Thank you very much, it seems to be an intermediate error.
When I tried to install the mod on a fresh copy of Icewind Dale it skipped the component as it was supposed to do but after I uninstalled the mod and tried to install it again Project Infinity stopped responding and I forced it to termiate after 30 minutes.
An odd error but since you can avoid it it might not be a problem.
Sorry to bother you again, this time is not for complaining or asking for help but just offering some usability suggestions, after using the tool for quite a while! Hope you don't hate the text-clutter
Here's the list, and sorry in advance for the super long post, feel free to ignore it if it's too much:
Would it be possible to bind those two sorting buttons (Arrow Up and Down) to some keys? Like for example Ctrl+Up and Ctrl+Down? Reason: Since the order is not preserved on reload/refresh, it would be easier and quicker to re-sort the mods with some keybindings, instead of clicking on the buttons.
Would it be possible to have a way to deselect/select whole sub-trees, i.e. mod components? Reason: I often want all components from a mod except a few, and select all->deselect a few is less clicking than selecting one by one specially for mods that have tons of components, like SCS.
Would it be possible to have some indication that a mod has selected components when the tree is collapsed? Maybe using the grayed check-box state, maybe using bold font, or maybe colors? Reason: When I started thinking about which mods I'd install I often pre-checked some components as I was sorting them, and after that collapse them to focus on the next ones on the list, but then I had to look back over the previous ones to see if I had forgot some or not, since when collapsed they don't have an indication that they have components marked for install.
Not sure if it's an intended work-flow, but I found out that I could install one mod at a time if I just selected components from one mod in the tree and hit Set-InstallationSequence and then Start-Installation. Every mod would install on top of the previous installed ones... that's cool and much much easier to handle than a whole big installation at once, and lets you review errors as they happen.
Following from 4), this is just cosmetic but it'd be awesome if the tool would register that some of the mods are already installed and show some indication of that in the UI (like by using colors, or something.)
Again followup from 4) it would be great if you had a way to uninstall a single mod too, or at least the last one installed from the stack, like as with the install part: maybe just input the <mod>:<component>:<description> in the text pane and hit some uninstall button (also, <component> could be '*' for uninstalling all components of <mod>.)
Since the Extracted mods folder from which the tool reads the mods doesn't seem to require any particular structure (I tested with all mods directly dumped into a common root folder, and also with each mod inside its own dedicated folder like, for example, for Github clones), and by that I mean that the tool scans for tp2 files and point to them where it finds them, right? Then, would it be possible to make it so you could use folders to categorize the mods and then show those folders up to the mod name in the UI as part of the TreeView? Reason: It would make it so much easier to organize big mods lists, IMHO. Con of this is that it would probably make sorting mods using the tree difficult, but you could still sort them inside their categories, and then each category relative to each other.
Related to 7) and to 1) in a tangent way, going by the scenario mentioned before where each mod resides in its own folder (but leaving the categories beside, they don't matter to this point): would it be possible to keep the Tree sorted by mod's folder name instead of mod name? Reason: That would mean that we could use the folders that contain the actual mods to define a persistent sorting order (i.e. by using number prefixes) and you'd not have to worry about that anymore, at least for a time
It would be awesome to have some way of hiding mods from the list, or marking them as ignored, once you decided that you won't be installing them this time, just to get them out of the away. Reason: that way you could have a single repository of extracted mods and use it for different installs, i.e. while on BG2 mode mods that are intended for BG1 could be marked as ignore/hidden, but this applies to also other critearia than just different games, i.e. let's say I'd want to setup an install with no custom NPC mods or kits and just focus on quests.
Back to sorting, it'd be awesome to have a Move to Top and Move to Bottom option together with the current sorting arrows.
And finally, and I know this is probably difficult but I thought I'd mention, in case is not on your list: a way to control the sorting via dragging with the mouse.
Of course this is all just an idea bag and nothing is requested, just a suggestion pile... and also, I realize that maybe some of the points are contradicting each other, like using folder names to sort and then asking for more buttons to sort stuff... I know, I just wanted to put everything I thought about while using the tool in a list, and then some things can probably be ignored but maybe one or two from the list are useful or give you ideas of your own, I don't know.
Ok, now that the suggestions are done (and sorry again for the long list) the last report I have is that in all my usage these last days, I had only one minor glitch happen to me: when a mod fails to install due to weidu error, sometimes (not sure if this always happen, I had it happen to me two times with different mods) the UI hangs in Paused mode but the buttons for Abort and Unpause/Continue don't enable and hitting the text input button with any text (i.e. tried with Q, N, etc just in case weidu was blocking on input mode) in it doesn't do anything either... the only recourse then is to kill the program from task manager and restart it.
