How to Correctly Install Your Mods

[Cab]

24 minutes ago, Cukrrak said:

Using OvGME for the saved games folder is kind of pointless unless you want to have a quick for way to enable/disable mods.

Mods that go into saved games folder are usually copied directly to mods/aircraft or mods/tech and OvGME is used for mods that go into main dcs fodler.

If you want to use OvGME, make sure to enable the minigun mod only after you enable the UH-60 mod to replace original files in the mods/aircraft/UH-60L folder.

Also, don't delete the the dcs folder from the saved games unless you don't mind setting up all your settings and controls again.

Some mods in the Saved Games folder break IC. OvGME makes those easy to "turn on and off" when necessary.

[Rudel_chw]

7 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

This whole process of installing Mods is still confusing to me and I'm thoroughly baffled as to why my results suck! I'm trying to install the Miniguns (UH-60L Mod - Version 2.4_3) for the MH-60L Mod and get nowhere, I'm still not seeing anything different in the weapons loadout portion of ME.

 

Part of the confusion is that you are actually trying to install a Mod for another Mod for DCS. For this to work you would have to make sure to, on OvGME, enable first the UH-60L mod, and only after it is active (green tickmark), only then activate the miniguns Mod.

I try to avoid this type of situations, by manually creating a single Mod that combines all the files of each particular Mod, this allows you to also add for example the additional liveries that Urbi did for the Minigun Mod.

 

7 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

I'm using OvGME but I'm uncertain if have the correct directories.

I have the DCS main installation ...

Am I in the right direction here?

 

Yes, they look correct to me.

 

7 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

And what if I were to DELETE the \Mods folder as in: C:\Users\major\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Mods ???

 

But why would you want to do that? ... the whole idea of using a Mod manager like OvGME is that you can deactivate the Mods there, so that OvGME removes each Mod's folder from within /Saved Games/DCS/Mod/

 

7 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

Would that mess up everything?

 

Probably not, I'm not totally sure as I have never done such a thing .. maybe OvGME can get confused when you deleted the items manually instead of going through him.

 

7 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

For that matter would deleting the entire DCS.openbeta folder from Saved games screw me up completely

 

Well, if you don't have a backup copy of it somewhere, you would lose the DCS user credentials that are saved there, the DCS configuration including graphics and controls bindings for your aircrafts, you would lose the Campaign status of every campaign you have mid-way, you would lose any custom livery that you were using, lose every screenshot saved there, every track file, every custom missions that you may have stored there, etc.

 

7 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

or will DCS just create another structure there?

 

Yes, when DCS starts, if it doesn't find its settings folder at /Saved Games/ it will create a default one.

 

7 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

Might be a fresh start???

 

I'm not fond of fresh starts, as it means getting rid of every nice customization that you have done to your DCS over the years .. all the liveries I have collected, all the missions I have downloaded, all my Campaigns history ... it's too much.  If you really want to go that route, then I suggest to simply rename the  DCS.openbeta folder at Saved games ... say rename it to DCS.openbeta.bak ... this way you get the same effect with DCS creating a brand new folder, but you keep the option of recovering any item you may need later.

 

Eduardo

 

5 hours ago, Cukrrak said:

Using OvGME for the saved games folder is kind of pointless

 

That's not good advice ..  what do you do when your DCS crashes after an update and you don't know the cause?  ...  remove every user mod manually? .. and then re-copy them one by one manually until you find the one that causes the crash?

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Rudel_chw

[Cukrrak]

35 minutes ago, Rudel_chw said:

That's not good advice ..  what do you do when your DCS crashes after an update and you don't know the cause?  ...  remove every user mod manually? .. and then re-copy them one by one manually until you find the one that causes the crash?

That's exactly what I would do. Temporarily changing location of a folder really does not take any more or less time than enabling/disabling mod in OvGME.

Ultimately, it's a matter of personal preference.

[Rudel_chw]

1 hour ago, Cukrrak said:

Ultimately, it's a matter of personal preference.

