Migrating mods from ASE to ASA

Please be aware that when migrating modes there is no “One Size Fits All” option. Mods have implemented a wide variety of ways to create content and as such it’s impossible to predict every problem. If any of the methods and strategies listed below do not work, try a different one.

When preparing to install the ASA devkit, back up your mods folders from the original ASE mod kit. In the event that you need to make room and uninstall or run into other issues. Most causes of crashing during migration will likely be missing parent classes.

Legacy Import

In the ASA mod kit select the UGC -> Legacy Import option and attempt to automatically import your ASE mod content to a new mod plugin.

You will be prompted about whether or not it is a map mod.

The import may fail, possibly even crash. this can be due to a host of reasons such as referencing classes that no longer exist.

Manual Import

Outside of the editor, copy your mod folder from the ASE mod kit to the SAME EXACT location in the ASE editor. Then launch the ASA devkit.

Create a new Blank Mod Template from the UGC Menu.
Rrefer to Creating New Mods for guidance.

It is recommended to try and load the files of your mod to identify if any have issues (Such as missing parent classes or assets that might cause the editor to crash)

After ensuring  files can load without crashing, begin to move them to the new mod plugin location in the editor, this should update references inside of the blueprints.

You may have to do some comparisons with the ASE editor to identify what is different.

Maps

Migrating maps from ASE to ASA will not be possible 1:1. Because in ASA we transition to use World partition and dropped support for world composition, most ASE maps will not be compatible.

It may be possible to load your ASE map in the ASA DevKit but serialization for world composition is disabled.

Instead it is recommended to import the landscape heightmap from the ASE devkit and import it into the ASA Devkit. This can save a large portion of the work.

Maps have undergone a serious amount of redesign and implement new technology, making the general structure of ASE maps obsolete.

For general World partition design please refer to the official Unreal Engine 5 documentation

IMPORTANT: Reparent PrimalGameData

If you are migrating a mod from ASE you likely have a PrimalGameData blueprint that is a child of PrimalGameData_BP.

For ASA THIS IS INCORRECT, it will cause issues for you.
Ensure that you reparent all your PrimalGameData blueprints to PrimalGameDataARKNX_BP

(Mods made from ASE templates automatically inherit from the new PGD Parent)