Mod order help for GFO please help

[drakkhen20]

ok guys, been fighting here and there and been trying to find info on some mods. i need help on how to activate them in a good order. i also find that even following the GFO order the eyes are still missing from their faces. im going to do a clean install again and start over. heres my MOD list. this is not what is activated. its just what i have in my folder.

#1 Real Environment mod install
3000 Yard Bearing Tool (1920x)
3000 Yard-Meter Bearing Tools (1280x960)
Bigger Better Protractors
Extra Allied naval bases for SH4 + UBM + TMO v1.7 (v1.0)
Eye Patch for Stock
Game Fixes Only Mod v1.1
GFO Patch for Real Env
GFO Patch for RSRDC v401
GFO Snorkel Name Change
Magnified Hud Dials for v1.5_Large
MaxOptics IV for GFO 1.1
MaxOptics3 for SCAF 1.5
Metric Nomographs
Nav Map Make-Over v2.1
New Orders Bar Menu
NMMO v2.1 Patch 1 no AB
Remove grain effect
RSRDC_SH15_V400
RSRDC_SH15_V401
RSRDC_SH15_V550
RSRDC_V4XX_Patch1
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
SCAF for SH 1.5
Sobers compass mod_version color
TDW_Ship_Plane_Fire_Damage_v1_3_SH4
US Torpedo Test Mission
Webster's Eliminate Floating Plankton
Webster's Improved US Torpedo v2
Webster's New sonar view for v1.5
Webster's No Crew Fatigue
Webster's Ship Manuvering Fix
Webster's Upgraded Deck Gun v1

thanks in advance for all the help and suggestions.

:salute:

[fithah4]

The "Webster's GFO Mod v1.1" folder contains the GFO read me as well as the read me for all the mods in GFO and install
info along with the "GFO Snorkel Patch" folder.

Mod Installation order for GFO + RSRDC v401:
-stock game v1.5
-Game Fixes Only Mod
-Webster's New Orders Bar Menu for v1.5
-RSRDC v401 for stock (v550+patch1 can be used but some ships wont get the manuvering fix)
-GFO Patch for RSRDC v401
-then install the GFO Snorkel Name Fix only if needed

Mod Installation order for GFO + Real Env #1:
-stock game v1.5
-Game Fixes Only Mod
-Webster's New Orders Bar Menu for v1.5
-Real Environments #1
-GFO Patch for Real Environments #1
-then install the GFO Snorkel Name Fix only if needed

Mod Installation order for GFO + Real Env #1 + RSRDC v401:
-stock game v1.5
-Game Fixes Only Mod
-Webster's New Orders Bar Menu for v1.5
-Real Environments #1
-GFO Patch for Real Environments #1
-RSRDC v401 for stock (v550+patch1 can be used but some ships wont get the manuvering fix)
-GFO Patch for RSRDC v401
-then install the GFO Snorkel Name Fix only if needed

NOTE - think of GFO as if it was the stock game when you are trying to decide on the correct install order for using additional mods.

Fith

[fithah4]

Start out with the "CORE " of the mod you are trying to build them enter one mod at a time to see if you have a mod soup conflict to narrow it down easily, what works and don't work.
Other wise your be pulling you hair out and cussing the computer........been there before!!

The Berbster has a link with some info on loading mods and other info.....
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=219029

Fith

[drakkhen20]

yeah thats what ive been doing but some mods i cant tell if they are working or if it took away from the GFO mod. ive started with the basics core which you posted above but i have another copied and pasted info ive had before and in that mod order it does have MaxOptics or RSRD mods listed in any order. in the first part of his description on the latest GFO forum post he states to use MaxOptics IV instead of MO 3. when you look into the SCAF folder it has the MaxOptics3 for SCAF but i can not find MaxOptics IV for SCAF so from another post. in my mod order, do i just use MO IV and dont add SCAF or do i add SCAF as it says and put MaxOptics IV for GFO after it and call it a day? i just need to know from other GFO users if im going in the right direction.

[drakkhen20]

ok so upon reading which mods are in GFO 1.1 i did find it does have SCAF and his Ship Manuevering Fix as well, so i guess all i have to do is enable MO IV for GFO and be done with it.

[drakkhen20]

ok so heres my list now. for some reason my bridge crew has no eyes but my interior ones do. after i removed eye patch. before they had the zombie eyes and my interior crew had no eyes.

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[C:\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific\MODS]

Game Fixes Only Mod v1.1
New Orders Bar Menu
#1 Real Environment mod install
GFO Patch for Real Env
RSRDC_SH15_V401
GFO Patch for RSRDC v401
MaxOptics IV for GFO 1.1
Extra Allied naval bases for SH4 + UBM + TMO v1.7 (v1.0)
Sobers compass mod_version color
Webster's Improved US Torpedo v2
Webster's New sonar view for v1.5
Webster's No Crew Fatigue
Webster's Upgraded Deck Gun v1
TDW_Ship_Plane_Fire_Damage_v1_3_SH4
Bigger Better Protractors

[Rockin Robbins]

Most of Webster's mods are incorporated within GFO. Check out the readme and see which of your mods are not necessary!