 

Actually, you said that using a Mod Manager was "pointless" .. I was just trying to provide the point

 

[AvgWhiteGuy]

With all this assistance I have sorted most of this out and figured out the source(s) of my dilemma; I had multiple 'profiles' in OvGME. 
Profile#1 (original) - had DCS on my C:\ drive and I was updating the core DCS\Mods directly...(bad)!
Profile#2 - I had moved DCS core to my new dedicated SSD D:\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta BUT was pointing OvGME to ...C\:......\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Mods. So it was creating/updating \Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Mods\Mods (bad)!
So i went thru each profile and Disabled ALL mods listed (green) and created the new Dec22 profile pictured above. Now I have the MiniGuns & Crew...success!!! Now I'll try 'Armed Blackhawk' cuz I really need that USCG update below.

This brings up some questions that I hope you can answer for a sometimes daft senior citizen regarding Mods.
1) The best Modders present their package with the correct file structure starting in \Mods. I'm assuming that OvGME MERGES this \Mods with the existing \Mods in SavedGames and creates/updates that file structure. This is especially true of a new complete aircraft like the UH-60L. But some Mods aren't packaged like this (Airfield Equipment, Tacan, NavyEquipment, Civil_Objects) and it seems you need to drop them into another SavedGames....\Mods sub-folder directly like Tech. Is this correct and how do we mere mortals know this?

2) If a Mod needs to replace a specific LUA during update, especially a Mod of a Mod as Rudel_chw mentioned above, how/where do we back the original LUA up if we need to remove it later for IC or Multiplayer Server rules?

Finally, I've seen many YT videos on Installing-Configuring Mods but virtually all are describing a complete aircraft Mod (UH-60L, C-130, etc, etc.) but I've never found one that explains, shows, tutors us on all the non-aircraft mods like mentioned above. If you know of a good video on this I would love to view. If kept rather generic but explains some of the structure & process involved it would probably save a lot of frustration for Users in the community and be a 'point to' resource in the Forum.

Thank you all for your help and input....and @Eduardo...you haven't answered my question from another post....do you ever sleep?

11 hours ago, Cukrrak said:

That's exactly what I would do. Temporarily changing location of a folder really does not take any more or less time than enabling/disabling mod in OvGME.

Ultimately, it's a matter of personal preference.

Yes, it is a personal preference but not realistic and efficient unless you understand the structure of the file system involved. Users could easily NUKE & FUBAR their whole setup without having a feasible recovery plan.

[Rudel_chw]

5 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

1) The best Modders present their package with the correct file structure starting in \Mods. I'm assuming that OvGME MERGES this \Mods with the existing \Mods in SavedGames and creates/updates that file structure.

 

Actually, what OvGME does is copy the mod's files from wherever you store your User Mods, to wherever you tell OvGME these files should go, and if the file already exists at that location, it will back them up for you before overwriting. For OvGME to work properly, the file structure should have been configured, either by the Mod's creator, or by yourself.

 

5 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

...  But some Mods aren't packaged like this (Airfield Equipment, Tacan, NavyEquipment, Civil_Objects) and it seems you need to drop them into another SavedGames....\Mods sub-folder directly like Tech. Is this correct and how do we mere mortals know this?

 

Many Mod creators don't assume that the user will be using a Mod Manager, so instead they just give us only the Mod folder itself,  and they provide instructions to tell the user where to place that folder. Some User Mods are pretty old, dating from before DCS introduced the /Saved Games/Mods/ location, and their instructions are thus obsolete and tell you to place the user Mod within the DCS Program's folders, which currently DCS doesn't like and can impact its workings. If in doubt, you should just ask on the Forum, someone would likely help with his experience with that specific Mod.

 

5 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

2) If a Mod needs to replace a specific LUA during update, especially a Mod of a Mod as Rudel_chw mentioned above, how/where do we back the original LUA up if we need to remove it later for IC or Multiplayer Server rules?

 

OvGME does the file backup automatically, when you disable a Mod, it will recover the original files (if any) from its backup.

 

5 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

Finally, I've seen many YT videos on Installing-Configuring Mods but virtually all are describing a complete aircraft Mod (UH-60L, C-130, etc, etc.) but I've never found one that explains, shows, tutors us on all the non-aircraft mods like mentioned above. If you know of a good video on this I would love to view.

 

I haven't seen such a video either .. .probably because of the huge variety of user Mods available: sound mods, kneeboard Mods, weapon mods, new Logbooks, etc, etc.

 

5 hours ago, AvgWhiteGuy said:

..do you ever sleep?

