Installing Flatout 2 mods and game info.

Sunday, 14 January 2007

Welcome to my tutorial on installing flatout 2 mods, maybe lacking in info but should get you going. Game Folder: Lets start off with your game folder. This is your main folder found in whatever drive you installed game to like this c:\Program Files\Empire Interactive\FlatOut 2 for U.S version or c:\Program Files\Empire Interactive\FlatOut2 for euro version. So flatout 2 or flatout2 is the "game folder" with all game contents. Running Packed or Unpacked: The game installs the game in packed state with fo2a,fo2b and fo2c.bfs files (controlled by a filesystme file that lists these entries :fo2a.bfs,fo2b.bfs,fo2c.bfs for the game to run)(patched game will also create a patch file with the entry of:patch1.bfs inside so it runs the patch when game launched) along with screenshots,savegame folders and a flatout2.exe. So you are running packed. If you run the bfsunpacker/packer and unpack in this order starting with fo2a,b and c bfs files also patch1.bfs if game is patched, and you are now using a data folder instead of .bfs files, you are running unpacked.When running unpacked , the .bfs files are no longer needed and neither is the filesystem or patch file if patch was installed. Currently most mods put out will be packed in .bfs for packed games only. Accept earlier skins and a few mods from the beginning which can easily be packed up easily with the bfs unpacker/packer program. So if you have a data folder you are running unpacked. **When you make a unpacked data folder of game files  you'll want to move it to another folder named fo2unpacked or something, then copy and paste the flatout2.exe , screenshots and savegame folder there as well so you have a full working unpacked game. Installing mods in packed and unpatched game: A downloaded mod will be in a .rar or .zip file that holds the mod.bfs file and usually a readme. You must extract the .bfs file to your packed game folder. At this point the mod is not working. This is becuase in a packed game, the flatout2.exe first looks for filesystem and loads up the entries inside it which is fo2a.bfs,fo2b.bfs and fo2c.bfs (you can see this if you right click and open the filesystem file with wordpad) so to get your mod working you must add the exact name of mod with the .bfs at end in the filesystem file so the game will load it up. So for example here is a camera mod i did (I have fo2camsfinal.bfs mod in my game folder) and how it is listed in the filesystem: fo2a.bfs fo2b.bfs fo2c.bfs fo2camsfinal.bfs So now my fo2camsfinal.bfs mod will be loaded when the game is launched. You always add mod entries under the origianal fo2 a b and c entries since the game loads in that exact order. So if I put fo2camsfinal.bfs at top of list in the filesystem,, my camera mod would be overritten by the stock car camera's , making my mod void and not seen. In the proper order, stock camera's loaded up as usual and my mod being listed at the bottom, overrites the stock camera's. Installing mods in packed and patched game: When you patch your game, you will notice a new patch1.bfs file in game folder(this is the patch) also newly created is the patch file. So now when game is launched , it will load up all files found in the filesystem first from entries listed inside it, then it will load up the files found in the patch file from entries listed inside it. What does this mean in a change for installing mods? It means if your game is patched, you no longer add your mod.bfs name entries in the filesystem, you now only add your mod .bfs entries in the patch file.( listing your entries under the patch1.bfs). So, using same example as above , here is what my filesystem should always look like in patched game: fo2a.bfs fo2b.bfs fo2c.bfs And here is what my patch file will look like with my fo2camsfinal.bfs mod running: patch1.bfs fo2camsfinal.bfs You do the same for any mod,if its in the game folder, it is not active in game unless the exact spelling of the mod is listed in the patch file.Remember, patch1.bfs always listed first. Troubleshooting: This game is not supported for modding at all so yes things can go wrong, errors, crashes etc. Files get uploaded without proper testing sometimes and can or may not work to start with, or corrupt file. So be patient and be nice when posting feedback in forums for help getting mod to work of bugs worked out of it. Here is some tips on errors: -- The filesystem or patch file must not contain any spaces in it at all, or game will crash. So if you add or remove an entry for a mod, always try to left mouse click at end of entry and underneath your last entry, you might find the cursor blinking underneath meaning there is a space. All you have to do is hit delete and cursor now blinks at end of last entry and presto, game now works. -- If you get an error saying "could not quarry mod.bfs filesize" (something like that error) This means the game was told by filesystem or patch file to load up an entry which it can't find in the gamefolder. So there is an error in the spelling when entry created or maybe just as much as using capital letter when should have bin lowercase letter etc. The easiest way to add your entries to the filesystem or patch file is too,, right click on mod in game folder you wish to add,, select rename,, then with entire name highlighted, right click and select copy, then with filesystem or patch file opened with wordpad, paste in the name. If it tries to copy entire mod in, then its wrong. You only want the name of mod listed as entry. Hopefully this helps you understand the process of installing mods and how game functions. Tutorial by Shadow on flatoutjoint.com

Last Updated ( Friday, 16 March 2007 )