OTOH, if the weidu installation pauses due to a warning, the buttons enable correctly and you can unpause and continue after examining the message, or use the abort option.
About setting the install order you say you can do it "via copy & paste", but there are two arrow buttons on the left hand side of the left panel that allow you to sort the mods. So it looks like there are three sorting methods available, right?
About setting the install order you say you can do it "via copy & paste", but there are two arrow buttons on the left hand side of the left panel that allow you to sort the mods. So it looks like there are three sorting methods available, right?
Hi ALIEN, thank you very much for your amazing work. So far a great project. Just a question: Would it be possible to apply a mod or component selection from a file or save it to a file? I just extracted a lot of mods and set all the options i wanted but could not finish the selection and had to start all over again. If we would be able to save and apply the selection that would be amazing, Thank you.
2: I'm very skeptical about 'select all mod components via one click' feature, history shows that people choose 1000+ components and then they complain about everything: altered game rules/difficult fights/installation errors. If you want to avoid re-selecting them, ask modders to support saving of the components selection for their mods.
3: indication of the checked components is planned but I face some implementation problems
4: indeed it's intended work-flow, this is what I wanted from the start: do not require clean game state
5: indication of the already installed components is planned but it require rewriting of the backed > it will take a while
6: uninstallation of the single/multiple mods/components is planned but it require rewriting of the backed > it will take a while
7 and 8: Using local folders as install order is bad idea, no other mod manager use it. The "Install Order Groups" feature is planned and it will allow you to sort them and assign mods in order to achieve desired install order.
9: nice idea but it's only for advanced users, probably won't happen
About setting the install order you say you can do it "via copy & paste", but there are two arrow buttons on the left hand side of the left panel that allow you to sort the mods. So it looks like there are three sorting methods available, right?
What I need to explain? Yes, there is a three sorting methods available, what else do you want?
As I said earlier, I want to write a guide for this mod that is easy to understand and follow for everybody. Actually, I have already spent a few hours on it. I thought you appreciated the work I'm doing. But if you don't, I'll just drop it, of course.
@ALIEN
I figured I'd drop some feedback having tried your mod tool and having used BWS before.
I appreciated BWS having a structured format for selecting mods and install order. I also understand the monumental task that it requires to maintain all the mods, their components, their repos, etc. So I'm not exactly disappointed to see this structure gone; but I am disappointed in the current status of having everything revert to default if you close the program. Having a semi large mod list and having to constantly rearrange and reselect the components every time is sometime more time consuming than manually performing these steps.
In fact this brings me to my final point. Overall I think it's a really nice alternative to BWS and Manual Installing but in it's current state it feels like much more work than manually installing mods since I'm currently in the setup phase I am having to tweak my order and list a lot. I have no doubts eventually this will be more smooth than manually installing but currently it just feels too cumbersome for someone who's pretty adapt at installing mods across various games and especially this game.
Some things I'd improve on the most:
-More understandable and easy to use interface. I'll be honest I was a little lost and with no real documentation I could find (admittedly at only a quick glance, I kind of made my mind up the tool was too early and all the above issues would just get annoyong) it felt even more cumbersome.
-There doesnt seem to be any way to save an install order or any easy to find documentation to make your own (found the link to the bws conversion stuff, though this was after I made my decision).
-Saving the order of mods and their component choices also seems to be unavailable or at the least, not well documented. Makes the process of creating a mod list incredibly cumbersome as I find it much easier to just write down your install order and navigate the directory and manually install, rather than go through all the extra steps every time I make a mistake.
-I saw a post about general install order stuff branched from here I believe, it would be nice to have access to a sort of community designated install order. I'm sure this is pretty tough but I feel like most of it's more or less inconsequential (seems like most npc dialogue mods can be installed in any order, for example) and for the big and important ones, we kind of already know these as most are already posted in their readmes. Would be incredibly helpful to have access to a sort of quick reference at the least install order since we will be making our own.
Again, I admittedly only used it for a brief time before realizing what I was doing, manual would be simpler. Good luck on the progress and as always, appreciate your work you do for the community.
As I said earlier, I want to write a guide for this mod that is easy to understand and follow for everybody. Actually, I have already spent a few hours on it. I thought you appreciated the work I'm doing. But if you don't, I'll just drop it, of course.
