A Repository of Knowledge

As is quite obvious from the date of the last post here, I no longer maintain this as an active blog.  That said, it seems traffic to this blog is still high, and new comments come in regularly.  I’m happy that the knowledge I have shared has helped so many people.

Shortly after putting this blog together, I had a series of life changing events; I started a new career and made a big move.  Modding and maintaining this blog just wasn’t an option anymore.  There just wasn’t time, as I threw myself fully into my new career.

These days i’m happily settled into that career, and have more free time on my hands, but instead of modding games, my free time these days is spent on writing my own!  I will be releasing my first iPad game, GraviTile sometime this year, and have several other designs on the books as they say.  I’m sorry for disappearing off the face of the interwebs, but things happened quickly and just steamrolled beyond my control.  Before I knew what had happened, months then years had gone by!

As I said at the start, its interesting to see that this blog is still actively visited, and apparently useful for continuing waves of new Dragon Age modders.  While I will, most likely, no longer be posting new modding content here, I want everyone to rest assured that I will keep this blog running so that the knowledge it contains can remain for future generations of modders to use.

And who knows, maybe I will come back at some point and make a few mods, once GraviTile is out.

Dragon Age 1.02 Patch Possibly Broke Mods

I’ve gotten a few reports from people that my mods are no longer working after patching Dragon Age to v1.02. I personally have not patched yet, as I didn’t see any changes worth patching for, but I will try to find some time to take a look and see what is going on.

DAModder Beta 2.0 Released

DAModder has been released into the wilds — the Korcari Wilds of course.

Closed beta testing has finished, and the core features of the application are pretty darned solid. As a result, DAModder has been officially released into the public. As with many software packages these days, DAModder is released in both a Stable and a Beta version. The beta version will see new features and changes first, and those features will slowly migrate to the stable version as they are tested. It is up to you to decide which version you want to use.

Download – Stable – Beta

The official DAModder page here on Beyond Ferelden has been updated.

DAModder Open Beta

I am happy to announce that DAModder, which has been in development for about 2 weeks and in a closed beta testing, is now officially moving into an Open beta phase. That means anyone who wants to can now download the application and use it, and hopefully help report any issues you find.

While it is very important to be aware that DAModder is not finished, I can say that it is rather solid in its current version. Installation and Uninstallation of most all mod packages is very easy to use.

To get started, please go to this link:
http://damodder.tenderapp.com/faqs/beta-test/getting-started-as-a-beta-tester

You can also join us on the DAModder discussion forum:
http://damodder.tenderapp.com/discussions/beta-1/23-welcome-to-open-beta

The bug tracker is located here:
http://damodder.lighthouseapp.com/projects/42256-damodder/overview

So come on over, grab the latest beta (which at the time of this writing is Beta 1.9.5) and join in the fun! I think you will find DAModder to be a nice easy to use mod manager that is growing very fast, with lots of new features to come.

Introducing DAModder – A Replacement for DAUpdater

DAModder is designed as a full replacement for Bioware’s “DAUpdater” program. DAUpdater is designed for players to easily install Bioware’s DLC content, and is available to be used to install 3rd party modules as well. However, while DAUpdater is a nice little utility, it doesn’t work well enough as a full mod installer. DAUpdater’s main flaw is that it does not have the ability to un-install mods. In addition, as modders have become more experienced and mods have gotten more complex, several additional issues have surfaced. Some mods need to install files into the games main “core” override, yet DAUpdater can’t do this. Also some mods are now actually configurable by the player, but this currently requires hand editing of an INI file.

DAModder was designed to address all these issues in one easy to use, solid installer, designed for both players and builders.

For more information, and to keep up on the project, please see:
The DAModder Page
All Posts Related to DAModder

Looking for Beta Testers for DAModder

I leaked a screen of this new application last night, and progress is proceeding quite nicely. DAModder is designed as a total replacement for Bioware’s DAUpdater program, and will provide complete install and uninstall functionality for mods, as well as the ability to easily configure mods that use DragonAge.ini for settings.

I am looking to start beta testing of DAModder within the next day or two, and currently seeking people interested in testing the application. I am looking for both players and modders to test and give feedback and bug reports. Please be willing to submit bug reports, and update to new versions as I work on issues. Also, testers should be comfortable with Windows File Explorer, navigating directories, and copying & renaming files.

If you are interested in helping beta test DAModder please send an email to:
cases@beyondferelden.fogbugz.com

Tease!

I’m not going to say anything more than this — something fun is coming soon from Beyond Ferelden!

Quick Tip – Organize Your Custom 2DAs

Occasionally, there are little tidbits that I run into that really aren’t extensive enough to justify a full tutorial, but the information is still useful. So I thought i’d occasionally post these little “Quick Tips”.

Some AddIns, and definitely larger campaigns, require the creation of multiple custom 2DA files. When you start having to deal with all these worksheets, it can get a little hectic, but here is a nice tip to keep things organized. When you compile your XLS files, the ExcelProcessor doesn’t care what the filename is, or even what worksheets are in what files. It simply compiles one GDA per Worksheet. Use this to your advantage by placing all the worksheets you need to edit into a single XLS file, and naming each worksheet appropriately.

Free Love! Updated to Version 1.1

Free Love!

Description

This AddIn will trick Allistair into thinking the player is a Female, regardless of actual gender. It will also trick Morrigan into thinking the player is a Male regardless of actual gender. The player’s actual gender does not change, and interaction with all other characetrs in the world remains as normal. They will all see your normal gender. Only Allistair and Morrigan are affected by this spell.

Download: Dragon Age Nexus – DAMods.

History

• v1.1 (11/27/2009) – Fix for some players still being seen as Female to Morrigan.
• v1.0 (11/22/2009) Initial release.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a happy holiday. Not much from me today as I spent it with my family. Some good stuff coming up in the next few days though! I noticed i’d been a little light on the tutorials lately. I was spending more time on my own AddIns, and working on my super secret project as well.

That said however, I have a few fun tutorials planned for next week. So here is a small sneak peak of what is coming.

A look into the string editor
Creating custom abilities
Creating custom Item Properties

So stay tuned for some great stuff. You can also subscribe to the blog in your RSS reader if you use one, or by email via the links in the sidebar.