Usage (Getting Started)

How do I use ARCropolis?

There are two locations to keep in mind for modding (please note that these directories are not created for you):

• sd:/atmosphere/contents/01006A800016E000/romfs/arc/ (you will sometimes see this shortened as rom:/arc)
• sd:/ultimate/mods/

Why two directories? Any differences?

sd:/atmosphere/contents/01006A800016E000/romfs/arc/

This directory is destined to be used as a merged modpack. Its content is treated as the root of data.arc (which you can check with a tool such as ArcExplorer).
You cannot keep your mods organized this way and it is basically reminiscent of the Sm4sh way of modding.
This method is considered legacy and should overall only be used if you want a "base modpack" to layer removable mods on top using the next method.

Note: You can keep your mods organized using Quasar as it can generate this kind of modpack for you while keeping it editable.

Example:

    sd:/atmosphere/contents/01006A800016E000/romfs/arc/ui/message/msg_melee.msbt

sd:/ultimate/mods/

This directory is used to keep your mods organized and allows you to easily enable/disable them using the built-in mod manager.
Most mods distributed through the Smash Ultimate section of Gamebanana can be installed through drag 'n' drop by placing them in this directory.

Example:

    sd:/ultimate/mods/My Cool Mod/ui/message/msg_melee.msbt
    sd:/ultimate/mods/My Even Cooler Mod/ui/message/msg_name.msbt

Inside of these directories, everything works the same as the previous method.

The added benefits of this method are:

• Easier to add mods
• Easier to remove mods
• Easier to update mods
• Keeping your mods organized
• Allows you to enable/disable mods

As you'll notice, there are nothing but benefits with this method, so it is advised to use it. Note that as of ARCropolis 3.0.0, if you have two directories with the exact same / an overlapping file, the game will prompt you to correct it on boot. This is called a file conflict. More info here. You can check which files are conflicting by checking sd:/ultimate/arcropolis/conflicts.json. In there, it shows the paths of said files, and then you may remove/edit them manually.

I don't really like these paths, can something be done about it?

After running ARCropolis for the first time, a configuration file will be generated as rom:/arcropolis.toml on your SD.
You can freely edit the paths in this file to put your mods elsewhere if you see fit.

This sounds like a hassle. Any way to just download mods and have them be properly installed?

If you are a Windows user, consider using Quasar by Mowjoh as it allows you to easily download mods from Gamebanana through one click download, provides easy modifications to your modpacks (Changing skin slots, stage and music replacements and so on). And it takes care of transferring your mods to your Switch with a simple to use interface.

In the future, a simplified version of this could be offered directly on Switch but nothing has been accomplished yet and comfort of use would not be the same.