I appreciate it but some things doesn't need to be 'explained by documentation' - people will simply try it and they will know how they work. Besides, it's too early for detailed documentation, many things might change/disappear over next months.
@DymeDef Thank you for you feedback, especially from the perspective of the person who understand why 'it can't be like BWS'. Now, regarding you feedback:
At 1, more understandable and easy to use interface:
The UI is already very simple, it has lot of similarity with other, popular mod managers so without specific examples of what was unclear, I don't know what else I can do to make it better. Please give more detailed examples.
At 2, saving an install order:
The F.A.Q. currently describes 5 methods, each one saves you from manually reordering mods and Method 2 also can partially save mod components choices but it's NOT safe and reliable way, read below.
At 3, saving mods component choices:
I understand you frustration, I really do. When I started my work in order to create this tool, I knew that people will come and complain "How on earth there is no 'Save/Export mod choices' button!?!". It might be a surprise for yo but PI is not a place where you should ask for such feature to be implemented. If none of the mods offered such feature during the last decade, how PI can? There isn't such button because saving mod components in a safe and reliable way is not possible due to 15 years old WeiDU design flaw.
Right now, you can forget about such feature unless:
scenario A: WeiDU will implement new things and modders adapt their mods
scenario B: someone will create new WeiDU, without flaws, and modders will use this new WeiDU and also adapt their mods ( realistically possible only for new mods)
Either way, modders cooperation is required. If you confused by this statement, I can write more detailed answer.
At 4, general install order:
What do you mean by "access"? Do you realize that I can't simply include any kind of install order directly inside the application because it will make me personally responsible for it an for every problems it will cause? That's one of the BWS mistake which I'm not going to repeat. The only thing which I can do is to get install order from "community install order" IF it will be created.
First, thank you for reading my humongous post above in detail
I wanted to give an update report for an issue I noticed yesterday, while uninstalling everything to start from scratch due to some dialogue string errors that I had on my final install, that I need to see from where they come.
First, if you use the import Weidu.log from the button above, PI refresh the lists and at the end the correct choices of components are marked and selected and the correct order of installation is shown in the text pane... so you could technically hit Start-Installation and reinstall everything again.
But, if you instead use a SortingOrder.ini saved from the same setup of mods at the start (that contains almost the exact same content) and use Apply-SortingOrder, PI does the list-refresh-scan thing and everything but no check boxes are ticked, as they are with the import Weidu log option.
I saved the SortingOrder.ini by copy-pasting what PI generates on install and appending it to the existing file myself (I installed mods one by one, as I explained in my other post.)
Both Weidu.log and SortingOrder.ini contain almost the same mods, maybe except one or two that I decided not to install in the end... but, what I mean, it's the syntax of the ini should be valid.
I can attach both here if you want/need (I backed them up, just in case...)
Best wishes o/
EDIT: Forgot about another issue I had on my install... for some reason PI doesn't recognize EET_end as having valid components to select. When you try to expand its tree node, it gets processed a bit and nothing is shown under the main mod, which also means that you cannot seem to be able to install it via the text pane either... to install it, I had to switch to the CMD prompt and run the setup-EET_end from there after it was copied it.
I thought at first that maybe was my bad habit of cloning the master branch of the repo, but I checked and the last version pulled from the git repo coincides with the release tag for EET v1.0-rc12.
Installing that from the CMD console worked perfectly, btw.
- removed separate game path for 'EET' until extended support will be implemented, it doesn't mean that PI has lost 'ETT' support, you can still install it as before
- New Feature: assign mods to Install Order Groups
- New Feature: re-arrange order of the Install Order Groups
- New Feature: re-arrange order of the mods inside Install Order Groups
- New Feature: Drag & Drop for Install Order Groups and mods
- New Feature: auto-saving mods assignment into Install Order Groups
- New Feature: auto-saving order of the mods
- added 'Move to top' and 'Move to bottom' buttons
- added Ctrl+UpArrow/DownArrow and Ctrl+Alt+UpArrow/DownArrow hotkeys combinations
Install Order Groups:
- do not confuse those groups with mod categories
- by no means they represent correct or perfect install order
- players can move those groups in order to adjust install order of the groups
- players can move mods inside those groups in order to adjust install order of the mods
- Default/Unassigned should be generally used for initial mod installation test and after that,
mods should be move into one of the groups
Ooohh... new toy to play! Just in time to redo my install too
As always, thank you very much for your work! I'll be doing the reinstall starting today and probably extending over to the weekend, for sure... so I'll surely will come back to share how it went!
