Launcher - Mod Handling – Arma 3

This page presents description of mod handling by Arma 3 Launcher.

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This documentation describes current state in Development Branch of Arma 3. Not all features mentioned in here are available to users in Main Branch. For more info about Arma 3 branches see: Arma 3 Steam Branches

Overview

The Mods tab in Launcher allows you to configure Steam Workshop mod content. From here you can see a list of all your subscribed content. Workshop supports uploading unlimited size items containing multiple files.

Main Features

• All subscribed Steam Workshop mods are visible in Mods tab.
• User can subscribe and unsubscribe mods directly from the Launcher.
• Launcher automatically downloads updates for all subscribed mods (data, signatures, dependencies).
• Launcher signalizes current state of mod (ready, downloading, corrupted etc.).
• [NEW] Launcher signalizes mod dependencies (one mod requires different mod for proper functionality) and handles missing mods.

User can add even Local mods (=not present on Steam Workshop) to the Launcher list of mods, but only enabling and disabling is supported in this case.

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All downloads are handled by the Steam Client. When downloading updates for multiple-files mods, Steam Client will download content but do not update the mod files when any Arma 3 related application (Arma 3, Launcher, Publisher) is running. Please, exit all the applications to allow updates to be pushed from the temporary download folder to a proper folder.

Mods in Launcher

UI Documentation

Mods Tab

The Mods tab is together with News, Parameters and Battleye one of the main tabs in Launcher.

• Preset - Here you can save, load and name various presets of mods. This makes switching mod sets much faster. The current unsaved preset is preserved when the launcher quits.
• + Steam Workshop - Opens Steam Workshop home page with mod tag pre-selected to allow easier mod subscribing.
• + Local mod - Opens browse folder dialog. User is able to include his local (non-Workshop) mods into Launcher to manage them from one place, mods can be also drag'n'dropped into the Launcher window.
• More
  • Unsubscribe all Steam Workshop mods - Automatically unsubscribes and deletes data of all mods currently subscribed on Steam Workshop.
  • Add watched folder - Allows you to add watched folder where Launcher detects local mods.
• Unload all - All mods are unloaded and moved into the Available mods part.
• Load all - All mods are loaded and moved into the Loaded mods part.
• Status icon - Signifies the status of the mod, for detailed info see next chapter Mod States.
• Signature icon - Mods with multiplayer signatures are marked by a green sign icon.

Mod Info

The Mod Info presents detailed info about a mod and is opened after click on any mod in the list of mods.

• Source - Indicates the source of mod (Steam Workshop or Local)
• Author - Shows author of given mod. For Steam Workshop mods it is person who uploaded the mod on Workshop.
• Last update - Time when was the last update uploaded on Steam Workshop.
• File size - Size of mod's data folder.
• Status - Signifies the status of the mod, for detailed info see next chapter Mod States.
• Multiplayer - Multiplayer signatures are marked in here. Except the signed and not signed states, even the partially signed state (not all PBOs have signature) is signalized.
• Button Steam Workshop - Opens the mod's page in Steam Workshop.
• Button Mod Folder - Opens the mod folder.
• Button Dependencies View - Opens the dependencies view, for more info see part Dependencies bellow.
• Button Re-download - Re-downloads the mod from Steam Workshop.
• Button Unsubscribe - Unsubscribes from mod and deletes its local files.

Mod States

Icon	State	Status in Mod Info	Description
	OK	Ready	Item is installed and ready to be used.
	Not Ready	Not Ready Verifing... Checking..	Item is being initialized.
	Busy	Downloading... Synchronizing... Removing... Working...	Item is currently being processed. It cannot be loaded into the game.
	Listed	Not Installed	Item is not installed, waiting for download by the Steam Client.
	Installation Queued	Not installed, download queued	Item is waiting to be installed by the Steam Client.
	Update Queued	Ready, update queued (on Steam)	Item is installed and is queued for update. Update will not be processed when the Launcher, Publisher or game are running. This will be marked in the Progress bar.
	Corrupted	Corrupted	Item is installed and corrupted and cannot be loaded into the game. Causes: mod target path is not set mod target path doesn't exist mod target path doesn't contain Addons directory mod target path / Addons doesn't contain an *.pbo or *.ebo file

Dependencies

Launcher is able to handle mod dependencies (one mod requires different mod for proper functionality) and offer download of missing mods from Steam Workshop.

System Description

• Only mods on Steam Workshop can use dependencies.
• Dependencies can be set by mod's author in the mod's administration on Steam Workshop.
• Subscribe/Load of required mods is offered to user when loading a mod with dependencies.
• Multiple dependencies are supported (even mods downloaded as a dependency can have own dependencies and Launcher solves them).

UI Documentation

Load dependencies
This dialog offers subscription/load of missing dependencies.

• Checkbox - Select which mods should be subscribed/loaded.
• +Subscribe - Manually subscribes given mod.
• Webpage - Opens the mod's page in Steam Workshop.
• Subscribe/Load selected mods - Subscribes/Loads all selected mods from Steam Workshop.
• Ignore dependencies - The mod is still loaded, but all dependencies are ignored.
• Cancel - Cancels the dialog, the mod is not loaded neither are the dependencies.

Unload mod with dependencies
This dialog warns user when trying to unload a mod which is a dependency for any other loaded mod.

• Checkbox - Select which mods should be unloaded as well.
• Unload mod anyway - Unloads only the mod you choose to unload. Keeps all mods dependent on this mod loaded.
• Unload all selected mods - Unloads the mod you choose to unload and all selected mods as well.