Registration and depot paths

Registration makes a root resource reachable. Packing makes a resource available at a depot path. A working quest usually needs both, but not every resource is registered in the same way.

Separate the four edges

archive payload path
        |
        +-> loose ArchiveXL configuration
                    |
                    +-> registered root
                              |
                              +-> native child/resource references

Edge	Example owner	Failure
Packed payload	`.archive` depot tree	Resource does not exist at the path requested
Loose configuration	`.archive.xl` beside the archive	ArchiveXL never sees the registration instructions
Root attachment	`quest.phases`, `journal`, `localization`, or `streaming.blocks`	Root system does not expose the mod resource
Nested resolution	`phaseResource`, subtitle map, block descriptor, or another CR2W reference	Root registers, but a child dependency fails later

An external child questphase is not automatically another root. Registering both parent and child can create two independent root attachments while still leaving the parent’s intended composition unproved.

Diagnose a quest that never starts

Close the game and every framework process.
Inventory archive\pc\mod for every candidate-owned .archive and .archive.xl. Hash every intended and duplicate file before changing the live directory.
Move or disable every unintended live copy into a named quarantine outside all active mod/framework paths. Do not delete the preserved evidence.
Inventory archive\pc\mod again and require exactly the intended candidate pair, with no renamed or older copy that can still mount.
Hash the intended pair and compare it with the built candidate.
List the archive and confirm the exact root depot path appears once.
Extract that entry and compare its hash with WolvenKit project output.
Open the .archive.xl as text and compare its path character for character with the archive listing.
Launch to the load menu and preserve fresh RED4ext, ArchiveXL, game, and redscript logs.
Search for the candidate filename, resource path, and the first missing dependency. Record an error’s full context rather than one line.
Only after registration is clean should you test the graph from a valid starting save.

Depot paths use backslashes in the canonical resources in this book. Do not silently add a filesystem drive, project source\archive prefix, or game install prefix to the virtual depot path.

Diagnose a root that registers but stalls later

Trace the first external reference reached by execution:

Symptom	Inspect next
Parent enters a phase node and stops	`phaseResource.DepotPath`, soft reference form, child archive entry, and child `In1` interface
Journal entries never render	Journal registration, full `gameJournalPath.realPath`, `fileEntryIndex`, and entry state socket
Text is blank	Correct localization registration class and exact secondary key or numeric RUID
World objective has no trigger/marker	Registered streaming block, descriptor sector path, prefab root, and child NodeRef chain
Scene starts but line has no text/audio	Subtitle-map and VO-map registrations plus their nested resource paths

Do not add a second root registration to repair a missing nested path. Fix the edge that owns that path.

Compare registration classes

ArchiveXL configuration sections are not interchangeable:

Responsibility	Registration surface used in the labs
Executable root questphase	`quest.phases` with mod path and vanilla parent
Journal tree	`journal`
Journal/UI text	`localization.onscreens` for the locale
Spoken subtitles	`localization.subtitles` for the locale
Spoken audio lookup	`localization.vomaps` for the locale
World loading	`streaming.blocks`

A .scene, external child questphase, subtitle entries resource, VO WEM, or streaming sector can be packed and reached through another registered resource rather than registered as an independent root. Follow the ownership chain in the relevant chapter.

Stale-install control

A duplicate archive can make a removed resource appear to work. A duplicate .archive.xl can register an old path while the current file is wrong. For an isolation run:

keep one exact candidate pair;
keep only the pinned framework stack and explicitly required lab files;
record unrelated mod inventory as absent rather than relying on memory;
restart the game after any mounted-file change;
hash installed bytes again before interpreting the result.

Changing the installed pair does not clean save-backed facts, journal state, active nodes, scenes, communities, or devices. Use Save state and clean retests before calling a registration correction successful.

Common false fixes

False fix	Why it misleads
Register every CR2W as a root	Changes ownership and may start resources independently
Copy an extracted vanilla parent into the archive	Creates a global override and redistributes game content
Rename only the project file	Leaves ArchiveXL and nested ResourcePaths pointing at the old depot path
Edit the graph until a log error disappears	Registration occurs before the affected runtime branch
Test only an old completed save	Its guard can bypass the entire broken route

Previous: Serialization versus runtime. Next: Handles, sockets, and resources.

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