Sup guys just a mod explainer on mod types & how to merge mods to avoid conflicts for anyone curious about Stalker 2 modding on PC. - If I talk fast please just use the pause button. *LINKS:* www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl Mod Merger: github.com/Zweite93/Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool/releases 7zip: www.7-zip.org/ Good CFG Optimizer Mod: www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/9 *NOTES* To clarify, after running the merge tool it will create a _merged_cfg_modpack_loadpriority_###.pak file, this helps the mods work together and load correctly but does not 'combine' the mods in a single .pak the way merging implies, you still need to keep all the original mod paks including the merged conflicting mods in the same folder for the mods to work, no need to delete anything after running the tool to create the merge.pak. So to repeat, there's no need to delete any mod,paks that were merged UNLESS you noticed two mods are changing the exact same parameter to different values, so if you have two separate mods changing stamina drain value but do 'extra' things like stamina regen speed and 'vaulting' for example, you'd be better off deleting one and looking for the single-purpose version for those 'extra' changes to keep things simple, so one mod for stamina drain + regen, and a 2nd mod for vaulting by itself for example. They will both show conflict when merging because they edit the same file but are doing completely different things so all of them will work together no problem. When adding new mods, thats when you delete the merged_cfg_loadpriority.pak file and re-run the tool. Only delete single mod paks when updating to a newer version of the same mod or getting rid of mods you dont want. Hope that helps, might do another video clarifying further if its needed.
It's exactly the same. You still have to edit the run.bat file with notepad to your correct game install path. Then it works the same way. The github + nexus mods are from the same creator & both version 2.0.5 so don't worry. Check the uploader/username. www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/326?tab=files github.com/Zweite93/Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool/releases
I after 3 hours of trying to find exactly what to do now am eternally grateful for your help. I wish that this video was referenced in the github or the nexus download.
@andreyz94 You keep all the single mod.paks along with the merged.pak cfg as this file fixes the load priority/compatibility. The single .pak files are still being used. The conflicts shown in merge app just let you know which mods were merged, you dont have to delete anything unless you're adding/updating mods or doing another merge. The time you will delete a mod is if 2 mods cannot be merged easily as they are 'pre-merged' and do multiple things & conflict somewhere, for e.g. 2x mods that lower the stamina drain value by 20% and 50% when sprinting, but one additionally increases vaulting height while the other adds faster stamina recovery,, You might load into game and find one of them doesnt work. In this case you'd have to compare both mods and pick one over the other, ideally just delete them both and look for single mods that add the specific change you want, so one mod for vaulting, one for stamina drain, one for recovery, then merge them yourself with the tool.(This is what I would opt to do as it keeps all the mods separate and simple). Keep all the single .mod paks in the ~mods folder as they are still being used, the merged_cfg.pak helps them load properly so they all work together when editing the same files. Then when adding new mods, delete the 'merged_cfg_modpack_loadpriority' file and re-run the tool to create it again. If it shows mods were conflicting/merged, thats fine as long as they do different things. The manual editing to add zzzzz for load priority is only important when you come across a mod that wont work even after running the merge tool, there's no conflict but it still doesnt do anything, in this case its best to read the mod page notes, make sure a patch didnt break the mod & check the 'posts' section to see if anyone found the fix, I've seen changing load priority in this instance so the mod loads first before all other mods 'can' help especially when its not a mod conflict but just a load priority issue causing it to break. *TLDR:* Keep the original merged mod .pak files in the same folder as the merged.pak & dont worry about manually renaming for load priority in general when using the merge tool as it will fix load priority & most conflicts automatically, especially if you stick to single purpose mods and dont use already merged packages.
You're welcome,, Github is just a public repository for uploading programs/code to share with other programmers, you can download the CFG merger tool under releases you can as an archive(zip file), just click the blue text 'Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool.zip' to download, then right-click and 'extract' the archive to a folder of your choosing(I recommend your stalker ~mods folder). You can delete the zip file afterwards.
Depending on what OS you're on, in file explorer at the top for Win 11, View > Show > Hidden items.. Or on Windows 10, View > Options > Change folder and search options then look for the show hidden items checkbox.
Doesnt work. the run.at file keeps saying "Missing game path argument" ive tried everything ""C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl\Stalker2.exe" still nothing someone help me plz
Yo, for the run.bat merge tool path, it should just contain Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool followed by the main directory of your stalker install. *Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool* "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl" Then within your game folder, your mods folder should be named exactly '~mods' including the ~ symbol, e.g. Stalker2/content/paks/~mods so the mergetool can find it.
@Jo3yization i have this exact same path and I have my ~mods folder named like this, with the run.bat setup like your example. When I run the merger it says. Any advice?
Make sure it's just the root folder of your game & manually double check the main drive letter & file path in file explorer. Case sensitive too including the periods '.' in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I have mine installed on a separate drive so the path is much shorter, e.g., Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool "D:\Games\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2" If you installed through a launcher but use a secondary drive for game installs, the 'Program Files (x86)' may also be missing, so it would just be Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl"
Sup guys just a mod explainer on mod types & how to merge mods to avoid conflicts for anyone curious about Stalker 2 modding on PC. - If I talk fast please just use the pause button.
*LINKS:*
www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl
Mod Merger: github.com/Zweite93/Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool/releases
7zip: www.7-zip.org/
Good CFG Optimizer Mod: www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/9
*NOTES*
To clarify, after running the merge tool it will create a _merged_cfg_modpack_loadpriority_###.pak file, this helps the mods work together and load correctly but does not 'combine' the mods in a single .pak the way merging implies, you still need to keep all the original mod paks including the merged conflicting mods in the same folder for the mods to work, no need to delete anything after running the tool to create the merge.pak.
