False patching

[Triaxx2]

Okay, so I'm trying to install X3 Unleashed, which is supposed be installed as a false patch. I've never actually done that. Can someone please explain the procedure?

And second, I want to install the Cadius Xtra Ship pack, but I already have MARS. Supposedly I can fuse them together with the X3 Editor 2.I've never done that either. Can someone explain that? Or perhaps point to a tutorial?

Thanks. Really hoping to put these in so I can continue my DiD.

[DrBullwinkle]

Okay, so I'm trying to install X3 Unleashed, which is supposed be installed as a false patch. I've never actually done that. Can someone please explain the procedure?

LV's Tutorial - Installing mods and scripts to your game has nice pictures, which can help.

HOWEVER, that tutorial does not include specific instructions for AP, which adds an "addon" folder underneath the main X3TC folder. Scripts, t, and Director folders all go under "addon" (for AP), as do .cat/.dat's.

Confused yet?

There is, actually, a much easier way, but most modders do not seem to know about it:

1) Unzip/UnRar the mod's archive into a temporary folder.
2) Change the named .cat and .dat to 04.cat and 04.dat. (The actual numbers do not matter as long as they are two-digit numbers -- with a leading zero if 09 or less).
3) Re-Zip all files into a new archive.
4) Install the new archive with the Plugin Manager.

The Plugin Manager has a secret (undocumented) feature. It will install numbered .cats and .dats as fake patches. (It installs named .cats/.dats as mods).

The Plugin Manager will, usually, put things in the correct folders, as well.

• If modders would package their mods with numbered .cats, then Plugin Manager users would be able to install them without steps 1-3. (Of course, then newbie players using the manual install method could be confused by the numbers, so there is no way to make it perfect for everyone).

And second, I want to install the Cadius Xtra Ship pack, but I already have MARS. Supposedly I can fuse them together with the X3 Editor 2.

Give me a link to the instructions and I will help you with that, too.

[Triaxx2]

Fine by me, because I don't have AP. So, I can just change the numbers? Useful.

These are the install instructions for Unleashed:

Unleashed installs in your X3:Terran Conflict directory as a fake patch.

Copy the .cat and .dat files to your Terran Conflict directory (you'll see other cats/dats there)

Rename Unleashed's .cat and .dat files so they are now either the highest number, or 1 less than the Plugin Manager's (if used). For example: if adding to a vanilla installation of 2.7.1 X3:TC, Unleashed's cat/dat pair would be copied into the main directory and renamed 13.cat and 13.dat. If you install other fake patches with number pairs higher than Unleashed, be absolutely certain that they do not modify the game's Jobs.txt and JobWings.txt files. If they do, rename Unleashed's cat/dat pair so it once again has the highest number.

Placeholder .txt files have been included to help you remember what cat/dat pair you just installed. Be sure to change the ## at the beginning to whatever you used when renaming the cat/dat for Unleashed.

So if I just install with the Plugin-manager, I'll just need the same name as the last cat/dat? Or is that old info?

Integration with other mods
- This mod should be compatible with almost every mod out there but needs abit of work on your end. Use the X3Editor 2 and copy the entries of the new ships and stations from the Tship and TDocks files into the other mod and make the ship pack's cat/dat file into a fake patch. That should do the trick.

Those are the instructions for making Cadius Ship Pack work with other mods. It seems as though it's MARS that's changing things so I'm not getting the new ships. Any idea how to do that?

[DrBullwinkle]

These are the install instructions for Unleashed:

Unleashed installs in your X3:Terran Conflict directory as a fake patch.

Copy the .cat and .dat files to your Terran Conflict directory (you'll see other cats/dats there)

Rename Unleashed's .cat and .dat files so they are now the highest number, or 1 less than the Plugin Manager's (if used).

So if I just install with the Plugin-manager, I'll just need the same name as the last cat/dat? Or is that old info?

Those instructions are slightly confusing. The Plugin Manager only creates its own .cat/.dat pair when you install .xsp ships. So, if you do not use any .xsp's, then you can ignore the second part of his sentence.

In any case, Jaga Telsin is not talking about using the PM to install the fake patch. If you use my suggestion of repacking the mod, then using the PM to install the archive, then the PM will automatically renumber the .cat/.dat pairs for you. That is the way that I install all fake patches (so that I can use the PM to track which .cat is associated with which mod).

Integration with other mods
- This mod should be compatible with almost every mod out there but needs abit of work on your end. Use the X3Editor 2 and copy the entries of the new ships and stations from the Tship and TDocks files into the other mod and make the ship pack's cat/dat file into a fake patch. That should do the trick.

Those are the instructions for making Cadius Ship Pack work with other mods. It seems as though it's MARS that's changing things so I'm not getting the new ships. Any idea how to do that?

The only change to TShips that MARS makes is that it adds repair lasers to the "compatible weapons list" for drones. That allows Goblins to do repair jobs, which is very nice.

The Change Log for Cadius's X-Tra Ship/Station Pack says that drones are already modified for compatibility with MARS.

So all you have to do is to remove the MARS .cat/.dat pair. Be sure to renumber the other .cats so that they are contiguous, if necessary.

No editing required.

[Triaxx2]

Aha. Thank you very much for your help. I had an .xsp ship, but I've uninstalled it since, so I should be okay. Thanks for your help.