Also, bigger better protractors operates on the infamous menu_1024_768.ini file. As soon as you load it up all other changes made by other mods are nuked! I'd not load it. The extra naval bases mod has some TMO specific things in it that will give your game unpredictable trouble. Unless you know enough to operate on the mod and remove all the TMO specific parts of it I'd leave that one alone too.

[drakkhen20]

alright ill try that. is there another mod that adds navel bases around. the one thing i could never stand is doing a patrol and having the hit or miss of running out of fuel. its nice to have some ports i can stroll into and refuel.

[Rockin Robbins]

These subs have plenty of fuel to do missions until you're absolutely bored and want to return to port. I routinely pick up four or five assignments and never have any trouble getting back to Pearl from Japan or the Straits of Formosa. The trick is not to gallivant all over the ocean at high throttle settings. Your top fuel economy is at about 9.5 knots. With that your range is immense. Double your speed and cut your mileage by a factor of at least four.

Faster speeds can be used in combat without impacting your ability to return to base because you're using those speeds such a small proportion of the time. You can be at Japan with a quarter tank and easily get back to Pearl Harbor at cruise speed of 9.5 knots. So there is no hit or miss. There are good boat handling skills and bad ones.

[Webster]

seams like you got the rest sorted out already so i'll just address this part

for some reason my bridge crew has no eyes but my interior ones do. after i removed eye patch. before they had the zombie eyes and my interior crew had no eyes.



I found this happened to me all the time when I first tried the eye patch.

this mod was needed for a select few older video cards and I think it was just something to do with the drivers for them so while only a limited few people ever needed it to begin with, you no longer need this mod at all for the game.

the problem with this mod is it causes irreversible game corruption you cant fix so the only remedy is to uninstall the game, manually go into your computer files and delete the sh4 folder found in your "C"drive/programs files, then delete the sh4 folder in your documents folder and do a fresh new reinstall off the game. then the eyes will be normal again.

if you have a clean unmodded backup copy of the sh4 "data" folder, something everyone should do for insurance against corrupted game files, then you don't have to reinstall the game, you just need to delete the "data" folder in your programs files found inside the "ubisoft/sh4" folder and copy and paste a fresh new version in its place.

as for your mod list i'll see what I can add to what has already been mentioned above

#1 Real Environment mod install
3000 Yard Bearing Tool (1920x)
3000 Yard-Meter Bearing Tools (1280x960)
Bigger Better Protractors
Extra Allied naval bases for SH4 + UBM + TMO v1.7 (v1.0) pretty sure this one is only supposed to be used with TMO v1.7 or not at all
Eye Patch for Stock never use this mod unless you already have eyes missing, it causes them to disappear and corrupts the game files
Game Fixes Only Mod v1.1
GFO Patch for Real Env
GFO Patch for RSRDC v401
GFO Snorkel Name Change
Magnified Hud Dials for v1.5_Large
MaxOptics IV for GFO 1.1 im pretty sure you can only use one version of maxoptics at a time, not both
MaxOptics3 for SCAF 1.5 im pretty sure you can only use one version of maxoptics at a time, not both
Metric Nomographs
Nav Map Make-Over v2.1
New Orders Bar Menu
NMMO v2.1 Patch 1 no AB
Remove grain effect
RSRDC_SH15_V400 you can only use one version at a time, not all 3 versions at the same time
RSRDC_SH15_V401 you can only use one version at a time, not all 3 versions at the same time
RSRDC_SH15_V550 you can only use one version at a time, not all 3 versions at the same time
RSRDC_V4XX_Patch1 only use one version at a time, not both at the same time
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1 only use one version at a time, not both at the same time
SCAF for SH 1.5
Sobers compass mod_version color
TDW_Ship_Plane_Fire_Damage_v1_3_SH4
US Torpedo Test Mission
Webster's Eliminate Floating Plankton
Webster's Improved US Torpedo v2
Webster's New sonar view for v1.5
Webster's No Crew Fatigue
Webster's Ship Manuvering Fix
Webster's Upgraded Deck Gun v1

the key with GFO is its designed to be used "first" to patch or fix the game issues and make a few "minor" eye candy fixes as well

all mods should be added to the game after GFO except where specified such as my patches for mods used with GFO

using mods on top of GFO can "sometimes" undo changes made by GFO and revert some aspects of the game back to stock but they shouldn't cause any issues with the game otherwise.

think of GFO as the last patch for the game that ubisoft never made for it, and just like the stock game you can use "just about" any mod you want to use with it and at the worst you just undo some, most, or in the case of the large super mods like FOTRS, TMO,RFB, they will undo all the fixes made by GFO so its pretty pointless to use those mods on top of GFO but you can, that's pretty much the way I designed it, so GFO is infinitely moddable and compatible with "almost" any mods

[drakkhen20]

hey webster. glad you responded. i did a fresh install and still got the missing eyes. i deleted everything even the My documents folder. the mod list you posted in your reply was everything that i had put into my "MODS" folder. not activated. this is my Activated list as of now.

