[MOD] DLC Merger: Merge Steam/GOG SoD DLC or custom DLCs with the main game

argent77

Download: DLC Merger (latest)

Overview

Enhanced Edition games provide a feature that lets you use self-contained DLC archives to add or modify content. Best known example is the "Siege of Dragonspear" expansion, which comes as a DLC archive on GOG and Steam platforms.

The downside of this distribution method is the limited ability to mod the game however, since files contained in DLC archives can't be easily accessed or further modified without recreating the whole DLC. This mod attempts to solve this restriction by merging DLCs with the main game. The mod provides three options. You can specifically merge "Siege of Dragonspear" with BG:EE, merge a user-defined DLC archive or all DLCs found in the search paths of the game, such as DLCs created by the DLC Builder.

DLC Merger is meant to be an alternative to modmerge, that was the only way to make Siege of Dragonspear available for modding until now. However, unlike modmerge, this mod is platform-independent and fits seamlessly into the stack of other WeiDU mods. It allows you to merge any DLC archives and provides an option to revert the whole merge operation.

Installation

1. Download the mod archive from the download link above. For Windows users it is strongly recommended to download the 64-bit version of the mod unless you have a true 32-bit Windows installed.
2. Extract the contents of the mod archive into game's installation directory (where you can find a file called "chitin.key").
3. Go into the game's installation directory and run the file "setup-DlcMerger.exe" (Windows) or "setup-DlcMerger.command" (macOS) and follow the instructions.

Components

1. Merge "Siege of Dragonspear" with BG:EE (BG:EE and the SoD DLC required)

Merges the "Siege of Dragonspear" from any of the supported DLC locations with Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition.

2. Merge a user-defined DLC archive (Enhanced Edition game required)

Merges a single DLC archive with the game. The mod prompts for the name of the DLC archive, which can be located in any of the supported DLC paths. Supported DLC paths are (in order of application):
- Documents directory of the game
- Installation directory of the game
- "dlc" folder in install directory
- "workshop" folder in install directory (requires DLC files with .mod extension)

3. Merge all available DLC archives (Enhanced Edition game required, 64-bit WeiDU installer strongly recommended)

This option scans all supported DLC search paths of the game for available DLC archives. Each DLC will be merged in the same order as it would be loaded by the game, so that multiple DLC archives may safely override files from other DLCs without causing issues.
Because of technical reasons, this operation may fail under certain circumstances if the mod is not invoked by a 64-bit WeiDU installer. (The mod packages from the download link already contain Windows and macOS 64-bit WeiDU installers. WeiDU installers for Linux can be found here.)

Notabarbiegirl

megamike15

so is this meant to be installed first like with mod mergre? because if the whole idea is to be able to easily revert back to the orginal form. it would make more sense for it to be used last.

AstroBryGuy

megamike15 said:

so is this meant to be installed first like with mod mergre? because if the whole idea is to be able to easily revert back to the orginal form. it would make more sense for it to be used last.

First. You need to unpack the DLC and merge it into the base game before installing other mods.

If you don't merge the DLC first, the dialog.tlk entries and override files created by other mods will be overwritten by the content from the DLC and lost.

argent77

You'll still have to use DLC Merger first. There is no difference to modmerge in that regard. The option to revert the whole operation is just a nice side effect of being a WeiDU mod. But it probably makes sense only if you want to revert a modded game back to the original state.

jastey

This looks great!
One question: with your Merger, does the detection of modmerged games as proposed by CamDawg here turn ok or will the mods that use this fail?

argent77

Yes, DLC Merger is compatible with the detection method posted by CamDawg.

beo

Maybe little off topic, but do I need this tool if I own Baldurs Gate: Siege of Dragonspear (which includes BG+SoD) directly from Beamdog, but BG:II EE is bought on GOG?

More so, will this work for EET install?

argent77

@beo This tool is only needed for the GOG or Steam version of SoD. The Beamdog version is already installed in a merged state. BG2:EE is not relevant for this tool.

