Last few days I've stumbled across a few mods that I really like. Unfortunately however, Endless Space only allows us to launch one mod at a time, so I've been trying to merge these mods into one. In theory, I know exactly how to do this, yet, every time I do, the mod doesn't appear within Endless Space. I've checked the Index, the Simulation files, etc, etc, etc. What ever it is, it's a stupid mistake somewhere, or something I just don't know.



The mods I'm looking to merge are:



Imperium Aeterna: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/37-modding/thread/16336-imperium-aeterna

Bonus Points: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/37-modding/thread/15937-bonus-points-mod

Genlab - Scions: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/37-modding/thread/16078-mindwerkz-inc-mods

Leviathan: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/37-modding/thread/15896-leviathan-s-trait-and-weight-mod-2-0-x

Tiax Anomly Expansion: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/37-modding/thread/15880-additional-anomalies

Tiax Planet Expansions: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/37-modding/thread/16196-planetsize-terraforming



I know that Crymson, the maker of the Genlab and Scion mods created a combo that you simply plugin to Imperium Aeterna, which essentially merges the Scion and Imperium Aeterna mods for me, but I was having some trouble doing it that way, so I tried to do it all separately. Still having trouble.



Below is my attempt at the merge. Essentially I've edited and compiled everything, it just doesn't work. I don't know if anyone would be willing to pick through to find my mistake, or just merge the files themselves, but it'd be really appreciated since I am by no means a competent modder. I know how to some code, that's it. Any help is much appreciated.



ImperatoraRepublika.zip

Doing this type of merge is challenging. Before anything else, have you ensured that the component mods work individually? In particular, the Leviathan mod is old and has not been updated. Whenever you start with a mod that is not kept up to date, there is a very high risk that you will accidentally include obsolete *game* code into your merge.



Have you created a small mod of your own, just to test the process? I have given some ideas here:

/#/endless-space/forum/37-modding/thread/15795-simple-mods-you-can-do-on-your-own

This is highly worthwhile to make sure you understand what files a mod needs and so forth.



Once you create the mod and try to load it, it will be helpful for you to look into the output_log.txt file to make sure there were no syntax errors. Search for "Modding" in the file.

Rollin, I had this trouble when attempting to merge mods for myself. I find that the problem is probably an xml file that the game doesn't like. If it doesn't like one line of one file, it ignores the whole mod, lock, stock, and barrel.



I found this happening the first time when I tried to make a very large tool-tip for the bonus points mods, and again when I tried to make the traits I wanted to install mutually exclusive. It didn't like the prerequisites line, for some reason.



I'll also note that Tiax has a pre-existing combo-merge of Anomaly Expansion and Planet Expansion which should simplify your efforts. Some, not much, but some. And Bonus Points is dirt simple as long as none of the others touched FactionTrait.xml.





The one thing that I think might be problematic for you, though, is if the mods you're using have different modifications to the Index file. If they do - if different mods point out different, new files - you're going to have to merge them by hand. I'd suggest using Notepad++ for this, use a comparison to figure out what they did differently.



Just keep poking at it and eventually you should get it semi-functional. I'd start by making a list of which of the mods you want have files in common, because those are going to be your real arse-pains. Then just work through them one-at-a-time. Worst comes to worst, just resort to trial-and-error by stripping out most of the mod to see if it works or not, then adding things back in until you find the bit it chokes on.



[e]Ah, Davea said that Leviathian is outdated? I'd start by just chucking that right out an airlock and going from there.

@davea I have attempted to create a few of my own small mods. Usually I get them to launch but they're not as flashy as I want so I trash them. Modding is something I typically lack the patience for. I will nuke the Leviathan mod, however. Thanks for the suggestions.



@Shadow I'll have to find the Tiax combo. It's not much, but it would make my life significantly easier. And yes, Bonus Points is dirt simple. I haven't had any problem with Bonus Points. I have been merging a few of the .xml files, and in some cases when there aren't .xml files to merge, linking them to the Index (Notepad++ <3).



I appreciate the advice guys, I'm going to give it another shot here in a bit. One question I do have, is when merging these, is it easier to start from my own mod, and just put them into that, or just use one of the pre-existing mods? I've been essentially merging everything into the Imperium Aeterna mod since that's the biggest file.



EDIT: Alright, so I've managed to get everything together and get it to work with no problems. The problem that does occur, however, is when I edit the Index file to update the description, authors, etc, etc. Is there some kind of unseen rule in regards to those that I'm not seeing? Character limit or the such?

RollinRollin13 wrote:
The problem that does occur, however, is when I edit the Index file to update the description, authors, etc, etc. Is there some kind of unseen rule in regards to those that I'm not seeing? Character limit or the such?

It is easiest to debug this type of problem by making one change at a time. Start with a working index.xml. Make one change, run it and look in the output_log.txt file for any problem. Make a second change and test. You may find a certain kind of change gives an error or makes the mod fails to work, but you feel your change is correct. Then please post the before and after xml files, or a description of what change you made. It is certainly possible the game has a bug, but there is nothing here which I am particularly aware of.

Much obliged, thanks davea!

I hate to ask but could you post your fully merged mod here? It literally includes all the mods I was interested in in the first place, sans Endless Genetics.

Raith wrote:
I hate to ask but could you post your fully merged mod here? It literally includes all the mods I was interested in in the first place, sans Endless Genetics.

I figured it out, don't worry about it.

Haha yeah this just happens to be all the mods I want. Good luck to you man, hope you pull it off!

Lining up for a free ride on the back of your endeavour

The way I make my plugin mods is to determine the differences between my mod and the mod I want to plug in to.

If they use the same files I merge my changes into the original mods file and adjust the index.xml to incorporate all files used in both addons.

Then just include the merged files and my addon files in the folder structure of the zip so that dropping it into the existing mods directory and overwriting results in a merged version.



Under the circumstances the problem this creates is when the original mod I am plugging into changes, this requires that I keep up with changes to the original mod.



BTW sorry if I missed anything going on as I've been really busy with my WoW guild for a couple weeks.