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[C:\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific\MODS]

Game Fixes Only Mod v1.1
New Orders Bar Menu
#1 Real Environment mod install
GFO Patch for Real Env
RSRDC_SH15_V401
GFO Patch for RSRDC v401
MaxOptics IV for GFO 1.1
Sobers compass mod_version color
Webster's Improved US Torpedo v2
Webster's New sonar view for v1.5
Webster's No Crew Fatigue
TDW_Ship_Plane_Fire_Damage_v1_3_SH4

to rockin robin, yes ive patrolled on and under 2/3s and patrolled in the designated square or frame/ sector at 1/3 and still have ran out of fuel trying to get back to port to refuel between missions. but as you stated. its probably due to my poor judgement as to when to set sail for port. but historically wasnt there ports that submarines would do the exact thing im trying to mod that we were allied with and such?

back to webster,
so for the RSRD over the v401 your ship physics doesnt work for some ships, is this because it adds ships that havent been added to your physics or whats going with that ? because i use v401 to get the full effect out of your mods. im just trying to understand these mods and how they work so i know and can figure out how to apply them.

[Rockin Robbins]

to rockin robin, yes ive patrolled on and under 2/3s and patrolled in the designated square or frame/ sector at 1/3 and still have ran out of fuel trying to get back to port to refuel between missions. but as you stated. its probably due to my poor judgement as to when to set sail for port. but historically wasnt there ports that submarines would do the exact thing im trying to mod that we were allied with and such?
There is a quick way to run out of fuel. Get depth charged and get holes in your fuel tank. I've had that happen and you're stuck when it happens. Of course additional ports wouldn't help that.:D:D

[drakkhen20]

ah, thats true as well. good to keep in mind.

well just did a fresh install and this is my Activated mod list now

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[C:\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific\MODS]

Game Fixes Only Mod v1.1
New Orders Bar Menu
#1 Real Environment mod install
GFO Patch for Real Env
RSRDC_SH15_V401
GFO Patch for RSRDC v401
MaxOptics IV for GFO 1.1
Sobers compass mod_version color
Webster's Improved US Torpedo v2
Webster's New sonar view for v1.5
Webster's No Crew Fatigue
TDW_Ship_Plane_Fire_Damage_v1_3_SH4


im still getting no eyes on bridge crew but eyes in the interior down below. i dont know whats going on here. ive never had this problem before. usually i have no eyes and the eye patch fixes it.

[Webster]

hey webster. glad you responded. i did a fresh install and still got the missing eyes.

the thing to remember is even though you uninstalled the game, any "changed/modded" files will still be left behind and they instantly corrupt the game as you reinstall the game. what you have to do is uninstall the game and then go into your computer files and manually delete the leftover files. its a PITA to do this every time your game gets corrupted but you get used to doing it after a while.

uninstalling the game ONLY removes the original unmodified files so any file that was changed by adding a mod stays there until you go find it and delete it yourself, uninstallers are useless and don't work on those files. also if you forget to uninstall all mods before doing an uninstall and reinstall it can leave a huge number of files left behind

[Moonlight]

Most of Webster's mods are incorporated within GFO. Check out the readme and see which of your mods are not necessary!

Also, bigger better protractors operates on the infamous menu_1024_768.ini file. As soon as you load it up all other changes made by other mods are nuked! I'd not load it. The extra naval bases mod has some TMO specific things in it that will give your game unpredictable trouble. Unless you know enough to operate on the mod and remove all the TMO specific parts of it I'd leave that one alone too.

I'm sorry to correct you RR but the bigger better protractors does not touch the menu_1024_768.ini file.
I'm using it with FOTRS at the moment and there are no conflicts at all, here is the readme from the said mod.


This mod changes the map tool large mouse cursors for the course plotter, ruler, and protractor. The new cursors are approximately twice as large as the originals, with higher contrast for better readability. The protractor and ruler are very similar in layout to the originals, but I changed the course plotter to have a usable radial scale for more accurate plotting.
Bigger Better Protractors should be compatible with most other mods. If there is a conlict and you still want to use this mod, you'll need to manually move a few files and edit a few lines of text. Move LineExt.dds, ProtractorExt.dds and SquareExt.dds into Data\Menu\MouseCurs. Next, open Mouse.cfg in Notepad, find the entries for Cursor 12, Cursor 13, and Cursor 16, then change the XO and YO values as follows:
[Cursor 12]
Name=LineExt
XO=256
YO=257
[Cursor 13]
Name=SquareExt
XO=127
YO=128
[Cursor 16]
Name=ProtractorExt
XO=256
YO=257
These values tell the game which pixel is the exact center of the cursor.
I've been using these cursors on my 1680x1050 monitor, and they work well at that resolution. Larger resolutions should also be good, but smaller resolutions may not.
Thanks for reading.
White Owl
:up:

[Rockin Robbins]

I'm sorry to correct you RR but the bigger better protractors does not touch the menu_1024_768.ini file.
I'm using it with FOTRS at the moment and there are no conflicts at all, here is the readme from the said mod.

:up:
I stand corrected. The principle still stands. But Moonlight gave you instructions to modify your own game, and I'm in favor of importing this change into FOTRS Ultimate too.