So to repeat, there's no need to delete any mod,paks that were merged UNLESS you noticed two mods are changing the exact same parameter to different values, so if you have two separate mods changing stamina drain value but do 'extra' things like stamina regen speed and 'vaulting' for example, you'd be better off deleting one and looking for the single-purpose version for those 'extra' changes to keep things simple, so one mod for stamina drain + regen, and a 2nd mod for vaulting by itself for example. They will both show conflict when merging because they edit the same file but are doing completely different things so all of them will work together no problem.
When adding new mods, thats when you delete the merged_cfg_loadpriority.pak file and re-run the tool. Only delete single mod paks when updating to a newer version of the same mod or getting rid of mods you dont want.
Hope that helps, might do another video clarifying further if its needed.
i use the one on nexus not the github, is totally different. Can you do a video about the one in the nexus ? It seems simplier.
It's exactly the same. You still have to edit the run.bat file with notepad to your correct game install path. Then it works the same way. The github + nexus mods are from the same creator & both version 2.0.5 so don't worry. Check the uploader/username.
www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/326?tab=files
github.com/Zweite93/Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool/releases
happy new year and thx for this awesome video / helps me alot
Dude. This really helpful :D thanks man, stay safe on the zone Stalker ;)
YOU LEGEND. Thanks man, this stuff is not as easy to snap for everyone. Really appreciate the clear guidance.
This video is an absolute gold mine of information. Thank you for your part in pioneering early Stalker 2 modding informational guides.
I after 3 hours of trying to find exactly what to do now am eternally grateful for your help. I wish that this video was referenced in the github or the nexus download.
Really helpful, thanks!
Thx bro, appreciate it :)
thank you for this!
Thank you.
🐐
When I run the run.bat it says that the mods folder doesnt exist no matter what directerory I type in
Put the path to the root S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 folder, & make sure the mods folder is named with the little tilde symbol above caps lock. '~mods'
Do you keep the merged folder with all of the other single ones?
or
Delete the ones that have been merged?
Also if the mods conflicting is Alife for example that needs the zzzz do you add that to the merged folder?
@andreyz94 You keep all the single mod.paks along with the merged.pak cfg as this file fixes the load priority/compatibility. The single .pak files are still being used.
The conflicts shown in merge app just let you know which mods were merged, you dont have to delete anything unless you're adding/updating mods or doing another merge.
The time you will delete a mod is if 2 mods cannot be merged easily as they are 'pre-merged' and do multiple things & conflict somewhere, for e.g. 2x mods that lower the stamina drain value by 20% and 50% when sprinting, but one additionally increases vaulting height while the other adds faster stamina recovery,, You might load into game and find one of them doesnt work.
In this case you'd have to compare both mods and pick one over the other, ideally just delete them both and look for single mods that add the specific change you want, so one mod for vaulting, one for stamina drain, one for recovery, then merge them yourself with the tool.(This is what I would opt to do as it keeps all the mods separate and simple). Keep all the single .mod paks in the ~mods folder as they are still being used, the merged_cfg.pak helps them load properly so they all work together when editing the same files.
Then when adding new mods, delete the 'merged_cfg_modpack_loadpriority' file and re-run the tool to create it again. If it shows mods were conflicting/merged, thats fine as long as they do different things.
The manual editing to add zzzzz for load priority is only important when you come across a mod that wont work even after running the merge tool, there's no conflict but it still doesnt do anything, in this case its best to read the mod page notes, make sure a patch didnt break the mod & check the 'posts' section to see if anyone found the fix, I've seen changing load priority in this instance so the mod loads first before all other mods 'can' help especially when its not a mod conflict but just a load priority issue causing it to break.
*TLDR:* Keep the original merged mod .pak files in the same folder as the merged.pak & dont worry about manually renaming for load priority in general when using the merge tool as it will fix load priority & most conflicts automatically, especially if you stick to single purpose mods and dont use already merged packages.
@@Jo3yization Thanks a bunch
Niceee thankkss man can we have a list of your mods =D
First off thank you so much for the video. Second i have no idea how to use github, im trying to download the tool and cant figure it out
You're welcome,, Github is just a public repository for uploading programs/code to share with other programmers, you can download the CFG merger tool under releases you can as an archive(zip file), just click the blue text 'Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool.zip' to download, then right-click and 'extract' the archive to a folder of your choosing(I recommend your stalker ~mods folder). You can delete the zip file afterwards.
i dont have app data under users, what does that mean?
Depending on what OS you're on, in file explorer at the top for Win 11, View > Show > Hidden items.. Or on Windows 10, View > Options > Change folder and search options then look for the show hidden items checkbox.
Doesnt work. the run.at file keeps saying "Missing game path argument" ive tried everything ""C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl\Stalker2.exe" still nothing someone help me plz
Yo, for the run.bat merge tool path, it should just contain Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool followed by the main directory of your stalker install.
*Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool* "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl"
Then within your game folder, your mods folder should be named exactly '~mods' including the ~ symbol, e.g. Stalker2/content/paks/~mods so the mergetool can find it.
@Jo3yization i have this exact same path and I have my ~mods folder named like this, with the run.bat setup like your example. When I run the merger it says. Any advice?
@@Jo3yizationsorry, it says error missing required game path argument
Make sure it's just the root folder of your game & manually double check the main drive letter & file path in file explorer. Case sensitive too including the periods '.' in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
I have mine installed on a separate drive so the path is much shorter, e.g.,
Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool "D:\Games\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2"
If you installed through a launcher but use a secondary drive for game installs, the 'Program Files (x86)' may also be missing, so it would just be
Stalker2PakCfgMergeTool "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl"
If you can avoid it, don't install games to ProgramFiles, rather on your C Drive with a path like C:/Games It will cause less potential issues