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Sins Forums
hello, i'm new to modding, but i have figured out how to download and install mods for other versions, but they all have diferent ENTITY files types. i have recently downloaded a modding tutorial, but it doesn't have the new type. does anyone know how to mod on these new files and could help me? if you can, thanks in advance. 
1st, there is no v1.165. Currently, Vanilla Sins is on v1.17, and Entrenchment is on v1.03.
2nd, if you want to update a mod, grab harpo's mod updater here. This will allow you to update mods for v1.15/1.16 to v1.17 for vanilla Sins, and mods for 1.01/1.02 to 1.03 for Entrenchment.
3rd, grab either harpo's sins txt binner here or the Dekhranic Mod Tool GUI here. I personally use the Dekhranic GUI, as for some reason I am unable to figure out harpo's txt binner. Dekhranic Mod Tool GUI can also automate the ConvertXSI command line utility.
4th, optional this one, grab harpo's map updater here. This tool is useful for updating maps from v1.15/1.16 to 1.17 for Sins and v1.01/1.02 to v1.03 for Entrenchment.
EDIT: how could I be so stupid! Okay, you need the Mod Tool GUIs for converting your install folders to ANOTHER LOCATION on your HDD to TXT from BIN (Binary). The Mod Updater is for any mods you have and want to update. Same for the Map Updater.
Typically, a mod is distributed in binary format to slightly decrease the size of the files (Mesh files that are TXTed are much larger than their BINary counterparts though), and to increase performance optimization.
The game engine will read either format, binary or text, but binary makes it run a little bit faster, while text is good for modders/developers, as it's easy to read/understand in a text editor (like Notepad/Wordpad).
So, no, it doesn't matter in general. If you want it to play as smoothly as possible, then binary is the way to go, while if you want to be able to make changes of your own, then text is for you.
another way to get all of my released utilities is my modding utility pack that has ALL of my released utilities in the latest version with ALL the needed support files it can be downloaded from the bottom of the OP in this thread.
and as whiskey144 hinted at MY txtbin gui will NOT convert any folders in the program files path (I did this to protect the game files from damage), so copy the sins & entrenchment folders to another path/drive, edit the sinsref.txt to point each of the lines to your sins reference area and convert away
harpo
huh. So that's why it didn't work.
But harpo, I still beat you to it, and even included the links.
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