Using -mod:my_mod

[Encaitar]

How to use the -mod:my_mod command line switch

Here is a quote (I believe from CA although I cannot find the source anymore) that explains a bit more about this switch:

The command line option for modding is there in previous builds as well, but is not fully implemented. In the patch build, most significant files go through a directory switching mechanism (though not quite all, unforunately). It is controlled via the -mod command... For example, -mod:my_mod will cause the game to look for the descr_ files in the my_mod directory rather than in the data directory.

The difference between the 1.2 exe's use of the shortcut and that in earlier builds is that in 1.2 it will actually look for a requested file under data if it cannot find it under my_mod. This allows you to do partial mods, changing only one or two files. The earlier build insists that you duplicate all of the descr_ files plus the contents of the world directory. The 1.2 build also applies the directory switching to a larger variety of files.

Since this system refers to the descr_ files first and foremost it allows you to mix and match your own content with that from vanilla RTW quite easily, since most of the files the engine loads up are specified in the descr files. For example, if you don't like the Germanic double-handed axeman's model, you can just duplicate descr_model_battle.txt in your mod directory, supply a new cas model there as well and redirect the model type entry in descr_model_battle to the new file.

Now onto the guide:
Firstly, you must have RTW v1.2 for this to work.

1. In the root directory of Rome - Total War (i.e. the one that has the .exe in it), create a folder for your mod - in this example we will call it "my_mod"

2. Place any modified descr_ and export_descr txt files (that would normally go in the Data folder) that your mod uses in this my_mod folder.

3. Run the game with the command line switch "-mod:my_mod", where "my_mod" is the name of the folder created in Step 1. An example of how your run command might look is:
run "C:\Program Files\Rome - Total War\RomeTW.exe" -mod:my_mod
Note that the switch should be outside the quotation marks that surround the path of the exe file. Also, the '-' in front of the switch is not necessary (you can just use "mod:my_mod" if you wish).

Additional: how to use provincial campaigns with the -mod:my_mod switch

i) Place all world files in the Data\world\maps\campaign\my_campaign\ folder as per usual.

ii) Create the folder my_mod\world\maps\campaign\my_campaign and copy the following files into it from the Data\world\maps\campaign\my_campaign\ folder:
descr_strat.txt
leader_pic_{faction}.tga
map_{faction}.tga
(So in actual fact these files don't need to be in the data\etc folder, but can just be in the my_mod\etc folder)

iii) As per Step 3 above.


Note: When running RTW with the -my:my_mod switch, custom battles do not seem to work (at least, I have been unable to get them to). Battles in campaigns do though.

[Monkwarrior]

Please, correct me if I am wrong, but from this tutorial it seems to me that in the new campaign we cannot show new symbols, buttons and banners (models and textures?).
Is that true? ~:confused:

I was thinking in the possibility of describing the new path for models, textures, symbols and banners in this way:
In the new descr_model_battle.txt file

texture gauls, my_mod/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_infantry_gaul.tga
In the new descr_model_strat.txt file

texture egypt, my_mod/models_strat/textures/diplomat_egypt.tga

and so on.

Has anybody tried this before?
In any case, I didn't find the same possibility for info_cards and unit_cards.

[Encaitar]

An easier solution in cases where the file is referenced from one of the descr_ txt files would be to give your modded version of the texture a different filename, but put it in the normal folder. So your code might look something like this:

texture gauls, data/models_unit/textures/my_mod_unit_barb_infantry_gaul.tga

You'd then put this modified descr_ txt file in the my_mod folder.

[DimeBagHo]

1. To get custom battles working you need to include a bunch of files from data/world in your mod folder. For XGM the installer just copies the entire contents of data/world to xgm/data/world before installing the rest of the mod. I have never bothered to figure out exactly which files are needed.

2. For most files the exe will look in mymod/data first to see if there is a modified version, but it will not do this for .CAS files, so you need to go through the text files and specify the location of modified .CAS files.

In most cases the text files expect a location relative to the install folder, like data/models_unit/foo.CAS, which you can change to mymod/data/models_unit/foo.CAS. But in some cases the location is specified relative to the data folder itself, like say models_building/foo.CAS. Here you need to give the location as ../mymod/data/models_engine/foo.CAS. The ../ tells the exe to look one level up.

3. One bonus that comes with using -mod:mymod is that replacing unit and unit info cards is much easier. The exe will check in the mymod folder before looking in the packs.

