[OUTDATED] Manually Installing Mods for Origin Users (and Non-Origin Users)

[Medstar]

SEE NEW GUIDE HERE: https://steamcommunity.com/app/24790/discussions/0/1751276927094728010/

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I guess I should have done this in the first place rather than combing through posts and spamming this message; sorry about that, thought I was locked out of posting new threads to this due to me not owning the Steam version of this game.

Anyways, for those of you who own the Origin version and are searching for a way to install mods for this "impossible to mod" version of the game, then you're in luck! Here is a guide to solve your issues; this may also work with the other versions of the game (CD and Steam).

As we all may know, Origin has disabled any and all command line arguments from their game executables for the Ultimate Collection, so trying to get to the games launcher using the -ui or using --modconfig parameters won't work; however, there is a work-around that enables mod functionality for the game.
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Here are the steps (courtesy of cncnz.com's technical support and help guides):

1) Download your mod of choice (most likely from ModDB or similar).

2) Unzip the downloaded mod wherever you find convenient.

3) Ensure that your mod has a .skudef or .SkuDef file along with however many .big files it comes with.

4) Go to the directory in which your game is installed (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Command and Conquer 3 TW and KW\Command Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars). Inside that folder should be a .SkuDef file, may be named something like "CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef" or some equivalent (no quotes, of course).

5) Make a backup of that file, and place the copy somewhere safe. DO NOT keep the copy inside the root of the game files; the game will use it instead of the one you've edited (Credit to @BlackAlpha for discovering the overwrite issue).

6) Right click the file, select "open with", then select a text editor (Notepad or something).

7) At the top of the file, add an empty line right above the line that says "set-exe".

8) Write this line WITHOUT THE QUOTES on that empty line you just made: "add-config path_to_mod_skudef_file" (if the path has white spaces in it, don't put quotes around the path.)

8.5) Example of the line: "add-config C:\Users\[USERNAME]\CNC3 Mods\Tiberium Essence\TiberiumEssence_2.0.skudef"

9) Save the edited .SkuDef file.

10) Go into the Origin app and right click on your installation of Tiberium Wars; then select Game Properties, then uncheck the box labeled: "Enable Origin in game". Enabling Origin in game may cause some issues (issues have been mentioned before while researching this, you may get lucky and not have to disable Origin).

11) Run the game's original launcher
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That's it! Your game should load up Tiberium Wars with your installed mod! Hope this helps you as it did for me

Also, I will be posting this anywhere that needs this valuable information, as it took me nearly a month to figure this out myself; I just so happened to get lucky with my google search keywords.

One more thing: I have a repository on GitHub that automates this process for you if you are interested--not required, but is convenient:

https://github.com/Medstar117/cnc3-origin-mod-installer/releases

[TeslaDev]

Edit: I got it to work - I had to add the command to the config.txt file in the Core->1.9 folder

Hey there - Thanks for this - but it did not work for me. Is there a step missing? I have edited the file with the correct mod path and triple checked it - unchecked origin in-game.

My edit skudef file looks like this (just dropped the mod files into the game directory):

add-config F:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Command and Conquer 3 TW and KW\TiberiumEssence2\TiberiumEssence_2.0.skudef
set-exe RetailExe\1.9\cnc3game.dat
add-config Lang-english\1.9\config.txt
add-config EnglishAudio\1.7\config.txt
add-config Movies\1.0\config.txt
add-config Core\1.9\config.txt
add-config SP\1.9\config.txt
add-config MP\1.9\config.txt
add-config RetailExe\1.9\config.txt
add-search-path big:

[Medstar]

Hey! Glad this helped you out That is strange that you had to write the same command to the 1.9 config.txt file since the CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef already takes the config information from that file with the command "add-config Core\1.9\config.txt".

I know one method of manually modding the game involves modifying the contents of the Core\1.9 directory, but for some mods, like Tiberium Secrets, that method disables the ability to use custom factions. That's why I wanted to share the above knowledge with the Steam community and for whoever's interested; plus, you can have your mods on a completely different drive rather than cramming its data with your game's files (my current situation, game on one drive, mods on different one).

