I Need a Mod Manager to activate and deactivate mods

[Rubalcalva]

Hey.

I'm currently playing a scenario with the Winter Pack (7GB), and another with my usual set of mods (3GB). The Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V method is annoying (plus it makes the disc work extra!), so I was wondering if there is any mod manager that makes this job easier. I've tried JSGME as described in this thread, but either it doesn't work or I can't make it work. I've also considered using tags, but I don't think it's a very convenient solution, especially long term-wise (I'll have the same problem when I start new games).

Any ideas? 

 

Cheers.

[HerrTom]

I think JSGME should work, but if it's in the game's root directory, mods would need to reflect the path down to the Z folder. So it would be in the JSGME mod folder like the following: (modName)/data/z/(mod files)

I'll try it myself when I'm back at my computer today since I was thinking of doing JSGME myself for different effects mods.

[Rubalcalva]

I tried to follow the instructions in the thread I linked, and moved my mods from the game directory/data/z to user/documents/etc. I created inside each and every mod a folder called user data, and inside it, another one called mod; and inside it, the mod files. The result was a complete mess, and not only I couldn't deactivate mods, but JSGME created a duplicate of every mod directly in the game folder (?). So I have no idea what I did wrong.

If you succed, please let me know.

[37mm]

I've been using OvGME for the past few days now.

It's very nice, UI is much better than JSGME (from what I recall), it was easy to set-up & does make swapping around a lot easier.

You can even save profiles & keep your mods zipped if you want.

The only thing to remember is that it's the contents of each particular mod folder which are sent to CM's Z folder.

Edited March 30, 2019 by 37mm

[Warts 'n' all]

I've never seen the need to use JSGME with CMx2. The mods that I use all the time just go straight into the "Z" folders. The ones that are scenario or campaign specific are held in what I call my Mod houses (one for each title e.g CMBN Mod House) ready for when I need them. 

[37mm]

43 minutes ago, Warts 'n' all said:

I've never seen the need to use JSGME with CMx2. The mods that I use all the time just go straight into the "Z" folders. The ones that are scenario or campaign specific are held in what I call my Mod houses (one for each title e.g CMBN Mod House) ready for when I need them. 

I don't think anyone uses a mod manager because they need to... just because it's easier.

After using OvGME for only a few days I can certainly confirm it's a timesaver.

I also intend to package it with the finalized version of the effects mix I've been working on... so anybody using the mix can rapidly switch between the effects they wish to use without the need to add or delete z's & zz's.

Edited March 31, 2019 by 37mm

[sburke]

2 hours ago, 37mm said:

I don't think anyone uses a mod manager because they need to... just because it's easier.

After using OvGME for only a few days I can certainly confirm it's a timesaver.

I also intend to package it with the finalized version of the effects mix I've been working on... so anybody using the mix can rapidly switch between the effects they wish to use without the need to add or delete z's & zz's.

I put all the mods I use all the time in the main documents mods directory and then either swap specific mod selections that are kept in their own unique folders into that folder or do a separate game install and use the data folder (I only do that if I have an ongoing campaign with specific units and want to maintain  a whole set of unit specific uniforms, Mord's UI files etc.)   Drag folder to folder is just about as easy as it gets.  Using a program to do it isn't going to be faster as you still need to open that program and make selections etc.  The hard part is simply organizing your mod files in a logical manner that makes using them easier.  Unlike some folks who have so many that are haphazardly organized that they don't even know what they have and what is loaded....  

I also keep all my mods on a separate drive so I don't accidentally delete my only copy if I remove them from the game folder.

As an example I have a folder for the TF Spartan resolve Mod pack.  When I want to use it I just drag it over.  When I don't I delete it from the game folder.  I can't imagine any program will make that work easier.

 

Basically the same as Lord Protector there.

Edited March 31, 2019 by sburke

[Rubalcalva]

9 hours ago, 37mm said:

I've been using OvGME for the past few days now.

It's very nice, UI is much better than JSGME (from what I recall), it was easy to set-up & does make swapping around a lot easier.

You can even save profiles & keep your mods zipped if you want.

The only thing to remember is that it's the contents of each particular mod folder which are sent to CM's Z folder.

Can you activate and deactivate mods without having to move folders then? If so, I'll give it a try.

Of course you don't need to use a mod manager. You don't even need to use mods, for that matter. But in this particular case, moving, removing and moving and removing again, twice a day, 10GB of mods it's all but practical, and, like I said, makes your disc work unnecesarily. 