[Triaxx2]

ARGH. And not in the piratey way. So I've got X3Unleashed installed, runs fine. Cadius will not go. And since I didn't know I could install MARS fake patch style, I seem to have done it manually. And the mod section has a MARS dat, but no accompanying cat.

[DrBullwinkle]

Ooh.. I do not completely understand that.

This is TC, right? So you have vanilla .cat/.dat pairs up to, what? 14.cat/.dat?

What .cat/.dat's do you have after that?

If your mod folder has a .dat without a .cat, then delete it.

I do not use the mod folder at all. It is designed for major mods, such as XRM, but it will not work with them. So the mod folder is, mostly, useless.

Use fake patches for anything in a .cat/.dat.

The main things to remember are that your fake patches (.cat/.dat pairs):

- Must be two-digit numbers (with leading zeroes, if necessary).
- Must be numbered consecutively, beginning at 01.cat.
- Do not overwrite the vanilla "real" patches.
- The last patch "wins" (in case two patches mod the same file).

[Triaxx2]

Yes, TC. I only had up to 13, because I never updated to 3.2. But if I install the Xtra-ships, I get told my save games are corrupt and can't play at all.

Renamed, and repacked as inspected, with 14 for Cadius, and 15 for Unleashed. Checked that they were being properly renamed. No issues there.

[DrBullwinkle]

Yes, TC. I only had up to 13, because I never updated to 3.2. But if I install the Xtra-ships, I get told my save games are corrupt and can't play at all.

Renamed, and repacked as inspected, with 14 for Cadius, and 15 for Unleashed. Checked that they were being properly renamed. No issues there.

OK, good.

First, backup your saved games. Do you keep older saved games? If not, you might consider doing so in the future.

Test 1) Start a new game. Add the Cheat Package, then cheat in one of the ships added by the Cadius pack. If it works, then it tells you that your installation is correct. You do not have to save the game.

If the test works, then there is an incompatibility between your saved game and your installation. Typically that is caused by flying a ship that no longer exists (or having a ship in-sector that no longer exists due to a change in mods).

The cure for that situation is to:
- Remove the mods that are causing the problem.
- Restore your saved game (it should work now).
- Get into a non-modded fighter, jump to an empty sector, then save.

Then re-add your mods, then re-load your saved game. If everything worked correctly, your saved game will now work with the new ships.

• (If your saved game is still corrupt after removing the fake patches, then it probably means that there is a ship in your save which no longer exists in your installation. A common cause for that is uninstalling an .xsp. If that is a problem, then the fix is to reinstall the .xsp then follow the above steps.)

[Triaxx2]

That's slightly crazy, because I never had the ship installed with this save and while I can't start it with Xtra installed, if I remove it, the saves work perfectly

I do indeed, keep older saves, backing them up once a week or every other day if I'm playing heavily, so as not to lose progress in case of a crash.

I was never able to get the pack to work correctly, so I'm not flying a new ship and the saves I've tried to load are purposely in sectors without any ships changed by it.

I'll try a new game. If that's it, I guess I'll be playing without the Xtra ships.

EDIT: Okay, that seems to be it. I can play a new game with them, but the DiD is wholly resistant to Xtra ships. So... I guess I'm playing without them. I did try saving without mods, but again, they wouldn't load, probably due to how heavily modded they are.

Thanks for all your help. *sigh* Perhaps in my next DiD.

[DrBullwinkle]

OK, that's progress. Now you know that you installed the fake patches correctly.

And it sounds as though you have Unleashed working, as well? That's good.

Which Cadius pack are you installing? Ships only? or Ships and Stations?

Try the method that I suggested, of saving in an empty sector with only you in a single ship (that is not changed by the ship pack). It reduces the number of things that can go wrong.

Once you get a save that works, then the Cadius pack should continue to work throughout the rest of your game.

Armed with your new information, you are now prepared to post a question on Cadius's thread. Something like this:

• I have installed the "..." pack for TC into my TC 3.1(1) game. If I do a new start, the new ships are available. However, I cannot load my current saved game. Any tips for how to use the "..." pack with my current saved game?

[Triaxx2]

The problem is that when I remove all my mods, I can't load the saves. I get the same error as when I add the X-tra ships. Presumably it's because of how many CODEA ships I have. I'll try shutting those down, even though I'd really rather not.

I have the ships and stations version, though I'm thinking I'd rather have the ships only version.

[DrBullwinkle]

The problem is that when I remove all my mods, I can't load the saves. I get the same error as when I add the X-tra ships.

Right. The saved game includes pointers to the objects in the game. If you mod something, then those pointers change, and you get unpredictable results. Sometimes it will work, sometimes you will get odd things (such as a lot of Mammoths), and sometimes it will not load.

In other words, the saved game must match the installed mods. (Sometimes scripts, as well). It is OK for a new mod to be installed (not used), but it is NOT ok for a mod used in the saved game to be uninstalled.

However, I do not see why this is a problem? Is there a reason to uninstall all of your mods? I thought that Xtra was the only mod giving you trouble?

[Triaxx2]

Because I mis-read your instructions.

[DrBullwinkle]

OK, I clarified the instructions, above, in case someone else reads this thread in the future.

I would think that you should be able to install the ship pack and make it work with your saved game. It may take some experimentation to get it right. If you can master CODEA, then you can install ships.