[kleemann]

Hi to everybody,

Where i can find information about RTW-s using -mod:my_mod.
I want to make mod swich for BI. I don't want to overwrite original files and the mod managing is a lot easier then.
If i use "RomeTW:BI.exe" -mod:my_mod then i get CTD when puting BI files into that folder, what's the problem?

[player1]

1. To get custom battles working you need to include a bunch of files from data/world in your mod folder. For XGM the installer just copies the entire contents of data/world to xgm/data/world before installing the rest of the mod. I have never bothered to figure out exactly which files are needed.

2. For most files the exe will look in mymod/data first to see if there is a modified version, but it will not do this for .CAS files, so you need to go through the text files and specify the location of modified .CAS files.

In most cases the text files expect a location relative to the install folder, like data/models_unit/foo.CAS, which you can change to mymod/data/models_unit/foo.CAS. But in some cases the location is specified relative to the data folder itself, like say models_building/foo.CAS. Here you need to give the location as ../mymod/data/models_engine/foo.CAS. The ../ tells the exe to look one level up.

3. One bonus that comes with using -mod:mymod is that replacing unit and unit info cards is much easier. The exe will check in the mymod folder before looking in the packs.


The biggest drawback of -mod:my_mod is that while it works nice for pure RTW mods, it's horrible for BI mods.

Since BI itself is sort of "RTW -mod:bi", in order to make -mod:my_mod work for BI you need to copy entire BI folder to your mod folder in order to make it work.

[DimeBagHo]

The biggest drawback of -mod:my_mod is that while it works nice for pure RTW mods, it's horrible for BI mods.

Since BI itself is sort of "RTW -mod:bi", in order to make -mod:my_mod work for BI you need to copy entire BI folder to your mod folder in order to make it work.
There are ways around this in fact. Some files can simply be skipped (finding out which ones is a pain, but I think the animation folder is one - because the BI animations are all included in the RTW animations files now). With a lot of others you can edit the text files to tell the engine to look for them in the BI folder. You could do this with all of the unit models, textures, and sprites for example (and it would be pretty easy - just a search and replace in DMB for "data/"/"bi/data/" would probably do the trick. In theory you could do this for a lot of other files, although tracking down where the locations are specified in the text files can be a pain in some cases.

Obviously this takes a lot more start-up effort than an equivalent mod for RTW though. *Edit* Actually this seems like a pretty useful community service that someone could do - constructing a base BI mod that contains as little of the original BI folder as possible, with all the basic text file edits taken care of. *Edit 2* Just looking over the BI files I think you could use this method to avoid copying most of the files - but there is really no way to avoid copying almost all of the ui folder - which is about 232 MB.

[kleemann]

In this case it seems to be easier to overwrite BI files than mess with extra bi install. Hard-disck has limited space :wall:

In my case 8 Gb of RTW is too much.. :laugh4:

[Frans Ubberdork]

I have noticed that when you use the -mymod switch to mod BI, that it still loads as if you are playing vanilla RTW.

My problem is that I have the RTW vanilla game modded so it will tell me unit celtic maiden not found or something like that.

Is their anywork around for this?

Thanks,
Tom

[player1]

The thing is that playing BI is same as using -mymod:bi

So, only way to mod BI and use -mymod to run a mod is to copy all contents of BI folder to new mod folder and then add moded files.

I complained about this when BI game out, but developers haven't had will to change it.

They said that if game checked 3 folders (mod, then bi then base), it would load too slow.

[Stuie]

I'm converting yet another mod to use the -mod: switch. The campaign loads and plays with no problem, but battles (both Custom Battles and in-Campaign) result in a CTD right after the load bar finishes. If I dump the mod on top of the vanilla data folder, it works fine.

Any ideas?

[Stuie]

I'm converting yet another mod to use the -mod: switch. The campaign loads and plays with no problem, but battles (both Custom Battles and in-Campaign) result in a CTD right after the load bar finishes. If I dump the mod on top of the vanilla data folder, it works fine.

Any ideas?

Never mind - it was bad path info for the sprites. All better now.

The end result is that RTR Platinum can be played with the -mod: switch. See here:
http://forums.rometotalrealism.org/index.php?showtopic=18727

[DimeBagHo]

You mean the whole RTR mod? That's awesome, you've done us all a service. :) I'll have to give RTR a try again.

