How to Uninstall Mods from MLPTF2Mods.com for OS X
Introduction
This is the tutorial for how to uninstall mods from MLPTF2Mods.com distributed in ".vpk" format. This tutorial will guide you step by step through the process of uninstalling mods downloaded from the site on OS X.
If you are running Windows, you can find the related tutorial here. Alternatively, if you are running Ubuntu, you may find the related tutorial here instead.
The mods being uninstalled in this tutorial will be the same mods used to demonstrate how to install mods from the installation tutorial. Though to make the assisting images better reflect a more realistic situation, additional mods that are not being uninstalled had been included.
Also note that while this tutorial is designed for MLPTF2Mods.com, it can be used as a general reference for installing all Team Fortress 2 mods that are distributed in “.vpk” format.
Video Tutorial
Written Tutorial Overview
There are no special tools required for this tutorial. The only skills required are a basic understanding of browsing and navigating through OS X files and folders. This tutorial will assume you are using a standard two button mouse.
This guide will make use of the following mods as examples:
You can find their respective downloads by following the attached links. To remove a mod you no longer desire, it is required to know the name of the files associated with the mod. There are multiple ways to deduce this information. One of the methods for this demonstration will require viewing the original mod’s download. This will require Spike’s Spade to be re-downloaded from the site.
Should you use an alternative program to extract compressed files other than the system default, you are responsible for resolving the differences you may encounter.
Basic Uninstalling
1. Open up the folder containing the downloaded mod file for Spike’s Spade. You may do so by opening up a new Finder window and navigating to the location which they were downloaded to.
2. Open up a new Finder window to navigate to your “custom” folder. Arrange the open windows so they are in a position where you can see easily see the contents of both. It is assumed that Steam and Team Fortress 2 have been installed to the default file locations. From this window, navigate to your user “Library” folder. If you do not remember which method you used, please review the OS X installation tutorial.
From your user Library folder, regardless of how you gain access to it, your “custom” folder can be found by following:
"Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/custom"
If you did not install Steam or TF2 to its default location, you are required to find the "custom" folder location yourself.
3. In the window opened to the re-downloaded mod, double click on the “.zip” file containing Spikes Spade to extract it. Here you can see the original “.vpk” file installed. Notice it is titled “weapon-soldier-shovel-spike's spade-2011.08.18_dir.vpk.” This is the file you need find and remove from the “custom” folder.
4. From “custom” folder window, click the “List” button along the top of the Finder window to more easily browse the mods. Extend the name column to better view the file names.
5. Click the “Options” button, select “Arange By,” then “Name” to ensure Finder is organized alphabetically.
6. Going alphabetically, “weapons” will be close to the bottom of the list. Followed by “soldier”, then “shovel”. Once located, you will notice a related cache file bearing a similar name. Both this cache file and the original “.vpk” file should be removed. Simply right click on each file and select “Move to Trash” from the context menu that appears.
With both files removed, the mod is considered as uninstalled. Thus concludes the basic method to uninstalling all mods available from MLPTF2Mods.com.
Extended Learning
While you could use the previously outlined method to uninstall mods by referencing the original download’s files, there are additional valuable methods to derive the same result without as much hassle. Outlined below is how to remove mods through the method of deduction for the Team Coloured Wonderbolt Wind Guards in addition to search for the Pony Books intel.
Uninstalling via Method of Deduction:
1. Due to how all mods download from the site are titled, you can deduce the file name of the “.vpk” by knowing simple information such as what type of mod it is, who it is for or what it replaces. For example, you know the Wonderbolt Wind Guards are a form of hat and misc. item. Scroll through your mods to view all your hats & misc. item mods.
2. You also know the Wonderbolt Wind Guards are exclusive to the Scout. Scroll to view the hat and misc. mods pertaining to the Scout.
3. The next variable in the sting of the file name would typically be what specific item the mod replaces in game. Since the Wind Guards have the ability to replace various items however, it is categorized as “various.” With those three pieces of information, you should now confidently be able to identify the “.vpk” files related to the mod. Observing the text following the mod’s upload date, you can see that the Wonderbolt Wind Guards were installed to replace the Earbuds, the Planeswalker Goggles, and the Summer Shades.
4. You may now right click and select “Move to Trash” to remove the files. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut, “command-delete” after having selected the mod to remove it.
Uninstalling via Search:
1. Similar to the method of deduction, this method makes use of how all mods downloaded from the site are titled. If you know the name of the mod you wish to remove, you are likely able to do a search for it by name. From inside your “custom” folder, click on the search box in the top right corner of the window. In the search box, type “Pony Books”.
2. On the bar that appears when you start searching, select “custom” so that it only displays files from your “custom” TF2 folder. The search should return six results corresponding with the three different “.vpk” files we installed and their generated cache files. You may now delete the files. Instead of removing them one by one, you can remove all this at once. By holding down the “command” key then clicking on each file, you are able to select multiple files at once.
3. Delete the files like you normally would by either right clicking or by using the “command-delete” shortcut. Upon exiting the search, you will see the files were successfully removed.
That concludes the examples of situations you may encounter when uninstalling mods from MLPTF2Mods.com.
Additional Information
If you ever wish to restart Team Fortress 2 clean of all modifications, simply delete the folder titled “custom” and create a new folder titled “custom” in its place.
For additional help with uninstalling mods, visit the support section of the site.