So you have a problem! First things first.

Since the toolset is under development we won't be able to help you with a bug-report unless you are sure it's a problem that persists through using the latest revision of the toolset ontop of a vanilla game that isn't mod-specific AND you provide us with all necessary background information first. Often people report issues with specific mods not installing correctly ontop of a non-vanilla game, this leaves too many variables open. Version, state of the install, stability of the mod in question. There are a limited amount of active programmers in the project so we can only viably address issues regarding toolset functionality. Anything else is up to the mod-creators themselves.

Have you read the first time setup guide?
No? Go now. Read, learn.


Issues with a specific tool?
First check out the FAQ belonging to the tool in question to see if your problem is already documented or can be solved by following tool specific instructions. Be sure to check out the tutorial section as well. If not, report your issues in the bug report forums in topics specifically meant for them, otherwise create a new topic for your report and include the following information:

• Are you using the latest SVN?
• Which tool(s) are you having issues with?
• Describe what you were doing that triggered the problem in detail. Remember that if we can't reproduce the error we likely can't fix it.
• Screencaps screencaps screencaps! Show us where it's stalling, show us your errors, your popups, your debug windows, so we know what's happening! We can't fix things without these guys, this is crucial.

Issues with a certain mod?
We can not deliver mod specific support unless it's indicative of a toolset functionality issue. If you have issues installing a specific mod, first make sure it is in optimal format for the latest revision.
If this is the case, make sure you have a clean install of the latest SVN and treescan with it on a vanilla game installation. Try applying the mod ontop of your vanilla installation and ME3Explorer setup. If this doesn't work, download a mod in the same format and try that one instead, try several different ones to test whether it might be a problem with the toolset and the application of mods in general, your installation and setup or with that mod specifically. Now if you're only experiencing issues with one specific mod, either in compatibility with other mods or in application, first have a look at the section about mod formats and which are considered suboptimal for the latest revisions and then please take your observations to the modder that created the mods so these issues are properly reported to them. If however, you notice issues with multiple mods that should be compatible with the latest revision, either ask for help in the help section or post your finding in the bug report section of our forums. We will require several details before we can help:

• Did you vanilla your game, and if so HOW (check notes below on vanilla-ing, the method matters).
• Are you using the latest SVN?
• Which mod(s) are you having issues with? Link to their download pages.
• How did you apply the mod(s)? Describe what you were doing that triggered the problem in detail. Remember that if we can't reproduce the error we likely can't fix it.
• Screencaps screencaps screencaps! Show us where it's stalling, show us your errors, your popups, your debug windows, so we know what's happening!

Mod formats explained
.PCC - The PCC format is what Mass Effect uses to package the game's content. Some modders will add their content adjustments to PCC files rather than releasing .MODs or .TPF's. These releases cause the biggest issues in terms of compatibility with other mods and are considered suboptimal. As PCC files are the entire package, they can overwrite any changes made to the same file before replacement, AKA PCC mods should always be applied first as .MODs and TPFs can do specific replacements inside these modded PCC files keeping previous changes intact as long as they don't overwrite the same object inside them.

.SFAR - The SFAR format is what Mass Effect uses to package the game's DLC content. Every individual DLC has it's own default.sfar located in uniquely named folders at "..\Origin Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\DLC\".

.MOD - These are packages created by ME3Explorer that can hold binary, object and PCC replacement jobs. Because scripts used for the replacement jobs are included in the .MODs these are revision sensitive while the toolset is still under development, pay attention to which revision a .MOD was created with. This is currently the recommended method of installing mesh mods, though a distiction is made where non binary replacement methods are suboptimal.
Current status: Revision 592 introduced changes that impacted the script for DLC texture and mesh jobs. Because of this it is advised to not use texture .MODs created prior to REV592 and be advised that DLC Mesh .MODs created prior to 592 are considered outdated and suboptimal though they do still function, binary/object replacement is encouraged to avoid mesh .MODs overwriting eachother in DLC.

