trouble getting modded decks to appear in game [SOLVED]

[nivmizzet1]

I made my first 2014 deck today using Riiak's deck builder. My deck only uses cards from the core game + expansion, which I have the files for; however, after placing my deck wad in the magic directory the deck is refusing to appear in game. Furthermore, I have installed TheFiremind's mod, and decks from that are working fine. Here is the text file generated by Riiak's builder for my deck (English only):

Data_Decks_100000_BETTER_ZOMBIES

---===English===---
This deck and readme was created using Riiak Shi Nal's DotP 2014 Deck Builder.
This readme will list the name of the deck in this language as well as a full
listing of all cards in the deck, regular unlocks (if any), promo unlocks (if
any), and a list of wads that this deck depends on to function properly.

If you would like to contribute to the modding community or to the development
of the deck builder then please direct your browser to:
viewforum.php?f=62

This is the complete card listing for the deck:
4x - Black Cat (BLACK_CAT_337786)
4x - Butcher Ghoul (BUTCHER_GHOUL_337736)
2x - Damnation (DAMNATION_369868)
3x - Death Baron (DEATH_BARON_365865)
1x - Diregraf Ghoul (DIREGRAF_GHOUL_338099)
1x - Doom Blade (DOOM_BLADE_359682)
4x - Fleshbag Marauder (FLESHBAG_MARAUDER_337762)
4x - Geralf’s Messenger (GERALFS_MESSENGER_348993)
4x - Gravecrawler (GRAVECRAWLER_337788)
4x - Innocent Blood (INNOCENT_BLOOD_348936)
1x - Last Gasp (LAST_GASP_338103)
1x - Lord of the Undead (LORD_OF_THE_UNDEAD_348795)
2x - Quest for the Gravelord (QUEST_FOR_THE_GRAVELORD_348884)
3x - Sign in Blood (SIGN_IN_BLOOD_349842)

This Wad depends on these wads to be installed for the cards used in this deck:
DATA_DECKS_D14
DATA_DECKS_E14

Any help sorting out this dilemma would be appreciated.

[RiiakShiNal]

You probably forgot to place the Content Pack Enabling WAD into the game directory as well. Given the name of your deck wad the Content Pack Enabler (CPE) should be named:
Data_DLC_1000_Content_Pack_Enabler.wad

[MasterXploder7]

viewtopic.php?f=99&t=10896

this is rick's DLL, download it and put it into the same place in your game folder that the game is then restart the game, if you search that folder you should be able to find you deck's WAD by tpying 1 word of its name, i hope this helps

also if that doesnt work click deck information in the deck builder and the very top thing should say "always available"

if that doesnt work, click tools: options: and then look for the ID block and change it. then remake the deck.

if none of these work then i suggest talking to The Firemind or Riiak

[nivmizzet1]

http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=10896

this is rick's DLL, download it and put it into the same place in your game folder that the game is then restart the game, if you search that folder you should be able to find you deck's WAD by tpying 1 word of its name, i hope this helps

also if that doesnt work click deck information in the deck builder and the very top thing should say "always available"

if that doesnt work, click tools: options: and then look for the ID block and change it. then remake the deck.

if none of these work then i suggest talking to The Firemind or Riiak

I've added that already, and done the other things, but thanks for the suggestions. I'm pretty sure Riiak has hit the nail on the head though.

[nivmizzet1]

You probably forgot to place the Content Pack Enabling WAD into the game directory as well. Given the name of your deck wad the Content Pack Enabler (CPE) should be named:
Data_DLC_1000_Content_Pack_Enabler.wad

Ah right, that's probably it. I read something about content pack enabling WADs, but I didn't fully understand. Is there somewhere I can go to read more about CPEs. I'm new to 2014 modding, and I don't remember needing them for 2013. Thanks!

[nivmizzet1]

I see what happened now, why the content pack enabler didn't go to the directory. It's not a problem with the deck builder (not that I was ever suggesting it was, but you (Riiak) may have been wondering why this happened). It's fixed now. Thanks again!

[RiiakShiNal]

Is there somewhere I can go to read more about CPEs. I'm new to 2014 modding, and I don't remember needing them for 2013. Thanks!

The CPE is basically a WAD with a bit of XML in its header to allow custom Content Packs to be "enabled" inside the game. These were not needed for DotP 2013 because DotP 2013 didn't have this problem. Content Pack 0 is always enabled (required to play base game) so in DotP 2013 all modded decks used Content Pack 0 (CP0). Official expansions and deck packs use other Content Packs (E14=CP1, F14_PACK1=CP2, F14_PACK2=CP3, F14_PACK3=CP4) and links those Content Packs to Steam IDs which only become available to players if they have purchased that ID for their account.

