With today's release of the Customizing Kit for Evochron Mercenary, now might be a good time to introduce a fast and easy way of swapping mods into and out of the game. I've tested this program and could kick myself for not making use of it earlier. It's called the Generic Mod Enabler (JSGME for short) and can be safely downloaded directly from Jones' website, here:http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/softwa ... jsgme.html
There are two methods of installing the program: a central install; a separate install. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Central. You create a subdirectory (folder) in a general location on your hard drive (e.g., C:\\jsgme) and install from there. After the program is installed, you clone the shortcut, per instructions in the PDF, creating one shortcut for each game you want to mod. The advantage is, you only need one copy of the program and, consequently, only need to update one copy when a new version is released. The downside is, before updating the program, you need to un-do (roll back) any current mods in every game you've modded ... if you forget one, it could cause problems for that one game.
Separate. You install the program to each individual game, in the game's main directory (folder). No need to clone the shortcut ... and no need to keep track of all your modded games. Just be sure that, if you decide to update any specific install of JSGME, you first roll back all current mods in the applicable game. The disadvantage is, of course, you'll need a copy of the program for each game you modify (the current version is only 904kb).
After installing JSGME, you'll find a PDF instruction booklet in the program's main folder. To supplement the PDF, I added the following list of notes to my own install (as a reminder for one way of using the program with Mercenary):
For ships, I added the following notes:JSGME: Creating Mods for Installation
1. Create a JSGME folder for your Desktop.
2. Give the folder a descriptive name.
3. Place the files and folders of your mod into the JSGME folder as if you were placing them directly into their proper location* within the game.
4. Launch the applicable JSGME.
5. Drag the JSGME folder into the "Available Mods:" window.
6. Activate** as desired.
* Do not place your modded files and folders into any unnecessary directories or subdirectories. For example, if the game is located in:
C:\\sw3dg\\EvochronMercenary
but the modded files and folders go directly into the "EvochronMercenary" folder, do not place the JSGME folder inside either a "C" folder or a "sw3dg" folder.
** If swapping mods in and out (or making changes to a mod), be sure to move the activated mod (or candidate for change) out before moving the available mod in. Also, be sure to move all mods out prior to installing a new release of the game.
For ships, you can also use multiple copies of the same mod, giving each one a different name. That way, you can quickly swap them in and out of Mercenary without taking the time to re-name them.NOTE
For many of the ship mods, one ship must substitute for a ship already in the game. To make this work with JSGME:
1. Assign a name to the modded ship.
2. Drag the mod into the "Available Mods:" window.
3. Activate the mod.
If you later decide to swap the same modded ship with another default ship:
1. Move the mod back to the "Available Mods:"
2. Go into the "MODS" folder.
3. Find the correct JSGME mod folder.
4. Open the folder.
5. Rename the modded ship file.
You can then safely re-activate the modded ship.
This might all sound complicated at first. Indeed, I thought so and, for the longest time, never used the program ... despite Denny's assurances it was a lot easier, safer and quicker than swapping mods manually. And so, instead, I wasted a lot of time while working on a "universe" mod, swapping it in and out as I went from playing MP to working on the mod ... etc., etc., etc. Now I know better.
Denny was right.
