Compatibility chart for RTR PE mods?

[Demokritos]

There are a lot of interesting mods for RTR PE available and being worked upon now. Just thought that it would be great if we all had some easy, sort of centralized (and perhaps schematic) way of seeing which mods go well together and which don't, down to the details of which files they affect. I mean, now, if you're interested in three different mods, you have to check back and forth in at least three different (long) threads to find out if they can all be combined. Some mods which aren't fully compatible in the sense that they overwrite each other on at least one score could still be interesting to combine, if the parts which are most interesting in them don't interfere with each other.
I guess such a thing would best wait until the final release of RTR PE (1.7). But we can try the feasibility and general interest of this idea before that. What say y'all?

[The Walrus]

Good idea. But, I think all mods except maybe the 4TPY mod aren't compatible
without a *******load of text editting. Which I'm learning the hard way

[florin80]

Well, I say that it`s a lot of work making the list and keeping it updated(one person would have to do this in a post and edit it as things change) and if the person in charge doesn`t edit it quickly it can cause some problems with users. In example a user might think reading the list that mod A is compatible with mod B, but mod A was changed hours ago and the person in charge with the list was not active and the change is not mentioned in the list. Then you`ll see some complaints and lots of "help me" threads appearing in the sub-forum.
Plus, as The Walrus said, most mods for RTRPE are only compatible with ..... RTRPE(except maybe the formations add-ons)

[JoeyJubb]

An easy way to test is to download both mods and install them in TEMP folders; copy+paste one into the other and if you get any "this file already exsists" dialogues, then you know they're not compatible without editing!

[mmmrrrr]

I can use skin and animation mods with MetroNaval, right? Since that doesn't change any of that AFAIK.

[LegionairosMatt]

An easy way to test is to download both mods and install them in TEMP folders; copy+paste one into the other and if you get any "this file already exsists" dialogues, then you know they're not compatible without editing!

Or use the -mod:switch line.

[florin80]

I can use skin and animation mods with MetroNaval, right? Since that doesn't change any of that AFAIK.

If you integrate them yourself, yes. If you take a skin pack that also has some text files like the EDU, EDB and so on, no. You`ll have to make entries or edit the current ones yourself.

[Invoker]

I tried combining several mods, but it requires a lot of file editiing, especially the EDU and EDB files. Pretty much no mods are compatible with each other unless you do some heavy editing.

[JoeyJubb]

Here is the requested chart for compatibility in RTRPE mods as it is on 25th September 2006
The mods below are those listed in modifications for RTR platinum.
_______________________________
Type A Mods

Candelarius' Extended Realism Mod
Imperator II
RTR ANCIENT EMPIRES
Metropolis&Naval Mod

_______________________________
Type B Mods

Heirs of Atlantis II
MAURYAN EXPANSION
Hic Sunt Dracones Animations
Boris' Flumen, Mare, Terra, et Provincia (FMTP)

_______________________________
Type C Mods

Sinuhet's RTR PE AI formations version 1.0
Marcus Camillus' 4tpy 1.9.3

_______________________________

Combinations

A+A: Extreme amount of modding required, possible that some features could not be integrated due to size constraints.
A+B: Small amount of modding required
A+C: Rarely modding required
B+B: Little modding required
B+C: Almost never need to mod to combine
C+C: No need to mod 99.9% of the time

Special Cases:
When combining 3 or more mods, start by combining the smallest then work up to the biggest.
Hic Sunt Dracones has a special patch for Candelarius' Extended Realism Mod, and the author (me, rofl) has permission to make one for RTR Ancient Empires.

This post will probably go out of date soon, but is correct at time of print at 13:39GMT 25th September 2006

[vikrant]

well i guess most mods are jsmge compaiteble
ie u an use rtr pe version as a base and
install these mods in mod folder created by the mod switcher
thus u can have one rtr pe and all mods at one time


ps
i dint know my mod was so called "##$#$% scale mod "
is the classification really necessary

[JoeyJubb]

ps
i dint know my mod was so called ""##$#$% scale mod "
is the classification really necessary

Sorry, I didn't mean any offence by it, I just sort of needed to put them into categories so that people could understand how easy it is to merge two mods together... sorry

[vikrant]

i was just kidding its good thing u took initiative

[Demokritos]

Here is the requested chart for compatibility in RTRPE mods as it is on 25th September 2006
The mods below are those listed in modifications for RTR platinum.
_______________________________
Type A Mods

Candelarius' Extended Realism Mod
Imperator II
RTR ANCIENT EMPIRES
Metropolis&Naval Mod

