Installations of mods

[wesselholt]

Hello everybody,

fully enjoying the new game like that little kid (me) which in the 80´s played around with small soldiers on his bed and created lots of scenarios and dramas there.

The mods are slowly being added to the game, and although I have played all CM games I have not tried a single mod ever. That sillyness must now end, and I have looked around in the forums in search of someting like a guide to how to install mods. I guess the sheer numbers of mods to the earlier games indicates that it is not the most complicated process, but I am totally green to this.

Do any of you know a posting or some other reference that could be useful for us novices in modding?

Best regards!

[stikkypixie]

Hello everybody,

fully enjoying the new game like that little kid (me) which in the 80´s played around with small soldiers on his bed and created lots of scenarios and dramas there.

The mods are slowly being added to the game, and although I have played all CM games I have not tried a single mod ever. That sillyness must now end, and I have looked around in the forums in search of someting like a guide to how to install mods. I guess the sheer numbers of mods to the earlier games indicates that it is not the most complicated process, but I am totally green to this.

Do any of you know a posting or some other reference that could be useful for us novices in modding?

Best regards!

You have to make a folder called "Z" in your "Data" folder of the game. Download the mod (if you're using the repository from BFC remember that it's a different password/login from the forum) and put them in the Z folder. The mods should be files such as textures or sounds or .brz files, so you have to unpack them from zip or rar files there in.

In the CMSF section I believe someone posted a mod manager, although I haven't tried it myself.

Also check the manual as there might be interesting information there as well like how to make mods yourself.

[Baneman]

Installing them is easy - add a folder called "Z" to your Data folder.

Add the modded files there.

Voila !

Restart game and marvel !

[wesselholt]

Gentlemen, thanks a lot. Will surely start to discover world of mods!

[user38]

Look at page 150 of the manual:

MODS

Note: Mod Tools are only available for the PC version at this time.

Two Mod Tools (RezExplode and RezPack) are included in the Mod Tools directory. Both programs work with ".brz" files, which are "packed" data files containing the individual sounds and graphics used by Combat Mission. For simplicity, we'll refer to the contents of a ".brz" file - the sounds and graphics - as "resources". These contents are not normally visible, but can be extracted using RezExplode.

RezExplode takes a ".brz" file and "explodes" it into its individual resources (for example, ".wav" files for sounds and ".bmp" for graphics). These individual resources can then be edited or replaced by you.

RezPack takes the resources that you have modded, and "packs" them back into a single ".brz" file. This is not only convenient, but allows users to (de)activate a "mod pack" easily by moving a single ".brz" file into or out of the CM:BN "Data" folder.

Inside the main Combat Mission Battle for Normandy folder is a folder called "Data". Here is where all the sounds and graphics for the game are stored.

You'll see files with names like "Version 100.brz", "Version 101.brz" and possibly others. To mod CM:BN, you'll use RezExplode to access the contents (resources) of the ".brz" files that ship with the game (like "Version 100.brz"), then edit the ones you want, and then use RezPack to recombine your modded versions of the sounds and graphics into a new ".brz" file that you will name.

LOADING ORDER

When Combat Mission starts up, it loads all the .brz files it finds in the Data folder. However, it is possible that a given sound or graphic (say, "tank texture.bmp") might be contained in more than one .brz file, and the two files might be different despite having the same name.

Combat Mission has a method to ensure that the "latest" version of a sound or graphic is always the one used by the game: the .brz file name that is LATER in alphabetical order is given priority. For example, if "tank texture.jpg" is contained in both "A.brz" and "B.brz", the version contained in "B.brz" will be used, and the one inside "A.brz" will be ignored. Similarly, "Version 101.brz" takes priority over "Version 100.brz" because it comes later alphabetically.

As you explode the .brz files that come with the game, you'll notice some duplicates of various texture graphics and such. The reverse-alphabetical loading order allows later-version .brz files to take priority over the earlier ones.

This is important because you want to make sure that your mods get priority over the sounds and graphics that ship with the game. See below for further details.

REZEXPLODE

To access the contents of a .brz file, COPY it into the "input" folder inside the RezExplode folder. Now run RezExplode by double-clicking it.

There is no user interface. Just wait a few moments until an "exploded" folder appears. Inside there you'll find the contents of the .brz file you just exploded. The files inside the "exploded" folder are the ones you'll want to consider modding, and later repacking using RezPack.

REPACK

When you have finished modding the sounds or graphics you want, you can package them back up as a new .brz file. Copy your modded files into the "input" folder inside the RezPack folder. It is OK to copy nested folders here

- RezPack will dig down into the folder hierarchy to find all your modded files.

Run RezPack. There is no user interface. Wait a few moments until a "packed.brz"

file appears. You should rename this file as you wish. It is ready to be moved into Combat Mission's "Data" folder (see section below for details).

RezPack also creates a file called "log.txt" or "log error.txt". Inside this file you'll see some useful information. If the file is called "log error.txt", it means that you accidentally packed two or more resource files with the same name (inside different nested folders) and the log file will list these "conflicts" at the top of the file. You will likely want to remove all but one of the conflicting files and run RezPack again. Also contained in the log.txt file is a list of all the resource files you packed, and the nested folder hierarchy (if any) they came from.

MODS IN ACTION

Now that you have created your mods as .brz file(s), it is time to see them work inside Combat Mission. Here is the easiest way to be sure that your mod files get loading priority over the files that ship standard with Combat Mission.

First, note that any enclosing folder names are included with file names in the alphabetical priority comparison for loading. Now go inside the Data folder and create a new folder called "Z". Because "Z" comes after the names of the standard game files ("Version XXX") you are guaranteed that any mods you put into the "Z" folder will be loaded and used by Combat Mission.

Second, note that among the .brz mod files you create and put into this "Z" folder, the alphabetical rule still applies within that folder. So if you have "MyMod1.brz" and "MyMod2.brz" files both inside the "Z" folder, data from "MyMod2.brz" will take priority over "MyMod1.brz" for any duplicate contents.

You may also place single *non-brz* files into the Data folder (such as individual WAV or BMP files). Combat Mission can recognize individual BMP or WAV files even when not packed into a BRZ file. This is not recommended when creating a "mod pack" for use by others because dozens or hundreds of individual files are difficult to manage, but it can be useful while you are creating your mod, and want to test out small edits. Individual files are given loading priority over ALL .brz files regardless of how they are named.

IMPORTANT

Don't remove the "Version XXX.brz" files from the Data folder. The loading-priority system will ensure that your mods are used when present.

Don't monkey with the contents of Combat Mission's Data folder while Combat Mission is running. To get a "clean" reload of mods, quit Combat Mission, move the .brz files around as you wish, then restart Combat Mission.

Mods you create and pack as .brz files do NOT have to replace (or include) all the contents of whatever .brz files you originally "exploded". You should RezPack ONLY the resources you modded, and Combat Mission will locate the others in their original .brz files.

Please note that while you are invited and encouraged to make and distribute mods for CM:BN so other players can enjoy them, the selling of mods or including them in compilations which are then sold is prohibited by the End User License Agreement.

A good place to share your mods is our Battlefront.com Repository at www.battlefront.com/repository