Apart from that, the games are pretty much identical regardless of distribution channel. You can install EET just fine after merging SoD with BG:EE.

cleverest

Hi Everyone, I ran DLC Merge and chose option 3, it seems to be working fine, but ended with "Failed to Merge DLC Archive "Webcache" DLC archive is corrupt or incomplete - INSTALLED WITH WARNINGS...I'm using a GOG install (offline) of BGEE and it's patched to v2.0.62.2 - It seems to open afterward...do I need to worry? I ultimately am trying to turn this into G Baldurs Gate Trilogy - Am I doing this correctly so far? Thanks for any help!!

jastey

@cleverest I can't say anything to the install warning, but for EET, you need SoD (BG:EE+Siege of Dragonspear) in the most current version (v2.5.x).

ALIEN

@cleverest v2.0.62.2 is not the latest version, please update you games

argent77

@cleverest It looks like there is a zip archive in the DLC search path ("Webcache") which isn't a valid DLC archive. However, it should have been skipped by the mod (with warnings), so you should be fine in this regard. If you just want to merge the SoD expansion with the main game, then the safest choice would be to use option 1 of the mod.

cleverest

My problem is probably lacking 2.5...thanks guys. Is there a standalone way to update it? My games are offline and I don't see a way in the game to get this update.

jastey

I'm not sure what exactly GOG offline means, but with GOG.com you would have to download the updated installer and install the game again in the current version.

cleverest

I mean I don't have access to the internet where I play this game...I would rather move it over to that computer. At least I know the problem, thank you.

cleverest

Hey guys, I picked up the version of all x3 titles via BEAMDOG. EEt is telling me SOD needs installed...it is installed, but it's in a separate folder. I copy/pasted the installs from the BeamDog installer (after installing) into my own folders (putting them on a flash drive ultimately) - THANK YOU for any guidance, I think once I know how to do this, I can use EET fine. I was under the impression DLC MERGER was not needed for Beamdog versions, but something is...or I'm doing something wrong.

argent77

The Beamdog version of SoD is actually the fully merged package of BGEE+SoD. Just point EET to the installation folder of SoD and it should install without complaints.

cleverest

Thanks again for your help with this!

Crxifiction

Please make 32Bit installer for this, please

argent77

Including the 64-bit installer was primarily done for stability reasons. However, it's not difficult to replace it by the 32-bit installer:
1. Download the WeiDU package for Windows from here: https://github.com/WeiDUorg/weidu/releases/latest
2. Unpack it and copy the file weidu.exe from the "bin/x86" folder into the game directory.
3. Rename the file to setup-DlcMerger.exe .

argent77

Update: I have added a separate 32-bit Windows package to the download location (see download link in first post):
- win-32bit-A7-DlcMerger: provides a 32-bit Windows installer
- win-64bit-A7-DlcMerger: provides a 64-bit Windows installer (recommended on 64-bit Windows installations)

Crxifiction

I didnt expect to see a fast response to this, so thank you very much and great mod

Fherrit64

@argent77
Hi, thank you for your contributions with this mod. I have a problem and after several hours of scouring the net ineffectively, I'm breaking down and asking for some help in my understanding of what I'm doing incorrectly. This is probably more detail than you need but figured it's best to be thorough on my end of presenting the problem.

Existing conditions are as follows:

• Running Win10 64
• I have all the BGEE games purchased via Steam.
• My Steam folder is on a seperate drive in it's own folder, not nested under a /programs folder.
• The game is a clean install via Steam, as of yet have not installed any sorts of mods.
• I have created copies of "Chitin.key", "Engine.lua" and "Steam_api.dll" and stored them a folder within the game directory labelled "bakups" just in case those needed to be recovered for any reason.
• I have extracted the contents of the DlcMerger.zip into my G:/Steam/SteamApps/Common/BGEE/DlcMerger
• I have placed "setup-DlcMerger.exe" in /Steam/SteamApps/Common/BGEE/ (i.e. it sits in the same directory as "Baldur.exe".
• In my /Steam/SteamApps/Common/BGEE/DLC folder I looked to see what the filename of SoD looks like based on what the readme pointed out. The name of the zip file is "sod-dlc.zip". My understanding is that the "-" (hypen) doesn't count as a space so I figured it's good as is.

Running the setup-DlcMerger.exe gave me the choice of language and then which DLC's I could install. As I've purchased SoDS and have Black Pits as options in my regular game menu, I chose "3" (All DLC), this resulted in a error of failing to, it then says it is creating a 1 directory. I saw no new folder being created so not sure where this directory is being created.

