Curating old mods (and one other thing)

[EgoMaster]

Since update 1.25, two of my truck mods became unusable, because steering wheels: Iveco Strator (for 1.23) and Volvo FM by Rebel8520 (for 1.24). The problem is, I kinda like to keep'em. They're enjoyable to drive and they fit the general atmosphere. They both seem abandoned (FM has a better chance of update but I'll be surprised if Strator gets upgraded to 1.25).

Anyway, what's common with those mods is, they're using game's interior models. Strator uses Stralis, FM uses FH 2009 interior and that seems to be the reason they're broken. Most truck mods that use custom interiors work fine. I can't model, but is there any way to restore those mods by fiddling around with game's files, copy them into the mod, editing sii files etc?

If not, I found alternatives for them. Strator's alternative is Freightliner Cascadia edited by Solaris36. It's an American truck unfortunately, but looks similar (doesn't drive similar though) but it has an interesting problem. You can add hood mirrors to this, but main and hood mirror views are switched. Solaris36 also seems to be silent and hasn't updated the mod since June to correct this. That's why I'm asking here.

[Nimir-Raj]

In theory you should be able to fix them by linking to the NEW interiors in def files and making sure all dependencies and requirements are linked. It's not really something I can talk you through as I don't usually touch truck modding.

But it's really just a case of swapping out all the references to the old interiors and replacing them with updated ones from the stock trucks.

[room217au]

In a further, more skinnier theory, you should be able to delete references to textures, animations and so on from the mod and the game will use its own.
Kinda reversing the action of a mod replacing game files?
You'd have to know which ones are modified game files, which ones are vanilla game files and which ones to actually delete? But if you keep a copy of the original mod intact and somewhere safe, you have nothing to lose 'cept for maybe some sanity and a few clumps of hair :)

[EgoMaster]

Thanks for the replies. Though I may need some more help on this. So let the answers flow. :)

Recent development:
I found ats version of Strator, hoping to import the interior from there but ATS version also uses references to "stralis" interior (the interior is under stralis folder). So if I copy and paste those files into the ETS2 version, it will override games default files, which will break the 1.25 Stralis. The good news is, this interior is the last known working version (since my ETS2 is updated), so renaming those files and changing references accordingly should do the trick... In theory.

Volvo FM will be trickier, since there's no ATS version and the mod files are locked. But if Strator works, my idea is to downgrade the game to 1.24, extract necessary and create a patch, then upgrade to 1.25 again.

[room217au]

You must really like those trucks :)

[EgoMaster]

Originally posted by room217au:

You must really like those trucks :)

Strator? Definitely. FM? Not as much but it fits the game like a glove. My favorite truck mods are RJLs Scanias and Madster's MANs though.

[EgoMaster]

Here's how I did it (for Strator) in case anyone else needs it:

Step 1: Opened both ETS2 and ATS versions of the mod. Copied "truck\Iveco_Stralis\Interior" folder from ATS to ETS2 version.
Step 2: Renamed Iveco_stralis to Iveco_strator.
Step 3: Opened all files in "def\iveco.s\interior" directory and replaced all the "stralis" references with "strator"
Intermission: Loaded the game to see if it works. Realized the steering wheel is back, but the texture is missing.
Step 4: Looked at game log. Noticed many errors about automat files. Copied "automat" directory from ATS version to ETS2.
Intermission: Run the game to see if it works. Steering wheel texture is back. Bought a truck to test drive. When I turned the engine on, the trip computer was blank and the game crashed.
Step 5: Opened "animations.sii" under def\iveco.s\interior directory. Since this file came from the ATS version, it was trying to find Kenworth T680 for dashboard animations. Changed those references to Iveco_stralis. Did the same for UK version.

And that's it. Since I didn't edit automat files, I'm pretty sure the mod still uses game's default textures. ATS version of Strator mod also had Daf XF and MAN TGX interiors for some reason. I didn't copy those into ETS2 version, since it masses up other default trucks and mods. Strator seems to work fine though. I'm going to do a job with it today. Then I'll try to salvage Volvo FM.

[room217au]

Originally posted by EgoMaster:

ATS version of Strator mod also had Daf XF and MAN TGX interiors for some reason.

It's called not knowing how to make interiors. Some modders just grab the appropriate files from another vehicle. It can cause problems if you decide to drive one of those vehicles at the same time as having your truck mod(s) present.

[EgoMaster]

It did mess up dashboards of Daf XF and Tania95's Daf CF mod.

For Volvo FM, I found another ATS mod that ports every ETS2 truck to ATS. I'll try take the Volvo 2009 interior from there.

[room217au]

I'm done with ETS2 trucks. We had issues with the steer axle weights about a year or more ago, but we fixed that by increasing the weight of the steer axle. Easy.
Now, since the chassis def has changed from powered_wheel to powered_axle, that issue is back. It's ridiculous to have make the front end of a prime-mover weight 9 tons just to keep some traction on the road when steering under power.
I'll go back to my conventional-cab mods. No probs there.

[EgoMaster]

Is that what gives the front of the truck a "floating" feel when you're pulling a heavy load? I solved that by installing real tire mod and making front tires bigger than the rear ones. It's not gone completely but the mod helps.

[room217au]

I'm not exactly sure how the issue was resolved within SCS doors. It's possible it wasn't resolved. I rarely drive cabovers. In fact I almost exclusively drive conventional cabs now - mainly because that's what I'm used to in the real world - so I don't really know what changes were apparent in new chassis since then.
I tried FlemmingV's BDF pack last night. Bought a Scania R as a tandem (ie rigid truck) fitted it out and hooked up a tandem trailer - FlemmingV's mods are really good - and the instant I turned the wheel even in the grounds of the company yard I was leaving, I could tell the steering had returned to the way it was a year or so ago.
Shame really.