How does this thing WORK!

[picses76]

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I am a noob when it comes to this downloading mod stuff. Can some one tell me in detail how to make the downloads work? Do I need anything or use a file I don’t know about? I desperately need some one to tell me the Who, What, Where, When about this stuff. Please help a moron out!

[Thandal]

@Picses; Here's my mini-tutorial.

 

 

Using DA Mods for Dummies:

 

[Others may have different tips, but I think with these you can get enough of the basics to figure out what you're doing.]

 

[Edited to add this link: "Good DA Mods (Opinions)".]

 

While mods for Dragon Age are fairly easy to use, one thing that is not immediately clear to new players is that they come in a variety of file types. This set of tips is designed to get you started, but it presumes you already have an understanding of standard PC activities (downloading, installing, etc.) and the Windows folder- and file-structure naming conventions and use (saving, copying etc.)

 

The main types are:

 

a. ".zip", ".rar", ".7z", etc. Compressed files or collections of files. Most mods are distributed in one of these compressed forms. You'll need the appropriate utility, (e.g. "WinRAR") to unpack them before being able to use them.

 

b. ".dazip" A specially structured collection of files that the built-in "DAUpdater.exe" program knows how to handle. (See more below.) Otherwise identical to a ".zip".

 

c. ".override" A file containing multiple components (often created or changed by another installed mod) that must be installed and configured by the DAO-Modmanager (DAMM) utility. (See more below.)

 

1. Any mod that's packaged as a ".dazip" can be installed with the built-in "DAUpdater.exe" program, or with either of the two "manager" utilities: DAO_Modmanager (DAMM), or DA Modder (DAM). These two "managers" help with the housekeeping chores associated with some specific mod file-types. (These are not all, or even the majority, of DA mods. Most fall into the next category.)

 

2. Anything that says "place in your override folder" does not need to be "installed". Simply place it in the folder named "override" located under ".../[user's documents]/Bioware/Dragon Age/packages/core..."

If this folder does not exist (which may be the case if this is your very first mod) just create it.

 

3. The settings for almost any mod that is designed to work during the Character Creation phase to change the way a brand new PC looks at the start of the game ("More Hairstyles", "CC Tints and Tones", etc.) must be merged into the "chargenmorphcfg.xml" file. This CAN be done manually, but TerraEx's CharGenMorph Compiler utility makes it much easier.

 

4. Some mods don't react well to some of the DLC. The best known conflicts are with Leliana's Song, and Witch Hunt. Recommendation is to disable (uncheck) these two on the "Installed Content" menu unless actually playing them.

 

5. Many (most?) mods that ADD ITEMS to your inventory will fail with a BRAND NEW game until after you've made your first save. So Disable them, Start a New Game, play until able to Save, then Re-Enable them.

 

6. Not all mods work and play well with others. Be sure to make a Named Save before installing a new one. And always presume that a new problem is due to the mod you just added, conflicting with the mod you most like! :laugh:

 

Happy (Modded) Gaming! :thumbsup:

[picses76]

@Picses; Here's my mini-tutorial.

 

Using DA Mods for Dummies:

 

[Others may have different tips, but I think with these you can get enough of the basics to figure out what you're doing.]

 

0. Most mods are distributed in compressed form (".rar", ".zip", etc.) You'll need the appropriate utility, (e.g. "WinRAR") to unpack them before doing any of the following.

 

1. Any mod that's packaged as a ".dazip" can be installed with the built-in "DAUpdater.exe" program, or with either of the two "managers": DAO_Modmanager (DAMM), or DA Modder (DAM). These two "managers" help with the housekeeping chores associated with some specific mod file-types. (These are not all, or even the majority, of DA mods. Most fall into the next category.)

 

2, Anything that says "place in your override folder" does not need to be "installed". Simply place it in the folder named "override" located under "\[user's documents]\Bioware\Dragon Age\Packages\Core..."

 

3. Almost any mod that is designed to work during the Character Creation Phase to change the way your PC looks ("More Hairstyles", "CC Tints and Tones", etc.) must be merged into the "chargenmorphcfg.xml" file. This CAN be done manually, but Terra_Ex's CharGenMorph Compiler utility makes it much easier.

 

4. Some mods don't react well to some of the DLC. The best known conflicts are with Leliana's Song and Witch Hunt. Recommendation is to disable (uncheck) these two on the "Installed Content" menu unless actually playing them.

