This folder structure doesnt make any sense for the installation instructions given here. There winds up being duplicate files within the mod itself. The mod conflicts with itself. I am worried about putting the wrong folders in place. Is it okay to just dump them all into override folder? OR Do they go elsewhere. The folder structure looks more like a Dazip Structure than an override Structure. I am So Confused. Please Help. I Like the looks of this mod and want to try it out. :)
You can scrap the folder structure (which was created during the toolset export process) and put the individual files into a single 'Back To Ferelden' override folder. (As I said in response to an earlier, similar question, it appears that the modder just packaged the export folders into an umbrella 'back_to_ferelden' folder, rather than 'cleaning it up' for the end user.)
It's generally a bad idea to just dump loose files into the root of the override folder. It makes it more difficult to remove mods (deleting dozes or even hundreds of loose files vs one folder), and if multiple mods are treated in that way, there's no way to tell what mod a file came from.
There are, as you mention, some conflicting files within in the mod. IIRC, some are duplicates, and others are newer/updated version of the files. Compare date stamps/file sizes to be sure.
This needs to be at the top of the comments page so I'm gonna bump this up. I was sooooo damn confused with this stupid folder structure and seeing all of the files from this mod confliciting with itself was annoying.
Just creating a folder called "Back To Ferelden" (instead of the ugly "back_to_ferelden") and then copy/pasting every single loose file from the original mod into the newly created "Back To Ferelden" folder and clicking "Let me decide for each file" when Windows asks if you'd like to overwrite the files and just checking the boxes of the bolded files (which means newest) was good enough for me.
I doubt anyone will have an answer but when I have a companion wear the Fugitive Mantle armor all the textures turn brown :( I don't know what to delete or edit to fix it.
I tried remapping the texture using this mod, which adjusts the DDS files, and it works at first, but then when I open my inventory or move to a new area, the clothing defaults to a brown shade again (texture mod link: https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5503). At first I replaced the DDS files--worked fine until I opened my inventory or moved areas. Now I have the replacement DDS files as an override folder with zz_ at the front to push it farther down the load order, which works, but doesn't stop the brown tint thing. So it's got to be something in the internal files or mesh files, but I don't know much about the meshes. I've only ever edited UTIs and replaced DDS stuff.
I did edit the UTI files to take off the Mage restriction so that anyone could wear the armor, but that was the only adjustment I made to the armor. I tried going back to earlier saves without the Back to Ferelden mod in use to runscript the armor into my inventory and I still end up with the brown tint. So...what gives?
I noticed it was a issue for another person as well, but apparently the most recent update fixed it for them. Which sucks, because the most recent update doesn't fix anything for me...any ideas? If not, I'll just have to suck it up or not use the armor.
Do you still have the original Back to Ferelden textures in override, in addition to the retexture? If so, first try removing them, or at least renaming them to make sure they can't be read by the game. (Just add .BAK to the end of the file name.)
I renamed the original DDS files for the fugitive armor by adding .bak at the end of the file names, reloaded the game, and respawed the armor, but it's still brown-tinted. The updated textures are still there (as in, the armor looks higher quality than in the original mod), but for some reason the color doesn't want to stay in that gray color and the armor pieces won't stay silver. Everything just turns all over brown/rust-colored.
It also does this without the new textures, since I've tried it with and without the newer DDS files. I also tried overwriting the original DDS files with the newer ones. Same story.
Is it a mesh issue? I noticed that the MAO/MET/MMH/MSH/PHY files have _0 and _2 variants, but I feel like both are required for the armor to function properly, so I haven't deleted any. And I noticed that the colors/tints vary depending on who is wearing it. I don't have the brown tint issue as much with human/elf female, but elf male gets a little brown tinted, and human male gets super brown tinted. But even that last one is weird because my male human mage character doesn't have nearly as much of a color issue as when I put the armor on, say, Alistair.
I've uploaded screenshots for reference because I feel like I'm going crazy trying to compare shades of brown lol
EDIT: I also just now noticed that the belts run differently on female models than male models...weird.
(btw thank you for moderating and helping out with DAO mods in the year of our Maker 2024...what a wild time to be dealing with mod issues from 2011)
Hmmm... other than making sure there aren't duplicate textures in override, I can't suggest a possible fix... I can't look at the files for the mod, as I do not have a computer available to me at this point. (The cooling system in my PC failed a few weeks ago.) Sorry to not be more helpful. :-(
And yes, both the variants of the 3D model (_0 and _2 files) are okay to have. The _0 files are the principle model files. The higher numbered version - in this case _2, but you will also find _1 files, depending on how thorough the creator was - are LOD (Level of Detail) files. LOD files have reduced information for distance viewing, to reduce load on the game engine... the game seamlessly switches between them, depending on how far from the object the camera is.
Oh! That makes sense, I was wondering how LODs worked. And, yeah, I think it's something more internal to the design codes than I know how to mess with. I guess for now I'll simply deal with browner tints for male characters, or only use the armor for female characters. Sad, but still workable! Thanks for trying anyway!
