XIMOD Architect

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XIMOD Architect

The visual FOMOD installer creator, modern and cross-platform — for Bethesda mod authors

Skyrim · Fallout · Starfield · Oblivion · Morrowind

About

XIMOD Architect is a tool for mod authors: it creates FOMOD installers — the guided, step-by-step installers that mod managers present to players so they can choose options. (So it is not a tool for installing mods, but for building the installer your users will use.) It gives you a visual editor for the whole installer (steps, option groups, plugins, conditional files) and generates the standardized info.xml and ModuleConfig.xml files for you, so you never have to write the XML by hand.

A standalone application — no mod manager required. Unlike add-ons that run inside a mod manager (e.g. a Mod Organizer 2 plugin), XIMOD is an independent program that runs on its own on Windows, Linux and macOS. You build your installers anywhere, and you can even simulate how they play out before publishing (see the interactive preview below).

Written in Rust, XIMOD Architect is a port of Wenderer's FOMOD Creation Tool: its core comes from the original C++ code, ported to Rust and then extended — Linux/macOS support, a fully translatable interface, built-in tools and support for all Bethesda games on Nexus. Published with the kind permission of Wenderer, author of the original tool, with my sincere thanks.

New in version 1. 0. 2

This release brings the conditional-rules editors straight into the graphical interface, so you can build "smart" installers without hand-writing any XML:

• []Plugin dependencies panel — in the Install Steps tab, make an option's type dynamic. Keep a default type, then add one or more patterns: for each, choose an operator (And / Or), the type to apply (Optional, Required, Recommended, NotUsable, CouldBeUsable) and its conditions — a file dependency on a plugin (state Active / Inactive / Missing) or a flag dependency. Typical use: make an option NotUsable by default and Optional only when a required .esp is active. This mirrors the "Plugin dependencies" panel of the original FOMOD Creation Tool.[/]

  []Step visibility conditions panel — give each step its own <visible> block: set the operator and add file or flag conditions so the step appears in the wizard only when they are met (for example a compatibility-patch step shown only when a given plugin is active).[/]

Both panels read, write and preserve the corresponding FOMOD XML, and are fully covered by the interactive preview and validation. The user manual has been updated accordingly in all 32 languages.

Key features

• []Visual FOMOD editor organized in four tabs: Mod Info, Install Steps, Required Installs and Conditional Installs.[/]

  []All five group selection types (SelectExactlyOne, SelectAtLeastOne, SelectAtMostOne, SelectAll, SelectAny) and all five option types (Required, Optional, Recommended, CouldBeUsable, NotUsable).[/]

  []Condition flags, dependency patterns and conditional file installs — the full ModuleConfig 5. 0 feature set, now with visual editors for plugin dependencies and step visibility (no hand-written XML).[/]

  []Generates fomod/info.xml and fomod/ModuleConfig.xml in UTF-8, and automatically detects the encoding (UTF-8 / UTF-16) when reopening files made by other tools.[/]

  []Interactive installer preview: simulate the FOMOD exactly as the player will see it (Back / Next), and see precisely which files would be installed for each set of choices — test your installer before publishing, with no mod manager.[/]

  []One-click export of a distribution archive (.zip), laid out exactly as mod managers and Nexus expect.[/]

  []Merge two FOMODs into one.[/]

  Built-in tools

  • []XML editor with syntax highlighting and live validation (line/column error reporting) for info.xml and ModuleConfig.xml.[/]

    []Properties explorer: a read-only browser of the bundled country/language database.[/]

    []Translation editor: translate the interface itself without touching any files, with automatic protection of macros and variables.[/]

    Multilingual

    [*]Ships with 32 interface transla