It all depends on whether this works for lower resolutions. And lower resolutions won't benefit as much from larger tools. If there's a problem then it will become a plugin because it sure is hard to read those little protractors on a higher resolution screen!

[Rockin Robbins]

the thing to remember is even though you uninstalled the game, any "changed/modded" files will still be left behind and they instantly corrupt the game as you reinstall the game. what you have to do is uninstall the game and then go into your computer files and manually delete the leftover files. its a PITA to do this every time your game gets corrupted but you get used to doing it after a while.

uninstalling the game ONLY removes the original unmodified files so any file that was changed by adding a mod stays there until you go find it and delete it yourself, uninstallers are useless and don't work on those files. also if you forget to uninstall all mods before doing an uninstall and reinstall it can leave a huge number of files left behind
You know, Webster, I haven't looked at your Mod Soup Fix. Wonder how similar it is to my video (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=228505) (look at the second, although it still depends on doing the operations in the first video).

[drakkhen20]

yes ive uninstalled the game and went in manually and deleted the "SH4" file under "My Documents" and as well i keep all my Ubisoft games in one folder out of "Program Files and Program Files(x86)" so i go in there and delete the whole file as well. i still got the problem. im going to try one more thing as stated before. going through them one by one and seeing which or what is going on but before i do that im going the try the stock game first and make sure i see all the eyes. i did not do this before as i havent had a problem with it before. :salute:

[Rockin Robbins]

Okay, Webster's mod soup fix relies on JSGME to properly uninstall all your mods. You then move your mods folder to another location and run JSGME to create a new MODS folder. Then you redownload and reinstall your mods.

This is a good partial solution that will solve a minority of mod soup problems. However, it is by no means a complete solution. In our 3.6 Gigabyte Fall of the Rising Sun Ultimate Project, we've found that in dealing with thousands (almost 9,000 in FOTRSU) of files JSGME just can't be relied on.

If you have mod soup, after uninstalling all your mods with JSGME you STILL can't play the stock game. You still have mod soup because remnants of long forgotten mods live as hidden zombies in your stock game files and there is no way you will ever find them all. Without draconian measures, mod soup is chronic and sometimes fatal.

A more detailed procedure than Webster's is necessary. I've made a thread with two videos (Tutorial: Make an SH4 lockbox and independent game installations) showing how to initially set up the game to allow for future restorations without reinstalling the game (ever! video #1) and then step by step instructions on what to do if disaster strikes (video #2).

I need to make another video on what to do if the mods themselves in your MODS folder are the problem. This is very rare as all JSGME does is read them. It never writes to those files, therefore it is very unlikely that they will be corrupted. Nonetheless, I should make a video of testing the mods in that folder one by one and replacing them if necessary. Again, the possibility that you find the problem there is very remote.

A quick overview of my procedure, which starts with initial game installation. Install the game in a non-system protected directory, \wolves of the pacific by default. Copy that entire directory into a parallel directory \sh4 pristeen. Then write protect all directories and files within that folder, including the folder itself. It's your lockbox of stock game files that cannot be played. Write protecting guarantees that they cannot be played. My videos show how to put JSGME, MultiSH4 and Large Address Aware into the \sh4 pristeen installation.

Suppose you want to play TMO. Make yourself another parallel directory \sh4tmo. Copy all the contents of \sh4 pristeen into \sh4tmo. Write enable all files and directories in \sh4tmo. Run MultiSH4 to make a \TMO directory for savegame files in your \documents folder. Run Large Address Aware to let SH4 access more than 2 GB. Then run JSGME to make your MODS folder, and especially so you can take a game files snapshot. This is your mod soup survival tool. Because you can't trust JSGME to keep all your files straight (this is a Windows problem, not a JSGME problem) but you CAN trust JSGME to compare all your game files with the originals and tell you if any are different.

Install your mods in the MODS folder and install them with JSGME. Play. Now let's say you have weird stuff going on. You need to check to see if mod soup is the issue. Run JSGME and uninstall all mods. Your files should now be stock files--but ARE THEY? Do JSGME's compare to original game files function. If you have files that are changed, you have mod soup all right!

Don't worry about diagnosing what went wrong. We're going to fix it and we'll never know. It's like rebooting your computer. Why analyze for hours when you can be up and running with all problems fixed (whatever they are!) in ten minutes?

First, delete everything from your \sh4tmo directory except for your MODS folder. Then copy everything from your \sh4 pristeen folder into your \sh4tmo directory. You'll then write enable the whole \sh4tmo shebang: directories and files. Run MultiSH4 to tell the game to use your \TMO savegame directory. Run Large Address Aware on the new SH4.exe. Run JSGME to reinstall your mods. Now all your savegames are restored and you can begin playing your present campaign as if nothing had ever happened.

What could go wrong:


If your savegame is corrupt you might have to start a new career or mission.
If your files in the MODS folder are corrupt you'll have to test them one by one and replace the bad ones. This is VERY unlikely.
If you run your game from desktop or menu bar shortcuts, those shortcuts need to point to the appropriate sh4.exe files NOT gu.exe, which bungles large mod installations and causes other game malfunctions.

