[LE] Noob question about Mod Organizer and updating your own mods

[jacobpaige]

Am I missing something, or do I really need to create a new mod, name it something strange, hunt down it's real file location, manually move the .esp to the original folder and then delete the new folder every time I create an update for my mod? Is there a way that I can just name them the same thing and then merge them, or get MO to recognize that I'm the author of the mod and that any updates I make to it in CK should be automatically applied as updates?

 

With other people's mods, I can do the former, but the merge option doesn't appear when I try it with my own mods. Instead, it just tries to dump all the files into the same directory and winds up with two meta files and two mods with the same name listed in the MO interface.

 

I've been Googling about this since yesterday, but I guess it must be such a simple thing that no one bothers to mention it. Either that, or my Google-fu is too weak.

[Di3sIrae]

Hello!

I did the most simple test right now to try to help you:

I created an empty folder Meshes/aaee. Used 7zip to pack it and named the pack meshes-222-1.0.7zip.
Then, i created Meshes/qqeee, zipped it as meshes-222-1.2.7zip.

Took the 2 files and put them in Downloads folder from mod Organizer (2).

Now in MO, in the downloads tab, i installed 1.0, then 1.2. The option to replace or merge appeared, and replacing it worked as intended. In the end, the Meshes mod (as it was called when installed) has only the qqeee folder.


So, if i undertood it right, you are trying to make MO recognize your mod as it does with the Nexus ones, so just name it as a nexus mod and it should be fine.

When you pack your mod to add it to MO, name it something like "jacobamazingmod-1-1.0.zip". When you make an update, name it "jacobamazingmod-1-1.1zip", then "[...]-1-3.0zip" and so on.


Well, i guess you are using the same name for every update, right? Like "jacobmod.zip" every time?
I don't know about it throwing all the files in the same folder and it can actually be a bug, but try this and see if it works.

Hope this helps

Edited May 4, 2018 by Di3sIrae

[jacobpaige]

I honestly hadn't been zipping it at all. It's far from being ready for release after all. I just created the mod from Overwrite. Is it necessary to zip it after every single minor change? If so, then manually moving and deleting seems like far less of a hassle.

[Di3sIrae]

Oh well, from your description, i thought you were doing that hehe

So, well, if you are actually creating the mod from Overwrite, it won't work as the other mods do. But instead of creating a mod every time, just open Overwrite folder and your mod's folder and manual copy directly from overwrite to it. Maybe i just didn't understand your description very well. That's what you are doing, i guess.

There is a function, though, that might help you (now that i understood what you're doing). In the MO executables settings, where you add the path to the programs you want to run, there is an option to select where you want the output of the program to go (like Bodyslide going to a Bodyslide mod folder) instead of going to Overwrite (this: https://s14.postimg.cc/l6v0b1qcf/asas.jpg). This may be what you are looking for. Everytime you use CK to edit the mod, it will throw the output just in your mod folder. If not, maybe i can't help anymore, since it is usually copy/paste anyway.

[jacobpaige]

Oh well, from your description, i thought you were doing that hehe

 

So, well, if you are actually creating the mod from Overwrite, it won't work as the other mods do. But instead of creating a mod every time, just open Overwrite folder and your mod's folder and manual copy directly from overwrite to it. Maybe i just didn't understand your description very well. That's what you are doing, i guess.

 

There is a function, though, that might help you (now that i understood what you're doing). In the MO executables settings, where you add the path to the programs you want to run, there is an option to select where you want the output of the program to go (like Bodyslide going to a Bodyslide mod folder) instead of going to Overwrite (this: https://s14.postimg.cc/l6v0b1qcf/asas.jpg). This may be what you are looking for. Everytime you use CK to edit the mod, it will throw the output just in your mod folder. If not, maybe i can't help anymore, since it is usually copy/paste anyway.

No, I was doing something dumber. I didn't realize that I could copy directly from Overwrite into a current mod. That'll save me several steps. Thanks :)

 

As for the function, I'm not sure it would be a good idea. If I were only ever going to make one mod, sure, but since I plan to make several and want to keep them separate, this sounds like something that would cause more problems than it would solve.

[greyday01]

While working on your mod have a folder on your desktop with all the meshes, textures, ect as well as your current esp. Replace the old esp with the new and zip it. Then in MO add file from folder. It will ask if you want to merge or replace. Say replace. The whole thing takes a minute or so as long as you keep the working folder up to date with your loose files. I've been making little changes today and I must have done this four or five times today.