Update 1.2.3: Optimized by removing unnecessary codes.
Update 1.2.2: added dxgi format(B8G8R8X8_UNORM).
Update 1.2.1: Improved compatibility with Bethesda's Archive2.exe (v1.1.0.5).
Please discard files extracted with V1.2.0, and extract again with V1.2.1 or later.
Note: The Fallout 4 Next-Gen update now uses newly versions 7 and 8 of BA2. CreationKit has also been updated, and the included Archive2.exe is now 1.1.0.5. but BA2 that can be created with the upddated Archive2.exe(1.1.0.5) is only version 8. Maybe Bethesda doesn't want users to create and use version 7 of BA2.
BAMgr can create versions 1, 7, and 8 of BA2, but please use version 8 (* recomend). * There will be differences in data between versions 7 and 8 when Cubemap textures are packed, but there will be no change in performance.
BA2 Creation Tutorial Using moded data as a loose file is not recommended as it significantly reduces performance. So pack all loose files into BA2 archive file to improve performance. * Properly creating a BA2 archive file requires some BA2 knowledge, but is easy with BAMgr.
BA2 has two Archive formats, DDS mode for packing texture data, and GENERAL mode for non-texture data. and, there are also file types that do not work when compressed, making it difficult to properly select an archive format, but BAMgr's BA2-Create-Assistance-Function will make the appropriate selection for you.
As a tutorial, let's BA2 pack a loose file of textures.
Spoiler:
Show
1) Prepare a loose file with the Textures folder as the root at an arbitrary location. * It is recommended to merge loose files of multiple mods at this stage.
2) Run the BAMgr(BAMgr_FO4NGE.exe).
3) Drag and drop the Textures folder into BAMgr's window.
4) Push Create Archive button.
Specify the create BA2 file name and location. (* It is recommended to create it in the Fallout4/Data folder)
5) Archiving process starts.
6) MyMergedTex.ba2 has been created at the specified location. * If MyMergedTex.ba2 is not in the Fallout4/Data folder, move or copy it there.
7) Add the created BA2 file to Fallout4Custom.ini. (* Fallout4Custom.ini is usually located in /User Documents/My Games/Fallout4/)
Add the following to FalloutCustom.ini [Archive] bInvalidateOlderFiles=1 sResourceDataDirsFinal= sResourceArchive2List=MyMergedTex.ba2
* If you are using some kind of mod manager, you may not need to add it to Fallout4Custom.ini, just make the mod manager recognize MyMergedTex.ba2.
Important Notes: If any BA2-packed loose files remain in the Fallout/Data/ folder, please remove them all. * Loose files have a higher read priority than BA2 files, so the effect of using BA2 is not achieved if loose files remain.
Feature request: Please do add support for multi-core, it only uses single thread(1 logical core) for extraction and archiving which makes it really slow.
Can I use it pull the new BA2 material packages and read my old .nif models that are using the old .BGSM materials? Another question but will you be eventually be looking to make a more friendly interface layout? The old B.A.E. was simple and yours got a lot features to study.
I've extracted an archive to my "dump folder" but it's got a folder for interface, meshes, scripts and materials within it, and the only way I can select them all is to select the dump folder they're in.
If I do that it'll create the archive, but won't that mess with the file paths? I want to be able to select all of the subfolders and make one archive out of them for converting to old gen.
I recently did a fairly extensive test to compare and contrast the different BA2 packers including this one after I realized the main one I had been using was butchering the mip-maps. Needless to say, this is the one I will be using going forward. The simple fact that it doesn't force file names to be lower-case did have me a bit biased in this program's favor. After testing it became clear that this is the best one for Mod Author's in my opinion. It does what its supposed to do well and doesn't let pervasive additional features muck it up.
This has really streamlined packing all my loose textures, thank you for making this!
Out of curiosity, what's the difference between the different compression levels? I'm assuming the .ba2 file size will be different, but if I want the best performance should I just be using level 1? Just wondering why Bethesda chose their level of compression.
54 comments
Update 1.2.3:
Optimized by removing unnecessary codes.
Update 1.2.2:
added dxgi format(B8G8R8X8_UNORM).
Update 1.2.1:
Improved compatibility with Bethesda's Archive2.exe (v1.1.0.5).
Please discard files extracted with V1.2.0, and extract again with V1.2.1 or later.
Note:
The Fallout 4 Next-Gen update now uses newly versions 7 and 8 of BA2.
CreationKit has also been updated, and the included Archive2.exe is now 1.1.0.5.
but BA2 that can be created with the upddated Archive2.exe(1.1.0.5) is only version 8.
Maybe Bethesda doesn't want users to create and use version 7 of BA2.
BAMgr can create versions 1, 7, and 8 of BA2, but please use version 8 (* recomend).
* There will be differences in data between versions 7 and 8 when Cubemap textures are packed, but there will be no change in performance.
Using moded data as a loose file is not recommended as it significantly reduces performance.
So pack all loose files into BA2 archive file to improve performance.
* Properly creating a BA2 archive file requires some BA2 knowledge, but is easy with BAMgr.
BA2 has two Archive formats, DDS mode for packing texture data, and GENERAL mode for non-texture data.
and, there are also file types that do not work when compressed, making it difficult to properly select an archive format,
but BAMgr's BA2-Create-Assistance-Function will make the appropriate selection for you.
As a tutorial, let's BA2 pack a loose file of textures.
1) Prepare a loose file with the Textures folder as the root at an arbitrary location.
* It is recommended to merge loose files of multiple mods at this stage.
2) Run the BAMgr(BAMgr_FO4NGE.exe).
3) Drag and drop the Textures folder into BAMgr's window.
4) Push Create Archive button.
Specify the create BA2 file name and location. (* It is recommended to create it in the Fallout4/Data folder)
5) Archiving process starts.
6) MyMergedTex.ba2 has been created at the specified location.
* If MyMergedTex.ba2 is not in the Fallout4/Data folder, move or copy it there.
7) Add the created BA2 file to Fallout4Custom.ini. (* Fallout4Custom.ini is usually located in /User Documents/My Games/Fallout4/)
Add the following to FalloutCustom.ini
[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=
sResourceArchive2List=MyMergedTex.ba2
* If you are using some kind of mod manager, you may not need to add it to Fallout4Custom.ini, just make the mod manager recognize MyMergedTex.ba2.
Important Notes:
If any BA2-packed loose files remain in the Fallout/Data/ folder, please remove them all.
* Loose files have a higher read priority than BA2 files, so the effect of using BA2 is not achieved if loose files remain.
I've extracted an archive to my "dump folder" but it's got a folder for interface, meshes, scripts and materials within it, and the only way I can select them all is to select the dump folder they're in.
If I do that it'll create the archive, but won't that mess with the file paths? I want to be able to select all of the subfolders and make one archive out of them for converting to old gen.
Endorsed +1
Out of curiosity, what's the difference between the different compression levels? I'm assuming the .ba2 file size will be different, but if I want the best performance should I just be using level 1? Just wondering why Bethesda chose their level of compression.