[Stuie]

You mean the whole RTR mod? That's awesome, you've done us all a service. :) I'll have to give RTR a try again.

Yes, the whole RTR mod. I only did the -mod: switch work - the conversion to RTW v1.5 was done by a team lead by LestaT, Ryman2489 and some others over at the totalrealism site. There are still some rough edges and balancing to be worked out, but the current beta version is quite stable and playable.

[Monkwarrior]

Could you then rewrite the tutorial for RTW 1.5 and BI 1.6 (in fact, two tutorials)? It is important to know which files must be modified to include new paths and which ones can be kept as they are.

It would be also nice to include a method to create automatically the right new desktop shortcut, as this is probably the less friendly point for the user (and also for me as developer :juggle2: )

~;)

[Stuie]

Could you then rewrite the tutorial for RTW 1.5 and BI 1.6 (in fact, two tutorials)?

Ok - when I have time - hopefully this weekend.

What I'll do is take a completely different mod that I've never touched before and convert it to use the -mod: switch, and I'll take notes along the way. Anyone want to suggest a mod? I'll use DarthMod if no other suggestions are forthcoming.

Doing it for BI is a little more complicated because you need to include a .bat file that copies a bunch of the BI files to a new folder, and then overwrite the vanilla BI files in the new folder with your modded files. But I'll see if I can't come up with a) a tutorial and b) a standard .bat file to do the copying.

[Monkwarrior]

Ok - when I have time - hopefully this weekend.

What I'll do is take a completely different mod that I've never touched before and convert it to use the -mod: switch, and I'll take notes along the way. Anyone want to suggest a mod? I'll use DarthMod if no other suggestions are forthcoming.
Great!
I can't wait.:2thumbsup:

[Stuie]

EDIT: I found a couple more issues to iron out, so I'll repost this when I have a chance to sort things out.

[Stuie]

**Note that these pre-supposed that the mod you are adapting to use with the -mod: switch is RTW v1.5 compatible.**

I used SPQR 6.1 instead of Darth because I don't like the services hosting DarthMod - way too slow.

Anyway, this turned out to be a lot easier than I expected.

1. Create a new folder in your RTW directory and name it after the mod you want to convert. I created a folder called "SPQR".

2. Run the installer for your mod, but target the new folder instead of the RTW folder - thus, I used "C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\SPQR" as the target for the installer.

3. Create a new shortcut for the RomeTW.exe, and add "-show_err -mod:SPQR" to the target, replacing SPQR with the name of your mod folder.

Easy enough so far. Now to update some files:

4. Files that need updating:

a) descr_model_battle.txt
- rename paths for any unique sprites
- rename paths for any unique models

Example - Roman Hastati. Note that the bolded lines are the only ones I've changed - the game will find the correct skins without changing the path, but needs to be directed to the models and sprites.


type roman_hastati
skeleton fs_fast_pilum, fs_s1_gladius
indiv_range 40
texture romans_julii, data/models_unit/textures/SPQR_INFANTRY_JULII_HASTATII.TGA
texture romans_brutii, data/models_unit/textures/SPQR_INFANTRY_JULII_HASTATII.TGA
texture romans_scipii, data/models_unit/textures/SPQR_INFANTRY_SCIPII_HASTATII.TGA
texture romans_senate, data/models_unit/textures/SPQR_INFANTRY_SENATE_HASTATII.TGA
texture slave, data/models_unit/textures/SPQR_INFANTRY_REBEL_HASTATII.TGA
model_flexi_m SPQR/data/models_unit/hastati_high.cas, 15
model_flexi_m SPQR/data/models_unit/hastati_med.cas, 30
model_flexi_m SPQR/data/models_unit/hastati_low.cas, 40
model_flexi SPQR/data/models_unit/hastati_lowest.cas, max
model_sprite slave, 160.0, SPQR/data/sprites/romans_scipii_roman_hastati_sprite1.spr
model_sprite romans_senate, 60.0, SPQR/data/sprites/romans_senate_roman_hastati_sprite1.spr
model_sprite romans_scipii, 60.0, SPQR/data/sprites/romans_scipii_roman_hastati_sprite1.spr
model_sprite romans_brutii, 60.0, SPQR/data/sprites/romans_julii_roman_hastati_sprite1.spr
model_sprite romans_julii, 60.0, SPQR/data/sprites/romans_julii_roman_hastati_sprite1.spr
model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f


b) descr_model_strat.txt
- rename paths for any unique models (model_flexi_m)

