Are there any Mod Managers that use Symbolic Links?

[+HomeFries 29]

I have a question for the file-savvy folks here:

 

Normally I use Generic Mod Enabler to manage my mods, and SF2 is no exception. Simply, the way it works is it creates a folder called "MODS" within the main folder of the program you want to mod. Then when you enable a mod, it copies it from your "MODS" folder into your main install using the same hierarchy.

 

For example, let's say I want to install mods in the c:\users\[username]\saved games\thirdwire\StrikeFighters2 Europe folder. If I ran GME for SF2E, I would put the exe in my ...\StrikeFighters2 Europe folder, and when I ran it it would create a folder called ...\StrikeFighters2 Europe\MODS.

 

As you can imagine, given the number of different installs (e.g. NATO Fighters, ODS, etc.) and the size of many of these mods, enabling them separately for each SF2 installation becomes unwieldy. I would like to use symbolic links (useable in Vista and later), which are essentially shortcuts for files and folders.

 

I've already been able create a "master mods folder", and then use symbolic links to create instances in each GME "MODS" folder. However, even when I create symbolic links in the GME "MODS" folders, when I enable the mods with GME it copes the files entirely, as opposed to just copying the symbolic links.

 

So here's the question:

I would like to be able to copy over the symbolic links using a mod manager. Is there any way I can do this? Is there a mod manager out there that uses this ability, and/or is there a way to force a program to respect existing symbolic links?

 

Thanks,

Edited April 14, 2012 by HomeFries

[+Stary 2,426]

it's reinventing the wheel if you ask me... Series2 was designed specifically around the concept of multiple MODS installations without the Series1 need to have whole game with core files copied again and again...

 

If you do use GME then the mods you don't use at the moment are still on your drive, so it's more efficient to have them installed in separate mod installs, isn't it?

[+HomeFries 29]

I use GME as a Configuration Management tool as well as for mod management, which is to say that GME also tells me whether installing one mod will overwrite files in another, and it backs up the overwritten files to preserve iterations.

 

I agree that separate installations with the SF2 core files is a brilliant way to do things, but there are some mods that lend themselves to multiple installs. For example, the TMF F-14 Superpack would find a home in ODS, NF4+, a "stock" version, WFI, etc. Certainly your SARCASM mod fits the bill here as well . I'm just trying to optimize things, and I can be like an obsessive pit bull when it comes to details like this.