Bug: High M2DA ID ranges might work in the toolset, but not in game
- Version found: 1.01
- Status: Open
Description
Synopsis
High values for the ID field in various M2DA tables will appear to work correctly while testing in the toolset, but will cause various issues in the game, like missing meshes. The limit for when an ID is "low enough" to work changes depending on the M2DA being used.
Details
Dragon Age allows to extend the built-in data tables through the M2DA process. A new .gda file is created with the same name as the original, plus an extra suffix, and it contains the data for the additional table rows. To facilitate merging this data with the native 2DA files, a unique ID must be chosen for the additional rows. If two M2DAs with identical IDs get merged, they will overwrite each other.
The valid range for this ID is at least 1 - 2 billion (2^31), with 0 - 1000000 reserved for Bioware's own use. Therefore, picking a random high number should ensure that no two addons ever have ID collisions.
The bug now appears to be, that depending on the tables that get M2DA'd, only very low ID values work correctly in game. They appear to be working as expected in the toolset, but as soon as the mod is tested, issues surface.
Example:
Extending materialrules.gda, materialtypes.gda and ts_material.gda seems to work fine in the toolset and in game as well, values at least as high as 80000000 work perfectly well. Extending armor_massive_variation.gda does NOT work as expected. picking 1500 as ID, for example, will work in the toolset, but as soon as an armor using this variation is equipped in game, the body mesh will disappear, leaving only floating hands, feet and a head.
Using a file named "armor_massive_variation_ar.gda" with the contents:
| ID | Label | MODELTYPE | MODELVARIATION | ICONNAME | DefaultMaterial | SoundMatType | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 141 | Knight Champion Armor | rob | arc | h | 2 | 13 |
will work, while:
| ID | Label | MODELTYPE | MODELVARIATION | ICONNAME | DefaultMaterial | SoundMatType | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1412 | Knight Champion Armor | rob | arc | h | 2 | 13 |
will not work and produce the behaviour described above.
Table Listing
This is a list of all .gda files that can be M2DA'd and whether they show this problem, and at which ranges:
| Name | Appears to work? (y/n) | Highest tested working ID |
|---|---|---|
| areadata.gda | Y | 80141200 |
| armor_massive_variation.gda | N | 141 |
| item_sets.gda | Y | 80141200 |
| materialrules.gda | Y | 80141200 |
| materialtypes.gda | Y | 80141200 |
| screenshake.gda | Y | 80141200 |
| ts_material.gda | Y | 80141200 |
Workarounds
Only known workaround right now is to use a very very low ID, most likely in the range reserved for Bioware. This is NOT A LONG TERM OPTION, as addon collisions WILL happen.
