Overview
Tired of sticking custom content in your base UT2k4 folder? Wish it had its own dedicated place? Read on.
Setup
Navigate to the base game directory: steamapps/common/Unreal Tournament 2004
Create a new folder. In this example, I’ll be using “Custom”.
Then create a “System” subdirectory inside that.
Next, create a new txt file and name it “Default.ini”. Make sure you change the file extension to ini, not txt.
So it should look like this: Unreal Tournament 2004/Custom/System/Default.ini
Open Default.ini with a text editor and add these lines:
This adds Custom’s subdirectories after the base game content.
If there are upl files in Custom/System, the game assumes you don’t want the default player models included. If you still want them, copy them (xaplayersl3.upl, xplayersL1.upl, xplayersL2.upl) from System to Custom/System.
Launching the Game
Now, you can launch your “Custom” content in one of two ways.
To load it any time you start the game…
Go to your Steam library, right-click Unreal Tournament 2004 and select “launch options” add the following line:
That’s it! You can treat the “Custom” folder like a copy of UT2k4’s base directory, and add any mod’s included folders like Maps, StaticMeshes, System etc.
Optional: Add it to the Mod Menu
You can also activate it from the in-game mods menu, which is less convenient but I included it for completeness’ sake. 😛
Create “UT2k4Mod.ini” in Custom. Open it in a text editor and add this:
Launch the game normally and on the main menu, select Community > User Mods > Custom > Activate