Problems with Fallout2 Mods and patch000.dat

R

Ragfox

First time out of the vault
EDIT:06/29

a) I've been working with patch000.dat and I've noticed that some modded files, compressed in "home-made" patch000.dats, are NOT recognized by fallout2.exe. I can't say why this happens.
I've tried to create one of this patch files including all "/data/text/english/game" <name>.msgs, but fallout recognized only a small portion of them (e.g. MISC.msg) and ingnored the rest (e.g. LSGAME.msg). Then I've added, to the same file, some "data/art/inteface" <name>.FRMs and... surprise! Fallout2 not only ignores these files, but also doesn't recognize the "/data/text/english/game" .msgs that were working before.
Maybe there's a problem with the size of the file, with the compression method, or the folder tree inside patch000.dat; I don't know...
This problem doesn't occour if you compress in patch000.dat only the modified version of the files included in the original patch file (e.g. MISC.msg, NCFTULLY.MSG). The rest of the files should be put (uncompressed) inside data/<correct folder> to make them work correctly.

b) If you mod a file that is included in patch000.dat, you MUST put it inside your .dat file. In fact it seems that fallout2 uses the files in this order: 1. those compressed in patch000.dat; 2. those uncompressed in /data folders; 3. master.dat files.

c) (Added by Corpse; not tested by Ragfox) Also I found extracting prototypes to the data/proto folder can cause problems in the game too; the reason for this is the game tries to write temp files to these folders and if the files are present with the read-only attribute set, those temp files don't get written.
I have experienced this problem while using both Dat Explorer and Datman, so from now on I stick to making small 1mb dats using either utility and they seem to work fine.

--
Ragfox
 
Yep. Now I know why my 1.04 patch doesn't work. Will have to make the new version without compressing everything into the damn file.
 
jargo said:
And what program do you use to commpres files to DAT?
Click to expand...

DAT explorer

Ah, I almost forgot...
If you mod a file that is included in patch000.dat, you MUST put it inside your .dat file. In fact it seems that fallout2 uses the files in this order: 1. those compressed in patch000.dat; 2. those uncompressed in /data folders; 3. master.dat files.
 
I find you get this problem if you compress too many files into the dat, which is why I would opt for spanning all the mod into several small dat files and running them with FAME.

Also I found extracting prototypes to the data/proto folder can cause problems in the game too; the reason for this is the game tries to write temp files to these folders and if the files are present with the read-only attribute set, those temp files don't get written.

I have experienced this problem while using both Dat Explorer and Datman, so from now on I stick to making small 1mb dats using either utility and they seem to work fine.
 
My experience with this was that DATexplorer was to blame for the half- or not-reading of the files. When I tried to compress a file with DATexplorer, it read only parts of it, but DATman DATcreator (or whatever it's called) worked fine. So I think is DATexplorer's fault.
 
Yes i think that DATxplorer is not a wery good tool.
:roll:
I use now datman and have no problem with *.dat files.
 
jargo said:
Yes i think that DATxplorer is not a wery good tool.
:roll:
I use now datman and have no problem with *.dat files.
Click to expand...

DATexplorer IS a good tool, but only for unpacking. It's much faster and better that DATman, so for me it's more like DATextractor.
 
I know it's been a long while since this thread was updated, so what I am posting may be old news. But since it's not here...

If you're having trouble getting the game to read any of your modded files, the following steps always worked for me, assuming you have Fallout 2 v1.02 installed:

1) In the main Fallout 2 install directory, create a directory named "Temp" (or whatever other name that suits your fancy).

2) Use a DAT extractor utility to extract all the Patch000.dat files to the "Temp" directory.

2) Rename Patch000.dat to Patch000.bak, or move it to some other place.

3) Rename "Temp" to "Patch000.dat"

4) Place all your modded files under the proper subdirectory in the Patch000.dat directory. If Windows asks you whether you want to overwrite the file, then the file you're replacing has been patched, so you better make sure your changes and the patch's change are all accounted for.

5) For example, you want to put in your modded dcTyler.int script? Place it under <your_fallout_install_dir>\Patch000.dat\scripts\, overwriting the existing file there. If you need to restore a file your overwrote, just get it back from the Patch000.bak file again.

And that's it! Go nuts. :)

-- Haenlomal
 
Ok, I talked to Den Baster and here is what he said about packing the Patch000.dat.