It then said "merging keys" and had four lines of "copying and patching 1 file..." followed by four lines of "Stopping installation because of error". Then it reads:

ERROR Installing [Merge DLC into game -> "Siege of Dragonspear" DLC], rolling back to previous state
Will uninstall 1071 files for [DLCMERGER/SETUP-DLCMERGER.TP2] component 1.
Uninstalled 1071 files for [DLCMERGER/SETUP-DLCMERGER.TP2] component 1.
ERROR: Unix.Unix_error(1, "rename", "dlc/sod-dlc.zip")
Please make a backup of the file: SETUP-DLCMERGER.DEBUG and look for support at: Argent77 at Beamdog Forums Using Language [English]

Then after visiting this forum I saw you post to choose just "1" from the menu choices. So I tried again choosing just SoD DLC instead of option 3. Results were the same. Checking the readme a 2nd time, I saw that you suggested a workaround being to move the dlc.zip into the installation directory, i.e. in my case:

G:Steam/SteamApps/common/BBEE.

However I'm concerned that in doing so, it breaks the game installation as I'm assuming Steam expects all that data to be in the DLC folder. Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your suggested workaround?

If you could find the time to steer me clear I'd appreciate it

argent77

@Fherrit64 It sounds like the merging process itself was executed successfully, but the final cleanup (i.e. renaming the DLC file) couldn't be accomplished which caused the whole operation to be rolled back.

The error message suggests some protection or accessibility problem with the DLC file. Are you able to rename the DLC file manually via File Explorer (e.g. by temporarily adding an underscore to the filename)?

It could be a privilege issue, maybe imposed by the Steam client or because the Steam Client is open and prevents any changes to the game files. In the latter case close the Steam Client and try again. In the former case try starting the mod by right-clicking on the setup executable and selecting "Run as administrator".

Apart from that you should also make sure Antivirus tools don't interfere with the operation.

Fherrit64

@argent77
Thank you good sir, your guidance has resulted in the merge being created. In case anyone else winds up landing here looking for instructions, I started at the beginning of your suggestions by:

1. Shut down my Steam client
2. Made a backup copy of the DLC in my bakup folder.
3. Renamed the DLC from "sod-dlc.zip" to "sod_dlc.zip" (in case that isn't immediately obvious, I substituted the hypen with a underscore".
4. merge ran successfully, no further actions needed.
5. restarted steam.

Then moved on to start the process of deciding on mod set up. Wow...as involved as anything I did with Skyrim or Oblivion, quite surprised that BG is such a deep RPG.

Again I wanted to say thank you for creating this utility. While I'm very familiar with modding the heck out of Bethesda games, I'm a toddler when it comes to doing anything with the Unity engine. Tools like yours are a godsend. Also, thank you for responding to my post, such service to others is commendable and appreciated.

shaylo

W8 a sec. Can u help me ? I dont understand this in good way.

ACtually i have steam version 2.5 - so:
1. I have to click "1", or "3" option method ?
2. I have to first merge by 1 or 3 method and next step is manually setup all mods
3. I have to download and install all those mods which works with BG:EE + SOD ? If yes - so simply for example Drizzt Saga doesnt work with SOD ?

Sorry for question, but i always had my backup already moded BG:EE 1.3 version, just want to play for the first time "SoD" with mods/items etc from my version of 1.3, after install same all mods i had problem.
I mean when im click new game/import game - game just instantly freezes. But when click load game to last save after killing Sarevok its works fine.
That problem dissapear after change language into English - its always appears on my Polish version

argent77

@shaylo From your description it sounds more like one of your installed mods is not fully compatible with BGEE (more specifically it uses incorrect text encoding, which can cause the game to freeze or crash). This is more likely to happen with non-English versions of mods since they contain more special characters. You could try to manually uninstall one mod after another to find the culprit. Or maybe the mod readmes can give you hints whether they fully support EE games as well.

Endarire

If I install BG1EE from GOG and SoD from Beamdog, how does that affect DLC Merger?
@argent77

Gusinda

Hi @Endarire, it is unlikely you will be able to do that. I believe that you need to get SOD from the same place that you get BG1EE for it to install.

If however you manage to get Beamdog SOD installed (and playable), then it is already unpacked so you shouldn't need to use DLC Merger.

Gus

ALIEN

@Endarire The "DLC Merger" mod is only required if you bought SoD from Steam or GoG.