ACE COMBAT 8 MOD v18.5 - Manual Installation

This package contains the v18.5 core, optional weapon modules and optional language settings. It contains no installation scripts or installer application. Install by copying the selected files with Windows File Explorer. The compiled dinput8.dll is still required for the mod.

The runtime files are identical to the accepted v18.5 release. This manual edition changes the packaging and instructions only. Use it for single-player on the supported game build.

1. FIND THE GAME FOLDER AND MAKE A BACKUP

Close AceCombat8.exe normally before changing any files.
In Steam, right-click the game, then select Manage > Browse local files. Use the game root folder that contains the Game folder.

Example game root:
D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ACE COMBAT 8

Confirm that these paths exist inside that root:
Game\Binaries\Win64\AceCombat8.exe
Game\Content\Paks

Extract the entire ZIP to a separate folder. Before installing, create a backup outside the game directory. Copy every existing file you will replace or remove into that backup, preserving its relative path. Note which destination files did not exist before installation; this matters when uninstalling.

If Game\Binaries\Win64\dinput8.dll already belongs to another mod, resolve that shared filename conflict before copying this core. Do not assume that overwriting another mod's loader will preserve its functionality.

This manual package does not create backups, remove older modules, or update an existing installer's records automatically. Keep any existing ACE8-Mod-BAT and ACE8-Mod-Manager backup folders.

2. INSTALL THE REQUIRED CORE

Open Core in the extracted package. Copy its Game folder into the game root and merge the folders. Replace the matching project files only after making the backup above.

The resulting files must be:
Game\Binaries\Win64\dinput8.dll
Game\Binaries\Win64\steam_appid.txt

Both files must be next to the existing AceCombat8.exe. The included steam_appid.txt contains 2288340. Do not copy Core itself into the game, and do not create Game\Game.

3. SELECT YOUR WEAPON MODULES

Choose any combination of the following. Open each selected folder and copy the Game folder inside it into the same game root:

OptionalMods\Tonitrus     - Tonitrus / TONI laser-designated strike.
OptionalMods\IEWS_Plus    - Universal IEWS+ electronic warfare.
OptionalMods\APS          - Active Protection System.

Their resource files belong directly in Game\Content\Paks. Each module has four files with the same prefix: .pak, .sig, .utoc and .ucas. Copy and remove each four-file set together.

4. SELECT ZERO OR ONE GUIDANCE OPTION

OptionalMods\Guidance_Player_MSL
Applies proportional navigation only to the main player's standard MSL.

OptionalMods\Guidance_Player
Applies it to the player's standard missiles and special missiles that already have guidance.

OptionalMods\Guidance_All_Factions
Applies it to guided missiles used by the player, enemies, wingmen and other friendly units.

Choose at most one option, or skip all three to leave this guidance modification disabled. Open the chosen folder and merge its Game folder into the game root.

Do not copy all OptionalMods folders at once. The three guidance options are mutually exclusive. When switching, back up and move the old guidance option's entire four-file set out of the game before copying the new one. When disabling guidance, move out any previously installed guidance set.

5. OPTIONAL WEAPON-TEXT LANGUAGE

For English, merge Language\en\Game into the game root.
For Simplified Chinese, merge Language\zh-CN\Game into the game root.
Choose one language, or skip this step to preserve the current setting. Without an existing language INI, the core defaults to English.

The resulting optional file is:
Game\Binaries\Win64\ACE8-MOD-language.ini

This changes the added weapon names and descriptions, not the game's own language. Back up an existing INI before replacing it.

6. UPGRADING, REMOVING OLD MODULES AND SWITCHING OPTIONS

When upgrading to v18.5, update the core together with the resources for every enabled TONI and APS module. Do not combine the v18.5 DLL with older TONI or APS resource packages.

All project resource sets use the four extensions .pak, .sig, .utoc and .ucas. Use this exact filename-prefix list to identify them:

Tonitrus:             pakchunk99-ACE8PlayerTonitrus_4_P
Universal IEWS+:      pakchunk99-ACE8UniversalIEWS_17_P
APS:                  pakchunk99-ACE8PlayerAPS_01_P
Player MSL Only:      pakchunk99-ACE8PlayerMSL_3_P
Player Guided:        pakchunk99-ACE8PlayerMissiles_2_P
All Factions:         pakchunk99-ACE8AllFactionsMissiles_6_P

If a module is no longer wanted, back up and move its four files out of the game. Copying the new package alone will not remove a previously installed module.

Also back up and move out the obsolete four-file loadout set, if present:
pakchunk99-ACE8F18CMPBM_5_P.pak
pakchunk99-ACE8F18CMPBM_5_P.sig
pakchunk99-ACE8F18CMPBM_5_P.utoc
pakchunk99-ACE8F18CMPBM_5_P.ucas

Check any Paks subfolder you previously used for manual mods, such as ~mods, for duplicate copies of these same project files. Keep only the selected current sets in Game\Content\Paks. Store backups outside the game's mod-loading folders.

Do not delete the Paks directory, original game resources, unrelated mod files, OptiScaler files, AceCombat8.exe or saves.

Manual copying does not update ACE8-Mod-BAT or ACE8-Mod-Manager records. An older installer or uninstaller may refuse a changed state or restore older files. Use the backup made for this manual change to undo it; do not treat an older manager as the uninstaller for this manual package.

7. START THE GAME OR CREATE A DESKTOP SHORTCUT

Double-click:
Game\Binaries\Win64\AceCombat8.exe

To create a desktop shortcut, right-click AceCombat8.exe, choose Show more options if needed, then Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).
The shortcut's Target must point to AceCombat8.exe, and Start in must be its Game\Binaries\Win64 folder.
The package does not include a replacement game executable.

8. UNINSTALL OR RESTORE THE PREVIOUS VERSION

Close the game. For each file installed by this package:
- If it existed before installation, restore the saved copy to its original path.
- If it did not exist before installation, remove only the copy introduced by this mod.

This includes the selected resource four-file sets, dinput8.dll, steam_appid.txt and, if installed, ACE8-MOD-language.ini. Restore the core and resources as a matching combination. Keep all unrelated files.

If the backed-up state already contained an older version of this mod, restoring it returns to that older version. It does not create an unmodded game. If another mod has since replaced one of these files, inspect and preserve that later change before removing or restoring it.

9. LOGS AND COMMON INSTALLATION ISSUES

Logs are next to the game executable:
Game\Binaries\Win64\ACE8PG-loader.log
Game\Binaries\Win64\ACE8-TONI-runtime.log

If the runtime log exceeds 8 MiB, the next launch rotates it to ACE8-TONI-runtime.previous.log in the same folder. Detailed event logging is disabled by default. Preserve the logs before restarting after an error.

For missing modules or configuration errors, check the destination paths, all four resource files for each chosen module, matching v18.5 core and TONI/APS resources, duplicate old copies, and mutually exclusive guidance options.

Files.sha256 lists the packaged file checksums. Packaging and checksum checks do not establish compatibility with every other mod, game update, aircraft or mission. The runtime content retains the existing v18.5 user acceptance; this manual package has not been installed automatically as part of its preparation.
