Archive Load Priority (Disrupt Engine)

The Disrupt engine loads game data from .dat/.fat archive pairs in a specific priority order. Higher-priority archives override lower ones for identical file paths.

Per-Game Priorities

Decompiled from DisruptManager.Model.GameInfos.* → ArchivePriorities:

Game	Priority 1 (highest)	2	3	4	5 (lowest)
WD1	patch1	patch	common	worlds\windy_city\windy_city	—
WD2	patch2	patch1	patch	common	worlds\san_francisco\san_francisco
WDL	patch	common	worlds\london\london	—	—

Key Points

• No patch2 in WDL — only patch exists. Repacking patch with everything produces ~30GB result.
• installpackage is unused by default but can be given highest priority via the DLL hex edit (see installpackage-patch.md).
• Archive format: WD1/WD2 use Depload format; WDL uses FatFile (BigFile) format.
• Source: CBR.WatchDogsLegion.dll (WDL), CBR.WatchDogs*.dll (WD1/WD2), CBR.Disrupt.dll (shared packing engine).

Tool: DisruptManager

rootCBR's DisruptManager (github.com/rootCBR/DisruptManager) is a .NET WPF app that manages mod installation. Key classes:

• GameInfo.ArchivePriorities — hardcoded load order per game
• CBR.WatchDogsLegion.Formats.BigFile — WDL .fat format
• CBR.WatchDogs*.Formats.Depload — WD1/WD2 format
• CBR.Disrupt.Packing.* — Gibbed archive engine (pack/unpack)

Does NOT implement the installpackage-over-patch trick — only packs/installs mods into patch* archives. Planned to be open-sourced (issue #30).

Launch Parameters

Game	EXE	Launch Params
WD1	Watch_Dogs	(none)
WD2	WatchDogs2	-eac_launcher
WDL	WatchDogsLegion	(none)

-eac_launcher skips WD2's EasyAntiCheat check, and it costs multiplayer: with EAC live, modded files tripped the check, so EAC-gated online play was closed to mods, and the parameter skips the check only by disabling multiplayer, which makes it a single-player route. WD2's EAC service lapsed in 2026, so the check no longer runs there. Community-reported, not read out of the binaries.