I appreciate it but some things doesn't need to be 'explained by documentation' - people will simply try it and they will know how they work. Besides, it's too early for detailed documentation, many things might change/disappear over next months.
Fair enough. Should you become interested in documentation again in the future, just let me know.
@leeux
1. Missing checkboxes when you paste data directly inside install sequence field is know limitation. Please attach both files.
2. EET_End problem is caused by 'WeiDU relative execution problem', can be fixed.
1) I realized that I was doing stuff wrong... let me try it again once I start my re-installation process and I'll confirm and attach the files, if it indeed was a real an issue...
BTW, I haven't realized that there was so much info in the Wiki on the Github pages... yeah, I know, I'm blind I've been reading a bit from there and that's how I realized that I was formatting the SortOrdering.ini wrong.
2) Gotcha, no probem... in the meantime, it can always be installed by hand when we reach that step.
So, I'm back to experimenting again... been trying to make use of the SortingOrder.ini feature, just to make sure I understand how it works, and to have my mod selection stored safely for future use in case I need to reinstall several times.
I've had saved from my previous install the installation sequence generated by PI and from that I generated by hand the SortOrdering.ini as explained in the Wiki (See attached files inside the zips.)
Thing is, when I point PI to the SortingOrder.ini and hit Apply-SortingOrder, nothing happens in the application.
It could be me screwing something up, probably... but I'm almost positive that I did everything as it's explained in the Wiki...
BTW, I also have the WeiDU.log from the installation and if I use Import WeiDU.log that works perfectly.
I'll probably reinstalling the same list again, but I might tweak the sorting of the mods a bit around for next time.
1. I use you files and everything seems fine:
Step 1: paste data from install sequence file into install sequence window.
Step 2: click "Apply-SortingOrder" button, there is a new line at the top of installation sequence window:
# Sorted mod components according to sorting order list:
This is the indication that ALL mods from installation sequence window are covered by sorting order entry's. Can you check again?
Do you think that a popup/window with status of the operation would be helpfull?
2. You SortingOrder file is fine, but it can be much simpler: because you don't split mod components (every mod
ID appears only once) you can replace component numbers with *
this way, when you change one of the mod components, sorting order will cover them as well.
3. With the recent update, you can achieve exactly the same order by simply moving mods into install sequence groups and reorder mods inside them. From now, sorting order feature is useful when you need to split components of the one mod so they will be installed before/after other mods.
@leeux One question: does the reason why you putted component numbers into "SortingOrder file" was an expectation that those component numbers would be also selected for installation? If yes, it's not how it works: it only sorts current installation sequence lines, it doesn't add/remove mods/components. If you wanted to only recreate previous install, the data from InstallSequence.txt is enough.
@leeux One question: does the reason why you putted component numbers into "SortingOrder file" was an expectation that those component numbers would be also selected for installation? If yes, it's not how it works: it only sorts current installation sequence lines, it doesn't add/remove mods/components. If you wanted to only recreate previous install, the data from InstallSequence.txt is enough.
Yeah exactly! You hit the nail! And I was thinking that it might have been the case... sorry, should've made it clear from the start and not waste your time
Yeah, I expected something similar to when you hit the Import Weidu log... i.e. a function to keep the mod selections safe outside of having to have installed them first at least once... but no worries, now I get it!
I'm perfectly fine to use the WeiDu log to quickly re-select my options and then update/deselect/add whatever I need changed.
With that misunderstanding in mind, I tried to only select some of the components for installation, rather than the whole complete mod... that's what the reason of the component numbers in the file.
For example, SCS is a case in which almost always I'd install the whole mod except a few specific components that add stuff that I highly dislike (spirit trolls in the Improved De'Arnise keep, and Improved Vampires' Bat form are a couple of examples of things I hate lol... but I'm sure there are more a couple more that I'm forgetting now!)
In this particular installation, though... I only selected Improved AI and Smarter Mages + Better calls for help, and some of the minor improvements, but none of the big improved encounters, since I was planning to do mostly a solo run with this installation eventually, and I didn't want to hit a wall down the line... also, there are several encounters in SCS that require some research and metagaming to be able to pass safely (or hit the head against the wall several times :P) and I didn't want to put that kind of time researching strategies and enemies etc.
Same apply to the tweaks, where only some particular components are selected.
