I need some help with installing mods

[WhyteTyger]

...so I'm excited about this Keyring mod. And I find there's a redhead avatar patch (female only alas). I am excited to use them... so what do I do? I've downloaded both, but they seem to imply I need Exult Win32 Tools, which I downloaded, but gives me a archive error everytime I try and open it. Am I missing something else? Is that the file I need and it's just corrupt somehow?

I'm ready for a keyring dangit!

-WT(D)

P.S. Oh, and can said mods be used together? They are the only ones I've really looked at so far (though that Quests/Interactions one would finally allow me to play as an honest to goodness shepherd... sort of)

[marzo]

but they seem to imply I need Exult Win32 Tools

Indeed; they require it so to avoid distributing copyrighted graphics.

Exult Win32 Tools, which I downloaded, but gives me a archive error everytime I try and open it

If you are using a download manager, try disabling it before downloading; I just tested the file and it works fine.

Oh, and can said mods be used together?

They can, in principle; however, the redhead patch was made basically for SI -- it would take some effort to get it working. And it would require paperdoll and multiracial avatars support both to be turned ON in BG for it to work as is.

Oh, and depending on where you downloaded the Keyring Mod from, you might not need the Exult Tools; in the Keyring/data folder, check to see if you'll need it: there should be four *.vga files and one "usecode" file (no file extension), along with several other files. If the mentioned files are all there, you won't need the Exult Tools.

[WhyteTyger]

Alright, I checked and indeed, I do have the files mentioned. However, I still am having some difficulty running the mod. I tried Exult BG (with FoV) and it worked fine. Then I installed the keyring as was mentioned, and tried both the install.bat and the make and install.bat but neither worked (that I could tell. Furthermore, at this point I can create a character in BG, but it crashes to windows while going through the red gate (the red loading screen specifically). It was while perusing the install.bats that I saw the mention of the Exult/Tools directory, and the need for the other program.

[marzo]

Since you have all the files, all you need to do is copy the contents of the keyring/data folder to BG's patch folder; if your directory structure is like the one specified in the readme.txt file, you can use the 'install.bat' file to automate the process. In the end, whichever path you choose the BG patch folder should have all of the contents of the keyring/data folder.

[marzo]

Furthermore, at this point I can create a character in BG, but it crashes to windows while going through the red gate (the red loading screen specifically).

Out of curiosity, what version of Exult are you using?

[WhyteTyger]

When I boot it up, there is a 1.2 down in the corner. I'm fairly certain that's the ubiquitous 'final release', am I right? I was distracted by another failed attempt at gaming (poor Titan Quest, I never knew ye), so I'm back to trying out Exult w/ Keyring now.

Ok, so I'd already tried moving the keyring/data stuff to the patch directory. First up, am I supposed to be making the patch directory? It was not there originally, does that mean I've got a bad version of the game, or is it normal to have to make one? Second of all, I recounted the .vga files, and it looks like I only have two, but I do have the usecode file. I'm going to try and redownload the Exult Tools program, see if my computer can get it properly this time.

[WhyteTyger]

So I modified some directories around, so that both of my games (SI and BG) were in C:\Exult\U7 or Serpent. That helped the installation batch files install correctly, or so it said. I started a new SI game, but the red head mod didn't seem active (not really a big deal, but figured I'd try it). So then I tried BG, but I still had the same problem. I could start to make a character, but it crashed in the opening red loading screen.

[Gunnar]

I always thought you needed 1.4 to be able to use the mods. I could be wrong though

[Dominus]

yes, you do need to use the snapshot 1.4x version and I'm pretty sure it is mentioned in the readme that comes with the mods and somewhere in our documentation and the FAQ.

[marzo]

Gunnar and Dominus stated it before me, but the 1.4.x snapshot is required for the keyring mod; it will *not* work on the 1.2 release.

Second of all, I recounted the .vga files, and it looks like I only have two, but I do have the usecode file.

Hmm... OK -- I suppose they are the 'faces.vga' and 'shapes.vga' files? If yes, that should be the first public (beta) release I made; if you don't have a 'paperdol_info.txt' file, you don't need to bother about getting the Exult Tools -- just the 1.4.x snapshot. The file count I gave was actually for the version available with the Exult source (the usecode file requires compilation in it, if you are interested).

