Jump to content

Using Folders for DAIMM Load Order, General Mod Folders, and DA2MM

UhuruNUru

By UhuruNUru
in Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

UhuruNUru Community Regular

UhuruNUru

Posted
Posted

Numbered Folders System
You an name the numbered folders, anything after the numbers. I recommend a short path to the Folders location, and if you use an SSD for games, and HDD for Data, the DAIMod files should be on the HDD.
Making it much easier to know which mod the DAIMod file actually belongs to, while keeping the DAIMod file names unchanged.
This is better than direct file renaming, as some mods have multiple DAIMod files, like "LL Crafting Material".

One caveat, you must have leading zeroes, to maintain the chosen LO.
This is the sort order DAIMM will produce without the zeroes.
Example (guessed, not confirmed as exact order, as far as the ones starting with a 1, but 2 will definately come after all the 1's);
1, 10, 100, 2
With leading zeroes, you get the desired order:
001, 002, 010, 100.

General Mod Management
Games, and Mod Managers. for games I'm currently playing, go on my 512 GB SSD (was very large 3 years ago, but much bigger are now available).
I use Symbolic link cloning, by using an exellent utility Link Shell Extension by Hermann Schinagl, to store the active game on multiple drives, while still using them as if on my games SSD, so desktop shortcuts and mod tools still work wherever they are, without changing setups each move.
This allows casual play, and modding of all my hundreds of games, instantly, While deleting the links, and moving the games files, to the same place, gives me SSD speeds, when desired, for serious game time.
I have 7TB of storage. and I'm now running out of space, with 400 or so installed games, and many more GB of mods, than GB of games.

DAI location is two fold, the usable one (Sym Link Clone), remains consistntand the Store Client enforced one (Original), much easier with GOG games, my goto store, their store client (Galaxy), is as bad as all the rest, but I don't have to use the damn thing,
I use GOG for their offline installers, more than being DRM free. Both is best, but given a choice between having DRM, or a store client, I'd choose the DRM, and don't even get me started on Multi-player, if a games online, it should have online functionality, in the game, not the store client.
D:\Dragon Age Series\3 Dragon Age - Inquisition\Dragon Age Inquisition (Origin)
D:\Origin\Games\Dragon Age Inquisition

Here's Dragon Age as an example of my games folder system

  Reveal hidden contents


Note:
I used to use Folder Symbolic links, which work like an invisible shortcut, and that works great with Windows 7, but when I installed a Dual Boot of Windows 10, I found Folder links were not working.
Symbolic Link Cloning, copies the folder structure, and links to the files instead, not as good, for adding files, as they now need manual moves, and new links creating, while folder linking, added the files in the right place.
Cloning, does work with Windows 10, and 7 though, so allows playing without OS switching, but due to W10's hard coded 4GB limit, for DX9, heavily modded DX9 games, like Skyrim, are best played on W7.

Game specific utilities are kept with the games, in a "Utilities" folder, games are organised into series folders
All my Mod Managers, and most multi-game utilities go in the same folder, with short paths the main point.
D:\Managers
Full Contents are

  Reveal hidden contents


On a 3TB HDD, dedicated to mod, I have many mods, for most games
Folder | Description
Mod Archives | Archives for all gaming mods, that are installed using a Mod Manager, go here
DAIMM | Dragon Age Inquisition Mod Manager Mods

Inside DAIMM I have 4 folders
DAIMod | The DAIMMM files, where the numbered folders, listed below are placed
Docs | Any mods documents go here in Mod Named Folders, asd to many are called just "ReadMe.Txt".
EXB | This is the entire set of Vanilla Extracted EBX files, for use with Mod Maker.
Pics | Same structure as Docs folder, for similar reasons

Inside DAIMod, are the numbered mod folders, the full path:
G:\Mod Archives\DAIMM\DAIMod

My current DAIMM mod list folders, is used as an example.

  Reveal hidden contents


DA2MM
DA2MM, is actually, just a renamed DAOMM. The only thing you need to do, is set the paths to point to DA2, instead of DAO.
Here's my DA2MM's Ini file, note the name of the files unchanged, and this is a new install of DAOMM, with just the Folder renamed to DA2MM, and not the contents.

Keep it separated from the DAOMM used for DAO.
DAO-Modmanager.ini

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Note:

DA2 has no Toolset, so I leave it pointing to my DAO Toolset, but everything else points to the DA2 Folders I use.

Using DA2MM created DAZip, and Override Packages for DA2
You can even create *.DAZip, or *.Override mods, as well, which are both simply renamed *.Zip files.
BioWare, and mod author created, DAZip's need no alteration, this only applies to packages you create, using DA2MM.

If you extract the *.DAZip file, or *.Override file, you must set 7-Zip (or another tool),to repack the file as a standard *.Zip file, but keep the extension named *.DAZip file, or *.Override, or rename it afer repacking.
You must use 7-Zip (or another tool), to open the *.DAZip file, or *.Override file, you've created, and change the "Dragon Age" Folders name to "Dragon Age 2".
That's all, takes longer to explain, than to do it. Now the mods will install in the correct game, without this step the mods would be installed in DAO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...