Now that I understand how it works, it's clear why it wasn't working... that for sorting to work first requires to have some components marked for install, and then the ordering applies. And listing individual components in the SortingOrder helps in making some specific component install after of the order dictated by the main mod, like the case of tweaks... you install the main bulk of the mod at certain place, but some specific tweaks of the same mod can be installed later afterward.
Sorry again for wasting your time by not being totally clear
And Thank you very much for your patience
EDIT: BTW, sorry for the late reply! Work is getting in the way and being a pain these days
Now that I understand how it works, it's clear why it wasn't working... that for sorting to work first requires to have some components marked for install, and then the ordering applies. And listing individual components in the SortingOrder helps in making some specific component install after of the order dictated by the main mod, like the case of tweaks... you install the main bulk of the mod at certain place, but some specific tweaks of the same mod can be installed later afterward.
Exactly. Good news for you, improvements to this system are coming
Hey again, sorry for the double post! Wanted to report an issue I found while re-doing my installation.
Basically, it's the issue with the program hanging in paused installation on error for ever.
I think it goes like this, if an error/warning occurs while having more tasks to perform, the Unpause/Abort buttons enables correctly and you can continue or abort.
But, if there's only one task to perform, or the task that fails it's the last one, then the buttons don't enable and the installation remains paused forever and you don't have any other options than to kill the process and restart.
Hey again, sorry for the double post! Wanted to report an issue I found while re-doing my installation.
Basically, it's the issue with the program hanging in paused installation on error for ever.
I think it goes like this, if an error/warning occurs while having more tasks to perform, the Unpause/Abort buttons enables correctly and you can continue or abort.
But, if there's only one task to perform, or the task that fails it's the last one, then the buttons don't enable and the installation remains paused forever and you don't have any other options than to kill the process and restart.
Good catch! Thanks, fixed with 0.7.2
## 0.7.1
fixed Up/Down icons for Windows 7
fixed typos
## 0.7.2
fixed pausing of the installation when error occurs for the last mod
preventing selecting checkbox for Install Order group node
fixed 'Update-Mod' and 'Edit-ModConfig' buttons disable/enable logic
fixed pausing of the installation when error occurs for the last mod
Yay! It works! Been stumped with a component that fails to install since yesterday, so I could quickly test and yeah, I can confirm it doesn't hang anymore on error \o/
Why is it that when I define an install order (after hunting and clicking almost a hundred checkboxes), copy the install order to a text doc, then try and start an install by copying and pasting the install order back in I get a errors because PI isn't copying mods to the BG2 folder? For example, I tried with just the core of ToBEx and PI didn't copy any files over to run. After running an install from a checkbox once, then I can copy/paste the other submods in and they'll install properly. Is this intended behavior? I do not want to dig through all of my choices again.
Hey @kannaguchio For now, I'd suggest installing one mod at a time, until you at least completed your installation one time. I think improvements are coming to this area
Each time you install a mod, it installs over the ones already installed... so it's more convenient to build up your install bit by bit than to make a whole selection of options and install all at once (at least for me!)
Make the selections for options you want installed in small steps, for example for just one mod or a couple at the same time, and then hit Set-InstallationSequence and then Start-Installation. Then hit "Uncheck-Everything" and proceed with the next mod in your list.
If you need to be selective with component order, just don't pick the components that need to be installed later at first, and pick them later.
After you're done with that one time (you complete your installation) grab the WeiDU.log from your main game directory and then if you need to reinstall again, for whatever reason, you can quickly use the "Import WeiDU.log" and that would restore all your selections and be immediately ready to install again.
Hey @kannaguchio For now, I'd suggest installing one mod at a time, until you at least completed your installation one time. I think improvements are coming to this area
Each time you install a mod, it installs over the ones already installed... so it's more convenient to build up your install bit by bit than to make a whole selection of options and install all at once (at least for me!)
Make the selections for options you want installed in small steps, for example for just one mod or a couple at the same time, and then hit Set-InstallationSequence and then Start-Installation. Then hit "Uncheck-Everything" and proceed with the next mod in your list.
If you need to be selective with component order, just don't pick the components that need to be installed later at first, and pick them later.
After you're done with that one time (you complete your installation) grab the WeiDU.log from your main game directory and then if you need to reinstall again, for whatever reason, you can quickly use the "Import WeiDU.log" and that would restore all your selections and be immediately ready to install again.
Yeah, that's exactly what I would up doing. I had my install order set from the BWP, so I just installed the first component of a mod then copy/pasted the rest of the components (if there was a need to). Turns out that the odd behavior above only persisted for the first several mods, then c&p worked. However, I didn't know about the WeiDU.log, so thanks for pointing that out!
