@everyone DMM and game 2.04: what's going on and what I'm building
Game 2.04 changed how the game checks its own files. The pack index (meta/0.papgt) is now cryptographically signed, and the game refuses to start if that file or any pack index is changed. DMM has always mounted mods by adding its own archives and updating that index, so that route cannot work on 2.04 anymore. This isn't a bug I can patch around, and I'm not going to try to defeat the signature(this is risky and not worth it)
THE NEW ROUTE: MODS SERVED AT RUNTIME
Instead of writing into the game's archives, DMM will ship a small runtime plugin (an ASI). When the game asks for a file, the plugin hands it the modded version straight from a DMM folder. Nothing in the game's archives, index or signed files changes, and the DLC is left completely alone.
WHAT'S ALREADY WORKING IN TESTING
• Replaced text: changed menu strings showed up on the title screen.
• Replaced data table: an edited item table changed an item's sell price in game.
• Brand-new files: a new item icon texture that exists nowhere in the game loaded and displayed correctly.
• With and without the DLC installed: same results on both, zero errors in the game's own log.
• Survives game hotfixes(will need to test on actual bigger patches): the plugin finds what it needs by name, not by fixed addresses.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
• Mod authors: you don't need to rebuild your mods. DMM still does all the merging and building it does today; only the last step (how the result gets to the game) changes.
• Players: you'll need an ASI loader in bin64 (most of you already have one as it's what loads any ASI mod). DMM can install it for you like it has in the ASI tab.
• DLC owners: the DLC ships its own copies of many data tables, including new versions of some base items. DMM is being taught to apply mods to those too, so mods behave the same whether you own the DLC or not.
This is not a simple quick job so be patient please, the more people hound me about it the longer it will take.