DotP 2014 has a problem where if you have more than 10 decks that are "Always Available" and in Content Pack 0 the game will crash. To get around the problem modders use custom Content Packs for their decks (the Deck Builder will use the content pack number that you have set for your ID block, by default 1000, though it is highly recommended to change that to something unique). The XML required to enable a custom Content Pack is relatively simple and goes in the WAD header:

Code: Select all

   <CONTENTPACK UID="1000">
      <PD_SECTION>
         <APP_ID ID="213850" />
      </PD_SECTION>
      <CONTENTFLAGS>
         <AVATAR_CONTENT />
         <DECK_CONTENT />
         <GLOSSARY_CONTENT />
         <UNLOCK_CONTENT />
      </CONTENTFLAGS>
   </CONTENTPACK>

This XML code (discovered by Rick aka Gibbed) essentially links a Content Pack (in this case UID="1000") to a Steam ID (in this case ID="213850") and sets what this Content Pack contains (Avatars, Decks, Glossary entries, Unlocks, etc...). By setting the Steam ID that the Content Pack is linked to to one that we know the user will have (213850 is the Steam ID for the base game) we ensure that the game will "enable" the content in the Content Pack automatically without the user needing to do anything else (in other words the Decks appear in game).

Unfortunately, this XML is only recognized in WADs that start with DATA_DLC_ not WADs that start with DATA_DECKS_. Additionally, you don't want to have more than 1 copy of the enabling XML code as any deck using that Content Pack will show up in game once for each copy of the enabling code. So if you have 5 decks using Content Pack 1000 and each has its own copy of the enabling code then in game you will see 25 decks (5 copies of each of the 5 decks) that are in Content Pack 1000.

The Deck Builder's solution to this problem is to create a separate specifically named WAD with the CPE code for a particular Content Pack. This way even if you create 5 decks using Content Pack 1000 the Deck Builder will create a single WAD named Data_DLC_1000_Content_Pack_Enabler.wad (technically it re-creates the WAD every time you export a deck in that Content Pack overwriting the old one if it exists). This way there will only be one copy of the enabling XML code for Content Pack 1000, if you switch to Content Pack 4567 then export a deck using that Content Pack, the Deck Builder will create a CPE named Data_DLC_4567_Content_Pack_Enabler.wad. Since the Deck Builder uses the ID Block for the Content Pack knowing which deck requires which CPE is easy as you look at the first few numbers of the deck. By default the Deck Builder uses 2 digits for the Deck Number and prefixes it with the ID Block number, so you can usually take the Deck's ID (included in the deck WAD's file name) drop the last 2 digits and that is the Content Pack used. In your case you have "Data_Decks_100000_BETTER_ZOMBIES" so we take 100000 drop the last two digits to get 1000 which is most likely the Content Pack you are using (it looks like you are using the default settings in the Deck Builder).

Some modders will include the CPE XML for their decks in their core WAD (this reduces the required number of WADs by one and ensures if they have the cards, they have the CPE). Modders who primarily use my Deck Builder tend to just include the CPE that the Deck Builder creates as it means less work for them or they don't have a core WAD to include it in. Either way is perfectly acceptable and works fine.

You can usually tell if you are missing a CPE if you have some mods installed and can see those decks with no problem, but other decks are not showing up, and the game is not crashing. Those other decks are most likely using a Content Pack that has not been "enabled" which is why they don't show up. There are other possibilities (mangled WAD header, invalid WAD structure, XML syntax error, XML in the wrong place, etc...), but a missing CPE is usually the most common.

I see what happened now, why the content pack enabler didn't go to the directory. It's not a problem with the deck builder (not that I was ever suggesting it was, but you (Riiak) may have been wondering why this happened). It's fixed now. Thanks again!

I just figured that you had the Deck Builder pointing to a different Game directory (some people keep multiple directories, 1 modded, 1 unmodded, 1 for testing, etc...). I knew you had exported because you had a Readme (only generated on export and at the same time and place as the Deck WAD and CPE) and that it wasn't exporting to the game directory you were using because you stated that you moved the Deck WAD to the game directory.

[nivmizzet1]

Is there somewhere I can go to read more about CPEs. I'm new to 2014 modding, and I don't remember needing them for 2013. Thanks!

The CPE is basically a WAD with a bit of XML in its header to allow custom Content Packs to be "enabled" inside the game. These were not needed for DotP 2013 because DotP 2013 didn't have this problem. Content Pack 0 is always enabled (required to play base game) so in DotP 2013 all modded decks used Content Pack 0 (CP0). Official expansions and deck packs use other Content Packs (E14=CP1, F14_PACK1=CP2, F14_PACK2=CP3, F14_PACK3=CP4) and links those Content Packs to Steam IDs which only become available to players if they have purchased that ID for their account.