 

I do   .. most likely we just are on very different time zones, so I reply when you are sleeping and viceversa 

Cheers!

 

[bemme]

Hello, my question is - is there a specification about the naming of mods and the filename?
It would help if there would be a prefix like "[myName] " at Displayname in mods - and filenames.
And perhaps a spec for other informations like Versions eg (vXXX) in brackets at the end of the filename.

 

[davo4466]

Newbie here, this is probably a really dumb question but can I install mods such as Swedish Military Assets by Underhill or any other 3rd party Mods onto DCS World? I do not have DCS open beta. My version of DCS World in non-steam.

 

Thanks

[Rudel_chw]

1 hour ago, davo4466 said:

Newbie here, this is probably a really dumb question but can I install mods such as Swedish Military Assets by Underhill or any other 3rd party Mods onto DCS World?

 

Just to clarify, on this forum "3d party" is used to refer to companies that have a licence from Eagle Dynamics to create and sell DLC Modules for DCS.  "Mods" on the other hand is used to designate "MODifications" that community members  create for DCS, which may include additional aircrafts or other assets.

Thus, 3rd party Modules have to be purchased and are installed through the Module Manager of DCS (or Steam's installer on the case of Steam's version of DCS). Mods on the other hand, are installed manually by following the install instructions that each Mod creator provides.

 

1 hour ago, davo4466 said:

I do not have DCS open beta. My version of DCS World in non-steam.

 

DCS is available in two main versions "Stable" and "Open beta", both are available on Steam and on ED's Store. More details here:

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/support/faq/#3303157

 

[davo4466]

Thanks for the info; however, I tried to install Swedish Military Asset pack by Underhill Milsim.  I followed the instructions precisely and it seemed like it went OK as the Military assets showed up inside module manager as installed. They did not show up in my mission editor. I guess I am using the stable version so I am unclear if this is allowed with this version. Thanks for replying to me. 

[Rudel_chw]

12 minutes ago, davo4466 said:

Thanks for the info; however, I tried to install Swedish Military Asset pack by Underhill Milsim.  I followed the instructions precisely and it seemed like it went OK as the Military assets showed up inside module manager as installed. They did not show up in my mission editor. I guess I am using the stable version so I am unclear if this is allowed with this version. Thanks for replying to me. 

Maybe you have the Historic Filter enabled:

 

 

That filter is only compatible with official assets, not with community Mods.

[davo4466]

I did have the historical units only filter on. I just did a big face palm. Thanks a bunch!

David

 

[eatthis]

anybody else having problems since the last patch? i have a load of control mods via open mod manager and they wont load any more

[Rudel_chw]

18 minutes ago, eatthis said:

anybody else having problems since the last patch? i have a load of control mods via open mod manager and they wont load any more

 

Just tested and no, my Mods still load ok:

 

 

[jackd]

GENERAL remark: This MODDING forum department seems now a bit confusing for the first part why i gave it up earlier.

Time for a new fresh start and freeze or moderate this one 'out' ??

-------------

Hi Rudel ..... since i started using mods the 'proper' way as you advised, thanks, BTW, savedgames foldered etc, i used JSGME. It seems however OvGME has more to offer?

Have you maybe some tips how to use it instead with DCS.openbeta compered to JSGME.

I mainly got interested in WW2 era stuff now, especially third party materials to incorporate like ships, vehicles, and now on the lookout for ww2 planes that work.

Really miss a map that incorporates ww2 Germany to attack nazi home-grounds ... maybe the Baltic sea and Norway coast too.

--------------------------

PS: DCS i bought first for helicopters, but still find them 'impossible' to fly with out a collector .......... :

[Rudel_chw]

3 hours ago, jackd said:

Hi Rudel ..... since i started using mods the 'proper' way as you advised

 

Hi,

Actually, the "proper" way was advised by @uboats   

 

3 hours ago, jackd said:

... i used JSGME. It seems however OvGME has more to offer?

 

Undoubtedly, OvGME is a much more modern piece of software, without the 32 bit file size limitations that JSGME has. However, the older software does have a couple of advantages: it can delete files on the destination, something that OvGME can't do; and some people find it easier to use.

 

3 hours ago, jackd said:

Have you maybe some tips how to use it instead with DCS.openbeta compered to JSGME.

