Installing mods
Glest has a wide variety of mods, all which are installed in the Glest folder.
Please note that this document is outdated in terms of MegaGlest. Locations have changed since.
Folders
First of all, you should be familiar with what the Glest folder is. This is the installation folder, where you installed everything either by telling the installer where to place the files or by manually copying the files into this folder yourself.
| Operating system | Engine | Folder |
|---|---|---|
| Windows (32 bit) | Glest | c:\Program Files\Glest_* |
| Windows (64 bit) | Glest | c:\Program Files (x86)\Glest_* |
| Windows (32 bit) | GAE | c:\Program Files\glestae * |
| Windows (64 bit) | GAE | c:\Program Files (x86)\glestae * |
| Windows (32 bit) | MegaGlest | c:\Program Files\MegaGlest |
| Windows (64 bit) | MegaGlest | c:\Program Files (x86)\MegaGlest |
An asterisk denotes that the version number will be there, so Glest version 3.2.2 would have the folder named Glest_3.2.2
Archives
Because mods are usually a compilation of multiple files, they are usually compressed into an archive. This is a special file format that greatly reduces filesize and ensures that all the files are available together. In order to use the files, you must first extract them from this archive. Common archives used in Glest are:
- 7z - One of the most common, this is the 7-Zip file format, and has the best compression rate. The free program 7zip is required to extract/archive them. GAE can use non-solid 7z files as add-ons.
- zip - This is an old format, and not very common anymore, due mostly to its poor compression rates. Windows, Linux, and Mac can all extract and compress zip files by default, as can the program 7zip. GAE can use zip files as add-ons.
- rar - A less common program because free tools can only decompress it. 7zip (free) or winRAR (commercial) can extract these files. Only winRAR can archive in this format. Using this format is not recommended because it is a proprietary format and that clashes with the free beliefs of Glest.
- tar.gz / tar.bz2 - This is a duel file format. First, the data is stored with the tar format, then compressed with Gzip/Bzip2. If extracting, you must extract TWICE (once for the gz/bz2, once for the tar file). Linux can extract by default, as can the 7zip program.
Installing Mods
Note: For GAE, all mods are installed relative to the shared/gae folder inside GAE's installation directory. Glest/MegaGlest use just the installation directory.
Add-ons
Add-ons were initially introduced with GAE, but have the distinct advantage that they work on any of Glest's branches, Glest, MegaGlest, or GAE. An add-on is a compressed 7z or zip file that contains the mod's files in a distinct folder structure. As a result, any type of mod can be installed on any fork without having to worry about the folders. For Glest/MegaGlest, the archive has to be extracted into the installation directory, while GAE only needs to place the add-on, still in its archive, in the addons folder, located in the glestadv folder in the user's personal folder.
This makes the add-on format the easiest to use, and it's growing in popularity, however, has not yet been adopted by all modders, and thus manual installation of many mods is required, as described below.
Factions
Factions that do NOT contain the tech tree in which they should belong (ie: Dark Magic. It is meant to go within the Magitech techtree) should generally go inside the magitech or a related techtree (such as the Megapack). Alternatively, you can copy and paste the magitech tech tree to have a copy for the new faction. All factions go inside the techs/techtree_name/factions folder, where techtree_name is the name of the techtree (ie: magitech). To check if the mod is a faction or techtree, open the folder. If there is a resources folder, it is not a faction, but rather a techtree. If there is not a resource folder, it is a faction.
Techtrees
Techtrees are separate from factions because you can only have one techtree for the entire game, and all the player's factions must be in that tech tree. Thus, you can't play Military against Dark Magic because they do not belong in the same techtree. Techtree's are simply copied into the techs folder. How do you know if its a techtree? Open the folder, and if there is a resources folder, it is a techtree. If there isn't a resources folder, its a faction (see above).
Tilesets
Tilesets go into the tileset folder of Glest. You'll know if you have the correct folder structure if there is an XML inside the new folder for the tileset with the same name as the folder.
Maps
Maps should be either a gbm (glest binary map) or mgm (megaglest map) file. All gbm and mgm files are placed in the maps folder.
Languages
Downloaded language files (there should be one sole .lng file) go in the data/lang folder (or gae/data/lang if using GAE). Note that this merely installs the language. To use it, you must set that in the INI by setting Lang (UiLocale in GAE) to equal the name of the newly installed language file.
Scenarios
The scenario's folder needs to be placed in the scenarios folder of Glest. In GAE, it goes in the gae/scenarios/category folder (where category can be any folder name desired, as they are just ways of sorting the scenarios).
Tutorials
In the original Glest and MegaGlest, tutorials go in the tutorials folder. In GAE, they are treated like scenarios (see above).
Game Saves (GAE Only)
Game saves go in the savegames folder. This only applies to GAE. Note that if using someone else's saved game, you must have the map, tileset, techtree, and faction that they used.