 

5. Many (most? all?) mods that ADD ITEMS to your inventory will fail with a BRAND NEW game until after you've made your first save. Disable them, play until able to Save, then Re-Enable them.

 

6. Not all mods work and play well with others. Be sure to make a Named Save BEFORE installing a new one. And always presume that a new problem is due to the mod you most like, conflicting with the one you just added! :laugh:

 

(More) Happy Modding! :thumbsup:

Thank you! You are a life saver!

[Malwart]

:wallbash: OK being a noob to using Mods myself heres my problem. After i have downloaded the file which is a winzip file after its done. What exactly do i have to do to it . I dont understand the change it to dazip file. Extract to a new folder and rename to .dazip ? Because when i try changing the whole thing to .dazip the DAUptaer wont locate it to install. Can ya walk me thru with piccys please? LOL

thanks :thumbsup:

[Thandal]

:wallbash: OK being a noob to using Mods myself heres my problem. After i have downloaded the file which is a winzip file after its done. What exactly do i have to do to it . I dont understand the change it to dazip file. Extract to a new folder and rename to .dazip ? Because when i try changing the whole thing to .dazip the DAUptaer wont locate it to install. Can ya walk me thru with piccys please? LOL

thanks :thumbsup:

Hi, Malwart. The "right" answer to your question depends on a number of things.

 

What kind of mod is it? Most mods ARE NOT ".dazips" (which are the only kind DAUpdater knows how to handle.)

 

As noted in "Step 0" of my tutorial, most mods ARE compressed in some way. Whether or not a particular one just needs to be renamed from ".zip" to ".dazip" (and some are that simple) depends on what type it is.

 

Where did you put it after uncompressing it? If it really is a ".dazip" you can point DAUpdater to the exact location. But if it's any other type, that won't help.

 

What would help us help you is knowing exactly what mods you're talking about. :thumbsup:

[moomooboy]

hi guys... sorry but i need some help regarding mod too..

 

i have tried the "more hair" mod and it work perfectly fine.

however EqualLove mod doesn't work.

 

it said that i need to extract the EqualLove rar into override folder.

I did that and i have the EqualLove folder and all the contents that are suppose to be in there.

 

i tried logging in the game[new game] with newly made male noble char.

i believe if the mod work fine i should be able to flirt with ducan at the starting of the game, but i can not.

 

i see many people have successfully worked it out but i can't seem to find out of what i have done wrong.

any help would be much appreciate! :unsure:

[Thandal]

Welcome, Moomooboy!

 

Sorry to disappoint, but Duncan is not a flirtable/romanceble NPC. There are only a few who are, and all of them are your potential "Companions". Duncan doesn't belong to this group.

 

BTW: "Equal Love" works very well. It by-passes the gender check that would otherwise occur during the particular dialogue branches when one gender has romance options the other doesn't, and therefore allows the (newly) appropriate setting of a plot flag or relationship status based on your choices regardless of the "expected" gender of the PC. :thumbsup:

 

The only hiccough I've ever encountered is the occasional use of the "wrong" personal pronoun during Party Banter when referring to The Warden. :laugh:

[moomooboy]

Thank you for the reply,

 

but what i was trying to say is,

at the start of the game of human noble when Ducan visited the castle and my father asked me to look for my brother.

i should be able to talk to Ducan and say something like "What about tonight....in my room"

 

here is the vid to explain what i am talking about

 

i, as a male noble did not get that dialog. so i figure there must be something i did wrong with my installation of EqualLove?

 

i hope you understand what im trying to say >.<

[woodtortiose]

Thanks for tips Thandal. I have a question or two though. When two mods conflict, how do you know which one overrides the other, especially since there is no load order as in Beth. games? Its easy enough to figure out with dazips, as you're actually installing them, but what about when you place things in the override folder? Even when two mods use/edit a file with the exact same name, they are often in subfolders so one never actually overrides the other. I read in some mods installation instructions that creating and using subfolders was ok (keeps the override file neat and especially makes removing the mod easy) as long as the file path doesn't exceed 200something characters. But if, for example the file abc.mor exists in two different subfolders from two different mods, which one is used? Should I not use subfolders at all?

[woodtortiose]

One more thing. My game has some issues due to overzealous mod installation on my part. I'm going to start over, but I really dont want t reinstall the whole game as well as the DLCs. I was just going to trim my modlist, erase my save games, and start over. My question is, is there a file or something which would cause the game to 'remember' settings or other info that I would also need to delete/change in order to have a fresh, clean start with a new game?