That's about it. It's much more comprehensive than Webster's mod soup fix. The videos incorporate the use of MultiSH4 to have multiple game installation. They incorporate instructions on how to use Large Address Aware. They incorporate instructions on how to use JSGME to compare your files to detect mod soup.


Actually, if the thread (Tutorial: Make an SH4 lockbox and independent game installations) were stickied I'd add Webster's instructions to it in a third video. The entire comprehensive process hasn't been clearly explained so far, and probably can't be outside of instructional videos.

[Webster]

actually my method says to DELETE the existing mod folder, then re-download your mods and install them back into jsgme from fresh download or saved zip file download somewhere to avoid any issues with the mods themselves being where the corruption lies.

that's a very important clarification, because just "moving" the jsgme MODS folder and transferring the mods to the newly created jsgme MODS folder can and often WILL put the corruption back.

one further note is to ask if by chance this might be a very old computer running a very old video card? when this "eyes" issue was around, there was so many different situations it occurs that it was very hard to say if it was a video driver or video card issue but it seamed to be caused by a video card related problem and that's why the mod was made to correct a "trigger" with the game that caused it

[Rockin Robbins]

actually my method says to DELETE the existing mod folder, then re-download your mods and install them back into jsgme from fresh download or saved zip file download somewhere to avoid any issues with the mods themselves being where the corruption lies.
The corruption is almost never in the mods in the MODS directory. Those are only read by JSGME, never written to. Mod soup is a corruption of the stock game files themselves and nothing you can do with the MODS directory will fix it. This corruption is caused because sometimes when you uninstall a mod JSGME does not properly replace the modified file with the stock file every time. My best estimate of the error rate is about 1/100 of a percent. That means one out of ten times you uninstall FOTRSU you will be left with corrupted stock game files. Your procedure leaves the mod soup entirely untouched. Believe me we were thoroughly burned by that discovery and spent weeks fixing it.

That came to light in our development of FOTRSU and is independently confirmed by many people. It's also confirmed that the procedure we developed is the only one that fixes it every time. It takes ten minutes, preserves your savegames and settings. When you're done, you resume playing as if nothing had ever happened. It's a true fix. It's one of the two most important things we found when making a huge supermod.

If you'll sticky it I'll add a third video about identifying and fixing problems with the MODS folder.

I'll bet your last observation about older video cards is dead on target for the eyes issue!

[drakkhen20]

no i am running an up to date system. GTX 980 overclocked and all the dressings with it on Windows 10. sorry it takes so long as ive been working 12 to 16 hours a day lately with the holidays coming up. so its been a i come home and get on SH4 for about and hour and bounce back and forth between you all and actually testing the suggestions. so on that note, while i was digging around google and these old posts for the eye patches and all that it pointed me in a direction to look at some files. i discovered that when activating one of the mods (havent had time to figure out which one) it places a duplicate "EyeBallsPS" file in the "Skinning" folder. i also renamed the file to "XEyeBallsPS" and now i have eyeballs on top and below decks. they still follow me though and creep me out but at least we have eyes now. so thanks guys for all the help and responses. hope this will help someone else one day as you all did for me today.

:salute:

[Webster]

no i am running an up to date system. GTX 980 overclocked and all the dressings with it on Windows 10. sorry it takes so long as ive been working 12 to 16 hours a day lately with the holidays coming up. so its been a i come home and get on SH4 for about and hour and bounce back and forth between you all and actually testing the suggestions. so on that note, while i was digging around google and these old posts for the eye patches and all that it pointed me in a direction to look at some files. i discovered that when activating one of the mods (havent had time to figure out which one) it places a duplicate "EyeBallsPS" file in the "Skinning" folder. i also renamed the file to "XEyeBallsPS" and now i have eyeballs on top and below decks. they still follow me though and creep me out but at least we have eyes now. so thanks guys for all the help and responses. hope this will help someone else one day as you all did for me today.

:salute:

that's an example of one of those leftover files I was talking about earlier that you need to manually remove and cant be done with the uninstaller.

jsgme sometimes gets lost and "loses track" of changed files and how to restore them so that's another point where corruptions can happen.

you found the image file causing the problem and now to stop the "following eyes" I think that would be controlled by a dat file you need to find and it will have had some sort of a a name change just like the
eyeballs file had

I too don't get much time here anymore so it can sometimes be days before I check back in

[Webster]

The corruption is almost never in the mods in the MODS directory. Those are only read by JSGME, never written to. Mod soup is a corruption of the stock game files themselves and nothing you can do with the MODS directory will fix it. This corruption is caused because sometimes when you uninstall a mod JSGME does not properly replace the modified file with the stock file every time. My best estimate of the error rate is about 1/100 of a percent. That means one out of ten times you uninstall FOTRSU you will be left with corrupted stock game files. Your procedure leaves the mod soup entirely untouched. Believe me we were thoroughly burned by that discovery and spent weeks fixing it.

That came to light in our development of FOTRSU and is independently confirmed by many people. It's also confirmed that the procedure we developed is the only one that fixes it every time. It takes ten minutes, preserves your savegames and settings. When you're done, you resume playing as if nothing had ever happened. It's a true fix. It's one of the two most important things we found when making a huge supermod.