All the files need to be in alpha-numeric order including all folders in the dat; the best way to do this is use DATExplorer to create a new dat file with all the default folders. If you click on the "Detail View" button you should be able to see the file offset on the last column; this makes it easier to keep track and ensure all the files are placed in order.
Next add the files one by one in alpha-numeric order (real pain in the arse) starting with first folder, don't add multiple files or folders as I find they don't get packed in the correct order rendering the patch unusable; when you get to the end of a folder continue on to the next and so on (ie A/a_z B/a_z)and keep monitoring the file offsets in case you make a mistake.
To make it simpler I recommend you don't worry about packing frms, sounds, scripts, or messages, as they can be placed in the temp (data/) folders and don't seem to create any problems; the only temp files that get written by the engine during gameplay are prototypes of party members including the car trunk and (not 100% sure) maps so I only worry about packing maps and prototypes keeping the dat file as small as possible.

Another thing I don't recommend packing on dat files is lst (list) files, that way you can keep the mod flexible for compatibility with other mods.
 
I still think the best way is to leave the Patch000.dat unpacked, like in the method I described two posts ago. MODs are easy to implement then...just copy stuff over to the appropriate Patch000.dat subfolder!

However, I forgot to mention something in my last post. You have to make sure that when you start playing, you set the permissions on the Patch000.dat folder to "deny write" to everyone (NOT just "read-only"), or else the game starts writing things to the Patch000.dat folder....not a good thing. :) For details on how to set "deny write", consult the Windoze help files.

Cheers,

Haenlomal
 
No patch000.dat file?!?!

To install a mod i need to replace patch000.dat file.. But my problem is that the file is missing! Anyone who might tried the same? It should be situated in fallout2/data folder shouldnt it?
 
No, this file should be in the Fallout2\ folder.

But I don't get it, if you want to install a mod that is based on the patch000.dat file just place it there.
 
And if you want to run Modrunner then change name of some mod dat file to patch000.dat and place it in main FO2 folder.
 
in 1.03 and higher, you need to delete patch000.dat. How to make modrunner work then? Should I make a dummy patch000.dat with datman and dat-fixer? or is there another way?
 
need help from you guys - running mods via MODRUNNER

hi all.
i'm just trying to use (45.APC weapons mode for Fallout2)- never tried to install any other mod before. so as they say in the README file- i first copied all the DATA.zip file content into FALLOUT2\DATA folder. i run the game (loaded saved game, since if i'll start it all over it will take lot of time until i'll get to see some guns, so i couldn't tell if the MOD is working or not!). well, no change. still have that stupid 10mm pistol.

next i got MODRUNNER and put it in my FALLOUT2 folder. then ipassed ALL the mod file into ther and ran morunner. it recognise all the file, but when i press "run game" i get an error:

"CANNOT SAVE PATCH 000.DAT"

what causing this? what can i do to fix it?

thanks in advanced

John
 
:? I can relate to ALL these problems. I thought it would be a good idea to combine the the Official 1.02 patch, the Unofficial 1.05 patch, Saraph's Patch and Killpaps Patch into one which would discard all the redundant features they had while at the same time maintaining the unique fixes offered by each one. EVERY time I have tried to pack things into a .dat format - sometimes certain things worked, sometimes they don't. The testing time I have gone through is enourmous, only to find that one thing or another does NOT work for unknown reasons.

Example: Probably one of the more famous things is the "changing appearance" mods (used in 1.05 and in the B-Team mod) to change a NPC's appearance when switching armor. No one (to my knowledge) has ever gotten it to work in 1.05. Strangely the B-Team mod will work (used a hex editor to compare files....they match!!!), but only if it is used with Fame or Modrunner. Unzipping the files (B-Team mod) and trying to use them in the dat folder doesn't work!! regardless of whether they are set to "read only" or not. This is extremely frustrating and one can only wonder why. Since this is an obvious visual thing, I can only wonder what else is NOT functioning properly.
 
Re: need help from you guys - running mods via MODRUNNER

ryefield said:
hi all.


next i got MODRUNNER and put it in my FALLOUT2 folder. then ipassed ALL the mod file into ther and ran morunner. it recognise all the file, but when i press "run game" i get an error:

"CANNOT SAVE PATCH 000.DAT"

what causing this? what can i do to fix it?

thanks in advanced

John
Click to expand...

I need help in this as well. :x
 
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