AHC Compiler 0.6b Zigra

AHC is a personal mod compilation packager designed to work with standard archive formats and any folder structure, and produces a BAIN friendly compilation archive. Will work with any of this family of games: Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout New Vegas. As long as there is a Wrye Bash clone available.

Do you have a mod list that you think is the cat's pajamas? Do you think that both friends and/or strangers would dig your setup?
Maybe you want to try a complicated mod setup but the instructions are staggering and you'd like an easier way to get just the files you need?

Obviously you can't upload your own compilation because of creator permissions and, in some cases, the sheer massiveness of the files involved. So what can you do?

My solution involves an xml file. Yes, a simple little extensible markup language file. Custom build your compilation as instructions in the xml file (sample xml included) and provide that to those friends and/or strangers. The application provides a list of all mods included in the compilation, including handy color coding for availability (Black for available, Red for missing, and Gold for obsolete versions), and links to where you can download the mod and even Nexus Mod Manager links, is applicable.

Now, as it implies above, this is still a beta, but it should still be fully working (it is for me). There are still some issues to work out but they are overall pretty minor in addition to other planned features that I feel are crucial to a full release.

Instructions: When you download and extract the files just run the executable (compiled with VB.net) and it will ask you for three folder paths followed by the location of an xml file.
"Mod Archive Directory" - the folder that you've downloaded and placed the mod archives the program will extract from.
"Working Directory" - the folder it extracts and copies data before archiving it as the final compiled package.
"Target Directory" - the folder the final compiled package will be located in.
All three will default to the application directory but feel free to change them at your leisure.

Those three locations, and any linked xml files, will be saved for future use in a config file in your AppData folder.

When you've loaded an xml file (all linked files will be in a drop down at the top of the window, changeable at any time) it will load all included mods in the box on the left. Selecting one will present you an option to change which version of the file the xml instructions are aware of (if applicable) and displays a variety of information about the mod and package. The URL and NMM links are both clickable and will launch a browser window, if a link is present. Selecting a different version in that drop down will tell the compiler that that is the version you wish to use - so try to choose a version you have downloaded. When finished browsing, or choosing versions you wish to use (it should default to the newest file), click the "Process" button in the menu to launch a new window to start the compilation. Only mods present will be processed, all others will be silently skipped.

Warning: Packaging can take a long time depending on the number of mods and their sizes. Final archive can also be quite large.
The processing stage can be cancelled at anytime by clicking the appropriate "X" button.

Once it's finished it will clean up all working folders and return control of the main window to you to choose another xml to process or just close out.

Install your new compiled mod using Wrye Bash's installer tab and enjoy!

Requirements:
Built on Windows and should work on any version that the games work on, as long as it has the following installed:
Microsoft .NET Framework 4 - http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17851
If you can run it on a non-Microsoft OS please give me a heads up.
Enough diskspace to extract the archive, and make a copy of all the files the instructions call for, as well as the final archive - but I think you'll know that beforehand.

Beta limitations:
Xml creation is currently a long, manual process.
NMM link has to be modified in the xml file to remove the "&", which the xml file has problems with. The application fixes it programatically.
Requires BAIN install... unless you change the instructions to say "Data" instead of BAIN folders like "00 Core"

Planned features:
Ability to link to remote (http://) xml files for frequently updated instruction guides.
Non-BAIN support.
Support for "option mods", such as allowing the user to choose which galaxy color they prefer instead of choosing the "newest" and informing the user of these option mods within the mod list.
Better handling of Url (specifically Nexus) and NMM links.
And, biggest of all, an interface for building your own compilation instructions; possibly supporting drag and dropping of weblinks and auto-parsing relevant information. Cool? Maybe.