If you'll sticky it I'll add a third video about identifying and fixing problems with the MODS folder.

I'll bet your last observation about older video cards is dead on target for the eyes issue!

no that is not true, there are "hidden" files in jsgme that you normally cant see but those are where the file changes are controlled and where corruptions of files "can be" saved as such.

to see them, in windows 7, you open the jsgme MODS folder then select at windows top tool bar "organize/folder and search options/view" and select to "show hidden files" and then those files are visible.

these "hidden files" are where all the changes are controlled and they are really the only files you should "need" to delete to solve most corruptions but there is always a chance that one of the actual mod files is corrupted so to eliminate ANY chance its best to tell people to just delete the entire MODS folder and start over new with all "virgin" mod download files

[drakkhen20]

ok so i use Winrar to do my zip files for the Mod downloads. so what your saying is even though i completely manually delete the files in my directory folder for SH4 and the saved files in my documents and restart my pc and all that stuff that there are files still left over? im familiar with hidden files so thats what is or could be left over even though you delete eveything. then each mod that you use just go through them and zip them back into a new Mod folder after deleting the old MOD folder?

[Rockin Robbins]

no that is not true, there are "hidden" files in jsgme that you normally cant see but those are where the file changes are controlled and where corruptions of files "can be" saved as such.

to see them, in windows 7, you open the jsgme MODS folder then select at windows top tool bar "organize/folder and search options/view" and select to "show hidden files" and then those files are visible.

these "hidden files" are where all the changes are controlled and they are really the only files you should "need" to delete to solve most corruptions but there is always a chance that one of the actual mod files is corrupted so to eliminate ANY chance its best to tell people to just delete the entire MODS folder and start over new with all "virgin" mod download files
Webster, I have show hidden files on by default and don't treat them any differently than any others. You can eliminate all those files you want. Most mod soup, and this is verified by independent research by four of us on the FOTRSU team, is in the stock game files themselves. After you remove all mods from the game with JSGME and then do a file compare, there are changes left in those stock game files.

In fact, that is the definition of mod soup. It is the root cause of mod soup. You can do anything you want with JSGME and its hidden files and the mod soup is totally untouched. Until you delete everything, hidden or not, from \Wolves of the Pacific except for the MODS directory, including deleting JSGME, Large Address Aware and MultiSH4 and replace them from the lockbox (shown and coached in the videos), then write enable everything in the \Wolves of the Pacific directory, run Large Address Aware, MultiSH4 and JSGME (all of which are brand new), you cannot solve the vast majority of mod soup situations.

JSGME alone does not have the ability to fix mod soup. Mod soup is corruption of the stock game files with remnants of mods which were previously installed by JSGME but not properly removed by JSGME. You can delete hidden files until the cows come home and the mod soup remains completely untouched.

My videos prove this and then fix it. The state of knowledge has changed and we now have a COMPLETE solution for mod soup, not just a solution that works in a minority of cases.

[Rockin Robbins]

ok so i use Winrar to do my zip files for the Mod downloads. so what your saying is even though i completely manually delete the files in my directory folder for SH4 and the saved files in my documents and restart my pc and all that stuff that there are files still left over? im familiar with hidden files so thats what is or could be left over even though you delete eveything. then each mod that you use just go through them and zip them back into a new Mod folder after deleting the old MOD folder?

First, I'd check out what Webster said about older graphics cards having the eyes issue. If that is the cause then fixing mod soup isn't going to help.

I'd set up Explorer to always show hidden files and to give you the extensions of all files. Then you don't care and mostly pay no attention to whether a file is hidden or not.

Okay, what is mod soup. Mod soup happens when you install a mod with JSGME and later uninstall it. Because of an error with Windows or JSGME, sometimes not all the original files are restored when uninstalling a mod. So JSGME says "no mods installed, dude" and your game isn't stock any more. This sometimes doesn't kill the game. There are changes but you might not be aware of it. But sooner or later you uninstall a mod with a ROSTER directory containing non-stock ships. You're playing the stock game, there's that non-stock ship out there, you fire a torpedo and the instant the torpedo touches the ship you crash to desktop.

Now lets do what Webster says. Delete the MODS folder, run JSGME to make a new MODS folder, unzip all your mods into the new MODS folder and reinstall. Lets just do that but not install any mods. Have you fixed the mod soup?

NO! You have not touched the mod soup. Mod soup lives in the corrupted stock game files. You have done nothing to fix them, therefore you still have mod soup. Try it. We did. The FOTRS team wrestled with this thing for two weeks before we finally figured out that we had been working with the wrong definition of mod soup for ten years.

If you have mod soup visit my thread on making an SH4 Lockbox and never having to reinstall the game again. The videos are much better than any written instructions and they are self-validating--they prove I'm right and Webster is wrong. I actually do a file compare on an installation with mod soup when no mods are installed and prove that mod soup is game files which are supposed to be original stock game files as supplied by Ubi, but which have been changed and remain changed when JSGME says no mods are installed.