_______________________________
Type B Mods

Heirs of Atlantis II
MAURYAN EXPANSION
Hic Sunt Dracones Animations
Boris' Flumen, Mare, Terra, et Provincia (FMTP)

_______________________________
Type C Mods

Sinuhet's RTR PE AI formations version 1.0
Marcus Camillus' 4tpy 1.9.3

_______________________________

Combinations

A+A: Extreme amount of modding required, possible that some features could not be integrated due to size constraints.
A+B: Small amount of modding required
A+C: Rarely modding required
B+B: Little modding required
B+C: Almost never need to mod to combine
C+C: No need to mod 99.9% of the time

Special Cases:
When combining 3 or more mods, start by combining the smallest then work up to the biggest.
Hic Sunt Dracones has a special patch for Candelarius' Extended Realism Mod, and the author (me, rofl) has permission to make one for RTR Ancient Empires.

This post will probably go out of date soon, but is correct at time of print at 13:39GMT 25th September 2006

Thanks, JJ! That is something in the way of a chart, at least!

So, basically, people are saying in this thread that the room for combining different mods is very limited (for non-modders). Sigh. Hope down.
But...hey...there might be some other way 'round this. I think the idea is worth a new thread...

[JoeyJubb]

If you are systematic, know how to copy+paste, and are confident enough; most mods need only the text files to be changed to merge them together.

The systematic approach:
Say you want to use two mods, but both of them have changed the descr_model_battle.txt file.
1) Find the original RTRPE version, copy it to your desktop and rename it ORIGINAL
2) Find the version from "mod a", copy it to your desktop and rename it MOD A
3) Find the version from "mod b", copy it to your desktop and rename it MOD B
4) Open all three of them (large desktop come in particularly useful here)
5) Now for the tedious part... compare the three files, section by section, and make the changes as outlined below (gets a bit confusing so read it a couple of times before you start)

When comparing each section, you find:
- All three are the same, then there's no need to edit
- A and B are the same, but the ORIGINAL is different, no need to edit
- A is different to B, but B is the same as the ORIGINAL, no need to edit
- A is different to B, but A is the same as the ORIGINAL, then copy that section from B over that section in A
- A is different to B, but neither of them are the same as the ORIGINAL, then consult a more experienced modder for what to change.

When you're finished, rename the MOD A file, back to its original name (in this case descr_model_battle.txt), and copy it back to where you found the ORIGINAL (in this case, the data folder)

[Demokritos]

If you are systematic, know how to copy+paste, and are confident enough; most mods need only the text files to be changed to merge them together.

The systematic approach:
Say you want to use two mods, but both of them have changed the descr_model_battle.txt file.
1) Find the original RTRPE version, copy it to your desktop and rename it ORIGINAL
2) Find the version from "mod a", copy it to your desktop and rename it MOD A
3) Find the version from "mod b", copy it to your desktop and rename it MOD B
4) Open all three of them (large desktop come in particularly useful here)
5) Now for the tedious part... compare the three files, section by section, and make the changes as outlined below (gets a bit confusing so read it a couple of times before you start)

When comparing each section, you find:
- All three are the same, then there's no need to edit
- A and B are the same, but the ORIGINAL is different, no need to edit
- A is different to B, but B is the same as the ORIGINAL, no need to edit
- A is different to B, but A is the same as the ORIGINAL, then copy that section from B over that section in A
- A is different to B, but neither of them are the same as the ORIGINAL, then consult a more experienced modder for what to change.

When you're finished, rename the MOD A file, back to its original name (in this case descr_model_battle.txt), and copy it back to where you found the ORIGINAL (in this case, the data folder)

Hey, JJ, that's what I call a friendly post! Much oblige! I'll see what I can do with this information.
Meanwhile, I started a new thread with an idea connected to all this. I'd like to hear what you think about it, if you have time to consider it. You know which thread I'm talking about when you see it.
Cheers!

[marcvs agrippa]

5) Now for the tedious part... compare the three files, section by section, and make the changes as outlined below (gets a bit confusing so read it a couple of times before you start)

hmm... sounds like what you guys need is a merging-software.

I don't know if it's okay to post links here, but if you search for "winmerge" on google, you'll find a completely free file comparsion and merging tool which could be very (very, very) handy in this cases.
I used this tool quite a while in my daily work, it was desgined for situations like you described above.

[JoeyJubb]

O_o thanks marcvs agrippa! This'll make compatibility mods much easier to make!!!