You are absolutely right that some tuorials are required, regardless of how easy-to-use I may eventually be able to make FOMM.

Thanks for the time you put into this thread. I found your feedback very valuable.

The GUI could use some refinement, particularly the Package Manager. Moving the file-related functions (View Readme etc) to the right-click menu for example.


When I pack a mod for release I use Winrar to compress the entire Data folder, filtering for my file prefix. I then open the archive, delete any backup files that got caught in the process, and use the "Add FOMod" function in FOMM, filling in information as required.
Since the nexus doesn't allow *.fomod files I then use winrar to extract the fomod to a new folder (I have *.fomod defined as an archive in winrar, so I just right-click->extract), and re-compress with the highest compression settings. I will generally choose the zip format for compatibility.

This means I only use the most basic functionality of FOMM. I took a look at the "Create FOMod" function, and was not impressed to be honest. It makes the whole process fiddly, adding files is not intuitive at all. If it had a prefix search, that automatically arranged files in the folders I've created (as winrar does) I might consider using it.
As it is there's no reason for me to use the "Create FOMod" function

Since 0.12.0, FOMods are Zip files with highest compression by default (you can specify the format in the Settings window), nothing more. As such, you can save a step and simply rename plug.fomod to plugin.zip. Hopefully that save you some time.


By "whole process" are you referring simply to the file adding mechanism, or the entire process? Am I correct in assuming you want prefix filtering as your files are mixed in with the rest of your FO3 files, and not segregated into their own folders?

I'm most likely uneducated on the true process, I was under the impression that I would also have to create BSA's packing up all of my custom assets. I always use FOMM to pack up all other mods I use into FOMod packages, I simply thought it was more of a process for the end user not the modder. An easy way to install and, uninstall mods.

As I have mentioned before, I would relish a standard file format, the same as, .RAW. or .DNG. formalizing the community into a universal standard! Not to sound like a simple follower or sheep but, tell me what the community expects! let's make something a universal standard and, I'm there!

HeHe, I just want to be able to mod the game without some morons trying to beat me over my head with there stupid issues.

Some authors do use BSAs, but it isn't in any way a requirement.

If FOMM could read through the *.esp/*.esm files and automatically find all of the referenced files (textures, models, audio files, etc), that'd make using FOMM to package mods a hell of a lot easier. Also, allowing FOMM to use bog-standard archive files (with no fomod folder or anything) without recreating them when you try and add them as a fomod would be great as a fomod user - it'd seriously cut back on the time it takes to install using FOMM, assuming that functionality hasn't been added since I last used it (sometime last year, IIRC).

It might make sense not to use a special *.fomod file extension at all - instead, you might consider integrating it into the Window's shell for any archive file. That would make 'I don't know how to use this *.fomod file!' questions pretty much go away and retain pretty much all of the functionality of the *.fomod extension.

Without the FOMOD extension you can't just double click a downloaded FOMOD and have FOMM pop up and offer to install it.

This is only kind-of-related, but what would make FOMM tremendously more useful for me (assuming more mods use it) is extraction-related command line/scripting/auto-answer support.

When I was building my huge Oblivion mod http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1046272-relz-jason-mcculloughs-ridiculous-oblivion-mod-pack/page__p__15175870__fromsearch__1&#entry15175870 it was a continual pain in the ass to reverse engineer the scripts included in OMOD/OMOD-ready mods to install them with batch files. If I could just say "install this, and pick options 3 and 7 for questions 1 and 2" that's be fantastic. Having end-users open a dozen mods in a row in the UI and answer questions doesn't scale.