Same as for DMB above, but this time in the strat file. Again, only the models need to be changed, not the skins.

c) descr_sm_resources.txt
- corrent pathing to any unique resource items/icons

Example - note that lt did not change the icons, just the model. If the icon is unique, that needs updated path info as well.


type pigs
trade_value 0
item SPQR/data/models_strat/resource_legion_shield_numidian_standing.cas
icon data/ui/resources/resource_lead.tga

type dogs
trade_value 0
item SPQR/data/models_strat/resource_legion_shield_roman_standing.cas
icon data/ui/resources/resource_lead.tga


d) descr_projectile_new.txt
- again, update any model paths for unique projectiles.

For SPQR, I had to modify one item - small_onager_rock.


projectile bullet

damage 30
radius 0.2
mass 0.1
area 0.7
min_angle -60
max_angle 70
velocity 60
ground_shatter
display particle_trail shatter_dust shatter_debris vanish_debris invert_model_z
model SPQR/data/models_missile/small_onager_rock.cas, max


e) descr_sm_factions.txt
- unique faction symbols and loading logos have to be installed in the vanilla data folder, but you can add an additional folder layer so as not to overwrite the vanilla files, or give the symbols/logos unique names. I added an SPQR folder and referenced it in the descr_sm_factions.txt file like this:


faction romans_julii
culture roman
symbol models_strat/SPQR/symbol_julii.CAS
rebel_symbol models_strat/symbol_slaves.CAS
primary_colour red 165, green 20, blue 20
secondary_colour red 0, green 0, blue 0
loading_logo loading_screen/symbols/SPQR/symbol128_julii.tga
standard_index 0
logo_index 23
small_logo_index 248
triumph_value 5
intro_movie fmv/intros/julii_intro_final.wmv
victory_movie fmv/victory/julii_outro_320x240.wmv
defeat_movie fmv/lose/julii_eliminated.wmv
death_movie fmv/death/death_julii_grass_320x240.wmv
custom_battle_availability yes
can_sap yes
prefers_naval_invasions no

The same can be done for the movie files.

So in the example above, the faction symbol and loading logo will be the modded version, while the slave symbol (used when the faction's unit turn into rebels, or for sub-faction rebels) will be the vanilla version.

f) descr_standards.txt
- again, these need to live in the vanilla data folder as far as I can tell, so unique naming or additional folder structure is needed. I again went with folders, adding an SPQR folder to house the unique symbols. These are the symbols that appear on the campaign map unit flags. This is the entire file, bolded where I made changes for SPQR; the remaining symbols use the vanilla files.


;
; this file describes the appearance of the strategy map banners
;

file_scale 0.185f
file_army_banner data/banners/SPQR/strat_flag.cas ; can't have spaces
file_scale 1.0f
file_navy_banner data/banners/navy_banner.cas

banner_star 0, 0.67969, 0.19141, 0.86719
banner_button 0.19922, 0.67969, 0.38281, 0.86719
banner_flag 0.58813, 0.01, 0.99, 0.99
banner_sail 0.01, 0.01, 0.42, 0.41

factions
symbols banners/SPQR/symbols1.tga
symbols banners/SPQR/symbols2.tga
symbols banners/SPQR/symbols3.tga
symbols banners/SPQR/symbols4.tga
symbols banners/SPQR/symbols5.tga
rebels_factions
symbols banners/symbols6.tga
symbols banners/symbols7.tga
symbols banners/symbols8.tga


That was all it took and I can now play SPQR with all* of its features, and without overwriting anything in my vanilla data folder.

*Ok - almost all... one issue that I have yet to figure out: if you have anything in your mod's data/loading_screen folder, no loading screens show up in-game UNLESS you provide ALL the loading screens for the game. I'm sure there's a solution, but I haven't had time to track it down yet. So the one thing I had to leave out of my SPQR installation was loading_screen_9.tga, and I'm left with vanilla loading screens.

This is just a quick first pass but should help. I'll collect my thoughts and clean it up at a later time. Also, make sure you leave -show_err in your shortcut and that should point you to any problems.

[Epistolary Richard]

Very helpful, Stuie. I've not had any success with it though with smaller mods - I've found I've had to have a world folder in there it to work. Any idea what the minimum world folder files are?

Edit: I have it down to the contents of the base and the imperial_campaign folder (though some of the UI elements there can be dropped). Any insight?