[Warts 'n' all]

I'm not sure I get the "twice a day" thing. Perhaps that is because I only have one scenario or campaign going at any one time. I appreciate that things could be different for people playing more than one H2H or PBEM.

[Rubalcalva]

11 minutes ago, Warts 'n' all said:

I'm not sure I get the "twice a day" thing. Perhaps that is because I only have one scenario or campaign going at any one time. I appreciate that things could be different for people playing more than one H2H or PBEM.

Yep. I'm playing 2 pbem scenarios right now, one with the winter pack, the other with the set of mods I usually have. And, coincidentally, I play a couple of turns per day and game. So it's a pain to cut & paste the 7GB of the winter pack, cut & paste the 3GB of my usual mods, and a few hours later, cut & paste 10GB again, and cut & paste 3GB again (yes, ideally, and depending on your opponents, you could "only" cut & paste each folder once per day, but still). With a mod manager (which btw I've only used with Silent Hunter) you just click and it's done.

[The Steppenwulf]

Rubalcalvas problem loading mods several times a day would be totally solved by tags yes/no?! 

Therefore I wonder, is it a worthy idea, as a community, if we developed a standard set of accepted tags. This could be accessed as a shared auto-updating online document linked somewhere visible from the forums or cmmods, and each tag containing a brief description of its use/content and provide a direct link to the mod pack concerned). This way mission creators could consider already listed tags and their pack content for inclusion in a scenario, or alternatively, designers might want to use a standard pack and amend it slightly in which case they'd "register" the new content with a "sub-tag". A completely fresh build of modded files would use a new main tag and could be registered by the creator.

From the players perspective the z folder would just be a set of usual stock mods (without tags) but a zz folder would be full of folders each labelled by its registered tag name and full of the tagged material. If this became a standard practice, it would become a standard community tool and would make for a better experience all round (both modders and users).

Anyone see why this is not a good idea? Or what the pitfalls are? Otherwise the only thing preventing such a grand solution is a bit of community effort and cohesion!  

Edited March 31, 2019 by The Steppenwulf

[37mm]

10 hours ago, Rubalcalva said:

Can you activate and deactivate mods without having to move folders then? If so, I'll give it a try.

Of course you don't need to use a mod manager. You don't even need to use mods, for that matter. But in this particular case, moving, removing and moving and removing again, twice a day, 10GB of mods it's all but practical, and, like I said, makes your disc work unnecesarily. 

Well the program moves the relevant folders (from your mod storage) to CM's Z folder when you activate them.

This week I've been switching between playing TF Narwick as US Cavalry against "Generic OPFOR" during the day & fighting a night battle near Afghanistan as US Special Forces against a mix of enemy foes... different effects, different sounds and voice packs, different background sounds, GB worth of files getting swapped around.

It take's a few seconds to switch between the two profiles I created for this weeks play.

[sburke]

5 hours ago, Rubalcalva said:

Yep. I'm playing 2 pbem scenarios right now, one with the winter pack, the other with the set of mods I usually have. And, coincidentally, I play a couple of turns per day and game. So it's a pain to cut & paste the 7GB of the winter pack, cut & paste the 3GB of my usual mods, and a few hours later, cut & paste 10GB again, and cut & paste 3GB again (yes, ideally, and depending on your opponents, you could "only" cut & paste each folder once per day, but still). With a mod manager (which btw I've only used with Silent Hunter) you just click and it's done.

a mod program does the same thing so arguing less effort on drive doesn't reflect that the only difference is a manual process versus a program doing it.  If you are moving twice a day I would suggest having two separate installs and then launching whichever game you want for which mod set.  Then you aren't moving files, and don't need a mod manager.  I assume you are doing this for 2 different PBEM games otherwise not sure why you are flipping mods so often.

[Rubalcalva]

OK, I didn't know that these programs do the exact same thing you would manually do. I thought there would be some mysterious and more complicated proccess. u_u

Thanks for all the answers.

Edited March 31, 2019 by Rubalcalva

[37mm]

19 minutes ago, Rubalcalva said:

OK, I didn't know that these programs do the exact same thing you would manually do. I thought there would be some mysterious and more complicated proccess. u_u

Thanks for all the answers.

Hmmm if you really don't want to move anything ever... the only thing I can suggest would be keeping the one's not being used zipped or otherwise bulk altered in some manner.