problem with your charstage, but hopefully this gives you some more options for your items.

 

There is also a mod called the winter forge- http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=122

This will allow you to make custom items there in game. It wouldnt let you add custom skins to the stuff, but if necessary, you dont have to go running around with mismatched armor, items, and other gear.

Tho I will warn..... TWF can get addictive if you sit around playing with new combos of items a lot. ;)

[bbe]

when you are doing your uninstalls and such. Are you doing a clean save? As in creating an all new savegame with the mods not listed in the savegame before reinstalling them?

And what patch are you running? There was already an issue with some of these mods not loading right, due to the way that the scripts work. Patch 1.03 made it worse, and 1.04 made it even worse. Unfortunately, if you're running DAA, Leliana's Song, or Darkspawn Chronicles, then there's nothing that you can do about patch 1.03 :(

 

The reason that the mods arent loading onto the characters as they are supposed to is savegame bleedover. The scripts read that the items have been given (to other characters), and then think that they dont have to give them again. One thing that you can try doing, is to remove ALL your savegames, except for your new clean save. go into documents/bioware/dragon age/characters inside characters you will find the list of all your characters. Select ALL of those folders, and then copy and paste them to a secure area somewhere else on your computer. Or burn them onto a cd, or move them to a usb stick, sd card, or whatever. However, some of these files are LARGE. So I dont recommend backing them up all at once via copy and paste, as you can risk file corruption. Take them in chunks ;)

 

Once you have all those files and folders backed up, get them out of the documents folder. I dont recommend using Cut and Paste, but Copy and paste, just in case the system locks up or something interferes with the transfer. that will keep the original file.

But once you have them backed up, REMOVE ALL OTHER SAVES from the documents folder, EXCEPT for the clean save that you made of the character with the mods uninstalled.

 

This will make it so that the game cannot read any other save file except for the one that you want it to, and will prevent ANY kind of savegame bleedover when you go to run the clean save with the mods reinstalled.

 

If this doesnt work, there's a few alternatives via console and the toolset. However, they do require the toolset. so if you dont have that, you will need it, and hopefully will not have any issues with it running. You can get the toolset by doing a google search for bioware dragon age toolset or fileplanet dragon age toolset. tho fileplanet requires membership to dl from their servers, but it's free to sign up.

 

One alternative is hdhd's additem script. this mod allows you to add items to your character via console command. http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1131

now with this tho, you will need to open up the mod files to get the filenames of a lot of the items, and then add those names to the script, so that they can be added via console.

Most of those files are contained in .erf files inside the mod files. These are usually located in either documents/bioware/dragon age/packages/core/override OR documents/bioware/dragon age/addins

the ones you want will be .uti files. they will be in the mod files either seperately, or packed into a ,erf file. If in a .erf you just need to open the .erf in the toolset, and you'll see them there.

Once you've got the filenames, you can then add it into hdhd's script, and he has instructions on what you need to do.

 

Another alternative is to add the items to your inventory via a savegame edit. http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/8/index/214765/1

 

I am sorry that I cant give more insight to the problem with your charstage, but hopefully this gives you some more options for your items.

 

There is also a mod called the winter forge- http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=122

This will allow you to make custom items there in game. It wouldnt let you add custom skins to the stuff, but if necessary, you dont have to go running around with mismatched armor, items, and other gear.

Tho I will warn..... TWF can get addictive if you sit around playing with new combos of items a lot. ;)

 

 

haha, alright thanks. I'll try that as well, I installed new mods yesterday and they actually started working on my old char, the previously installed ones don't though.

 

However, due to the party screen issue, I've had to add teammates via dev console and the issue I keep getting is that whenever I add Leliana in, 2 of them appear. One of them is in the chantry robes and the other is the one that's supposed to be there. If I try to remove the chantry robe one via the party screen it removes my normal one and keeps the chantry robed one in the party.

[DarkeWolf]

I know that there were similar issues with adding members such as Ogren and Loghain using that command line. Unfortunately, I dont know a fix for it :( So I'm hoping that somebody who does will see this and reply.

I just thought of something that you might try about the party screen. Try this mod- http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=740 it includes a new party selection screen as part of the mod. MAYBE replacing the party selection screen with a dif file will help. Dunno, but worth a try?

[bbe]

ah thank you.

 

as for the extra leliana, I managed to get rid of her. At first I would add party members after adding leliana so that it brings me to the party select screen and I could deselect her at the bottom. However after a couple days she simply wouldn't dissapear. I then tried telling the extra leliana to leave the group and it instead made my regular leliana dissapear and made the extra one begin the conversation that you have when you first meet her in Lothering. I then re-loaded, and told my regular Leliana to leave the group and the extra one faded away forever. On the other hand, my regular Leliana did restart that conversation as if we were back in Lothering but all her items, approval, previous conversation points etc... remained.

[RustyBlade]

I know that there were similar issues with adding members such as Ogren and Loghain using that command line. Unfortunately, I dont know a fix for it :( So I'm hoping that somebody who does will see this and reply.

 

I paraphrased this from the Wiki for accuracy, clarity and brevity Oghren fix in italics:

 

If you have used runscript selectparty it can break the plots for those companions which haven't yet been encountered/recruited in all sorts of horrible ways. If you use it before encountering Zevran, it prevents you from ever encountering him. You can still use the runscript zz_addparty NPCname console command to add him to your party but you will have missed the ambush and related dialogue.

If you used it before acquiring all characters, Oghren will not join the party. To fix that, you must go to Tapsters and leave, then use runscript zz_addparty NPCname and he should be available for selection in the party picker.

It will also make your game think that Loghain is in your party. You may get his end-game dialogue whether you should or not. If you have Loghain and Alistair active at the end of the game (normally impossible) and play a female Warden, you cannot go with Morrigan in her pre-climax quest.

 

If you used runscript zz_addparty NPCname you don't suffer all the consequences listed above although depending on who you add and when you add them there may be consequences. It can also be used to exceed the normal limit of three NPC's but you won't be able to use the addon's quickbar but you can set their tactics.

 

If you wish to get rid of a character added by either of the above methods the only way to do so is to use runscript zz_dropparty which unfortunately permanently removes them all from your party. They will no longer show up in the party picker selection screen. You then must use runscript zz_addparty NPCname to add them back and you lose all approval, equipment, etc that you had as they enter the party at 0 approval and as originally equipped.

 

runscript zz_getparty will add Alistair, Morrigan & Dog to your active party if they already aren't in it, regardless of who else is in your party and another possible way to have a party of seven. If you do this before all of them have joined your party, it will probably break your current game.

 

My advice is don't use runscript zz_addparty NPCname unless you are equipped to cheat things back to where they need to be if things go wrong and don't use runscript selectparty and runscript zz_getparty at all. If you really need to access the party picker at all times, go get the Anytime Party Picker by Noob766 at http://social.bioware.com/project/2711/ It probably will not fix the overhead issue listed in the 1st post though.