Mod Removal Tool!

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[pad11]

Folks, the TM people are on a roll!  See my added note in the Update Comgin thread started by zorba...

And no this, finally, a Mod Removal Tool!

http://simcitysocieties.ea.com/community/forum/start.php?openItemID=item.213

Follow this link and you'll see a string called Mod Removal Tool

It works like a charm!  Puts an icon on your desktop that when you double clicks, calls up ANYTHING you've added to the game OUT OF BOX and gives you the option to get rid of it...

THIS WAS EXACTLY what I was looking for and now I can try some other mods w/ out worrying about them screwing up my original game, although I have no interest in CHEAT mods or mods that unlock roads or building styles, etc.

later,
pat!

[City Builder]

Wonderfull.  Man I can't express how much that was needed.  Going through the xml files one by one and then having to remove one file by one file piece by piece was tedius to say the least.  Only second best to actually wiping out all the mod folders and letting the game recreate them then reinstalling the mods that I actually wanted to keep.

If this works without borking a mod by some errant xml code, this will be great.  Just wish that TM would integrate something like this into the game itself to avoid having to keep extra programs laying around.  But until or if they don't, then this should be great.

Thanks for the headsup Pat!

[pad11]

No problem CB!

later,
pat!

[Sandra]

OH WOW!!!! just what we needed, I only have CB's texture and another single texture by someone else because I was afraid to mess up the game (I had heard all the horror stories about getting the mods out again), now I'll be able to try that 'stay open later' mod at TM,  thanks Pat

[pad11]

You got it Sandra! 

This is by far the best 'mod/tool/patch' released to date....

pat!

[City Builder]

WARNING!

The mod removal tool does NOT actually remove the mod files!  It only removes the mod's xml file that is stored in the IMPORT folder.  The files that the mods install are left behind, so the mod folder will continue to grow and grow and GROW and GROW in size if you keep adding mods to your game.  So any mods that you add will use diskspace from the files that they install, but only the smallest file (the installations xml file) will actually be removed.

I just tested this out with my own mods and sure enough the actual graphic image files and localized text files and basically everything that is installed with my mods (and other peoples that I've now tested) are left behind.

I'm going to post this on simcity.com and see if it's supposed to remove all the mod files or only the xml installation file.  Because it seems to me it shoudl remove all of them to prevent this folder from filling up with mod stuff and eating up disk space.

[City Builder]

After retesting this, I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't remove the mods at all.  Simply removing the xml file in the Import folder won't actually remove the mod.  I have my own brownbrick texture mod, and I used the tool to remove it.  It uninstalled the installation xml file in the Import folder, but left behind the texture and other associated files, so i loaded up a game to be sure that maybe by simply removing this one installation xml file then maybe the game would at least ignore the associated files for the mod but sure as rice is white, there was the brown brick texture mod still in my terrain texture building menu.

So if I were you all, I'd hold off from going hog wild and installing all kinds of mods right now until they get out a tool that actually does as it says it will or at least provide an explanation on why this mod tool isn't removing the associated files.

Temporary solution of course if you have already gone hog wild is to just delete the SimCity Socieites mod folder: (Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SimCity Societies), then start the game and let it recreate this folder, then reinstall the mods that you do want in your game.

I have posted a note on the official simcity general forum and am hopefully going to get a response as to whether or not it actually works, or why it isn't working on my computer and maybe Im just a special situation.

[pad11]

CB...awesome input for sure!  And a great catch and that is why you're the king!

pat!

[City Builder]

I found the problem.  Some mods are written with lines of data that point to the path of the file as: \Data\ and some mods are written simply with the path pointing to: Data 

By removing the extra \ in front of the word Data in the xml installation file, the mod removal tool will indeed remove the mod.  Theres only a small amount of mod files that I've installed that have written it with the extra \Data instead of just Data, so if you go into the mod Import folder, open each xml file in there with Notepad, and check to see if there is an extra \ in front of the word Data.  Then just remove that extra \ in front of the word Data, then the mod removal tool will work properly.

I know for certain that my brown brick mod is one of the mods that won't uninstall unless you strip the extra \ in front of the word Data first.

I have about 3 others out of about 15 of them that have the same extra \ in front of the word Data that are not my mods so until they fix the tool to look for both Data and \Data if you want to be sure it's going to uninstall, then open up the xml file in the Import folder and remove any extra \ in front of the word Data if it exists.

[Sandra]

BUMMER!!!!
But thanks for the instructions on how to take the mods out and how to make the mod remover tool work, I've printed them out, I will most probably have to refer to them
they might release a working tool soon????
I like that the mod tool doesn't install itself into the PC, just works from the desktop. (when it works)