At that point, what are you going to do with JSGME to fix it? Of course, there is NOTHING JSGME is equipped to do about it. You must have a lockbox with guaranteed uncontaminated stock game files. You must delete all files from your game directory and replace them with guaranteed stock files. Then, working with a new copy of JSGME you can do a file compare and see definitively that without doing the Webster thing at all, mod soup is ENTIRELY CORRECTED. This is clearly and unambiguously shown in my videos. I'm not making stuff up. I'm not jumping to conclusions. I have the ONLY fix for mod soup.

Now I really don't care if you or any given individual chooses to ignore hard evidence and use a witch doctor or maybe a lucky rock to attack mod soup. But for the benefit of those who will check it out for themselves, it's child's play to prove that I am correct here. It's child's play to prove that if you have mod soup, going through Webster's procedure doesn't touch it.

Mod soup lives in the game files, not the mod files in the MODS directory. Only a tenth of one percent of the time (I'm 10 times too high on that number) will a corrupted mod file in the MODS directory be at fault.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out. It does mean that you should cover the higher probabilities first and only chase after the MODS directory if that leaves you unfixed. Most people will be struck by lightning before that happens unless your actual Windows installation is corrupted.

I don't make assertions on my own "authority." My videos establish the truth, prove the truth and give you the tools to prove it for yourself. You are prefectly free to deny hard evidence. But you are not free to avoid the consequences of that. Much of the time, and I am understating the truth here, you will still have mod soup. Mod soup lives in the game files, not in the MODS folder, not in JSGME's scratchpads, although if JSGME makes a mistake the scratchpad will say "that's an original file" and it won't be. Fixing the scratchpad and replacing the MODS folder don't do a thing to fix the corrupted game files. Playing with things that are not mod soup cannot remove mod soup.

It's like saying that the malaria is caused by a mosquito, so all you have to do to cure malaria is to find the mosquito that gave it to you and kill it. Even if that were possible and you killed it guess what? You would still have malaria.

[propbeanie]

... and the "Eye" issue was originally from the days when AGP was fading, and PCIe was coming in, and nVidia was "cheating" on their "Benchmark Scores" to get higher FPS by not doing the AA all the way. In a stickie in the 'regular' section here:

Nvidia tweaks to SH3/SH4 (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=128517)

Surely they've fixed the issue with their driver by now... ??

[Rockin Robbins]

Proof. Don't take my word for it. Prove it to yourself. This video starts off showing what mod soup is and that it exists even when JSGME has no mods installed:

https://youtu.be/EE6xK6cHHKk

[drakkhen20]

so when you activate a mod, what exactly happens ? does it replace the original file with what is being activated or does it add to the file? im trying to understand it more.

[propbeanie]

so when you activate a mod, what exactly happens ? does it replace the original file with what is being activated or does it add to the file? im trying to understand it more.
Activating a mod is ~supposed~ to replace some of the files, and add others, dependent upon the mod. Some mods just add, others just replace, some do both. Any file that is replaced is backed-up by JSGME and the "new" one put in it's place. That way, if and when the user removes the mod, the mod is deleted from the game's folders, and the original files brought back in from the back-up. The mod itself is always there in the MODS folder.

[drakkhen20]

right, ok. so in that transfer of files is where sometimes this corruption can take place then ? correct?

[Rockin Robbins]

Okay, let's use JSGME to install a mod into stock SH4. You know that the mod has to have a directory structure that mirrors SH4's, starting with the \data subdirectory. So a mod will be a directory named the name of the mod, containing a directory tree mirroring as much of SH4's directory tree as is necessary for the mod.

Sh4 scans the directory tree of the mod, seeing which of the game files are going to be replaced. Then it saves the paths and files in its hidden scratchpad files. Finally, it copies the files from the mod in the MODS directory and replaces the proper files in the game. Now the mod is installed. JSGME has replaced game files with mod files, taken notes on which files those are and saved the original game files so it can restore them later. That's mod installation.

If JSGME installs another mod and some of its files replace not game files but a previously installed mod file, JSGME makes notes and saves the replaced files for that too. It then greys out the mod name that was "stepped on" by a subsequently added mod.

Whether you have greyed out mod names in your list or not it still is a good idea to always uninstall mods in reverse order: last installed, first uninstalled.

So what goes wrong and what is mod soup? Mod soup is corruption of the game files caused by JSGME not doing the uninstallation process correctly. Suppose you tell it to uninstall the mod you installed in the first paragraph. JSGME looks at its scratchpads and buffer file. They tell it which files must be overwritten with the stored original files. But approximately 1 tenth of a percent to a hundredth of a percent of the time, JSGME does not replace the modded file with the original file.

So when the uninstallation process is done and JSGME shows a blank installed mods list, some of the files in the game directory (not the MOD directory or the hidden scratchpad files) are modified. JSGME is now telling you your game is stock but it is not.

This is proved by my video, which starts out showing the JSGME screen and the installed mods list empty. All the mods were uninstalled in reverse order and JSGME tells me I have a stock game. But I do not, and that is proven when I do a file compare and find a dozen or so files not identical to their original form. When JSGME says you are playing the stock game and you have changed files in your directory you have mod soup. In fact, that is the DEFINITION of mod soup: a disparity between JSGME's analysis of game status and real game status.

