Patching, how to ?

I thought we need to explain how does patching works in Bloodlines (and in general), because so many questions are asked..


Because of how Bloodlines work, you can usually only install one mod/patch on a game, and here is why :
When Zer0 or Childe or BG or Wesp change a file to correct it (or add content) and put it back in the game, the new file overwrites the old one. They don't fusion. This is why when one install various mods, nothing works and there are many glitches, because if you install a mod that changes the dialogues (I don't know, like to translate them), then a mod that adds quests and changes again some of these dialogues, well you'll have contradictions to the game and it'll divide itself by 0. Which is bad.
Before modding, our pals modders usually install Bloodlines, then Wesp's Unofficial basic patch (as it corrects bugs), and they work on these files (that's why you can read "CE is built upon this version of UP" and so).
For Clan quest Mod, what BG does is that he built his took some of CE's features and built his mod upon it (his installer actually is various CQM built upon various installations, and when one picks different features, it install one or the other mod, but it can't install both because those two other do not cohabit well together, or plainly contradict each other)

Most Mods do not work with each other for this reason. Merging mods together is a pain in the ass, because each line of code has to be seen, copied, pasted, and checked twice. Seriously. And I've only tried to merge dialogues, so I won't even think about PYHTON ! Ahhh !


How come some mods work with each other then ? Well, because not all mods touch all files. So, let's say, you have this mod that changes some NPC Skins, and a mod that just translates the dialogues, then it can work. But if both mods touches, pokes, or even breathes at one same file, then it's catastrophic chaos. And modders LOVE to poke at files and giggle, don't you ?


Thank god, thanks to this overwriting stuff, once you installed Bloodlines, OP.12, and some UP, most of the time you can install CE or TFN over it without too much trouble. It's useless, however, to install any patch UNDER TFN, because TFN already includes this content. So you're overwriting original files by OP files who'll be overwritten again by TFN files (who already include OP files). Simplify the steps, so get rid of the second one, man !
It's like installing OP on the Steam version of Bloodlines (because Steam ALREADY includes OP).



Then again, Zer0 and Childe have written something that explain how to install their mods :
RTFM before asking questions

Good explanation, Claudia!

I'd like to add some facts for CE and TFN:
First:
Starting with version 1.3, CE is built on the plus version of Wesps patches, and usually will be updated to the current version before a new release. Of course some features of the patch have to be removed, because they don't fit CE, or I use a different approach for solving the problem than Wesp does.
TFN is built on the base version of UP6.5, and doesn't update. What we do, however, is check for important bugfixes, and add them to TFN as well.

Second:
What you can usually add without risk are npc skins. For CE, you also can use downloaded PC skins if they don't change the clandoc000.txt file. You can experience problems for some clans, where CE uses other than vanilla models, like e.g. the female Brujah.
For changing pc skins in TFN, you must know what you are doing, because of the changed clans.

Third:
Contrary to most other mods, you cannot use music changing mods along with either CE or TFN, as both have their own changes in the music system. So either it won't have any effect at all, or it will botch the mod.

Last but not least, I'd like to warn you better not to use the so called compilation mods you can find on the web. Combining different mods will lead to problems due to different uses of the same items, changed items, etc. And the compiler usually doesn't know the mods good enough to ensure that the combining doesn't add new bugs. Plus, the compiler usually makes changes of his own. That's the reason why I don't support any of these compilations, except for ClanQuest along with CE.

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Thanks Childe, I just want to avoid you guys to bother with some questions even I can answer, so you can use your time to better things (like.. bugs and python). Oh, you must tell me if I'm being too much of a hassle