Here you will find out the basic usage and UI functions of the Plugin Manager to get you started.
When you open the Plugin Manager for the first time, you will need to select a game directory to use.
This will open the Game Directories dialog, you can via more info Here.
The Current Directory option shows the currently selected game directory, any package you install will be installed into this directory. If you have added multiple games, you can switch between them here.
The Installed Packages section is the main part of the application, here it displays all the current install packages. At the start you will only have a few default ones available here.
To install a package, click on the Install Package to install a spk/xsp file, or Install Archive to install a package in a zip file (see above). These options can also be found in the File menu at the top.
If the Plugin Manager is in Vanilla mode, you may need to switch to Modified mode first. Select Settings > Mode > Modified.
This will then open the Install Package dialog, to view your selected package file. You can select and install multiple packages at a time, they will all display here in the list at the Top. To the left of each package is a checkbox. This indicates its been selected for install. If there is some kind of issue, this might not be selected. For example, if you try to install a package for X3: Terran Conflict into an X3: Farnham’s Legacy game, there will be a warning about incompatible game. You can override this by checking the box to agree to continue installing (see below).
The error message is displayed at the bottom next to the Install button.
Fore Wrong Game, Requires: X3 Terran Conflict.
Once installed, you can find the package in the list, where you can enable/disable or uninstall it. Right clicking will open a context menu display a number of additional options for the selected package.
When ready to play. You either need to close the Plugin Manager before starting the game, or use the Launch button at the bottom, which will close it automatically. You do not need to run the game via the Plugin Manager, it works just the same when you open the game manually (ie via Steam).
Make sure the Plugin Manager is closed before starting the game.