Mac Weidu Launcher - easy mod installation on macOS

[Guest jw1234]

14 minutes ago, subtledoctor said:

I thought we had evaded the app translocation crap...? 

I don't know what, if anything to do about that. (Not for nothing, I have so far refused to "upgrade" to Catalina.)  But I did find this very old advice on the interweb:

So, after downloading and unzipping the app, try manually moving the app around in the Finder and finally depositing it in your game folder.  Then see if it works.  That's a real shot in the dark, but it's all I have at the moment.

This one was just my fault. I missed the sentence from your first post in this thread, about running it from the game directory. Once I copied it into there, it worked.

Thank you!

[subtledoctor]

Oh, good. *Whew!* Dealing with Apple’s locked down environment is getting more and more annoying. 

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for making this super-easy-to-use tool. I have no experience modding yet getting the application to work was trivially easy. It's so easy to install mods now!

Quick question about mods: you have clearly made many yourself (on Mac, I presume); how are you converting the file (.txt, maybe?) to a .tp2 file? I've tried to just manually change a simple item mod I attempted to create from a .txt to a .tp2 but that obviously doesn't work. Do you have any tips?

Thanks again.

[haze]

@subtledoctor I have been using this "app" for about as long as it has been around. It is a huge lifesaver on Mac. I have been running various versions of BG on Mac since the original, wine versions after the move to Intel/OSX, EE, and all versions in between. Installing Mods on OSX used to be such a pain having run CHMOD on each mod file ...

Anyhow, I am doing a new install (first in a year or so). EET didn't work, but did with the .command file. No biggie. My question is about install order. I have a text file I keep based of BWP and it looks like the current version has the mods listed in install order, is this correct? It mostly matches my text file, so I assume so. I just want to make sure. I had a small glitch in my install and wasn't sure if it was related to Mod order. My game freezes on rest if a character needs healing and I have a cleric in the party. Seems from a couple of posts on Beamdog forums it has something to do with spells from mods. I thought maybe it was an install order issue.

Anyhow, thanks for keeping this app updated. It's a life saver.

[subtledoctor]

The app has an install order built-in which I think is pretty good; if people find it can be improved, it can be amended. The app grabs the latest install order from its github source every time you run it, so there is no need to update the app itself when the install order is modified. 

The crash/freeze-on resting thing is because one of your characters has a spell or ability memorized with more than 255 effects. The solution is simple, just put those 256+ effects into a subspell and cast it with opcode 146 in the memorized spell. All that is needed is to discover which spell has too many effects. If you have a savegame from right before you rest, post it here and we can check it out. 

[Jarno Mikkola]

On 8/8/2020 at 11:31 PM, Guest guest said:

how are you converting the file (.txt, maybe?) to a .tp2 file? I've tried to just manually change a simple item mod I attempted to create from a .txt to a .tp2 but that obviously doesn't work. Do you have any tips?

On a PC, you just open the .txt file with Notepad and use "Save As" and edit the extension to be the setup-x.tp2, and as it's ran with the setup-x.exe -file that is originally the weidu.exe just renamed to account the .tp2 files name. For the mod to be effective, it of course needs code that works.

[subtledoctor]

On 8/8/2020 at 4:31 PM, Guest guest said:

Quick question about mods: you have clearly made many yourself (on Mac, I presume); how are you converting the file (.txt, maybe?) to a .tp2 file? I've tried to just manually change a simple item mod I attempted to create from a .txt to a .tp2 but that obviously doesn't work

Sorry, missed this. .tp2 files are in fact just text files with the extension changed. Naming matters, as Jarno said. If you name it “this_mod.tp2”, then put it inside a folder named “this_mod.” Then you can install it on a Mac with the MWL. For Windows compatibility, grab the setup-____.exe file from any recent mod and rename it “setup-this_mod.exe.” 

That’s it. With those three things - .tp2 file, mod folder, and .exe file - you’ve got a mod. (What you do in the .tp2 file, of course, is another story.)

[haze]

20 hours ago, subtledoctor said:

The app has an install order built-in which I think is pretty good; if people find it can be improved, it can be amended. The app grabs the latest install order from its github source every time you run it, so there is no need to update the app itself when the install order is modified. 

The crash/freeze-on resting thing is because one of your characters has a spell or ability memorized with more than 255 effects. The solution is simple, just put those 256+ effects into a subspell and cast it with opcode 146 in the memorized spell. All that is needed is to discover which spell has too many effects. If you have a savegame from right before you rest, post it here and we can check it out. 

