Add Mod Manager prototype (auto-detect mods, generate configs, UI flow) #1162
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Adds the mod manager UI hook
- Added imports for ModInventoryService and generateConfigs, plus state fields like modImportState/modImportStateFile.
- On startup the Manager now calls promptModImportIfNeeded, resolving the Saved Games root and scanning available mods
via scanMods().
- showModsPrompt() renders the existing mods.ejs dialog, populating it with the discovered inventory and summary
counts (total/imported/pending).
- Added handlers onModsImportClicked, onModsReviewClicked, onModsSkipClicked, and onModsMenuClicked. Import now
funnels through applyModImport() which:
- Ensures there are pending mods.
- Confirms when some were already imported.
- Marks pending IDs as imported, runs generateConfigs, re-scans, and shows a success toast.
- Added persistence helpers (loadModImportState, saveModImportState, getImportedMods, markModsImported) and a
canonicalization step ensureCanonicalImportedMods to reconcile old folder-based IDs with the new per-unit IDs/
aliases.
- scanMods() caches the inventory, tracks availability for the menu button, and updates currentModSummary used by the
prompt/UI.
- Introduced ModInventoryService that resolves %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\DCS\Mods (both aircraft and tech).
- For each aircraft mod, it now:
- Reads entry.lua for display names, short names, type IDs, lengths, descriptions.
- Searches UnitPayloads/*.lua, parses the payload table (name, displayName, tasks) and converts tasks into Olympus
roles.
- Stores metadata like payload file paths, aliases, issues (e.g., “Payload file not found”), coalition, category,
etc.
- For tech mods (CAM/MAM), it iterates through each unit .lua file to expose every aircraft individually, handling
their IDs/lengths and marking them as “Tech” category units so Olympus can spawn them.
- Adds helpers for sanitizing labels, stripping localization wrappers, deduping aliases, and saving the discovery
results to manager/mods-inventory.json as a cache.
- The discover() method now sorts inventory entries by displayName and returns the decorated descriptors used by the
UI and generator.
- Adds internal parsers (_parsePayloadFile, _extractTableBlock, _matchString, _matchTasks, _mapTasksToRoles) robust
enough to handle localized strings (_("F-22A")) and table keys like ["payloads"].
In short, modinventory.js now produces a rich per-unit descriptor list the rest of the Mod Manager depends on.
- Builds the JSON entries for each unit (names, loadouts, lengths, etc.) and merges them into Saved Games\…\mods.json,
backing up the old file first.
- Writes mods_generated.lua with the mod list plus a payloadFiles table pointing at each mod’s UnitPayloads/*.lua, so
Olympus can load the real payload definitions.
- Exposes a single generateConfigs function that manager.js calls to do both writes safely.
- Maintains Olympus.modsList/modsUnitPayloads so Olympus knows each modded unit’s category and available loadouts.
- Provides helper functions (registerPayload, loadPayloadFile, etc.) so mods can either define custom payloads inline
or let Olympus load the mod’s own UnitPayloads/*.lua.
- On startup it loads mods_generated.lua (written by the Mod Manager) and merges the generated data, including the new
payloadFiles table. That means any mod payload script found during import will be executed automatically, so Olympus
uses the mod’s authentic loadouts instead of hard-coded stubs.
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This PR introduces a prototype Mod Manager workflow to Olympus Manager, aimed at making user-downloaded custom DCS mods simpler and more intuitive to integrate, without requiring manual setup.
What does this do?
Adds a Mod Manager flow to
manager.js:Saved Games\DCS\Mods\aircraftand...\techfor installed modsReplaces
modinventory.jswith a real scanner:entry.luaand anyUnitPayloads/*.luait findsUpdates
modgenerator.js:mods.jsonentries for detected unitsmods_generated.luafile withmodsListentries andpayloadFilesExtends
mods.lua:payloadFilestable to load native UnitPayload definitions for each modTesting.
Saved Games\DCS\Modsmods.jsonandmods_generated.luaare created/updated correctly and that the units can be spawned with their payloadsThis is just a prototype and I’m happy to adjust structure, naming or behavior to better match your preferred design. If this is too big for a single PR I can also break it into smaller pieces (inventory, generator, UI) whatever works best for you.
Additional notes.
Tested on:
Mods used in my tests:
I was able to:
mods.jsonandmods_generated.luawere updatedTutorial
Install a DCS mod into Saved Games\DCS\Mods\aircraft (or \tech this includes for the mods like CAM and MAM)
Launch the Olympus Manager from your desktop.
Click the “Mod Manager” menu tile (or start the Manager fresh).
Confirm the new mod appears with status “Pending import.” (THIS ONLY WORKS IN BASIC MODE AS OF NOW)
Toggle “Review before enabling” to expand the list.
Click “Import detected mods.”
If some mods were already imported, confirm the dialog “X of Y already imported—import the remaining Z?”
On success, expect a toast like “Import completed. 1 mod added. All 3 detected mods are now marked as
imported.” (If nothing happens click "Skip / do later" button and then it should work
Check Saved Games\DCS\Mods\Services\Olympus\scripts\mods_generated.lua and …\databases\units\mods.json;
each should have a fresh timestamped .bak and the new mod entry present.
Launch Olympus → DCS and verify the mod shows up with correct loadouts and within the Olympus UI
Add another mod, rerun the process to ensure multiple imports and CAM/MAM-style packs behave correctly.
NOTE
If the Olympus client loses connection during a session, you can usually recover by restarting the client and reloading the mission from the DCS Mission Editor.
In my tests this has restored normal behavior.