If you are using The Winter Forge, the enchantment dialogue can be used to enable rune slots on items that do not have them unlocked. (It might require using the 'cheat mode' option. Not sure about that.) There may be other cheat-type mods that have similar functionality, but TWF is the one I'm familiar with.
Or, you can edit the UTI files for the weapons. I use TlkEdit2, but I believe the Dragon Age Toolset can also be used to make edits to exported UTI files. Open the UTI in TLKEdit2. Expand t he 'VarTable' field.
Scroll all the way to the bottom, and expand field '[12]'. If the Value is '0', the item does not have rune slots enabled.
Changing the Value to '1' will enable rune slots.
It looks like the modder just packaged the export folders into an umbrella 'back_to_ferelden' folder and called it good, rather than 'cleaning it up' and making the structure pretty for the end user, but that doesn't affect the utility of the mod.
If the folder structure really bothers you, just move everything into the root folder (back_to_ferelden). Or create folders for the various files types within that folder. Or folders for each individual item.
Do I have to have this whole mod for EDR Hawke Family in Lothering, the Carver update? I use the Of Ferelden and Kirkwall Exports packs already, and just don't want a naked Carver running around.
188 comments
It's generally a bad idea to just dump loose files into the root of the override folder. It makes it more difficult to remove mods (deleting dozes or even hundreds of loose files vs one folder), and if multiple mods are treated in that way, there's no way to tell what mod a file came from.
There are, as you mention, some conflicting files within in the mod. IIRC, some are duplicates, and others are newer/updated version of the files. Compare date stamps/file sizes to be sure.
Just creating a folder called "Back To Ferelden" (instead of the ugly "back_to_ferelden") and then copy/pasting every single loose file from the original mod into the newly created "Back To Ferelden" folder and clicking "Let me decide for each file" when Windows asks if you'd like to overwrite the files and just checking the boxes of the bolded files (which means newest) was good enough for me.
Edit: Found what i was looking for.
I tried remapping the texture using this mod, which adjusts the DDS files, and it works at first, but then when I open my inventory or move to a new area, the clothing defaults to a brown shade again (texture mod link: https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5503). At first I replaced the DDS files--worked fine until I opened my inventory or moved areas. Now I have the replacement DDS files as an override folder with zz_ at the front to push it farther down the load order, which works, but doesn't stop the brown tint thing. So it's got to be something in the internal files or mesh files, but I don't know much about the meshes. I've only ever edited UTIs and replaced DDS stuff.
I did edit the UTI files to take off the Mage restriction so that anyone could wear the armor, but that was the only adjustment I made to the armor. I tried going back to earlier saves without the Back to Ferelden mod in use to runscript the armor into my inventory and I still end up with the brown tint. So...what gives?
I noticed it was a issue for another person as well, but apparently the most recent update fixed it for them. Which sucks, because the most recent update doesn't fix anything for me...any ideas? If not, I'll just have to suck it up or not use the armor.
It also does this without the new textures, since I've tried it with and without the newer DDS files. I also tried overwriting the original DDS files with the newer ones. Same story.
Is it a mesh issue? I noticed that the MAO/MET/MMH/MSH/PHY files have _0 and _2 variants, but I feel like both are required for the armor to function properly, so I haven't deleted any. And I noticed that the colors/tints vary depending on who is wearing it. I don't have the brown tint issue as much with human/elf female, but elf male gets a little brown tinted, and human male gets super brown tinted. But even that last one is weird because my male human mage character doesn't have nearly as much of a color issue as when I put the armor on, say, Alistair.
I've uploaded screenshots for reference because I feel like I'm going crazy trying to compare shades of brown lol
EDIT: I also just now noticed that the belts run differently on female models than male models...weird.
(btw thank you for moderating and helping out with DAO mods in the year of our Maker 2024...what a wild time to be dealing with mod issues from 2011)
And yes, both the variants of the 3D model (_0 and _2 files) are okay to have. The _0 files are the principle model files. The higher numbered version - in this case _2, but you will also find _1 files, depending on how thorough the creator was - are LOD (Level of Detail) files. LOD files have reduced information for distance viewing, to reduce load on the game engine... the game seamlessly switches between them, depending on how far from the object the camera is.
EDIT: It is human male only; I didn't think it through.
Or, you can edit the UTI files for the weapons. I use TlkEdit2, but I believe the Dragon Age Toolset can also be used to make edits to exported UTI files.
Open the UTI in TLKEdit2. Expand t he 'VarTable' field.
Scroll all the way to the bottom, and expand field '[12]'. If the Value is '0', the item does not have rune slots enabled.
Changing the Value to '1' will enable rune slots.
It looks like the modder just packaged the export folders into an umbrella 'back_to_ferelden' folder and called it good, rather than 'cleaning it up' and making the structure pretty for the end user, but that doesn't affect the utility of the mod.
If the folder structure really bothers you, just move everything into the root folder (back_to_ferelden). Or create folders for the various files types within that folder. Or folders for each individual item.
The Witcher 2 DAO at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com)
Under optional, titled "Triss armor for elf female". Overwrite when prompted.