 

I can't compare it, since I barely used the old JSGME ... however on YT you can find a lot of OvGME tutorials, for example:

 

 

[jackd]

OK thanks, as JSGME deletes software when UN-activating it seems a better option ... especially using it with IL2 where the MOD stuff is inserted in the main game files. Must think about a change, maybe after an OvGME 'upgrade".

OR this?

Download: https://github.com/sedenion/OpenModMan/releases/tag/1.1.1

Edited November 12, 2023 by jackd

[Rudel_chw]

34 minutes ago, jackd said:

OK thanks, as JSGME deletes software when UN-activating it seems a better option

 

You mis-understood me ... of course OvGME, when deactivating, deletes the files it added ... what OvGME can't do is deleting a game file as part of enabling a user Mod, it can only add additional files or replace existing ones.

 

34 minutes ago, jackd said:

... especially using it with IL2 where the MOD stuff is inserted in the main game files.

 

I have no experience at all with other flight sims, I only fly DCS ... however, some DCS Mods do require insertion amongst the main game files, for example most Map-enhancing Mods, and OvGME handles those with no problem.

 

34 minutes ago, jackd said:

Must think about a change, maybe after an OvGME 'upgrade".

 

OvGME still works fine, however its developer is not working on it anymore, so no upgrades on the future for it.

 

34 minutes ago, jackd said:

OR this?

 

I tried it 2 or 3 times, couldn't get used to it and didn't found any practical advantage over its earlier sibling ... maybe for Multiplayer squadrons it does offer more benefits.

[jackd]

aha, thanks, i'll take a dive into GvGME then ....

[MAXsenna]

aha, thanks, i'll take a dive into GvGME then ....

Open Mod Manager is the successor to OvGME. Same developer, so I'd say your better off using it. I have been since the first release.

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[jackd]

BTW i just tried to abandon JSGME for DCS and adapt to Open Mod Manager, v1.1.1, gave up, too figgin' complicated, but have OvGME running now.

Made separate installation presets for the savedgames and one for the main game mods folder as i understood only works with 3rg party aircraft.

Only now i get this error starting DCS OpenBeta:

PS how do you enter a description in OvGM for the selected mod? Thnx.

Edited November 18, 2023 by jackd

[Rudel_chw]

32 minutes ago, jackd said:

... but have OvGME running now.  Made separate installation presets for the savedgames and the main game mods folser for aircraft.

 

Correct, you need one Config for each destination folder. In fact, you can also add destinations for other games as well:

 

 

32 minutes ago, jackd said:

Only i get this error starting DCS OpenBeta:

 

That happens when you place a User Mod on the DCS program folder, instead of placing it at /Saved games/

 

32 minutes ago, jackd said:

PS how do you enter a description in OvGM for the selected mod? 

 

You have to create a Mod Archive, with the OvGME Mods menu, like this:

 

 

[jackd]

39 minutes ago, Rudel_chw said:

That happens when you place a User Mod on the DCS program folder, instead of placing it at /Saved games/

Thanks, i understood that (some?) added plane mods by 3rd parties only work from within the main game folder, In my case called DCS World OpenBeta instead of DCS .openbeta. No workaround for this licensing error?

Should these planes go into my Saved Games\ DCS .openbeta instead? Could not get them to work from there still. I'd love to get that Fieseler Storch working!

I just got a Stuka working from there ... so i think so?

Edited November 18, 2023 by jackd

[Rudel_chw]

6 minutes ago, jackd said:

Thanks, i understood that (some?) added plane mods by 3rd parties only work from within the main game folder

 

I wouldn’t know, all of my Mod aircraft go into /saved games/

 

6 minutes ago, jackd said:

No workaround for this licensing error?

 

none that I know of.

 

6 minutes ago, jackd said:

Should these planes go into my Saved Games\ DCS .openbeta instead? Could not get them to work from there still. I'd love to get that Fieseler Storch working!

You could try to contact the Mod developer. Didn’t the Mod came with install instructions? Maybe it’s an old Mod, as I haven’t heard of it.

[jackd]

OK, been in contact with Hawkeye60 about an old game 1.5 Heinkel H111 he's working on for 2.9 already, thanks again, you Saved my Game day.

Edited November 18, 2023 by jackd