I *really* need to see about releasing a new version...

[drcode]

We might consider releasing a 1.4 version, including your mods. I'm starting to look at the bug list again.

[WhyteTyger]

So would you believe that in one of the readmes (the keyring one I believe), it explicitly states not to use version 1.2? I stupidly decided that was a typo, and was meant to read only works WITH 1.2. I guess I assumed it required the latest official version, since I thought the 'unstable' version 1.4 was an old release. Don't ask me how I got that logic, we'll just chalk it up to stupid human syndrome. So I'm downloading 1.4 right now, and I'll see if that fixes me issues.

Thank you again, everyone, for your quick and informative responses,
-WT(D)

[marzo]

So I'm downloading 1.4 right now, and I'll see if that fixes me issues.

I would appreciate any feedback. And please keep in mind that the mod is in an early beta; there is a lot more stuff planned for the future, and there *might* be scripting issues, but I don't believe so (there were no reports of it so far...).

[WhyteTyger]

Ok, so I installed 1.4 and both Serpent Isle and Black Gate load without any crashes now. I have not reinstalled the mods, since I didn't reinstall the games, just Exult, but the redhead isn't showing up in SI. I'm in Trinsic now still in BG, so I doubt I'll know if the Keyring mod is working until I get to Britain. I'll see about cheating my way to Britain real quick to see if it seems to be in place. It's been awhile since I used Exult, but I believe that cheat still works to jump to wherever you point to on the map.

[marzo]

but the redhead isn't showing up in SI

(I assume you are starting a new game) Just to make sure: lets say that your SI path is 'C:\Exult\SI'; is the mod's 'shapes.vga', 'faces.vga' and 'paperdol.vga' files installed in 'C:\Exult\SI\patch'? Contrary to the Keyring and SI Fixes mods (which came much later), the Redhead mod does not distribute the final files in the data dir, and requires ipack (from the Exult Tools) for proper installation.

[WhyteTyger]

Once again, you have nailed it right on the head. I was starting a new game, but the blonde female avatar was still appearing. I moved the files to the Patch directory (for some reason I had them in the patchdir directory, which I think might have been me reading it a bit too literally) and she showed up fine.

Which means my original issues have now been solved by your dilligence and patience. I have just one parting question, and it's mostly just a curiosity. Seeing that the new Avatar option in SI replaces the blonde female one, is it safe to say (at the moment) that it is not possible to have both? I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to switch back and forth if I NEEDED to have a blonde female and a redhead, but it would have been nice to have seen them both available. Is it still a matter of available sprites/artwork, or is that something that has been overcome, and this simply being an older mod, doesn't take advantage of it?

Once upon a time I decided U7 would forever be my favorite game of all time, if only because Ultima 8 proved we'd never see it's like again. But now with all of these exciting mods coming forward, it feels like they will be whole new games. Well same games but new icon at least. Thanks again everyone
-WhyteTyger(Dragon)

[Dominus]

We might consider releasing a 1.4 version, including your mods. I'm starting to look at the bug list again.

hmm, we might need some kind of versioning for patches and Exult. The reson we don't enable using releases wth patches is that we don't want people to despair when a mod does strange things for them mainly because the new usecode is not compatible with what the release *knows*.

[marzo]

is it safe to say (at the moment) that it is not possible to have both?

Yes; and it will require some rather drastic changes in Exult to make it possible to have them both (i.e., to allow adding more avatar portraits/sprites instead of replacing the already existing ones).

We might consider releasing a 1.4 version, including your mods.

I have been looking again into the discussion we had (in the mailing list) about having mods show up in the main Exult menu, and I have been taking a look at the relevant sections of the code; it would be good to have the new menu system ready before releasing 1.4, partially so as to address Dominus' objection -- incompatible mods could be made to not show up in the menu.

[Colourless]

Actually the Menu should show mods that are incompatible, but tell the user that they are incompatible. If the menu didn't show incompatible mods, the users wouldn't know that:
1) they had installed the mod correctly
and
2) that the mod is incompatible.

[marzo]

Re: Colourless: Both good points. Hmm. I have started a new thread for discussion of the (upcoming) new Menu (so this thread isn't completely derailed), and we can all discuss it there.