Are you sure that you are getting the absolute path for the mod's .skudef file? The .skudef file may actually be a .SkuDef file instead; case-sensitivity is very important here. Also, the path I used in my post is just an example; some people, not saying you, think that what I've put is the path they need to put rather than the absolute path of where their mod is located (I've seen it happen quite a bit).

However, if all functionality is present (units, textures, factions, etc.), then kudos to you; random stuff like that happens from time to time--some PC's may act differently from others.

[TeslaDev]

Yeah - I was confused that it worked too. I just saw that the .skudef file referenced the config.txt file and literally copied and pasted the path and it worked. So the path was the same in both the .skudef file and the config.txt file, but it didn't work until I pasted in the config.txt file. :shrug:

[Medstar]

Computers, am I right? I'm glad that this helped you out either way

But everything for the mod is working, right? Factions and everything ok?

[TeslaDev]

Indeed! Really appreciate the post! Tested all factions, seems to be working fine! Thanks!

[Shopper_Keeper]

Cool, play on Origin for the cloud-saves.

[BlackAlpha]

Big thanks for the info! It took me forever to find your post. I almost gave up on using mods.

By the way, I too had to put the add-config in a different file. If I put the add-config in the SkuDef file in the root directory, then it seems to be ignored, no matter on which line I put it. I also tried putting the mod files in a folder in the game directory, but that made no difference.

I tried putting add-config in different config files. It seems to work if I put it in the Core folder. If I put it in MP folder, then some parts of the mod don't get loaded. It seems to work too if I put it in Lang-english. I guess it's a load order thing? The configs in the top of the root SkuDef file get loaded last? So, I decided to use the config file in Lang-english.

[Medstar]

Hmm...I just tried it out, and it worked fine just editing the main .SkuDef file in the main game directory; both factions and units load up fine :\

This is strange. How about we all troubleshoot this issue? Let's all download the same mod as to negate any mod incompatibilities. The one I've chosen is Tiberium Secrets v1.4.0 from ModDB.

It could be as to how I've conveyed the information to you all; this may aid in clearing things up.

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Current Directory:
D:\Origin Games\Command and Conquer 3 TW and KW\Command Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars

Folders in Directory (Names are exact with proper upper and lowercase letters):

Core
EnglishAudio
Kane
Lang-english
Launcher
Movies
MP
patches
RetailExe
SP
Support

Files in Directory (Names are exact with proper upper and lowercase letters):

CNC3.exe
CNC3.par
CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef
LauncherSupport.dat
patchw32.dll
VistaShellSupport.dll
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Selected Mod: Tiberium Secrets

Mod folder location:
D:\Mods for C&C\Tiberium Wars\TiberiumSecrets_1.4.0\TiberiumSecrets

Mod folder contents (Names are exact with proper upper and lowercase letters):

TiberiumSecrets_1.4.0.skudef
TiberiumSecrets_1.4.0_Misc.big
TiberiumSecrets_1.4.0_Streams.big

TiberiumSecrets_1.4.0.skudef contents:

mod-game 1.9
add-big TiberiumSecrets_1.4.0_Streams.big
add-big TiberiumSecrets_1.4.0_Misc.big
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Currently open file via Notepad: CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef

File contents prior to modification:

set-exe RetailExe\1.9\cnc3game.dat
add-config Lang-english\1.9\config.txt
add-config EnglishAudio\1.7\config.txt
add-config Movies\1.0\config.txt
add-config Core\1.9\config.txt
add-config SP\1.9\config.txt
add-config MP\1.9\config.txt
add-config RetailExe\1.9\config.txt
add-search-path big:


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Currently open file via Notepad: CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef

File contents after modification:

add-config C:\Users\chanc\Desktop\TiberiumSecrets\TiberiumSecrets_1.4.0.skudef
set-exe RetailExe\1.9\cnc3game.dat
add-config Lang-english\1.9\config.txt
add-config EnglishAudio\1.7\config.txt
add-config Movies\1.0\config.txt
add-config Core\1.9\config.txt
add-config SP\1.9\config.txt
add-config MP\1.9\config.txt
add-config RetailExe\1.9\config.txt
add-search-path big:


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Save CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef with original name; DO NOT rename the file. File extension should be .SkuDef, NOT .skudef.

