HaloMods "Classic" Read-only Archive

Hey, guys. I'm a casual modder and recently I've upgraded my computer to Vista Ultimate (32-bit). Halo installs and works fine on it, however, when it comes to modding, I've had some issues...

Well, first of all, when using HMT, I've found it impossible to change the character teams (using both the default-included plugins and the 60-plugin pack). Not sure if that's an issue on my part or a part of Vista, however my main concern is the inability to replace modified maps with unmodded maps.

Take today for example: I wanted to mod the flood so that I can get them all on my "team" and ride in warthogs. Of course, the team issue was the ultimate killer, but I decided I would just modify cyborg meta. No problem, right? I do a quick meta-swap in HMT, swaping cyborg and cyborg_unarmed with floodcombat_elite. The swap worked perfectly, but as expected, teams didn't change. I proceed to swap meta with sentinels and floodcombat_human, but to no avail.

In my frustration, I decide to replace the modified map with my backup. Of course, I was able to replace it easily, as far as Windows was concerned, but when I loaded up Halo, all of the mods and swaps I had made were still intact! I've also DELETED the map from the MAPS folder, but for reasons I can't explain, the map STILL LOADED.

So, I turn to extremes: I uninstall Halo and clean my registry of any trace, then reinstall. Lo and behold, the modded map still loaded. All logic says that this should have resolved the problem, but it hasn't.

Given my situation, I can see a few factors, primarily differences between Vista and XP, that might affect this:

1.) User Account Control (UAC)
2.) Ownership/Permissions
3.) ROBOCOPY (replaces XCOPY)

Before I start tearing apart Vista and Halo alike, I was wondering if someone could shed some light on the predicament. Any and all advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

first of all vista never did this on my computer...and 2...teams are only on CE. and why your halo map is still modded is probably something you did wrong. Vista works fine on my computer.

Ps what kind of vista do you have?

Well, one thing that I've noticed about Vista is it is a hit-and-miss OS: what works on one computer does not always work on another. But, you misunderstand me when I say "teams." I'm referring to the portion of the Biped (bipd) plugin in HMT where you can define whether a particular biped is human, Covenant, Flood, Sentinel, etc.

As for my issue, I've managed to resolve it myself. For future reference, here is what I've learned:

First of all, all versions of Vista are equipped with security enhancement titled User Account Control. If you've tried installing programs or running administrative programs, you've probably encountered this little measure. UAC is essentially the "Cancel or Allow" feature of Vista. This feature limits the access that any user-input commands has to the filesystem. In addition, certain areas of the hard drive, particularly the %programfiles% and %windir% directories are inaccessible without administrative permission. The %windir% and %windir%\system32 directory are exclusively protected by ownership rights, preventing any non-SYSTEM authorized access. Changing ownership of everything is a diffucult and tedious process, but it is one way to bypass this level of security. However, I don't recommended it. After all, if someone hijacks your session, they have direct access to system-critical files.

This all being said, when applying mods to Halo maps, especially if replacing them with rebuilt maps, you may or may not be able to revert to backups via the typical copy-paste method. For reasons I can't explain as of yet, UAC interferes with this, possibly for the fact that while running any application as an administrator that the default directory is the %windir%\system32 directory, and you may find that your modifications are irreversible, only replaceable by other mods. The easiest and safest way to resolve this issue is to temporarily diable UAC. Here is how to do this:

1.) Using either the Control Panel or clicking your icon in the Start Menu, open the User Accounts panel. Commands relative to your account should appear.
2.) At the bottom, you should see the Windows Shield and the words "Turn User Account Control on/off". Click this.
3.) Uncheck the only check box and click OK.
4.) Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

After this, all applications should have administrative access and mods should be removable.

Other factors may be affecting this while UAC is enabled, but for the time being and my limited experience in hacking Vista's new security protocols, this is the easiest, sure-fire way to mod/un-mod Halo.

Admiral Lyoko Samus wrote:Well, one thing that I've noticed about Vista is it is a hit-and-miss OS: what works on one computer does not always work on another. But, you misunderstand me when I say "teams." I'm referring to the portion of the Biped (bipd) plugin in HMT where you can define whether a particular biped is human, Covenant, Flood, Sentinel, etc.

Yeah...teams are only on CE.