DotP 2014 has a problem where if you have more than 10 decks that are "Always Available" and in Content Pack 0 the game will crash. To get around the problem modders use custom Content Packs for their decks (the Deck Builder will use the content pack number that you have set for your ID block, by default 1000, though it is highly recommended to change that to something unique). The XML required to enable a custom Content Pack is relatively simple and goes in the WAD header:

Code: Select all

   <CONTENTPACK UID="1000">
      <PD_SECTION>
         <APP_ID ID="213850" />
      </PD_SECTION>
      <CONTENTFLAGS>
         <AVATAR_CONTENT />
         <DECK_CONTENT />
         <GLOSSARY_CONTENT />
         <UNLOCK_CONTENT />
      </CONTENTFLAGS>
   </CONTENTPACK>

This XML code (discovered by Rick aka Gibbed) essentially links a Content Pack (in this case UID="1000") to a Steam ID (in this case ID="213850") and sets what this Content Pack contains (Avatars, Decks, Glossary entries, Unlocks, etc...). By setting the Steam ID that the Content Pack is linked to to one that we know the user will have (213850 is the Steam ID for the base game) we ensure that the game will "enable" the content in the Content Pack automatically without the user needing to do anything else (in other words the Decks appear in game).

Unfortunately, this XML is only recognized in WADs that start with DATA_DLC_ not WADs that start with DATA_DECKS_. Additionally, you don't want to have more than 1 copy of the enabling XML code as any deck using that Content Pack will show up in game once for each copy of the enabling code. So if you have 5 decks using Content Pack 1000 and each has its own copy of the enabling code then in game you will see 25 decks (5 copies of each of the 5 decks) that are in Content Pack 1000.

The Deck Builder's solution to this problem is to create a separate specifically named WAD with the CPE code for a particular Content Pack. This way even if you create 5 decks using Content Pack 1000 the Deck Builder will create a single WAD named Data_DLC_1000_Content_Pack_Enabler.wad (technically it re-creates the WAD every time you export a deck in that Content Pack overwriting the old one if it exists). This way there will only be one copy of the enabling XML code for Content Pack 1000, if you switch to Content Pack 4567 then export a deck using that Content Pack, the Deck Builder will create a CPE named Data_DLC_4567_Content_Pack_Enabler.wad. Since the Deck Builder uses the ID Block for the Content Pack knowing which deck requires which CPE is easy as you look at the first few numbers of the deck. By default the Deck Builder uses 2 digits for the Deck Number and prefixes it with the ID Block number, so you can usually take the Deck's ID (included in the deck WAD's file name) drop the last 2 digits and that is the Content Pack used. In your case you have "Data_Decks_100000_BETTER_ZOMBIES" so we take 100000 drop the last two digits to get 1000 which is most likely the Content Pack you are using (it looks like you are using the default settings in the Deck Builder).

Some modders will include the CPE XML for their decks in their core WAD (this reduces the required number of WADs by one and ensures if they have the cards, they have the CPE). Modders who primarily use my Deck Builder tend to just include the CPE that the Deck Builder creates as it means less work for them or they don't have a core WAD to include it in. Either way is perfectly acceptable and works fine.

You can usually tell if you are missing a CPE if you have some mods installed and can see those decks with no problem, but other decks are not showing up, and the game is not crashing. Those other decks are most likely using a Content Pack that has not been "enabled" which is why they don't show up. There are other possibilities (mangled WAD header, invalid WAD structure, XML syntax error, XML in the wrong place, etc...), but a missing CPE is usually the most common.

That is some clever stuff. I'm in awe! I guess I should be thanking you and Rick for developing these tools and such for us casual modders.

I see what happened now, why the content pack enabler didn't go to the directory. It's not a problem with the deck builder (not that I was ever suggesting it was, but you (Riiak) may have been wondering why this happened). It's fixed now. Thanks again!

I just figured that you had the Deck Builder pointing to a different Game directory (some people keep multiple directories, 1 modded, 1 unmodded, 1 for testing, etc...). I knew you had exported because you had a Readme (only generated on export and at the same time and place as the Deck WAD and CPE) and that it wasn't exporting to the game directory you were using because you stated that you moved the Deck WAD to the game directory.

I see your deductive reasoning is finely tuned; great deduction! I guess that kind of thinking is a necessity in programming.

[RiiakShiNal]

I see your deductive reasoning is finely tuned; great deduction! I guess that kind of thinking is a necessity in programming.

No, that kind of thinking isn't really necessary for programming (it can help though), but it is necessary for things like:

• Customer/Tech Support (Users of my mods/tools can be considered my customers)
• Remote Troubleshooting (trying to figure out problems from descriptions, verbal or written, when you can't see the screen)
• QA/Regular Testing (looking for bugs both visible and hidden)

It comes with time, information, experience, and attention to detail. Some descriptions are virtually impossible to figure out though. For example when someone says "It doesn't work", it can mean any of about 10,000 different things none of which can be eliminated because they haven't really told you anything, for all we know they could be trying to use a mod without the game.