[NEWS] Road to 2.0 {Fantastical Multiverse} #3

Official Mod Manager (Mod.io) & Direction Shift

While I've been working on Fantastical Multiverse 2.0 I've released a handful of mods to mod.io (Official Mod Support for Baldur's Gate 3). Most of them haven't even been released to consoles yet and I released these 2-3 months ago. I've done this to see how everything works with getting the projects out to all platforms but a project can be in the queue for a while it seems. Making it kinda pointless to prioritise mod.io releases. Especially with some of my larger projects. I'll still be working on them through the official mod tool but I think my focus will be less worried about mod.io till 2.0 is ready to be released on there. So my focus will be to try to get updates on Nexusmods & here and then as I finish up the parts I'm working on for 2.0 I will then release it there.

The good news is I'm able to merge 1.6 work with 2.0 portions for 3rd-Party so I can create 1.9 content. With the merge, I can then release that here & then to Nexusmods a lot sooner.

This is something I'm actively doing today.

1.6 Migration

1.9 & 2.0 will require a new game. As some of the Root Templates for 1.6 were replaced. Root Template files are essential to a save so if this is changed this will break the save that has the old file. For those who have 1.6 playthroughs as of yesterday, I've actively been checking each file and then placing it on this Legacy Nexus page so you can access those versions of the mod here or now on this Nexusmods page. If you wish to continue your 1.5 - 1.6 playthroughs I'd finish those with the files you currently have before moving on.

1.9 will be compatible with 2.0 because it uses the same UUID and root templates. I should never need to change these since I'm using the official modding tool as the core way that I create mods.

I'm currently going through each file making sure the 1.6 version is fine before uploading it to the Legacy page.

Fantastical Multiverse & Species of the Multiverse

My current focus with 1.9 is to merge and make playable my Official Mod Tool finished work with the stuff that still needs to be ported or transferred. To do this, I will merge files from both into a new file with the same UUID and Root Templates as the Official Mod Tool versions.
This process will be similar to Forspoken Alpha's release but I won't have 2 files for Species of the Multiverse files & Fantastical Multiverse due to it being a little less complex than Forspoken.

For example, I might need to still port a spell or status effect into the official mod tool but the spell is already done in the 3rd-Party version of Fantastical Multiverse. So I'll just put that file into the 1.9 version so that way it can be finished and ready for release.

Another example is that I have a bunch of heads or private parts already made for the race especially a race that is in 1.6 but I haven't fully ported all the heads & private parts into the official modding tool so I can just merge those into this 1.9 file so that race can be ready now rather than later and can be separated into a Species of the Multiverse file and then into the 1.9 single file of Fantastical Multiverse & Fantastical Faerun.

Just to further clarify this will have these mods and races available on here and Nexusmods a lot sooner than the 2.0 release on Mod.io.

Species of the Multiverse

These files will be the standalone files that only have one race. They won't need anything else aside from Improved UI to work. They will contain everything else they will need to function. So if you wanted Shadar-kai and Goblin only you would need to download the files named:

Goblins of the Multiverse

Shadar-kai of the Multiverse

To recap from the prior post:

• These files will be hosted on here and their own Nexus mod page. They won't be found on the Fantastical Multiverse Nexus page, but links to these standalone files will be hosted on the description page of Fantastical Multiverse.

• These files will contain essential information eye colors, hair colors, etc that was shared in Fantastical Compendium but will only overwrite the same information if using a bunch of standalone files. Examples would be Eye Colors, Hair Colors, and Shared Faces like the Kobolds that use the same ones even though there are two versions. (This warning is mostly to inform you when you install a bunch of these you may notice that these files are going to be bigger than their 1.6 versions)

• Each file will only contain heads, and hair files if they utilize those cosmetic options.

• This file won't require 5E Spells or Fantastical Compendium.

• 1.9 versions should have icons if not all of them.

New Things to expect with 1.9:

Some races will remain not merged right away with 1.9 and won't be going to Nexusmods. This is because I still need to make the armor mod for them so I'll just host them here in an Alpha state till I have time to separate armor from them or make armor for them. Just to clarify this armor will be the vanilla armor found in the game files but will have stats to fit the ones that are available to the other races. These are the races that will be in Alpha Release 1.9:

• Kobold

• Goblin

• Bugbear

• Locathah

  The reason for this decision is people typically don't read what you have to say on the Nexus and I don't have the time to respond to every DM or message on Nexusmods. I know at least here y'all are reading what I am saying because you've invested money into this information and I don't think I've ever had to explain anything here that I've posted.

Fantastical Multiverse & Fantastical Faerun

From now on I will only host the large pack files on the Fantastical Multiverse original nexus page. I will provide links to the standalone pages but only race packs will be found on Fantastical Multiverse.

Name of Each Pack:

Fantastical Multiverse: Contains all races.

Fantastical Faerun: Contains only official 5E species.

Fantastical Etharis: Contains only Grim Hollow species.

Fantastical Malipala: Contains only my homebrew species.

Fantastical Eorzea: Contains only the cross-over FFXIV species I created.

Fantastical Ebon Tides: Contains only Ebon Tide species.

• For the large packs I'll be making a 1.9 file that shares the 2.0 UUID so when the update comes out it will be automatically compatible.

• I will release a Fantastical Multiverse & Fantastical Faerun pack first before releasing the other ones.

What's going on with 2.0?

• I'm adding animation set UUIDs to just about every race. This way I can add more flavor to each race with idles, movement, and attacks over time.

• Making a bunch of eye colors for the eyes that didn't have eye color support originally.

• Making new heads for races that support these eye types.

• Still adding heads, private parts, horns, tails, etc. for races.

• Tweaking Aasimar, Fairy & Avariel wing animations so they are more smooth and work correctly in cutscenes.

• Porting abilities that are in 1.6 and making new ones for races.