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About this mod
I see a lot of people confused about how to merge mods so I created a step by step guide.
Hopefully people can just point to this page now instead of repeating the same stuff on every single mod page.
- Permissions and credits
This tutorial will cover how to merge two or more game_main.arc mods together without relying on individual authors to provide any loose files or list of files.
The process is the same for merging any .arc's, game_main.arc is simply a common example.
1. Download FluffyQuack's ARCtool and the batch files here. Unpack them wherever you want and put the pc-dd.bat into the same folder as ARCtool.exe
2. Get WinMerge here and install it.
3.Always backup your original (non-modified) files somewhere safe.
4. Copy your original (non-modified) game_main.arc into the same folder with ARCtool.exe and pc-dd.bat, then drag and drop it onto pc-dd.bat. This will unpack the .arc and give you a folder called game_main and a game_main.arc.txt
5. Move (not copy) all three (game_main.arc, game_main.arc.txt, and the game_main folder) into a new folder. Name it "Original". This will be your unpacked but otherwise untouched game files. Don't make any changes to these files.
6. Make a copy of the "Original" folder you just created (including the contents) and rename it "New". This will be your working folder, where you will merge the mods together.
7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the game_main.arc's from whatever mods you want to merge, except name the new folders something descriptive so you know which mod each one is from.
8. Open winmerge and click the "File" context menu at the top, choose "Open", this should pop up a dialog box that says "Files or Folders to Compare". Navigate to the "Original" game_main folder in the box titled "Left" and one of the mods game_main folders (from step 7) in the box titled "Right". Mark the box that says "Include Subfolders" and click OK
9. In the "View" context menu at the top uncheck "show identical" (this should make it so only the "different" files are visible). This is a list of the modified files (the ones you want to copy from each mod)
10. Highlight all of them, right click and choose "Copy > Right to..." This will pop up a dialog box, navigate to the "New" game_main folder that you created in step 6.
11. Repeat steps 8, 9, and 10 with each of the mods that you want to merge together, always comparing them to the original (non-modified) game_main and copying all of the "different" files into the same "New" game_main folder.
12. If you followed the unpacking steps accurately, there should not be any left over game_main folder, or game_main.arc, or game_main.arc.txt in the folder with ARCtool.exe, if there are remove them.
13. Copy the game_main folder, and game_main.arc.txt from "New" back into the same folder with ARCtool.exe (exclude the game_main.arc), then drag and drop the game_main folder onto pc-dd.bat. This will repack the game_main folder creating a new "merged" game_main.arc
14. Enjoy...
The process is the same for merging any .arc's, game_main.arc is simply a common example.
Get the Tools
1. Download FluffyQuack's ARCtool and the batch files here. Unpack them wherever you want and put the pc-dd.bat into the same folder as ARCtool.exe
2. Get WinMerge here and install it.
Create Backups
3.Always backup your original (non-modified) files somewhere safe.
Unpacking
4. Copy your original (non-modified) game_main.arc into the same folder with ARCtool.exe and pc-dd.bat, then drag and drop it onto pc-dd.bat. This will unpack the .arc and give you a folder called game_main and a game_main.arc.txt
5. Move (not copy) all three (game_main.arc, game_main.arc.txt, and the game_main folder) into a new folder. Name it "Original". This will be your unpacked but otherwise untouched game files. Don't make any changes to these files.
6. Make a copy of the "Original" folder you just created (including the contents) and rename it "New". This will be your working folder, where you will merge the mods together.
7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the game_main.arc's from whatever mods you want to merge, except name the new folders something descriptive so you know which mod each one is from.
Differencing and Merging
8. Open winmerge and click the "File" context menu at the top, choose "Open", this should pop up a dialog box that says "Files or Folders to Compare". Navigate to the "Original" game_main folder in the box titled "Left" and one of the mods game_main folders (from step 7) in the box titled "Right". Mark the box that says "Include Subfolders" and click OK
9. In the "View" context menu at the top uncheck "show identical" (this should make it so only the "different" files are visible). This is a list of the modified files (the ones you want to copy from each mod)
10. Highlight all of them, right click and choose "Copy > Right to..." This will pop up a dialog box, navigate to the "New" game_main folder that you created in step 6.
11. Repeat steps 8, 9, and 10 with each of the mods that you want to merge together, always comparing them to the original (non-modified) game_main and copying all of the "different" files into the same "New" game_main folder.
Repacking
12. If you followed the unpacking steps accurately, there should not be any left over game_main folder, or game_main.arc, or game_main.arc.txt in the folder with ARCtool.exe, if there are remove them.
13. Copy the game_main folder, and game_main.arc.txt from "New" back into the same folder with ARCtool.exe (exclude the game_main.arc), then drag and drop the game_main folder onto pc-dd.bat. This will repack the game_main folder creating a new "merged" game_main.arc
14. Enjoy...