I ran into issues as soon as I started using multiple mods that attempted to change the same items.
Some brief investigation indicated that items aren't merged when loaded, so even if mods try to change different properties of an item, they cannot co-exist.
I have written a small tool that will solve this problem for items.
It is lightly tested, but appears to fix the specific problem I wanted it to, its utility in the general case is yet to be proven.
Consider this tool a proof of concept.
I don't claim this is the best solution to xml conflicts, but it was the easiest to implement, and works without requiring any changes to how the mods are written.
If the approach I am taking in this tool is interesting then I think it can be extended in ways to make it more robust. For instance modders could generate patches themselves that the tool can use, which would allow them to explicitly specify values they rely on, avoiding the default value problem I mentioned above.
The tool could also be expanded to cover data other than Items.
Bannerlord Patch Generator
This script will merge xml changes from a set of mods, generating a new patch mod.
This will allow you to keep changes to items from more than one mod.
For instance if one mod changes the value of an item, and another changes its damage, the generated patch will contain both changes.
Usage
Expect bugs.
Some brief investigation indicated that items aren't merged when loaded, so even if mods try to change different properties of an item, they cannot co-exist.
I have written a small tool that will solve this problem for items.
It is lightly tested, but appears to fix the specific problem I wanted it to, its utility in the general case is yet to be proven.
Consider this tool a proof of concept.
I don't claim this is the best solution to xml conflicts, but it was the easiest to implement, and works without requiring any changes to how the mods are written.
If the approach I am taking in this tool is interesting then I think it can be extended in ways to make it more robust. For instance modders could generate patches themselves that the tool can use, which would allow them to explicitly specify values they rely on, avoiding the default value problem I mentioned above.
The tool could also be expanded to cover data other than Items.
Bannerlord Patch Generator
This script will merge xml changes from a set of mods, generating a new patch mod.
This will allow you to keep changes to items from more than one mod.
For instance if one mod changes the value of an item, and another changes its damage, the generated patch will contain both changes.
Usage
- Make sure you have already setup your mods, enabled and in the correct order
- Close Bannerlord and its launcher
- If you have the Steam installation of Bannerlord (at C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Mount & Blade II Bannerlord) you should be able to just run bl-patch.
If you have another install location you will need to run bl-patch via command line and provide the directory, for example:
bl-patch --base C:\games\BL2
Expect bugs.