Run game.
I've tested it with the mod and game on the same drive and different drives; and I've also tested it with the CnC-Online hooks on my .exe's

Keep me posted if you all get it working as I have. I really want all of you to get the full benefit of having complete mods like me.

ALSO, comment with your main SkuDef file's filename and contents so we can compare and contrast each other's data.

[Medstar]

And I realize that that was a HUGE comment XD

[BlackAlpha]

I figured out what happened. For backup purposes, I made a copy of the CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef file in the root folder. It turns out the game looks for skudef files that start with "CNC3_english_1.9" and then it loads those. So, the copy kept overwriting the original.

You can test this by making a new txt file and name it cnc3_english_1.9 blablabla.skudef. The game will then decide to load that one. It's not case sensitive, but after 1.9 must be a space or a certain sign, like a dot or hyphen (I only tried with those, others might work too).

[Medstar]

Oh wow XD that's hilarious. The game must be parsing the filename and splitting the text at the underscores and looking for that specific part of it, I suppose.

I'll fix what I've written with what you've discovered; I never would've thought of that. Thanks for your efforts!

[wotmate]

Heya, good write-up, but it's not working for me.

I'm trying to play The Forgotten, and I've done everything detailed here, but I get a pop-up box that says: "Could not find game version 1.0. Please make sure you have the latest patch installed."

[Medstar]

This one? https://www.moddb.com/mods/cc-3-the-forgotten/downloads

If so, which version? I'd be glad to test it over on my end

ALSO, make sure your CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef backup IS NOT in your game's root directory; put the copy somewhere safe, like in your Documents folder or something.

Edit:
Just tested out The_Forgotten_1.2.1_Full, and everything loads up over here; are you sure you downloaded v1.2.1_Full and not v1.2.1_Patch for the Forgotten?

Here's my CNC3_english_1.9.SkuDef's contents:

add-config C:\Users\chanc\Documents\CNC3 Mods\Tiberium Wars\The_Forgotten_1.2.1\The Forgotten_1.2.1.skudef
set-exe RetailExe\1.9\cnc3game.dat
add-config Lang-english\1.9\config.txt
add-config EnglishAudio\1.7\config.txt
add-config Movies\1.0\config.txt
add-config Core\1.9\config.txt
add-config SP\1.9\config.txt
add-config MP\1.9\config.txt
add-config RetailExe\1.9\config.txt
add-search-path big:

[wotmate]

I copied the original SkuDef and then took it out of the game folder. This is what the one in the game folder looks like:

add-config D:\The Forgotten\The Forgotten_1.2.1.skudef
set-exe RetailExe\1.9\cnc3game.dat
add-config Lang-english\1.9\config.txt
add-config EnglishAudio\1.7\config.txt
add-config Movies\1.0\config.txt
add-config Core\1.9\config.txt
add-config SP\1.9\config.txt
add-config MP\1.9\config.txt
add-config RetailExe\1.9\config.txt
add-search-path big:


Files location is D:\The Forgotten
Files in that location is

The Forgotten_1.2.0_Misc.big
The Forgotten_1.2.1.skudef
The Forgotten_1.2.1_Misc.big
The Forgotten_1.2.1_Streams.big


I don't get it. It's identical except for the folder location.

[Medstar]

Hmm...I think there may be a registry problem on your end, seeing as it can't find game version 1.0; I recommend the following steps, just to test this theory:
1) uninstall the game
2) reboot your computer
3) reinstall the game
4) reboot again

Also, which version of the game do you own? (Steam, Origin, Retail CD, cracked)