Im loving Rfactor 2 at the moment and have just started hosting and its great, I go to the mass utility and put together a package of cars and tracks and off i go an lauch a server for myself and friends, brilliant!
One thing i would like to know is how to edit an existing mod package, for instance:
Ive made a mod package with Formula 2 cars and Zandervoot track. Next day a friend says can we add Barber raceway. Now ive tried to edit the existing package using the edit existing package button in mass utility and added the track Barber raceway, hit package and it seems to add the track, yet when I go to host using the dedicated host button in the laucher the package is selected as normal but when i get to track selection the track ive just added does not show up. So why is this?
Hope you can help
Cheers!
Sorry for belated reply somehow missed this.
MAS2 used to work 100% then one day it just stopped working with no explanation or fix.
Yes there is a way to update simple rfmods but it's my own design
so it may be confusing till you used to it. For this demo I will use my F3 ROOKIES mod which has only one car and about 50 historic tracks. As well today Riems was released here so I must eventually update all my historic rfmods.
I have 19 rfmods in Packages, nothing else.
These contain ALL content used at least once in one mod.
This system means it is IMPOSSIBLE for Steam or Workshop to uninstall old content until you are ready for that to happen becaue all content are in installed rfmods. As soon as you uninstall a rfmod content has been unsubscribed the mod will be useable.
Using rfmods for everything essentially means you can test 2 or more versions of the same content at the same time, even DLC. Only rule is 1 version per rfmod.
Which is something you can't do in other sims.
When you make rfmod you will see folders and files added to your roaming folder.
( USER\AppData\Roaming)
To edit the rfmod at a later date you need 3 files.
F3 ROOKIES.Mas ( in ~MASTEMP folder )
pkginfo.dat
pkginfo_bak.dat
These you cut & paste into the GME mod you see below.
Make sure to always leave roaming clean after you backup.
Now if you make more then one rfmod it will add the information to the existing pkginfo.
You will keep making rfmods until without warning MAS2 will crash and you will never start it again. Seems there is a limit to the information pkginfo can handle. Only way forward is to delete the files in Roaming and restart MAS2.
THIS is when I had the brainstorm to archive each set of files into GME mods to keep them separate. It works 99%.
There is a few issue with certain mods like Woochoos Historics, if you make a rfmod with that then go to edit it will crash *FIXED
All DLC need fresh rfmod or when you package updated DLC content it will error.
Thankfully there is not a great deal of DLC updated
This is also were my system is useful, you uninstall the rfmod to update it but you don't delete it, you overwrite it. This means you can keep mod manager open beside MAS2 and copy from it's car and track list. Otherwise how would you remember what each rfmod has ?
1. Uninstall F3 ROOKIES rfmod but DON'T DELETE
2. Run OVGME and activate MAS TEMP #4 - F3 ROOKIES
3. Run MAS2 click edit existing package
4. Bingo
5. Delete content from MAS2 you are updating ( they will say beside them " not installed" )
6. Add updated content ( RIEMS67 )
7. Untick the content from left column ( otherwise you have full size rfmod instead of 5KB)
8. Tick the car numbers/ skins and track layouts you want in right column.
9. Click Package, Install, MAS2 goes green, click done
you can leave MAS2 open for next one Close MAS2 or pgkinfo file will still be open.
10. So rfmod has been successfully updated but you need to copy MASTEMP and pkginfo and overwrite MAS TEMP #4 - F3 ROOKIES files.
11. Then I open my OVGME RFM's which keeps copies of all rfm
12. First copy the updated rfm from packages to desktop
13. Uninstall rfmod, copy the new rfmod from desktop into OVGME
14. Re-Activate MAS RFM #4 - F3 ROOKIES
15. Done
I know it sounds very confusing but once you set your desktop up to handle everything it takes no time at all. I can update all the mods faster then making new ones and I don't have to remember every piece of content as I use the old rfmod in mod manager as a guide.
I call it Method in Madness
Lastly check Mod Manager rfmod is installed and new content exists.
You can see F3 ROOKIES is 6 months old.
All done. lol
This way you can have multiple versions of content in different rfmods.
So you may have 2 or more versions which means you don't have to update every rfmod as soon as there is updates you can do at your leisure or only when you want to use the mod, up to you.
The thing to remember is with rfmods protecting all content old versions can never be deleted until you are good and ready which for me is a good thing.
This is what confuses a lot of people, they have downloaded untold rfmods many old and updated by now. Join any server since steam release you have downloaded the rfm. When they go to delete or add something like update it may not work.
Old rfmods keep old versions of content hostage using extra space.