Watching my video above, you see the proof. It's not open for debate or opinion, it's the plain truth. The mod soup is in game files that are supposed to be original, but they are not. You can delete JSGME, its hidden files and the MODS directory and play the game. You'll see you still have mod soup. That is because some of your game files are changed from their original form.

The only way to fix mod soup is to replace the modified game files with their original copies. Yes, you can spend hours comparing file by file and finding them, replacing them one by one. But why not plan for this to happen? Why not, when you first play the game, copy the entire contents of \Wolves of the Pacific, plus JSGME, MultiSH4 and Large Address Aware into their own parallel directory, call it \SH4Pristeen then write protect the directory, all subdirectories and files so it can never be played.

Then when you find that with all mods uninstalled and JSGME shows changed files you can do the sensible thing. Drop the hydrogen bomb on it. First of all, since JSGME never writes to the mods in the MODS directory, it is VERY unlikely that is causing your problem. Remember, mod soup lives in the game files, not the MODS directory. I hope you just proved that to yourself and didn't just take my word for it. I don't care if you believe me, I want you to know the truth.



So delete all files and directories from \Wolves of the Pacific except the MODS directory.
Now copy all files and directories from \SH4Pristeen to the \Wolves of the Pacific directory.
Then in Explorer, right-click \Wolves of the Pacific and write enable the directory and ALL contents, both directories and files.
Run MultiSH4 to tell SH4 which savegame directory to use
Run Large Address Aware on your \Wolves of the Pacific\SH4.exe file to enable it to use more than 2 GB of RAM.
Run JSGME and do a compare snapshot function. You'll see that although you have done nothing to the MODS directory, all files are identical and you no longer have mod soup. You have not done a single function of Websters "method," yet mod soup is gone.
Install your mods. Run the game. Load your last save. Play as if you never had mod soup. Your settings are saved. Your saved games are saved. You have proved that Webster's instructions have no basis in reality at all and are just a quaint superstition.

Although it has never happened to me in nine years of playing the game there is a remote possibility of file corruption in the MODS directory, just as there can be random file corruption in any directory at any time. That is a malfunction of Windows.



What I do to combat that is put a copy of the zipped mod in the MODS directory. If I suspect the mod is corrupted I delete the unzipped mod and replace it by unzipping again. Corrupted zip files are self-checking and tell you when they are corrupted. Like I say, in nine years of playing a wide variety of games using JSGME I've never had to do this once. Corruption of files in the MODS directory is VERY RARE. A corrupted Windows installation can invalidate that statement. So can certain hardware problems, like burst electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard. Don't ask me how I know. I still have flashbacks from that horrible experience.


So now you know what mod soup is. You know how to positively identify whether you have mod soup or not. You know that mod soup lives in the game files, not in the MODS directory or JSGME's hidden files. And you know the procedure to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt for yourself, not depending on any ability or authority of mine, that my understanding, based on the hard experiences of the Fall of the Rising Sun Ultimate Project Team, is absolutely rock solid true and complete.

[drakkhen20]

ok i got that point. thanks. so i did an absolute fresh install of SH4 on a different drive all together. played it and still got the no eyes on the bridge. so went back into Shinning directory and renamed that file and all is well. so im guessing its a hardware or my hardware drivers having an issue with it. thanks for all that info guys. :Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

ill get back to modding and check out that MultiSH4 as well. :Kaleun_Wink:

[Webster]

ok i got that point. thanks. so i did an absolute fresh install of SH4 on a different drive all together. played it and still got the no eyes on the bridge. so went back into Shinning directory and renamed that file and all is well. so im guessing its a hardware or my hardware drivers having an issue with it. thanks for all that info guys. :Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

ill get back to modding and check out that MultiSH4 as well. :Kaleun_Wink:

glad you figured it out but im still thinking its got to be your mod files that are the problem but at least you got it fixed now.

try looking through your mod downloads and see which mod has that borked file in it and then compare it to a brand new fresh download of that mod and im willing to bet you will find that "somehow" you accidentally corrupted the mod files themselves and kept putting the corrupted mod files back into jsgme.

to test this, once you determine which mod and which file it is, swap that mod out for a new virgin copy of the mod from a fresh new download.

also want to mention to ONLY use 7zip to unzip mod files since winzip and WinRAR have been known to cause file corruptions when opening files that have been compressed using 7zip which is what most modders use to compress mod files for uploading

[Rockin Robbins]

also want to mention to ONLY use 7zip to unzip mod files since winzip and WinRAR have been known to case filr corruptions when opening files that have been compressed using 7zip which is what most modders use to compress mod files for uploading
Yes, Google search for 7zip, download and install, then uninstall all your other archive software. It's that good. And there is no interface! Right click your .7zip, .rar, .zip, it doesn't seem to care what you throw at it, and it just works.

And that's only the beginning. Set your default zipper to 7zip File Manager. You're done.

[drakkhen20]

thanks guys. very much. :Kaleun_Cheers: