Downpour Reference/Conflict Merging

This page describes how file conflicts are resolved when multiple mods try to modify the same files.

MergedMods Folder

When one or more Modification files are applied to a file, the new resulting contents of the file after all modifications have been applied is generated and stored into a new folder called mergedmods, located in StreamingAssets. Similarly to the patterns we've seen before, the contents of the mergedmods folder is a mirror of the directory structure of the rest of the game. So for example, if a modification file is applied to:

Assets/StreamingAssets/world/regions/regions.txt

then the result will wind up at:

Assets/StreamingAssets/mergedmods/world/regions/regions.txt

The full contents of the mergedmods folder are cleared and regenerated any time mods are applied through the REMIX menu.

Load Order

The load order of mods dictates how modifications and merges are applied, and can affect the end result of the mergedmods folder. Load order is applied in the following way, in the following order:

1. When the game is first launched, any DLL mods from the mods folders will be loaded in load order.
2. Once mods are applied, first all full-file content overwrite actions are applied, in load order.
3. Once all overwrites are done, next all merge actions from modification files are applied, in load order.
4. Finally, once all merge actions are done, all remaining non-merge actions from modification files are applied, in load order.

Checksum

Whenever the game launches, the checksum of all installed mods is generated. By default, the checksum for a mod will be determined from the contents of all files contained in the mod's folder, excluding the modinfo JSON file.

There is an optional parameter in the modinfo file that if specified, will skip this style of checksum generation, and will instead just use the mod's current version number as its checksum.

If on game launch, the mod's checksum has changed since the last launch of the game (for example, an update for the mod was released and downloaded via Steam Workshop), then the typical apply mods process that is normally done through the REMIX menu will automatically get triggered on game launch, and will force the updated mod(s) to get applied again. This will regenerate the mergedmods folder along with any other typical actions that get performed during the apply mods process.