[DimeBagHo]

Stuie: I use just loading_ screen_1 in XGM and it works fine. It may be that the game looks for the screens in order starting from 1.

*Edit* One more thing. XGM modified some of the descr_sound*.txt files. Some users had a problem with missing sounds that was fixed by including all of these files, even the unmodified ones, in the mod folder (note that BI also includes all of them). Personally I never had, or at least never noticed, the problem, but some people said it makes a difference. :)

[Stuie]

Very helpful, Stuie. I've not had any success with it though with smaller mods - I've found I've had to have a world folder in there it to work. Any idea what the minimum world folder files are?

Edit: I have it down to the contents of the base and the imperial_campaign folder (though some of the UI elements there can be dropped). Any insight?

I've been meaning to do a "what's the minimum needed for a BI mod" write up, but haven't had time to do the necessary work (such as figuring what IS the minimum needed). When I have time I'll do the same for RTW.

@DimeBagHo - interesting about the loading screens. Guess I need to do more research - the one that wasn't working was loading_screen_9, so you may be correct about the order thing.

[Epistolary Richard]

Regarding the loading screen symbols - are you creating a separate folder within the vanilla folder or are they being referenced through the mod folder? The path you're describing looks like it's heading into the vanilla folder and my own attempts to run them through the mod folder have not been successful. Chivalry seems to leave this unchanged and yet their changed symbols show.

[DimeBagHo]

The path for most files is relative to the game directory, so it looks like data/[etc]. If you need to specify the path for those files then you can give it as [mymod]/data/[etc]. The path for some files is relative to the main data folder so, for example, the path might look like banners/[etc]. If you need to specify the path for file like that you can do it like this:

../[mymod]/data/banners/[etc]

The ".." tells the game to go up one level, to the main game folder, then look in the mod folder, and so on.

Here's the descr_standards.txt file from XGM for example:


;
; this file describes the appearance of the strategy map banners
;

file_scale 0.185f
file_army_banner data/banners/strat_flag.cas ; can't have spaces
file_scale 1.0f
file_navy_banner data/banners/navy_banner.cas

banner_star 0, 0.67969, 0.19141, 0.86719
banner_button 0.19922, 0.67969, 0.38281, 0.86719
banner_flag 0.58813, 0.01, 0.99, 0.99
banner_sail 0.01, 0.01, 0.42, 0.41

factions
symbols banners/symbols1.tga
symbols ../xgm/data/banners/symbols2.tga
symbols banners/symbols3.tga
symbols banners/symbols4.tga
symbols banners/symbols5.tga
rebels_factions
symbols banners/symbols6.tga
symbols banners/symbols7.tga
symbols banners/symbols8.tga

[Epistolary Richard]

Yes, I tried that for the loading screen symbols in descr_sm_factions but I just got a white square instead of the symbol. And Stuie has his mod folder inside the vanilla folder (or at least it appears) in that example. I would think perhaps it's something to do with the image itself but it works when it overwrites the original.

[DimeBagHo]

I just checked how I did things in XGM for the loading screen symbols. Macedon is the only one I changed, and the changed version shows up fine. The file is located in the mod folder with the same relative position, and same file name, as the vanilla version. Here's the Macedon section from descr_sm_factions.txt:

faction macedon
culture greek
symbol ../xgm/data/models_strat/symbol_macedon.CAS
rebel_symbol models_strat/symbol_greek_rebel.CAS
primary_colour red 0, green 0, blue 0
secondary_colour red 255, green 75, blue 0
loading_logo loading_screen/symbols/symbol128_macedon.tga
standard_index 4
logo_index 239
small_logo_index 253
triumph_value 5
intro_movie fmv/intros/greek_intro_640x480_bars.wmv
victory_movie fmv/victory/greek_outro_320x240.wmv
defeat_movie fmv/lose/macedon_eliminated.wmv
death_movie fmv/death/death_macedon_grass_320x240.wmv
custom_battle_availability yes
can_sap yes
prefers_naval_invasions no
So it looks like it should all work fine if you just put the modified sysmbol in the mod folder like any other file. Are you sure there isn't some problem with the modified file itself?

