Using UMOD files

This tutorial will explain how to use & install Umod files. These topics will be explained:

  1. Installing a .umod file
  2. Known errors
  3. After installing the .umod file: what next?

Assumptions

I assume you have a working knowlege of the operating system you are using, and that you have already downloaded a .umod file to experiment on.

Installing a .umod file

This one is very simple. At least, when everyting is working OK. In Windows, just double-click on the .umod file, and it shoud fire up an installer wizard. When asked for a directory, simply type in your UT dir, ie. C:\Games\UnrealTournament. If you’re running Linux, download the Platform independent umod installer, and follow the instructions provided.

Known Errors

This will be in a Q&A style. Of course, this list is not complete. If you’ve had any error message that is not in here, please leave a message at my forum, and I’ll add it to this list.

All I see are lines like ‘Product=ExternalSniper’ etc. What am I doing wrong? All I get is an ‘Open with…’ dialog box. What do i do?

It seems that .umod files haven’t been associated with the right program yet. Open the explorer, go to View, Folder Options… and then to the ‘File types’ tab. Press the ‘New type’ button. Fill the fields this way:

  • Description: Unreal Module
  • Associated extension: umod
  • Content type: leave it empty. If windows starts to complain, set it to unknown/unknown.

Now press the ‘New’ button. In this dialog, type this:

  • Action: &Install this module
  • Application used…: C:\Games\UnrealTournament\System\Setup.exe install “%1”

Replace ‘C:\Games\UnrealTournament’ with your UT directory. Now press ‘Ok’ two times, and you’re done!

Setup reports that Unreal Tournament is not installed in X:\Y\UnrealTournament, but I know for sure it is

This ususally indicates a corrupted Manifest.ini. There are some lines and sections that must exist in Manifest.ini. You can read them in the manifest.ini tutorial. Don’t simply replace your Manifest.ini file with these lines, but make sure they are there.

A corrupted Manifest.ini can be caused by creating an UMod package without the use of UModWizard.

I get errors like ‘Unknown disposition’ etc.

Some file is corrupted. Try to download the .umod file again, and see if that fixes things. It could also be that some of your UT files are broken. If this is the case, you can tell, because re-downloading the file 3 times doesn’t solve the problem. If so, back up all your personal UT stuff (like skins, maps etc.) remove UT, and re-install it. That should do the trick.

I’ve installed the .Umod file, but the mutator doesn’t show up in the ‘Mods’ menu

Unfortunately, this menu is very fragile. If any mod is doing something wrong, all could go to hell. Well, not really. Check out which mutator is shown last in the menu. It is either this one, or the next mutator (alphabetially speaking) that is giving the problems.

You can remove a mutator from the menu, by opening its .Int file, and putting a ; in front of the line that has MetaClass=UMenu.UMenuModMenuItem in it. Remove the mutator that is giving problems (or might give problems) from the menu, and see if that fixes things. If not, remove some more mutators from the menu. Experiment a little, and in no time you should be able to find out which one is giving trouble. Keep the broken mutator from the menu. You can configure it by manually editing its .ini file.

Another possibility is that the mutator doesn’t use the mod menu at all. You can tell, because it hasn’t got a line containing MetaClass=UMenu.UMenuModMenuItem in its .int file.

After installing the Umod file: what next?

This depends on the contents of the Umod file. If it is a map or a skin, you sould be able to select it from the appropriate menu and use it right away. For mutators, it is actually the same story, but people seem to have some trouble with it. So here is how to activate the mutator.

  1. Install the mutator.
  2. If needed, configure it from the mod menu.
  3. Tell UT you want to start a new practice session.
  4. In the tab that lets you choose the maps, hit the ‘Mutators’ button.
  5. Double-click the mutators you want to move them from the left (installed mutators), to the right (active mutators) list.
  6. Hit ‘Ok’ (or was it ‘Close’?), and configure the rest of your game.
  7. Hit ‘Start’, and play away!

That’s it!

If you have any additions to this list, or any questions, just mail me!

Last updated on 21 Mar 2021