OK, I'll try and help answer some of these.
First of all, tilesets: these can be used very simply by dragging the tileset into /data/art, and then in /data/init/init.txt, change the [FONT:xxx] or the [FULLFONT:xxx] tags (depending on whether you play windowed or full screen, respectively) to the tileset you want to use.
Graphic sets I can't really help you with, I've never used them.
But for actual mods to the game, not just how it looks, things get more tricky.
Assuming you're working from the vanilla game, then most mods out there will simply get you to drag the files you download into /raw/objects, and you'll be done (you may have to replace some files). Some few will in fact package the entire game - this means you just download and play it. Some will contain an entire objects file, with all the other files from the vanilla game - just copy the objects file from the download to /raw/objects. Some will also contain graphic sets - generally, just replace your /raw/graphics folder with what's with the mod. Sometimes, they will also include an init or art change - add the extra art files to /data/art, and replace the relevant files in /data/init with the ones given - this last one will change settings you've set up there though.
Things get even more tricky if you want to start mixing mods, say taking Deon's genesis mod and mixing it with the Wizard Tower mod, by SethCreiyd. In this case it is generally best that you learn to do modding and the like anyway - it will help enormously. When it comes to mixing mods like this, what you should generally do is install one of the mods (preferably the bigger one) to your game as normal, then get your other mod, and open it up. If it is a mod where you simply have to drag-and-drop files into /raw/objects, then drag those files from the mod into /raw/objects, but only ones that aren't already in there - many mods will change entity_default.txt, for example.
*deep breath*
Next, open the new (let's say) entity_default.txt that came with the second mod, and also open your current entity_default.txt that you are currently using (so the one that comes with the mod, and also the one in your game's /raw/objects file). Then, you need to find all the bits in the one from the mod that aren't in your current one, and copy them over - this can take a fair bit of time, though some people will handily put all these changes right at the top of the file, making it easy.
So, that's how you mix mods with drag-and-drop files? What if they are ones where they have the entire objects folder, or even the entire game? In this case, things are actually similar to above - don't panic! Just find any extra files that they have included in the mod's objects file, and drag them over, as above. Then you need to go through all the other files to see what else they have added - you can normally cut this time down by checking the infomation for the mod in the forum thread, so you have an idea where to look.
...is that vaguely clear? As I said above, knowing how to do modding in general will help you with mixing mods.
OK, to finish off, transferring savegames and worlds (functionally the same thing really, since you can only ever have one game in any one world going at the same time) to new installations of DF with new mods.
Sometimes, you can simply copy over the /data/save/regionX folder to the new installation of DF, and then go to /raw and copy the new, modded objects file. Then head back to /data/save/regionX/raw folder, and overwrite the objects file there with your new one - this will change your savegame to use your new set of raws. BUT, generally it's bad practise to do this - things are quite likely to muck up. What you can do, however, is simply to transfer the savegame file (/data/save/regionX) into your new version - it won't be able to use your new mods, but should work as normal, assuming the new version doesn't break saves - you'll have to generate a new world and start again in the new version.
OK, there we go - quite likely I was unclear about a lot of that, but I'm happy to try and explain better afterwards. One last thing: check the wiki! It has a lot of useful stuff:
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Main_Page
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Topic: How to apply mod to game (Read 774 times)