[alpaca]

By the way, the minimum for a working mod folder is:
data/text/imperial_campaign_regions_and_settlement_names.txt
data/world/maps/campaign/imperial_campaign
data/world/maps/base

This can be run through the BI.exe as well, and it will just start vanilla RTW
Utilizing this is also a good method for testing things as traits, etc. before you put them in your mod for real ;)

[Macedonn]

I have RTRPE,
when i run mod:my_mod with RTW.exe everythink is ok,byt if i try to start game with BI.exe(becouse i like some special thinks from bi)the game crash.
Also i play uor xgm4.0.11 where i see that its posible to play mod:my_mod with BI.exe.
So the question is what other files should i add to my_mod folder ,to make game run with BI.exe,or there is something else that i must do to solve the problem.

[Foot]

I have recently finished converting Europa Barbarorum to use -mod: and there were only a couple of points that I felt needed addition to this thread:

Entries in *.txt files that reference files for Rome but do not include a directory structure beforehand cannot be told to given a different directory structure - it is inbuilt into the *.txt file.

For example in descr_aerial_map_ground_types.txt has this entry


cultivated_low temperate_grassland_farm.tga arctic.tga

as you can see it does not reference any folder beforehand and so adding eb/ as a prefix, to reference that file in a different folder, did not work


cultivated_low eb/temperate_grassland_farm.tga eb/arctic.tga

The only alternative was to rename the files, I gave the updated files the 'eb_' prefix, so that they do not over-write the vanilla files. I then put these 'eb_' prefixed files in the appropriate folder (in this case data/terrain/aerial_map/ground_types/) and changed the entries appropriately.


cultivated_low eb_temperate_grassland_farm.tga eb_arctic.tga.

Also, as far as I can tell, you cannot add custom loading bars to your mod if you wish to use the command '-mod:' without over-writing vanilla files. Does anyone have any hints as to a solution for this. It is not referenced in a *.txt file as far as I can tell, but it will not show the custom loading bar!

Foot

[Teleklos Archelaou]

What happens to map.rwm or the files like descr_vegetation.db that regenerate when you load a game and then are saved - they don't save into the old files, do they? I mean, do they resave new versions at all, or do they save in the subfolders for your new mod, or do they save in the main folders over the vanilla versions?

[Epistolary Richard]

A map.rwm will generate in your :mod folder. I know thing that music.dat has to be deleted or renamed in your vanilla folder for new music to take effect.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

I cannot see that a descr_vegetation.db file regenerates though. Is there a way to force it to? I would guess probably not, but just asking.

[Stuie]

The biggest drawback of -mod:my_mod is that while it works nice for pure RTW mods, it's horrible for BI mods.

Since BI itself is sort of "RTW -mod:bi", in order to make -mod:my_mod work for BI you need to copy entire BI folder to your mod folder in order to make it work.

I think I finally figured this out. You need to put your mod folder in the BI folder, and then use this on the command line:


"C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\RomeTW-BI.exe" -mod:bi/modname

I tried it real quick with TFT, and v1.6 shows on the Options screen, and I can start a campaign. Didn't go much further than that due to time constraints, but it looks promising.

[Dol Guldur]

Hmmmm...thanks Stuie...I will look into this next week perhaps.

[Makanyane]

"C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\RomeTW-BI.exe" -mod:bi/modname

Would be really pleased if I could get this to work, have tried setting up file structure have copied in all text files from data and data/text and my mods /world folder and some other changed files but am getting crash on 1st loading screen, i.e. before any menu.

Any idea yet what minimum files / folders are?

EDIT: am now trying to work back from pasting in entire bi folder (re-named to modname) into bi/modname folder it definitely loads initially, trying to see what can be deleted, taking out all model folders, show_err is moaning about models_building/spot_fx, models_strat/symbol_faction.cas, models_engine/heavy_onager.cas and models_effects/torches.cas
if anyhone knows how to correct path names in appropriate files please post, otherwise I'll keep experimenting, (this is not for changed files just trying to get vanilla back to working via fewer files in -mod)

[The_White_Knight]

Good guides!

How can you make a -mod switch for a mod which changes UI files like general portraits and more without interfering with vanilla? I can't find the .txt-file associated with it.

I know of descr_agent_ancillary.txt, so I could potentially change the ancillaries-UI, but not the generals'/civilians' portraits. :no:

I'm currently in the proces of making a -modswitch for Blue Lotus as a personal challenge and as a means to save HD-space. :2thumbsup:

Edit: Never mind, examination of Chiv - TW learnt me that you don't need to alter any .txt for that.
Edit2: I'm experiencing unexplainable ctd's when loading the campaignmap (imperial campaign). Any ideas here? Do I need to alter the files in imperial_campaign in any way or can I just pop the world-folder in the my_mod/data folder without changing anything? (apparently not)

[Makanyane]

Returning to implementation of

"C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\RomeTW-BI.exe" -mod:bi/modname
I've got it working for my mod that was previously overwritten onto a different BI installation. Seems to work with minimal editing of the mod files but required folder still seems very big - unless I'm missing something.

