How to backup, extract & repack
How to play around with VPKs without messing everything up
Last updated
How to play around with VPKs without messing everything up
Last updated
When you extract VPK archives, you need a directory where the files will be extracted to. This folder should not be inside your game directory. Before we start modding, you should create a folder to keep track of your modding files. It is recommended for you to create a folder with an easy name like Titanfall 2 modding on your desktop or another place you can access it easily. In this example we will use the path C:\Users\<username>\Documents.
It is recommended to follow the modding environment setup as well
Once you have created this folder I recommend creating a sub-folder called "Backup" dedicated for, you guessed it: backups. (Yay!)
At the beginning of each guide, it will tell you what files you should backup. As an example, we will use the crosshair modding guide. At the beginning, it tells us to backup englishclient_mp_common.bsp.pak000_dir.vpk and client_mp_common.bsp.pak000_000.vpk. Copy these VPKs and paste them into your backup folder.
The next step uses the Titanfall VPK Tool. If you haven't done so already, download the VPK Tool from the Modding tools page. Make sure you have version 3.3 or 3.4. You may have unwanted behavior by using an older version.
The VPK Tool looks like this:
Click on the 1st icon or press CTRL + O.
Navigate to your game folder and open the VPK that is mentioned in the guide you are referring to.
Note you can ONLY extract _dir version of vpks with VPK Tool.
Only extract VPK archive from the game directory. If you don't, make sure to have in the same folder all the subsequent VPK archive as shown in the next screenshot.
Once the VPK archive is loaded in the VPK tool, extract all the files using the icon shown in the next screenshot.
It is recommended to put each extracted VPK in a folder with the same the VPK. This makes it easier to manage when you extract files from different VPK's. We will use a folder named englishclient_mp_common.
After you have extracted the VPK, open the folder where you extracted your files to and delete the extracted_logs folder. You can now follow the guide to start modding.
Open the repacking tool inside the Titanfall VPK Tool. You have 2 ways to do that, click on the 6th icon, or go to Tools > Repacker. The repacking window looks like this:
Once we are done with modding our crosshairs, select Browse next to the first box. Navigate to and select the extracted folder. Next, select Browse next to the second box and select your modding folder.
C:\Users\\Documents\Titanfall 2 modding\Repack\
Then, deselect Debug log from the options menu, and click Build VPK. Once the VPK file has been built, navigate to the location you selected as the second directory. You will find two files named pak000_000.vpk pack000_dir.vpk. Before moving those 2 files into your game directory, they have to be renamed. At the end of each guide, it it will tell you how to how to rename each file:
Rename pak000_000.vpk to client_mp_common.bsp.pak000_000.vpk
Rename pak000_dir.vpk to englishclient_mp_common.bsp.pak000_dir.vpk
After that is done, you can delete the debug log .txt file and move the VPKs back to your game directory. If you get a message saying the files already exist, you can replace them,
Bored of renaming / moving VPK files back to your game directory?
Here is a little batch script you can use!
That's the script for renaming for englishclient_mp_common.bsp.pak000_dir.vpk, it can be adapted to any other VPKs you edit quite often. Just paste that in a blank notepad file and save it with a .bat extension.
Don't forget to add the correct game directory by replacing <ORIGINGAMES> with the location of you game install. You can also replace <ORIGINGAMES> with your steam directory or wherever your Steam game library is (Steam\steamapps\common).
Make sure to close the VPK tool before executing this script, as it will cause an error.