.TPF - Texmod is a utility to browse, extract, save and modify textures in Direct3D 9 applications. In order to share and distribute texture modifications, TPFs (Texmod Package Files) can be created which are compressed to prevent further modification. This modding method allows you to temporarily replace any texture in your application without the need to use an application specific modding tool or replacing any files in your application's installation. Using ME3Explorer, you can convert Texmod TPF's to the ME3Explorer .MODs format or you can load them in directly using the 'TPF/DDS Tools 2.0' and apply them to your game permanently. This is currently the recommended method of installing texture mods due to TPFs not being revision sensitive.

.PSK - Resource for modders. PSK stands for Unreal Engine Character ( Epic Games Inc.) It is the format we get when exporting meshes from ME3 with Umodel or 'Meshplorer'. You can directly import them into a 3D program like 3DSMax. After converting them to Unreal UPK files they can be used to manually replace a mesh in the game using 'Meshplorer', process complexity should not be underestimated. If a modder has released these files without noting they are a modder resource or explicitly and in full detail explaining how you are supposed to use them, I'd advise against it. They are not for the average user so unless you are interested in learning more about the mesh modding beyond simply applying existing mods they are a suboptimal release format as they are absolutely not user-friendly. If you are, advanced tutorials can be found in the corresponding forum section.

.UPK - Resource for modders. These are Unreal Engine 3 Package files. Most often released by modders as a modding resource to manually import meshes into ME3 using 'Meshplorer'. If a modder has released these files without noting they are a modder resource or explicitly and in full detail explaining how you are supposed to use them, I'd advise against it. They are not for the average user so unless you are interested in learning more about the mesh modding beyond simply applying existing mods they are a suboptimal release format as they are absolutely not user-friendly. If you are, advanced tutorials can be found in the corresponding forum subsection.

.DDS - ME3 textures use this compression format. The DirectDraw Surface container file format from Microsoft, a standard for storing data compressed with the lossy S3 Texture Compression (S3TC) algorithm which can be decompressed in hardware by GPUs and consoles like the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The format is used for storing graphical textures and cubic environment maps as a data file, both compressed and uncompressed. Ideally these files are packaged in TPF's or texture .MODs. Modders might release these files with instructions for users to manually replace textures using 'Texplorer', this is a suboptimal release method as it's not particularly user-friendly. DDS textures with hex id's in the name can be fed straight into the 'TPF/DDS Tools' to be applied to the gamefiles as well. Tutorials can be found in the corresponding forum subsection.


DLC Folder names
It can be useful to know which names were given to the folders for each DLC as they are otherwise not always recognizable.

DLC_EXP_Pack001: Leviathan
DLC_EXP_Pack002: Omega
DLC_EXP_Pack003, DLC_EXP_Pack003_Base: Citadel
DLC_OnlinePassHidCE: Collector's Edition additional content
DLC_CON_END: Extended Cut
DLC_HEN_PR: From Ashes
DLC_CON_DH1: Genesis 2
DLC_CON_APP01: Alternate Appearance Pack 1
DLC_CON_GUN01: Firefight Pack
DLC_CON_GUN02: Groundside Resistance Pack
DLC_CON_MP1: Resurgence Multiplayer Expansion
DLC_CON_MP2: Rebellion Multiplayer Expansion
DLC_CON_MP3: Earth Multiplayer Expansion
DLC_CON_MP4: Retaliation Multiplayer Expansion
DLC_CON_MP5: Reckoning Multiplayer Expansion


How not to vanilla your game
Don't update or repair via Origin on a modified game without having first manually removed the modified files. It will leave the 'repaired' modded files in an unpure state and they will often not be properly vanilla'd. Always copy in either a vanilla backup or manually delete all modified files from your gamefolders prior to using Origin repair or update. If you did not vanilla via either of these methods while testing mod functionality, we can not vouch for the consistency of your installation and can't help you if problems arise.



As a last note: This toolset is still under development and using it should be a conscious choice, aware of the possibility you could run into bugs and that will cost you time. As much as we can understand running into issues is frustrating, remember we experience the exact same and are always on the receiving end. Please refrain from getting angry and using harsh language. If you can't or are unwilling to provide us with detailed and accurate information about issues, we simply can not help you. The founders and programmers behind this project are donating their time free of change towards making an unmoddable game moddable. Respect the effort.

Happy reporting / modding,
Otte