Biggest space hog is that all UI folder still seems to be required. ??

As compared to the BI data structure I can omit all models_unit except unique skins etc. which need path in descr_model_battle.txt altered to bi/modname/data..... I seem to be able to omit sprites (no unique sprites), animations and sounds folders; and items folder if descr_items.txt and db are taken out as well. The models_strat 'officer' etc .cas files and textures can go (unless unique then path change in descr_model_strat as above) but the banner textures and .cas are required.

Trying to omit text files (have tried descr_sounds_.. and export_descr_advice) gives culture not recognised errors, as it seems to still be referencing directly to RTW/data for missing text files. This makes me worried that it may be referring to RTW/data for items & sounds folder content and could fall over later when/if it gets to missing BI elements.

Any one else made any progress on this???

[Dol Guldur]

I've just managed to get some time to look at this and after 45 minutes or so have only been able to launch the targeted shortcut to start up vanilla BI with not a hint of the mod :(

Hmmm...I have obviously failed to understand the above. Makanyane, can you state the steps you took to get it to (at least) start working?

I cannot see what I am doing wrong here.

[Makanyane]

Dol Guldur,
really didn't do anything special,
I'd got to launching vanilla BI stage by making new folder in RTW/BI called 'modname' and pasting entire (BI) data folder into it, if vanilla BI is working off shortcut I assume you got to this stage.

- I already had my mod in a zip folder designed to overwrite a vanilla BI install i.e with data/ structure already in place containing all changed files. I just copied my mods data/ folder over R-TW/BI/modname/data to overwrite files - that got all icons / banners / maps in without any further editing. I just had to change path to textures as they where modded for strat map captains etc. which gave -show_err message during campaign loading bar.

Seems to work regardless of whether campaign folder is named for provincial or main campaign.

Sounds rude to suggest this; but are you sure data folder you put your mod files in is the one the path name is refering to. Also if your approach was similar to mine did it actually overwrite files or did you get modname/data/data?
(yes I missed extraction path and got that first time out)

[Dol Guldur]

I'm late coming to this feature and have never used, explored or paid much attention to it due to the fact that it was my opinion it could never service a full-conversion BI mod (or do it in a manner that would leave the RTW (and now BI we hope) files untouched - which really is the whole purpose of the thing in ther first place).

Let me comment on your post, so as to clarify what you did:


Dol Guldur,
really didn't do anything special,
I'd got to launching vanilla BI stage by making new folder in RTW/BI called 'modname' and pasting entire (BI) data folder into it, if vanilla BI is working off shortcut I assume you got to this stage.

You posted your entire modded BI folder in or the entire vanilla? What did you do with the RTW data folder for your mod?

I was actually getting RTW vanilla and not BI vanilla. Sorry.


- I already had my mod in a zip folder designed to overwrite a vanilla BI install i.e with data/ structure already in place containing all changed files. I just copied my mods data/ folder over R-TW/BI/modname/data to overwrite files - that got all icons / banners / maps in without any further editing. I just had to change path to textures as they where modded for strat map captains etc. which gave -show_err message during campaign loading bar.

Ah, so you did put vanilla in first - did not read that in the BI tutorial above.


Seems to work regardless of whether campaign folder is named for provincial or main campaign. Sounds rude to suggest this; but are you sure data folder you put your mod files in is the one the path name is refering to. Also if your approach was similar to mine did it actually overwrite files or did you get modname/data/data?
(yes I missed extraction path and got that first time out)

I always avoid those problems by stubbornly refusing to use installers - or using them to extract to a "safe" place and the copying manually - because I really only trust what I can see ;)

I must admit to a distinct weakness in being able to think on more than one level at a time and am just about able ot cope with the idea that BI draws off some RTW data files. This will challenge me. But then, does not all coding...? ;)

I need to get my head around this though I have a horrible feeling that it will be more work than it is worth; but I need to see it for myself ;)

[Makanyane]

You posted your entire modded BI folder in or the entire vanilla?
I actually pasted in entire vanilla BI folder (renamed to modname) into BI folder to test that I at least got vanilla BI then pasted mod files over it and got mod. (tutorial above wasn't implying you needed whole folder but when I tried with just mod files and clicked shortcut, for my mod it attempts to start but doesn't reach any selection screen so then tried using entire BI folder to see if I could get path working at all; I think my mod may not have modified some of the files needed to get this working so it does not work on its own.)

