Hi Folks!
Just thought I'd Report in my findings after trying 3 versions of uMod, and break down what everyone has said so far + add my suspicions about what's going on here.
First off uMod versions:
r53 worked for me, and at that it did not the first time, on reloading the game a second time, with the files pre-saved from the last session it worked fine, in other words, if you know you did it right and it fails, exit game, leave uMod up, go right back in and remember to still go to uMod and - right click > update - then it should (after further testing, removing/loading a few times, it seems to be a 50/50 on working first time)
r49 never worked for me, it seems those posting that it does not work are on 64 bit systems, meanwhile those who just say "it worked" or "thanks" (on further investigating their other posts) seem to be on 32 bit systems (assuming they did not update since said posts) perhaps this is what's causing the divide? it could make sense why it worked on r49 for Virgil and a few others, but I lack any 32 bit computers in my home to test this on, so please fellow GVZ'ers get us some test data on this.
r44 I know, stupid to even try, but I did, this version I suspect will never work for anyone with this game, due to its age and ways of loading, but wanted to post for coverage so people know.
Now that being said, let me drop a quick thought on the files and the finicky nature of the loading...
I noticed if I re-packaged just the needed .DDS files into a .Zip file and manually selected it with - right click > open texture/package - that it worked first load every time I tested. (your results may vary)
Also I don't know how many of you read up on (or were part of) the old DOA volleyball 1/2 modding scene for Xbox/360 but they found that this Developer spends more time trying to code in ways to fight modding than just about any, so I would encourage everyone to try at least 3 times each, with both r49 and r53 before saying its "not working". (Not saying that this game is the same or that uMod works like those Mods, just saying there is a track record for this kind of difficulty with this Developer, patience is key here)