Jump to content

We have a name! And a Q&A session with Tannin regarding the new mod manager.


Dark0ne

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 388
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

In response to post #50976092. #50976292, #50979777, #50981122 are all replies on the same post.


  Reveal hidden contents


Merge feature wanted.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will there still be a 135 mod limit or will that increase with the better file keeping? Also the mod order and the mod conflict tools have never worked properly in FOMM. I know that with thousands of mods, keeping track of every potential conflict between all of them its a herculean task. Still if visualization is a better mousetrap, then perhaps Vortex will find better order of mods and alert users to potential conflicts. I've noticed as Tannin as stated, that when I delete a mod other mods disappear from the list as well. I hope visualization of files helps this linking problem and the limit of mods will be raised appreciably and everything runs smoother. Edited by zAzAaZOZO
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still playing/mod tweaking OldRim. Watching intently for The opportunity to start my virgin SkyrimSE using the shiny new VorteX, the mod manager that is like a force of nature in the electronic realm. Like an eight year old waiting for Christmas. Thank you Tannin and crew ( not to mention any Dark forces involved...) for giving me something to anticipate again. Do the magic that you do!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In response to post #51243917.


  Reveal hidden contents


Sorry for the late reply, I only just saw this.
I thought about something this and it's something I'd like to maybe try at a later time but there is one big problem with this solution: All the desktop links, startmenu links, registry keys, ... would still be pointing to the original game directory so while Vortex could start the modded game, all external tools, like loot, that consult the registry to determine where the game is installed, would still use the unmodded game directory.
Some games might also throw a fit when they find the game isn't being run from the location they were installed to.

What would probably be less problematic is to have the "my_profile" dir alongside the original game so you'd have:
D:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 4.original
D:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 4.profile1
D:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 4.profile2

Each as a fully functional game directory through hard-links of all the game files like you described.
then, when the user picks a profile we simply create a single junction point (directory link)
named D:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 4 to the appropriate profile dir.
Now that folder is the modded game and all the links and registry keys would still point to it, while the vanilla game is still available at D:\Steam\SteamApps\common\Fallout 4.original and can always be restored.
But then: what happens when Steam comes along and updates the game?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 7/3/2017 at 6:50 AM, Tannin42 said:

In response to post #51243917.

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Nice of you to get back to me. =)

 

Just to clarify:

 

Perhaps I didn't flesh out my idea of the "registry magic" well enough, as this "virtualized registry spoof" is the linchpin that enables the idea of the original pristine "file store" to work in theory.

 

The point here was for Vortex to -- in effect -- become the new "base environment".

 

While I think I understand your concerns, I take the view that what the shortcuts and the registry point to is (IMHO) not terribly relevant insofar as the "Virtualized Registry Spoof" works in the "base environment" or "Matrix" from which the tool in question is launched.

 

Let's take LOOT as an example and show the layers in the stack with Windows at the bottom:

 

LOOT.exe

=== "Matrix" boundary ===

%VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_SPOOF%

%MY_PROFILE%

%MOD_STORES%

Vortex.exe

== "Vortex" boundary ==

%FILE_STORE%

%WINDOWS%

 

The idea here is for the VRS to encapsulate and transparently intercept registry calls from LOOT.exe such that LOOT reads from/writes to %MY_PROFILE%. You could say that we're essentially sandboxing LOOT into a carefully controlled matrix without LOOT knowing about it.

 

Granted, LOOT is open source and could thus be modified to work in tandem with Vortex, but it should also be trivial (famous last words...) to use the appropriate tools in the Sysinternals Suite to see which calls are executed to read from the registry when LOOT is fired up.

 

The same techniques could in theory be used to voodoo other, non-open-source tools into taking the blue pill and staying in the "Matrix" we've oh-so-carefully defined and constrained from within Vortex.

 

Again, I'm not saying that what I propose is actually possible, just that it strikes me as an elegant solution to a somewhat thorny problem in theory.

 

And can I just add that I very much look forward to seeing how Vortex (and its story) will evolve once it is released.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In response to post #51504172.


  Reveal hidden contents


Yeah, this would work, but it would also introduce a lot of the problems that MO had, like incompatibility with other software that hooks into api calls (the registry access) and AV software throwing a fit.
And adjusting individual application when they are open source would be way too tedious since we want to support more than just the Bethesda games. And even within that environment we have tools like FNIS that aren't OSS.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 7/5/2017 at 12:37 PM, Tannin42 said:

 

In response to post #51504172.

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Yeah, this would work, but it would also introduce a lot of the problems that MO had, like incompatibility with other software that hooks into api calls (the registry access) and AV software throwing a fit.

And adjusting individual application when they are open source would be way too tedious since we want to support more than just the Bethesda games. And even within that environment we have tools like FNIS that aren't OSS.

 

 

I was sort of hoping that limiting the voodoo to intercepting a few simple registry calls would prove easier than it was to make MO's approach work.

 

Then again, perhaps this idea (along with the other ideas you've explored) might end up morphing into something surprisingly useful in your head over time... =)

Edited by ermodk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...