Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 - The Modding Dungeon Divinity - Original Sin 2 - Modding Guides [GUIDE] Loading Third-Party Mods

RATIONALE

Use Case:
You want to add a third-party mod as a dependency, but after extracting the PAK to the game data folder, The Divinity Engine 2 project menu does not show the project.

Use Case:
You want to load a third-party mod to see how things work, but after extracting the PAK to to the game data folder, The Divinity Engine 2 project menu does not show the project.

INSTRUCTIONS

For clarity's sake, Crafting Overhaul is used as the example. These instructions work with any mod.

1. Download Crafting Overhaul through the Steam Workshop.

2. Find the PAK file for that mod in:
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Larian Studios\Divinity Original Sin 2\Mods

3. Use the PAK extractor (source code) to extract the PAK file to:
%PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\Steam\steamapps\common\Divinity Original Sin 2\Data

4. Go to the Data folder, and create a folder named Projects, if it does not exist.

5. Go to the Projects folder, and create a new folder. The folder name should be identical to the mod name. For example, if the mod in the Mods folder is named Crafting_Overhaul_b9a1a072-731f-4ae3-9fba-967b324a5a85, the new folder should be named Crafting_Overhaul.

The final path should look something like:
%PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\Steam\steamapps\common\Divinity Original Sin 2\Data\Projects\Crafting_Overhaul

6. In the Projects\Crafting_Overhaul folder, create a file named meta.lsx with these contents:


Modify the file accordingly:

• - The value of the Module attribute should be identical to the string that follows the Mod name.
• - The value of the Name attribute should be identical to the Mod name without the Module ID string.
• - The value of the UUID attribute should be unique. Create a new UUID here. This UUID distinguishes the project from others available to the editor, and does not appear to be used by the game.

7. Save the file when you're done.

8. Restart or start The Divinity Engine 2. The project should now be available to the editor.

Press Ctrl + P or go to Project > Project Settings > Dependencies tab

That works for projects you created, but not third-party projects.

I updated my post with instructions on how to load third-party mods.

Yeah, I was gonna edit my post saying I don't know how to get the mod to show up in the menu if that's what you meant. In any case thanks for figuring that out and sharing it.

Good guide. Didn't realize third party mods needed a new meta and stuff created, but makes sense.

So, let me get this and please correct me if I am wrong

Suppose I create a project with several basic painted terrains, a collection of ready to use.

I publish them and anyone will be able to use them using this instructions.

Same could happen if I make a project of ready to use prefabs ? ( like several types of shelves with stuff, several small houses, etc )

Maybe. Probably. I don't know anything about assets, but if we can extract assets from the base game data using existing tools, it stands to reason we can extract assets from mod data.

This is no different from mods for any other games.

In the Elder Scrolls modding world, modders who are particularly sensitive about their assets state upfront whether they allow others to use their assets with or without their permission.

Thank you for the guide. I was curious about some mods and their features.

Absolutely. Added the magic word.

Can't access the stats editors tho

is this guide always working ?
I tried to edit two mods, I can see them in the editor menu, but get an error message after choosing one of them "could not load xxxx"

thx

[quote=Fraktal]is this guide always working ?
I tried to edit two mods, I can see them in the editor menu, but get an error message after choosing one of them "could not load xxxx"

thx [/quote]

It kind of works - when extracting the mod you also need to place the folders you extracted in their appropriate locations, being "Mods" and "Public" in the DOS2/DATA/ folder. It's fairly intuitive, just take a look at what exactly you extracted. You still need to do the above steps of making a folder in Projects and creating the meta.lsx file. As for the UUID, it wouldn't work when I created a completely new one, it also worked when I just pasted the big string of letters and numbers (e.g., ccb5167c-6c69-4132-8aa9-1ab6618af35b) there.

Hi Choral thanks, I finally find out the reason it was not working: Strangely the UUID of the mod file name was duplicated. Once I figure this out I just need to delete half of the name and it worked.

I can't seem to get this to work properly. I can get the mod I'm using to open but I can't edit any skills. Does this not work for skill editing? I'm just trying to edit an existing mod so the spells are a little bit different.

Hi EspeonageTieler,

The data loaded by the Stats Editor is in the Editor folder, which is not packed when a mod is published. i.e., it is not possible to load another mod's stats files without asking the author for the editor folder.

how do we make a meta.lsx file? My only option is a notepad file... Please help.

Hi Frizz,

The easiest way to do so is indeed to copy an existing meta.lsx file from one of your projects and edit it in a text editor (such as notepad++, sublime text or just notepad).

How much of the OP is still relevant to the current version of Divinity Engine 2 and the DE version of the game?
I'm using the GOG version and not steam so my paths are different, but I only get could not load Crafting_Overhaul.