In any case, even if it had worked perfectly I'd still suggest one- or two-at-a-time (as suggested by leeux) to anyone new using the tool. This makes it easier to observe and correct any install errors.
Comments
When I tried to install the mod on a fresh copy of Icewind Dale it skipped the component as it was supposed to do but after I uninstalled the mod and tried to install it again Project Infinity stopped responding and I forced it to termiate after 30 minutes.
An odd error but since you can avoid it it might not be a problem.
Here's the list, and sorry in advance for the super long post, feel free to ignore it if it's too much:
Of course this is all just an idea bag and nothing is requested, just a suggestion pile... and also, I realize that maybe some of the points are contradicting each other, like using folder names to sort and then asking for more buttons to sort stuff... I know, I just wanted to put everything I thought about while using the tool in a list, and then some things can probably be ignored but maybe one or two from the list are useful or give you ideas of your own, I don't know.
Ok, now that the suggestions are done (and sorry again for the long list) the last report I have is that in all my usage these last days, I had only one minor glitch happen to me: when a mod fails to install due to weidu error, sometimes (not sure if this always happen, I had it happen to me two times with different mods) the UI hangs in Paused mode but the buttons for Abort and Unpause/Continue don't enable and hitting the text input button with any text (i.e. tried with Q, N, etc just in case weidu was blocking on input mode) in it doesn't do anything either... the only recourse then is to kill the program from task manager and restart it.
OTOH, if the weidu installation pauses due to a warning, the buttons enable correctly and you can unpause and continue after examining the message, or use the abort option.
Thank you very much for you work on this tool!
Best wishes.
What I need to explain? Yes, there is a three sorting methods available, what else do you want?
Thanks for this excellent feedback!
1: will be done
2: I'm very skeptical about 'select all mod components via one click' feature, history shows that people choose 1000+ components and then they complain about everything: altered game rules/difficult fights/installation errors. If you want to avoid re-selecting them, ask modders to support saving of the components selection for their mods.
3: indication of the checked components is planned but I face some implementation problems
4: indeed it's intended work-flow, this is what I wanted from the start: do not require clean game state
5: indication of the already installed components is planned but it require rewriting of the backed > it will take a while
6: uninstallation of the single/multiple mods/components is planned but it require rewriting of the backed > it will take a while
7 and 8: Using local folders as install order is bad idea, no other mod manager use it. The "Install Order Groups" feature is planned and it will allow you to sort them and assign mods in order to achieve desired install order.
9: nice idea but it's only for advanced users, probably won't happen
10 and 11: will be done
I figured I'd drop some feedback having tried your mod tool and having used BWS before.
I appreciated BWS having a structured format for selecting mods and install order. I also understand the monumental task that it requires to maintain all the mods, their components, their repos, etc. So I'm not exactly disappointed to see this structure gone; but I am disappointed in the current status of having everything revert to default if you close the program. Having a semi large mod list and having to constantly rearrange and reselect the components every time is sometime more time consuming than manually performing these steps.
In fact this brings me to my final point. Overall I think it's a really nice alternative to BWS and Manual Installing but in it's current state it feels like much more work than manually installing mods since I'm currently in the setup phase I am having to tweak my order and list a lot. I have no doubts eventually this will be more smooth than manually installing but currently it just feels too cumbersome for someone who's pretty adapt at installing mods across various games and especially this game.
Some things I'd improve on the most:
-More understandable and easy to use interface. I'll be honest I was a little lost and with no real documentation I could find (admittedly at only a quick glance, I kind of made my mind up the tool was too early and all the above issues would just get annoyong) it felt even more cumbersome.
-There doesnt seem to be any way to save an install order or any easy to find documentation to make your own (found the link to the bws conversion stuff, though this was after I made my decision).
-Saving the order of mods and their component choices also seems to be unavailable or at the least, not well documented. Makes the process of creating a mod list incredibly cumbersome as I find it much easier to just write down your install order and navigate the directory and manually install, rather than go through all the extra steps every time I make a mistake.
-I saw a post about general install order stuff branched from here I believe, it would be nice to have access to a sort of community designated install order. I'm sure this is pretty tough but I feel like most of it's more or less inconsequential (seems like most npc dialogue mods can be installed in any order, for example) and for the big and important ones, we kind of already know these as most are already posted in their readmes. Would be incredibly helpful to have access to a sort of quick reference at the least install order since we will be making our own.