I seemed to have fixed it with a fresh install. If their is another glitch with rest, I might pop my head back in here and ask for help. Thanks.

[haze]

@subtledoctor looks like I spoke too soon. I had to start a new game after re-installing everything. Somethings weren't playing nice with the saved games like the special ability from your NPC EE mod to elect kits. It wasn't there, but was if I started a new game. Anyhow I tried to rest for the first time while injured and ... freeze. Seems you have an idea what it is, so if you can take a poesy at my saved game file I'd be stoked. Thanks a lot.

SAVED GAME FILE

[subtledoctor]

8 minutes ago, haze said:

Somethings weren't playing nice with the saved games like the special ability from your NPC EE mod to elect kits. It wasn't there, but was if I started a new game

Installing the mod mid-game won't necessarily give that ability to characters you have already met.  Installing mods mid-game is generally something I discourage...

9 minutes ago, haze said:

Anyhow I tried to rest for the first time while injured and ... freeze

Looks like it is probably NPC_EE causing those freezes.  I let too many effects sneak into the kit-change spell.  For now, you can either heal your party before resting, or just use those kit-change abilities (even if you don't want to change kits, I think the current version has a "don't change my kit" option).  Then the kit-change abilities won't be there and you won't have any problems.

Conveniently, I am just now starting to work on an update to NPC_EE!  I'll address this sleep-crash issue while I'm at it.

[haze]

5 hours ago, subtledoctor said:

Installing the mod mid-game won't necessarily give that ability to characters you have already met.  Installing mods mid-game is generally something I discourage...

I don't either. I was just trying to fix the sleep issue thinking it was a MOD conflict. I don't want to have to restart if I didn't have to. I was already a few hours in.

Thanks agin for all the work you do on mods.

[haze]

@subtledoctor for future reference why is stratagems listed twice? Once before EET_End and once after. I assume certain components are supposed to be installed at different times? I know with IR you install the first component first and then others after some other mods, but I am not sure on SCS. Thanks.

[subtledoctor]

57 minutes ago, haze said:

why is stratagems listed twice?

IWD spells in the earlier spot; everything else later. 

I’ve put some thought into having entries specify particular components when the mod is split up like that. But it would be very complex (for me) and I don’t have time to attack it. 

In addition to IR and SCS, Scales of Balance is also split up. There, everything through the Poison Overhaul goes in the early spot, and the Magic Resistance Overhaul goes later. 

[Guest guest]

On 8/13/2020 at 1:03 AM, subtledoctor said:

Sorry, missed this. .tp2 files are in fact just text files with the extension changed. Naming matters, as Jarno said. If you name it “this_mod.tp2”, then put it inside a folder named “this_mod.” Then you can install it on a Mac with the MWL. For Windows compatibility, grab the setup-____.exe file from any recent mod and rename it “setup-this_mod.exe.” 

That’s it. With those three things - .tp2 file, mod folder, and .exe file - you’ve got a mod. (What you do in the .tp2 file, of course, is another story.)

Thanks Jarno & subtledoctor for the tip. I think I've realized where my confusion is. (obviously I am a newbie with mods.) I perhaps incorrectly assumed that I wouldn't need a copy of weidu.exe in my mod folder since Mac_Weidu_launcher_v7 already has an updated version of WeiDu. Although I realize I do need something like a .command or a .exe to execute the .tp2 file, I don't know how I would go about setting that up... how would I go about doing that? Cheers thanks!

[subtledoctor]

2 minutes ago, Guest guest said:

Thanks Jarno & subtledoctor for the tip. I think I've realized where my confusion is. (obviously I am a newbie with mods.) I perhaps incorrectly assumed that I wouldn't need a copy of weidu.exe in my mod folder since Mac_Weidu_launcher_v7 already has an updated version of WeiDu. Although I realize I do need something like a .command or a .exe to execute the .tp2 file, I don't know how I would go about setting that up... how would I go about doing that? Cheers thanks!

The MWL contains Weidu for use on Macs, so to install the mod on a Mac you do not need a Weidu executable.  If you are distributing it for use on Windows as well, then just grab the "setup-[This_Mod].exe" file from any mod - can use one of mine, their Windows Weidu is up-to-date as of this writing - and rename it to "setup-Your_Mod.exe."  Whatever the .tp2 and folder name of your mod is.)