Modpack Important Tips

[SXScarecrow]

Hello everyone,

If you guys don't know me yet, I'm SXScarecrow. WIthout sounding too Skyrim-y, I used to be a modpack noob like you, but then I taught myself (with lukeb28's help of course) how to make modpacks work. So now I build modpacks for people. Since I have noticed people still posting about how their modpacks do not work, I have created this thread to address the main issues people have with it. This thread is aimed at those who know what they are doing to some extent, but make a silly mistake, screw it up and then can't figure out what went wrong. This thread is NOT a step-by-step guide on how to make a modpack. If you really can't suss it out, this thread would be more helpful.

GENERAL TIP: I use 7zip for making modpacks. I recommend you use it too.

Build Points

• When making the modpack.jar, place only the forge files in there. If you are using Optifine, put those in there too, and if you are using VoxelMods, Liteloader also needs to go in there. As suggested by the name, the modpack'jar needs to be a jar file, not a zip or a Rar.
  
• It also good practice to use the latest Forge files you can get. If you are building a modpack for 1.4.7, use Forge build 6.6.0. If you are building one for 1.5.1, try Forge build 7.7.1.
  
• Place the modpack.jar in the bin folder. There should be nothing else inside this folder at all.
  
• Grab the mods you want and place them in their respective folders. Double check to make sure where each mod goes. ChickenBonesCore for example, is a coremod and belongs in the coremods folder, however bspkrsCore goes in the mods folder.
  
• If a certain mod does need a coremod to work, ensure you have the right version of the coremod. For ChickenBonesCore 1.4.7, the best version is 0.7.3, not the latest one. This is the exception to the rule.
  
• if you have bspkrsCore installed, Tree Capitator goes in the mods folder. Otherwise, it goes in the coremods folder. If it doesn't work when testing just swap it over.
  
• Once you have compiled the modpack, its time to test it! I find that creating a hidden page on the Technic Platform to host the pack from is best, because then you can watch the whole process for errors.
  
• To host it, it needs to be a zip file. Select the bin, mods and coremods folders and right click, select 7zip options and click 'Add to archive'. Name the pack whatever you want and click 'Ok'.
  
• When you host it, it must be a direct link, or it will not work. Dropbox is a viable host, but it must be in a public folder, and you must replace the 'www.' of the link with 'dl.' I don't use Dropbox personally, because there is too much room for error. I keep it simple and use omploader. The third link omploader gives you is always a direct link, so it makes this stage so easy. If something goes wrong, I know its not my hosting.
  
• Use the direct link from omploader/Dropbox and paste it into 'Modpack Location' on yourTechnic Platform modpack page, and save it. Use the technic platform link (looks like this 'http://www.technicpack.net/api/modpack/YOUR PACK NAME') and paste it into the Technic Platform launcher 'Add pack'. Click Ok, then launch.
  
• The Platform will now download all the files from the zip and set up the pack. At this stage the configs will generate. Now its debugging time.
  

Error messages

• If when you try to add the pack to the Platform, it asks you for an install directory, simply set it to be somewhere other than /appdata/Roaming/.technic. Just stick it in Documents or something.
  
• If the pack takes ages to load and it just goes whitescreen, go to the FML logs located in the .technic/YOURPACK directory and go to the bottom line. If it all appears FINE or FINEST yet still doesn't load, check the last mod that FML was trying to load. Remove that mod from the mods folder and try again. Usually this happens when there are other errors present, and once you have fixed these, you can generally add that mod back in once you have finished debugging.
  
• If you get the error 'java.lang.IllegalArgumentException', it means that you have two block/item ID's that are same. In order to fix this, read the specific lines. In this example, you can see that portalgun and logistics pipes are conflicting.

  java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Slot 1100 is already occupied by portalgun.common.block.BlockPortalMod@5bcce43f when adding logisticspipes.blocks.LogisticsSignBlock@689d132e

  To fix this, go into the config folder in the .technic/YOURPACK directory, and have a look at both config files. Because ID's are generally sequential, change the block ID's of the mod that has the less blocks in it. This can be a pain if you have mods that have large amounts of blocks in them, but its the best way to fix this error.
  

• If you get an 'IndexOutOfBoundsException' error, remember that block ID's can only go up to a maximum of 4096. Any number after this will cause this crash. Because of the way our minds work, the most commonly used ID's are at the ends of the spectrum, so the 1000's and the 4000's are used a lot, in particular 4095 is a block ID that is claimed by many mods. To fix, look at what mod has caused it by scrolling down (NEI can be useful here, it has an index for each block ID) and simply change the troublesome ID. This error does not occur naturally, and so if you know you have changed a block ID, go back and have a look. Is it above 4096? This can occur for items too, but its rare because the maximum number of item ID's is 32000!
  
• Any other error you might occur is generally fixed by reinstalling the specific mod, or by taking the pack apart until you find the core of the problem. Errors can be hidden by other errors, so building a pack slowly and methodically may take a while, but its the best option.
  

Final Points

• When FML loads up, if it crashes immediately and tells you it has a fatal error and cannot load, now is the time to rebuild your pack. This error is generally caused by a corrupt or mismatching mod/coremod. Back to the drawing board!
  
• Now you have debugged your pack, you need to re-compile it again. You need the bin, mods and coremods folders as before, making sure you used the changed versions if you added/removed mods. This time, you also need the modified config folders you changed, or your players will encounter the same issues you just did. Create a folder named 'config' on the desktop, and place the modified config files (only the ones you changed however, the rest will generate normally) in there. Also place the bin folder (with just the modpack.jar in), coremods and mods folder on the Desktop, and re zip as you did before. Congrats, you now have a fully functional custom zip modpack ready to play! Just rehost it and add it to a public Platform page and hey presto!
  

If you have any other issues, please PM me, and I'll see if I can sort it. If you modpack maestro's out there think I've missed something, post below and I'll add it in! Happy modpacking!

EDIT: Can a mod sticky this please? It took me a while to write and it might reduce the amount of time we spend repeating ourselves.

[miniboxer]

[quote="SXScarecrow, post: 355254, member: 111160".

[*]Contrary to popular belief, TreeCapacitor belongs in the mods folder, not coremods.

[SXScarecrow]

[quote="SXScarecrow, post: 355254, member: 111160".

[*]Contrary to popular belief, TreeCapacitor belongs in the mods folder, not coremods.

Treecapitator doesn't go in mods. Go read the mod post for it.