Aemulus

Configure Aemulus Package Manager and build your mod loadout.

Introduction

Aemulus Package Manager (source) is a program that organizes, merges, and builds mod loadouts for many of the Persona games.

Important Terms

• Package: A collection of loose files that Aemulus can build into a mod. We use the term "package" instead of "mod" to make it clear that you can't just drop them into the mods folder.

• Build: The process of turning packages into mods. Aemulus takes the modded package files, merges them with copies of the vanilla game files, and saves them to your Persona 4 Golden\mods folder for Reloaded II to load.

• GameBanana: The home of the P3F modding community (and many other game communities too!). Over 150 mods for P3F are hosted on GameBanana.

• GitHub: A hosting platform for open-source software development, owned by Microsoft. P3F CEP downloads minor updates from GitHub.

• Grid: The big list of packages in the Aemulus window.

• Loadout: A configured setup of enabled and disabled packages in the grid. P3F CEP comes with its own customizable loadout, and you can create your own loadouts and quickly switch between them.

• Priority: Packages with higher priority will override packages with lower priority in the event of a conflict that Aemulus can't merge. By default, packages higher up in the grid have higher priority. For more information, check out this entry in the Aemulus documentation.

• Mod Compendium: An older tool used to mod Persona games before Aemulus was developed. Lacks many critical features compared to Aemulus such as merging. Aemulus is capable of importing and converting Mod Compendium mods.

Configure Aemulus

We need to set up Aemulus itself before we can dive into customization.

First Launch

• Open your Aemulus folder.

• Launch AemulusPackageManager.exe.

You'll be greeted with the package grid:

A window that says "Aemulus has a new update" appeared.

• If you get a prompt to update the program, select Yes.

• Once Aemulus has downloaded the update, click OK to restart the program.

• Once Aemulus restarts, confirm in the top-right corner of the window that the program is version 6.2.1 or higher.

Set Game and Loadout

Set Game to Persona 3 FES

• Make sure the game is set to Persona 3 FES and the interface icons are blue.

• If the game isn't correct or the interface icons are not blue, click the icon in the top-left and select Persona 3 FES from the dropdown.

Set Loadout to P3F CEP

• Make sure the loadout to configure in the top-left of the window is set to P3F CEP.

• If the loadout is set to something else, click the loadout box and select P3F CEP from the dropdown.

Set File Paths

Aemulus needs to know a few file and folder paths in order to function.

• Click the gear icon ⚙️ (Configure Paths and Settings) above the grid.

This will open the Persona 3 FES Config window:

• Click Browse to the right of each box and select the following files/folders:

Name	File/Folder to Select
Output Folder	...\P3F Mods\Files\elf folder
Cheats Folder	...\P3F Mods\Files\cheats folder
Textures Folder	...\P3F Mods\Files\textures\SLUS-21621\replacements folder
P3F ISO Path	...\P3F Mods\Files\iso\P3F.iso
P3F ELF Path	...\P3F Mods\Files\elf\SLUS_216.21.elf
PCSX2.exe Path	...\P3F Mods\.PCSX2\pcsx2-qtx64-avx2.exe

Double-check every file path!

• If you see the word OneDrive anywhere, you MUST stop what you are doing and move your P3F Mods folder to a different location (we recommend C:\Mods).

• Make sure your Aemulus folder is not in a OneDrive-controlled directory either.

Double-Check Checkboxes

• Make sure that the Delete Old Versions box at the bottom of the Config window is checked.

• Make sure that Prompt for Extra Options when Launching box is NOT checked.

  • This option is only used by mod creators.

Check Enable Mod Updates and Update All on Refresh if you would like to get update notifications and automatic updates for P3F CEP.

Unpack Base Files

Aemulus needs to unpack some of P3F's data archives into a folder named Original so that it can merge packages that edit the same archives together.

• Click Unpack Base Files. Aemulus will start unpacking the game archives for package merging.

You can follow along by watching the Aemulus console:

Unpacking P3F can take up to fifteen minutes, but you only need to do this once.

The console will sometimes appear to freeze - this is normal, just keep waiting.

An error message appeared.

• Make sure your file paths in the Config window are correct.

• Add your Aemulus folder to your antivirus software's exclusions list and try again.

• Click OK to close the Finished Unpacking! message when it appears.

• Close the Config window to return to the package grid.

Customize Mod Loadout

Now for the fun part! It's time to choose which mods you'd like to use in P3F.

Package Information

Click on a package to get more information about it on the right side of the grid.

For even more information, click the package's GameBanana or GitHub link to open the mod page on the Web.

Some GameBanana pages may contain unmarked spoilers.

Enable / Disable Packages

• To enable a package and include it in your loadout, check its box in the grid.

• To disable a package, uncheck its box in the grid.

Add More Mods

Please confirm the packages included with P3F CEP are working correctly with your game before adding any more.

• After you have finished setting up and testing P3F CEP, check out the Get More Mods page to learn how to get even more mods from GameBanana.

Build Your Loadout

Once you start building, Aemulus will delete EVERYTHING (except SLUS_216.21.elf) in the Output Folder you defined in the Config window.

Make sure there are no important files in your P3F Mods\Files\elf folder.

• Once you've finished customizing your mod loadout, click the 🔨 Build button above the grid.

A window will appear asking you to confirm that everything in the output folder will be deleted.

• If the folder in the confirmation box is your P3F Mods\Files\elf folder, click Yes to start building your loadout.

Take a little time now to save a lot of time later! Double-check!!

• Make sure you see the words P3F Mods\Files\elf at the end of the file path.

• If you build in the wrong folder, you might accidentally delete important files and have to restart P3F CEP installation from the beginning!

You can follow along by watching the Aemulus console:

The console will sometimes appear to freeze - this is normal, just keep waiting.

• Click OK to close the Finished Building! message when it appears.

Can I change my mod loadout after building?

Yes, as many times as you like! Just customize your loadout to your liking, then click Build again.

Test Run #2

We're going to make sure PCSX2 is loading mods correctly before continuing to advanced setup.

• Click 🚀 Launch Persona 3 FES above the package grid to call PCSX2 and launch P3F.

• Just like before, make sure the opening cutscene plays correctly and that you can reach the title screen.

• If you see the P3F CEP logo during startup, the hostFS mod loader is working properly!

I didn't see the P3F CEP logo.

• Double-check your file and folder paths in the Config menu.

• Did you remember to Build your package loadout?

PCSX2 opens, but it immediately closes.

Check out the related Troubleshooting entry for more information and a fix.

I see a "Could not find '94a82aaa' in GameDB" error in the console.

This is a known bug with PCSX2 and does not affect playability.

Please do not report it to us.

• If everything worked fine during the test run, close PCSX2 and Aemulus before moving on.

Moving On

We highly recommend following the PCSX2: Advanced Setup instructions to tweak PCSX2 for the best experience.

If you really want to start playing right away, skip to Final Steps for the last few instructions.