Minor installation issues

[Gazda]

Hi

 

I don't know if I'm the only one experiencing this issue but it seems that Better high detail map and icons fomod script doesn't properly detect what type of PipBoy mod is installed, because it installs assets from all three Pipboy types from "clean_pipboy_screen" folder, that is: Pipboy2500, Pipboy3000 and scorptech. - Screenshot -

 

MO logs a message that Pipboy2500 got overwritten because Pipboy3000 was higher in the install order....so not a big deal I guess, but still I think that it might be a good idea to hide these two folders in MO after the installation, just to be sure.

 

Also, I know UIO combines all UI mods at runtime, but shouldn't all UI mods be placed before UIO in load order in order for UIO to recognize their existence or that doesn't matter? I'm asking this because Better High Detail Map and Icons has map_menu.xml and the Guide instructions are to install this mod after the UIO.

 

Also, many textures supplied by this mod have mipmaps saved, when they shouldn't. I didn't test this mod yet, but having some negative experience (UI lags and fuzzy icons) from TES4 with incorrectly saved .dds files, made me decide to re-save them but without mipmaps.

[GrantSP]

I get the same result regardless of whether the internal or external fomod installer is used. The texture folders won't impact on the game, the unused folders will just sit there doing nothing and you could easily hide or remove them if needed. However the menu files are another matter. It would entail doing a check of the installed map_menu.xml compared to ALL the versions inside the archive to see which is installed. (they are all the same size so it needs to be content based, not filesize)

 

UIO is a FOSE plugin and this means it doesn't matter where in the load order it is placed as the DLL will load into the game BEFORE any mods are added. 

 

I have no idea about mipmaps.

[Kelmych]

UIO only affects a few of the UI mods, and map mods like Better Map Detail Map and Icons are not among them (UIO doesn't affect map_menu.xml). The UI mods that don't depend upon UIO are installed after UIO so that any problems with UIO and menus can be resolved before the other UI mods are installed. The installation (left pane) order of UIO matters because of the menus in the mod; the order of these do matter.

 

As GrantSP mentions it doesn't have a plugin. The load (plugin) order of the UI mods affected by UIO also matters.

 

Mipmaps matter for most textures but not a lot for textures used for interface screens. Mipmaps in a texture file (*.dds) used for interface screens like the Pipboy should not have any noticeable effect on the interface menus.

 

The fomod installer in Better Map Detail Map and Icons changes the map_menu.xml file based on the pipboy version it detects. It doesn't look like it uses this information to selectively install install the interface files (it installs all of them, but they don't get used unless the associated pipboy mod is active).

 

If useful I'll provide more detail on what UIO does. Most users don't care a lot about how it works, they care only that it does work.

[GrantSP]

...

 

The fomod installer in Better Map Detail Map and Icons changes the map_menu.xml file based on the pipboy version it detects. It doesn't look like it uses this information to selectively install install the interface files (it installs all of them, but they don't get used unless the associated pipboy mod is active)...

That's not what I'm seeing. Only one menu file is installed and I haven't yet checked which version it is for.

Also that note about changing the installer to external and then back again may be for an outdated fomod installer in MO. As noted I see no difference in the result whatsoever.

[Kelmych]

When I was editing my response the word texture got lost. I meant to say that the interface texture files were installed for all three pipboy possibilities, as shown in the screenshot from Gazda. Only one map_menu.xml gets installed, and it is edited by the fomod.

[Gazda]

Thanks for responding guys. I know you get lots of questions and that many of them are redundant, but UI mods, menus...xml files are not something that I'm too familiar with.
 

UIO only affects a few of the UI mods, and map mods like Better Map Detail Map and Icons are not among them (UIO doesn't affect map_menu.xml). The UI mods that don't depend upon UIO are installed after UIO so that any problems with UIO and menus can be resolved before the other UI mods are installed. The installation (left pane) order of UIO matters because of the menus in the mod; the order of these do matter.

 

As GrantSP mentions it doesn't have a plugin. The load (plugin) order of the UI mods affected by UIO also matters.

 

Mipmaps matter for most textures but not a lot for textures used for interface screens. Mipmaps in a texture file (*.dds) used for interface screens like the Pipboy should not have any noticeable effect on the interface menus.

 

The fomod installer in Better Map Detail Map and Icons changes the map_menu.xml file based on the pipboy version it detects. It doesn't look like it uses this information to selectively install install the interface files (it installs all of them, but they don't get used unless the associated pipboy mod is active).

 

If useful I'll provide more detail on what UIO does. Most users don't care a lot about how it works, they care only that it does work.

That's what I meant, the left pane / installation order. Ok, so just to confirm, when it comes to UIO, the installation order does matter, regardless of whether I install an ESPless mod or not?

 

I still don't fully understand how come that UIO doesn't affect map_menu.xml when you can find one "map_menu.xml" inside its folders: UIO - User Interface Organizer\uio\private\menus\main\map_menu.xml? It would make sense that it does because if you check UIO description page, it says:

 

User Interface Organizer, or UIO, is an FOSE-powered plugin that is designed to manage and maintain all UI/HUD extensions added to the game by various mods.

Isn't map_menu.xml a UI/HUD extension?

 

Great to hear about mipmaps. I was already going nuts because I don't like to mess with UI textures...alpha channels...etc.

 

That's not what I'm seeing. Only one menu file is installed and I haven't yet checked which version it is for.

Also that note about changing the installer to external and then back again may be for an outdated fomod installer in MO. As noted I see no difference in the result whatsoever.

Regarding the map_menu.xml file I did several tests with different Pipboy mods (Readius, 2500, 3000-fixed) activated and the installer detected them just fine, and installed the correct .xml file, so I was wrong about it not working correctly. I compared the installed ones with the ones from the archive and everything's fine. Sorry about that. Those 3 installed Pipboy folders in textures folder got me thinking that there might be a problem with the whole installation procedure.

 

There's only one "conflicting" file that all Pipboy versions in this archive have and that's screenglare.dds texture file found in textures\clean_pipboy_screen\ folder. It doesn't matter which Pipboy mod is actually installed, when you finish installing Better map mod you always get all three Pipboy versions with 3 separate screenglare.dds files. CRCs are same so its the same texture, nothing to worry about.

 

Sorry about the confusion guys!

Edited May 2, 2016 by Gazda

[Kelmych]

UIO works with two sets of menu folders:

• It works with mods that have xml files in menus\prefabs\ . The files in this folder need to have pointers added in menus\main\hud_main_menu.xml so they show up in the pipboy. UIO adds these.
• It uses menus\main\hud_main_menu.xml. It takes the winning version of this file (the only one it sees since the other versions are overwritten) and adds the pointers mentioned above.

 

UIO ignores all other menu files such as map_menu.xml

 

As GrantSP mentions, the guide needs to be changed a little since MO no longer has the installation problems it used to have.

[Gazda]

I see. That's why the UIO.log shows "Processing file: menus\main\map_menu.xml * File does not require any patching". It was bugging the hell out of me why is that, when I actually have one of those files in another UI/HUD mod. It doesn't even make a difference if you have a UI/HUD mod that comes with an ESP plugin and an xml file, it will always log that message. :O_o: Ah, well...nevermind, as long as it works - and it is working - I'm fine with whatever   

 

Kelmych, GrantSP, thank you for your patience and help, that was some great info!