Installing Mods

From HaloDemoMods

This tutorial will show you how to use a modified map (known as a 'mod') with Halo Demo and Halo Full.

If you are using a Halo Full mod, there are a few special considerations:

• You will need to restart Halo Full after you move the maps around, because the application loads its maps when it opens (almost like Halo CE). On the other hand, Halo Demo loads the map when it displays the map list during the creation of a new multiplayer game.
• If you are using the Halo Full Universal Binary version, you can find the maps folder inside the application. To navigate to the maps folder in the Finder, click once on the Halo application to select it and then go under the File menu and choose "Show Package Contents". A window will open with the application bundle's contents. Navigate through this path: Resources -> Game Data -> Maps. This is your maps folder.

Contents 1 Overview 2 How to Install a Mod 3 Alternate Alias Method 4 Mod Managers

Overview

Sometimes, a modified map contains changes and enhancements that are beyond the spectrum of information that is transferred between the server and the client during a multiplayer game. The issue, then, is that the server-side map and the client-side map are different. In this scenario, a few things might happen, depending upon the mod:

• The client will be able to join and play the game normally,
• The client will be able to join, but some aspects of the game will be glitchy or unusual, or
• The client will not be able to join the hosted game, and his application will probably crash (in other words, Halo Demo will quit on you).

To avoid issues and general incompatibilities when playing more heavily-modded maps, each client should download and install the mod that the host/server is using. This will ensure that all the players in a game see everything that they are supposed to see. (You'd want to know if you were running into a wall, wouldn't you?)

How to Install a Mod

This method of installing a mod involves moving the modded map file back and forth between its folder and the Maps folder. This is the common way of installing mods.

1. Open your Halo Demo application folder. (If you are using Halo Full, please read the notes at the top of this page.)
2. Open the Maps folder that you see inside.
3. Create a new folder called "originals".
4. Inside the Maps folder, you'll see a file called "bloodgulch.map". Put this map file into the "originals" folder.
5. Download a mod for Halo Demo. Open/unstuff the downloaded file until you see a file ending in ".map".
6. Drag this modded map file into your Maps folder.
7. Make sure the mod file is called "bloodgulch.map" - rename it if necessary.

When you're done using a map in this way, put the "bloodgulch.map" mod file into a folder that is named after the mod (purely for organizational purposes). You can also give the mod and its folder the same color label so you can keep track of which one it is.

Kayar says remember to keep backups! Keep your Halo Demo .dmg in your Halo Demo folder, or somewhere else you won't forget. Maybe under your pillow or your hamster?

Alternate Alias Method

Inside your Halo Demo application folder, there is a Maps folder that contains all the single and multiplayer maps that are used by the game. In the demo version of Halo, only one multiplayer map is available: Bloodgulch. Upon opening the Maps folder, we can see this map file, called "bloodgulch.map". Since mods are actually altered map files, it stands to reason that a downloaded mod would just be giving you a brand-new "bloodgulch.map" file to use. However, since we can only have one multiplayer map at a time, we're going to have to trick the demo into thinking that it's using the old Bloodgulch map, even though it will be using the modded map. This can be done in two different ways. The most convenient method involves using an alias to link to your separate mod files, and the alternate (more tedious) method involves actually moving the map files around.

Installing mods is extremely easy to do, but without an organized approach, things could get hairy and frustrating. Therefore, the following process is recommended.

1. Open your Halo Demo application folder (that's the one with your game inside it). You'll see a few files and a maps folder, too.
2. Create a new folder inside. Name this folder Mods.
3. Download the mod you want to use. If your downloaded file comes as a ".zip" or a folder, open it until you reach the file ending in ".map". This is your mod file.
4. Now we're going to create a folder for your new mod. Open your Mods folder and create a new folder inside. Name this new folder after the name of your mod. (If the mod is called "Agoraphobia," then the title of this new folder will be "Agoraphobia".)
5. Drag the downloaded mod file (the one ending in ".map") and drop it inside that new folder inside the Mods folder.
6. Now go back to the Halo Demo application folder and open the Maps folder.
7. Create an alias of the "bloodgulch.map" file.
8. Create a new folder inside the Maps folder. Call this folder "originals". Put the original "bloodgulch.map" file inside that "originals" folder.
9. Now rename that alias to "bloodgulch.map". Make sure that there are no spaces left over in the filename; it has to have that exact filename.
10. Select the alias, get info (File menu > Get Info), and click on "Select New Original..."
11. In the window that pops up, select the mod file (that ends in ".map") that you placed within the Mods folder.

You should now have a very organized setup that will allow you to switch mods very quickly and easily.

If you ever want to change the map or mod that you're playing, simply "get info" on the bloodgulch alias and select a new original .map file. If there are any other .map files provided with your download, such as bitmaps.map files, use the same process on those, too. You can include aliases for each of these .map files. Just leave the aliases inside the maps folder and have those aliases link to wherever your active map files are.

Note that the bitmaps.map file is loaded into memory when the application is opened, so you'll need to quit and relaunch the application in order to load new bitmaps.map files. On the other hand, bitmap images that have been internalized into the playable map files are loaded with the playable maps at each new game. Mods with internalized bitmaps generally don't include the large, separate bitmaps.map files.

Mod Managers

Another alternate way of installing/organizing mods is using a mod manager program. Some known ones are HDemoLauncher, The Operator, and Yummy's Switchers.