Vortex breaking DAO Ultimate Edition (Origins version)

[ladaienai]

All;

 

I've written an extensive post on how DAO/DA2 decides which mod will be "active" when two or more that affect the same game file are present.

 

This process is similar to, but not exactly like, what BethSoft game modders call "Load Order". I've been on holiday for the past week and am not yet at my main rig, so I'll dig up that old post when I get back.

 

Meanwhile, until it receives significant updates to handle them, I don't think Vortex is the appropriate mod manager for DAO/DA2.

The DAO Modmanager (DAMM) is the better option.

Agreed, wraithtdk@gmail...

I have had to search over many different threads in the past, trying to discover the issue. Then Thandal, kindly reproached me for posting in more than one thread, because that is a rule for the forums. Even though I've been a premium member for a few years, I did not know where to look and what a disappointment to lose one's DLC! right? In my case, I paid for those individual DLCs too. So I was searching like mad over any and all the threads! :ohmy: :laugh:

I will look to see whether the mod managers now boldly make clear that DAOUltimate will or will not work using said modmanagers. If they do now, I will post it here... Not sure if that matters anymore. :huh: But I wouldn't mind knowing whether I can play through with mods next time.

All the Best to you and yours! Happy Gaming

[doozer917]

Was just about to give up and post a new topic about this after doing everything I could think of to fix the weird error I was getting that was preventing deployment before doing yet another Google dive on AddIns.xml and finding this thread. Agree that some kind of warning on the site would be nice to prevent others from expending so much time/energy trying to troubleshoot something that isn't currently fixable. Looking forward to using Vortex in the future, as looking at DAO Mod Manager now and it's already considerably more complicated than I was hoping. :pinch:

[ladaienai]

I just rechecked whether there is any notice on DAO ModManager, NMM, and/or Vortex re the issue with all three of these removing DLC.

This is just clarification, until I can locate whether any of these mod managers is fixed from the DLC bug. ...

... and also whether, if not, the devs might be so kind as to warn gamers using said mod managers.

 

1. The closest and best thing I see is that DAO ModManager does NOT list Dragon Age Origins as a supported game. At least that.

2. NMM still lists Dragon Age as one of its supported games.

3. Vortex also lists Dragon Age as one of its supported games.

 

Repeating my instructions and experience:

DAO ModManager removing my DLC from the Ultimate versions from Steam and from Origin is a known bug;

I have been instructed by several Nexus support people to Not use NMM for modding DAO;

And, likewise, I have received that instruction (to NOT use Vortex on DAO right now) re Vortex.

 

I will keep looking, because IMHO Dragon Age Origins is the most immersive storyline in the Dragon Age games thus far.

And, because of its age, but also because of its creativity, it remains a very fun game to mod!

 

Happy Gaming, All!

[theskymoves]

I modded Dragon Age:Origins Ultimate Edition intensively from 2010 'til 2017, both as a player and a modder (of sorts), and have never heard of a known issue with DAO-ModManager removing DLC from any version of the game.

 

On the other hand, the Vortex devs reported a known issue of the utility overwriting the addins.xml file and removing all but the last installed mod, including DLC (which also write to that XML file.)

 

DAO: Modmananger DOES support modding Dragon Age:Origins. It was written SPECIFICALLY to mod that game, and is the ONLY installer for one type of mod package (configurable .override archives.)

 

I never used NMM, but over the years have gleaned enough information to say that while it can be used to mod DAO with some success, it is not a reliable manager for the game and cannot install some types of mods at all.

 

Per the Vortex developers (earlier in this discussion) 'There is currently a known bug with DA:O support whereby Vortex will incorrectly clear addins.xml and add only the most recently installed mod. This removes the DLCs from the loading list.'

 

Whether that bug was addressed or no is a question for those devs, but reports continue to appear on these boards of DLC disappearing from the installed addons list when Vortx is used... indicating that it has not.

 

To reiterate:

 

Don't use Vortex for DAO. It was not supported at all at one time, per Thandal (a Nexus moderator); and reports continue to be made of the DLC removal issue persisting.

 

Likewise, NMM does not work well for modding the game.

 

The best and preferred manager for DAO mods is DAO-ModManager. (DA Modder is another option, but does not reliably uninstall DAzip mods.)

[ladaienai]

Thanks, theskymoves,

the reason for my add in this thread is that I, too, have experienced what you have written (above);

however, through a number of threads on this topic, I have seen modders asking what about Nexus or the particular mod managers post a sticky kind of post to let everyone know... :geek: :thumbsup:

...so that so many of us do not have to search through all the threads helter skelter trying to troubleshoot what happened, :wallbash:(after the fact).

If there was a standing post re status on the mod managers, then many would not have had to go through the trouble in the first place. :smile:

Thanks for adding your 2cents. I think it matters to keep the conversation alive until the mod managers no longer break the game. :dance:

Modder since 2011 here.

Happy Gaming, All! :wub:

[Thandal]

All; There seems to be a lot of posts that confuse (or don't even know that there are) the multiple "mod managers" for Dragon Age: Origins.

 

As tsm said, the DAO-ModManager (DAMM) was written specifically to work with the game, handles all ".dazip" and ".override" mods perfectly, and doesn't have any negative impacts at all. What it does not do, and was never intended to do, is handle mods that are simply placed in a player's "\override" folder.

 

DAModder, on the other hand, can handle ".dazip" mods, and some of the housekeeping for mods that just go in a player's "\override" folder, but has no idea what to do with a true ".override" mod.

 

Neither of those managers know anything about the CharGenMorphCfg.xml file used for all "Character Creator" mods (e.g. "Hairstyles".) The Nexus Mod Manager (NMM), which is no longer officially supported, did a fair job handling those, but failed with others. (Pro Tip: Use Terra_Ex's CharGenMorph Compiler for CC mods. :thumbsup: )

 

And lastly, as the thread title declares, Vortex certainly doesn't handle things properly yet either. And it especially doesn't handle ".dazip" mods correctly. (Although the latest rev. doesn't wipe the "addins.xml" file, so the already installed DLC doesn't disappear. Progress, right?)

 

I've seen many, many posts over the past several years where a player says s/he had a problem with "the mod manager", but doesn't say which one. It matters. Tremendously.

[Zarqualyn]

Version 0.17.3, 3 versions later then promised... No fix. Or I'm doing something wrong. Getting tired of this. Maybe I shouldn't post right now, but it really bothers me. Everything downloads perfectly, then when I start installing and Enabling, everything seems fine, although Vortex keeps giving the notice that there are new files outside the mods, (although I updated them a minute before) or that the files are shared by different mods, making my extra hairstyles mod redundant because I installed a hide helmet hack and a Dalish Mage Origin. (Don't see the sense in that. They're Additional files right? So shared makes no sense.)
On my first round, I installed the whole shebang with apparently no problems, and the DLC was recognised when I started the game, but when I started a new game, the quickest way to check if some mods were working, there was no Dalish Mage option, and no extra hairstyles.

Deinstalled and removed all mods, for a fresh download, and when I didn't want to save the suggested 'merges' but 'restore' them, I got the old error "Vortex tried to access "C:/Users/[my username]/Documents/Bioware/Dragon Age/settings/AddIns.xml" but it doesn't exist."...

And it still does.

To be continued, and hopefully, fixed.

[Thandal]

@Zarqualyn;

As I've pointed out in many, many threads, (including this one) Vortex does not handle all the different mod types for DAO/DAA/DA2 very well.

 

I only, (and *highly*) recommend using the DAO-ModManager (DAMM).