Again, I admittedly only used it for a brief time before realizing what I was doing, manual would be simpler. Good luck on the progress and as always, appreciate your work you do for the community.
At 1, more understandable and easy to use interface:
The UI is already very simple, it has lot of similarity with other, popular mod managers so without specific examples of what was unclear, I don't know what else I can do to make it better. Please give more detailed examples.
At 2, saving an install order:
The F.A.Q. currently describes 5 methods, each one saves you from manually reordering mods and Method 2 also can partially save mod components choices but it's NOT safe and reliable way, read below.
At 3, saving mods component choices:
I understand you frustration, I really do. When I started my work in order to create this tool, I knew that people will come and complain "How on earth there is no 'Save/Export mod choices' button!?!". It might be a surprise for yo but PI is not a place where you should ask for such feature to be implemented. If none of the mods offered such feature during the last decade, how PI can? There isn't such button because saving mod components in a safe and reliable way is not possible due to 15 years old WeiDU design flaw.
Right now, you can forget about such feature unless:
Either way, modders cooperation is required. If you confused by this statement, I can write more detailed answer.
At 4, general install order:
What do you mean by "access"? Do you realize that I can't simply include any kind of install order directly inside the application because it will make me personally responsible for it an for every problems it will cause? That's one of the BWS mistake which I'm not going to repeat. The only thing which I can do is to get install order from "community install order" IF it will be created.
First, thank you for reading my humongous post above in detail
I wanted to give an update report for an issue I noticed yesterday, while uninstalling everything to start from scratch due to some dialogue string errors that I had on my final install, that I need to see from where they come.
First, if you use the import Weidu.log from the button above, PI refresh the lists and at the end the correct choices of components are marked and selected and the correct order of installation is shown in the text pane... so you could technically hit Start-Installation and reinstall everything again.
But, if you instead use a SortingOrder.ini saved from the same setup of mods at the start (that contains almost the exact same content) and use Apply-SortingOrder, PI does the list-refresh-scan thing and everything but no check boxes are ticked, as they are with the import Weidu log option.
I saved the SortingOrder.ini by copy-pasting what PI generates on install and appending it to the existing file myself (I installed mods one by one, as I explained in my other post.)
Both Weidu.log and SortingOrder.ini contain almost the same mods, maybe except one or two that I decided not to install in the end... but, what I mean, it's the syntax of the ini should be valid.
I can attach both here if you want/need (I backed them up, just in case...)
Best wishes o/
EDIT: Forgot about another issue I had on my install... for some reason PI doesn't recognize EET_end as having valid components to select. When you try to expand its tree node, it gets processed a bit and nothing is shown under the main mod, which also means that you cannot seem to be able to install it via the text pane either... to install it, I had to switch to the CMD prompt and run the setup-EET_end from there after it was copied it.
I thought at first that maybe was my bad habit of cloning the master branch of the repo, but I checked and the last version pulled from the git repo coincides with the release tag for EET v1.0-rc12.
Installing that from the CMD console worked perfectly, btw.
## 0.7.0
Install Order Groups:
- do not confuse those groups with mod categories
- by no means they represent correct or perfect install order
- players can move those groups in order to adjust install order of the groups
- players can move mods inside those groups in order to adjust install order of the mods
- Default/Unassigned should be generally used for initial mod installation test and after that,
mods should be move into one of the groups
As always, thank you very much for your work! I'll be doing the reinstall starting today and probably extending over to the weekend, for sure... so I'll surely will come back to share how it went!
Missing checkboxes when you paste data directly inside install sequence field is know limitation. Please attach both files.
EET_End problem is caused by 'WeiDU relative execution problem', can be fixed.
1) I realized that I was doing stuff wrong... let me try it again once I start my re-installation process and I'll confirm and attach the files, if it indeed was a real an issue...
BTW, I haven't realized that there was so much info in the Wiki on the Github pages... yeah, I know, I'm blind
2) Gotcha, no probem... in the meantime, it can always be installed by hand when we reach that step.
Thanks again!
So, I'm back to experimenting again... been trying to make use of the SortingOrder.ini feature, just to make sure I understand how it works, and to have my mod selection stored safely for future use in case I need to reinstall several times.
I've had saved from my previous install the installation sequence generated by PI and from that I generated by hand the SortOrdering.ini as explained in the Wiki (See attached files inside the zips.)
Thing is, when I point PI to the SortingOrder.ini and hit Apply-SortingOrder, nothing happens in the application.
It could be me screwing something up, probably... but I'm almost positive that I did everything as it's explained in the Wiki...
