I was looking for a simple mod changer so i can play different mods for both SP and server play. This Application (V1.0.2.0) is nice but extremely confusing at first. I cant seem to successfully launch the game with any mod causing blank screen also cant launch the game without any mods installed without being forced to do a fresh install from Steam.
a few other notes:
-no "favorites" ability, right click "Add to My Mods" is not the same thing nor does it actually copy the mod to your My Mods.
-tried to find out the latest version on the external website but doesnt give any dates when the last update was, cant determine if this is the cause of my blank screen or not.
-Blank screen when launching any mod.
-Cant just uninstall a mod, it ruins the steam install, so you have to delete everything and re-download the game again.
-Purge game files deletes the everything including the game install. kinds stupid with Steam since you have to right click-delete local content to get Steam to re-install the game.
-Help file is ... confusing.
What I'd like to see:
-My Fav Mods list, not the same as My Mods, Im not modding anything or changing any mods, its a bookmark adding to a bookmark list.
-expandable description windows, ability to change its size.
-a warning that when "Purging" Steam will not automatically re-install files.
-change the "Pick a 7 Days to Die game folder to play a mod with" to something like "Pick the folder with the 7dtd executable". If thats not the intent here make it clearer what this folder pointer is supposed to point to if its not pointing to the pointed folder for the pointed file. (LOL)
-I changed my installation folders to another HDD (Who doesnt?), does this mean the Launch with Steam wont work now? so tooltip="This is not valid Steam folder..."
-Enable EAC should add "if server requires it"? If this isnt check does that mean its disabled in the game? Maybe even make on a per-Mod isntead of global (as it appears). [EDIT: It shows properly in Advanced but not Simple ? ]
-Validadate Game Files From Steam doesnt actually check the files so it launches the game instead??? Intended purpose seems broken so just remove it.
-font sizing.
-ability to indicate whether a mod is for SP or MP games.
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Happy New Year.
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You dont have to pay attention to any of this. I just want an app that will switch between mods, one for SP one for server play. took 3 beers to post this! /cheers! :wink-new:
nothing is working... now to install anther fresh copy ... 5,6,7...I lost count now.
oh is there a log of everything or a way to log all actions?
Hey Death3gnomes, sorry you are having trouble.
The app auto-updates to the latest version, so I typically don't post which version is the latest.
You may be interested in the Advanced mode. There's a toggle on the screen called "Simple" and "Advanced". Simple mode re-uses your existing Steam folder, attempting to swap out mods. However, Advanced mode makes a copy of your Steam folder, which isolates each mod. I think this is what you are looking for, where you can run multiple mods easily, just by simply relaunching through the Launcher.
Simple mode was added after Advanced Mode, and was designed with the type of gamer that is only interested in playing a single mod. Some of these mods are very indepth, and would take a long time to master.
Advanced mode is meant to satisfy the needs of the other types of gamers, who are interested in playing different mods, connecting to different servers, trying new things, etc.
Some mods modify DLLs, which will get in the way of EAC checks. This could explain why you are seeing the black screen on a few mods.
I only maintain a master list of available mods, and I work with the modders somewhat on what settings they want. For instance, Dawn of the New Apocalypse, adds in stallionsden's bigger backpack mod. Since this modifies the DLL, we disable EAC through the configuration.
Other times, I just maintain a link of where the mods are to be downloaded from, such as Spider's True Survival or Valmar's mods. In these cases, I usually don't have any idea of what files each mod adds or changes, so it's not necessarily possible for me to know if it's valid for SP only, or if MP, or even if it'll violate EAC.
For uninstalling mods, it's challenging. As mentioned above, files can be added, removed, and changed without me really knowing which files have changed. Nor is there a master list of files that have changed, which would be maintained by the mod creater. In the beginning, only the XML files were being changed in mods, so we could create a back up of the Config file, and just switch back. However, with more DLL modifying going on, along with SDX, a lot more files can be changed. The Launcher will actually replace any file that the modder wants changed, in order for their mod to install correctly.
This is why the Advanced mode exists, since it'll only install a single mod per game instance. It does take up more hard drive space, but it's a far cleaner process.
If you are using Advanced mode, you should not be using Launch From Steam, as this will launch the only copy of the game that Steam knows about.
My personal setup is as follows:
- Default Steam folder is clean, vanilla copy of the latest game.
- Using Advanced mode, I have the Destination folder set to C:\MyMods\
- Added the 7d2dmodlauncher.exe to Steam, as a non-Steam game. This allows me to use my Steam overlay in all modded games.
Under the View menu, there's a Log Files option. This will display two log files, available in the drop down box:
- The latest copy of the Launcher log file itself
- The latest copy of the output.log from the currently selected game
It gives you an option to Upload Log File up to pastebin, then gives you a link. You can copy and paste that link into a forum post if you'd like me to review.
I do test all mods in the Default list, which is available if you go to File -> Load Defaults. However, I do not do any kind of epic game play throughout, nor am I aware of all changes that a modder does on their files. Sometimes things get inadvertently broken, but a kind message to me will draw my attention to it, re-test it, and fix it, if I can.
I'll look over, and try to make the GUI a bit more intuitive.
Thanks for the feedback, and let me know if you still need help. Feel free to add me to Steam for some one-on-one help.
Happy New Year to you as well