BTW, I also have the WeiDU.log from the installation and if I use Import WeiDU.log that works perfectly.
I'll probably reinstalling the same list again, but I might tweak the sorting of the mods a bit around for next time.
1. I use you files and everything seems fine:
Step 1: paste data from install sequence file into install sequence window.
Step 2: click "Apply-SortingOrder" button, there is a new line at the top of installation sequence window: This is the indication that ALL mods from installation sequence window are covered by sorting order entry's. Can you check again?
Do you think that a popup/window with status of the operation would be helpfull?
2. You SortingOrder file is fine, but it can be much simpler: because you don't split mod components (every mod
ID appears only once) you can replace component numbers with *
3. With the recent update, you can achieve exactly the same order by simply moving mods into install sequence groups and reorder mods inside them. From now, sorting order feature is useful when you need to split components of the one mod so they will be installed before/after other mods.
Yeah exactly! You hit the nail! And I was thinking that it might have been the case... sorry, should've made it clear from the start and not waste your time
Yeah, I expected something similar to when you hit the Import Weidu log... i.e. a function to keep the mod selections safe outside of having to have installed them first at least once... but no worries, now I get it!
I'm perfectly fine to use the WeiDu log to quickly re-select my options and then update/deselect/add whatever I need changed.
With that misunderstanding in mind, I tried to only select some of the components for installation, rather than the whole complete mod... that's what the reason of the component numbers in the file.
For example, SCS is a case in which almost always I'd install the whole mod except a few specific components that add stuff that I highly dislike (spirit trolls in the Improved De'Arnise keep, and Improved Vampires' Bat form are a couple of examples of things I hate lol... but I'm sure there are more a couple more that I'm forgetting now!)
In this particular installation, though... I only selected Improved AI and Smarter Mages + Better calls for help, and some of the minor improvements, but none of the big improved encounters, since I was planning to do mostly a solo run with this installation eventually, and I didn't want to hit a wall down the line... also, there are several encounters in SCS that require some research and metagaming to be able to pass safely (or hit the head against the wall several times :P) and I didn't want to put that kind of time researching strategies and enemies etc.
Same apply to the tweaks, where only some particular components are selected.
Now that I understand how it works, it's clear why it wasn't working... that for sorting to work first requires to have some components marked for install, and then the ordering applies. And listing individual components in the SortingOrder helps in making some specific component install after of the order dictated by the main mod, like the case of tweaks... you install the main bulk of the mod at certain place, but some specific tweaks of the same mod can be installed later afterward.
Sorry again for wasting your time by not being totally clear
And Thank you very much for your patience
EDIT: BTW, sorry for the late reply! Work is getting in the way and being a pain these days
Exactly. Good news for you, improvements to this system are coming
Basically, it's the issue with the program hanging in paused installation on error for ever.
I think it goes like this, if an error/warning occurs while having more tasks to perform, the Unpause/Abort buttons enables correctly and you can continue or abort.
But, if there's only one task to perform, or the task that fails it's the last one, then the buttons don't enable and the installation remains paused forever and you don't have any other options than to kill the process and restart.
Good catch! Thanks, fixed with 0.7.2
## 0.7.1
## 0.7.2
Yay! It works! Been stumped with a component that fails to install since yesterday, so I could quickly test and yeah, I can confirm it doesn't hang anymore on error \o/
Each time you install a mod, it installs over the ones already installed... so it's more convenient to build up your install bit by bit than to make a whole selection of options and install all at once (at least for me!)
Make the selections for options you want installed in small steps, for example for just one mod or a couple at the same time, and then hit Set-InstallationSequence and then Start-Installation. Then hit "Uncheck-Everything" and proceed with the next mod in your list.
If you need to be selective with component order, just don't pick the components that need to be installed later at first, and pick them later.
After you're done with that one time (you complete your installation) grab the WeiDU.log from your main game directory and then if you need to reinstall again, for whatever reason, you can quickly use the "Import WeiDU.log" and that would restore all your selections and be immediately ready to install again.
Yeah, that's exactly what I would up doing. I had my install order set from the BWP, so I just installed the first component of a mod then copy/pasted the rest of the components (if there was a need to). Turns out that the odd behavior above only persisted for the first several mods, then c&p worked. However, I didn't know about the WeiDU.log, so thanks for pointing that out!
In any case, even if it had worked perfectly I'd still suggest one- or two-at-a-time (as suggested by leeux) to anyone new using the tool. This makes it easier to observe and correct any install errors.