If your mod is currently overwritten on a bi folder; you can copy that entire folder into a seperate installation of vanilla RTW/BI so structure goes
R-TW/BI (vanilla)/BI (your mod) and make the shorcut
"C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\RomeTW-BI.exe" -mod:bi/bi
that shorcut will then load your mod, and a shortcut without the -mod bit will load vanilla BI. Flaw is, at this stage you've still got 2x BI folder size on hard disc - the only thing I'm so far convinced you can remove from your modded (bi/bi) folder is the vanilla bits of models_unit, animations and sprites (unique bits can stay in bi/bi but you need to change your descr_model_battle and strat to find them)

You don't do anything at all to RTW/data.

To release as a mod this way; at least you're not disabling normal BI campaign and it doesn't require complete new RTW & BI install - but you'd still either need a read me that specifies which vanilla files have to be copied to the bi/modname (or bi/bi whatever.. ) structure, or an installer that copies the missing vanilla files over.

[Dol Guldur]

Indeed, copying over the entire vanilla was not in my head simply because I thought the purpose of -mod was to avoid the need to take up unnecessary hard-disk space. ;)

But will vanilla remain untouched even if this is done?

The vanilla BI draws off the main rtw data for certain elements and it would seem some of these will not work from inside BI.

My rome data folder element of my mod folder structure, for example, includes:

Music packs (cannot get these to work outside of the rome data folder)
Entire UI elements for the creation of an additional new culture
pack files
vegetation files (and db)
terrain files
modded resources & wonders
loading screens & loading bars etc

I have not thoroughly looked into their importing into BI but some I know will not import, and these will affect vanilla.

The vegetation issues, for example, will cause crashes if not placed in BI (and my tests show it does not port). Music will not port, though I have heard some say it does (I have set up every path imaginable!); loading bars will not work in BI; terrain files will not work I am told but I have read about a possible workaround for that one; I am not sure if my mod_0.pak file will work outside of the rome data pack folder (and if it does not it may override other pack folders and cause problems in vanilla)...I have not packed the unit voices yet...there will I fear be a horrific amount of repathing on all these packs and files.

It seems, as things stand, that the -mod feature for BI is not making the installation of the mod any easier for the player.

EDIT: OK, basic mod working as far as loading, graphics and menus are concerned. Rome data folder elements currently merged into Rome data. Over next couple of days will look at repathing issues in order to get CBs, campaigns etc. working .

[Makanyane]

I'm starting to believe that the -mod:bi/modname actually just does the same as -mod:my mod in terms of getting a BI mod to work under BI.exe: ie. you need to copy in everything from the BI folder that's required for BI except things like textures that can have a defined relative path, or things that got duplicated into RTW with the post BI patches everything else I'm pretty sure (unless I'm doing something wrong -help?!) its still only looking for in modname/data first then rtw/data. I suppose that does at least mean BI vanilla folder should be able to remain untouched!

(Also recently realised that TFT mod Stuie mentioned having working via modname, is I think for RTW not BI unless there's a second version of it.)

It still could be worth getting this to work even if its not as neat as RTW mod -mod solution. Unfortunately I know no-where near enough to advise on music pack issues etc.

[Dol Guldur]

Ah, well wait 'til you get to the strat map cas files and have no 3ds max to see which memory textures go with each model ;) (fortunately the show_err seems to report these well enough).

I am still proceeding slowly but need to get all my rtw bits working in bi first before I continue on the mymod folder.

I think this will involve several phases of completion. I will see how far I can get in the next 24 hours or so before I make a decision as to whether it is really worth it.

Many mods are not for BI, and many mods are roman-era and maybe do not mod certain elements that no-roman-eras do. This is probably not taken into account with such things as the -mod switch (for BI at least), but we will see...

Now I must work on ground type TGAs for the aerial map....

EDIt: Yep, Foot is quite right - the ground type TGAs will not repath neither does there seem a reference to the text file in order to repath it from there. Our TGAs are already renamed, but of course any mod using the -mod switch with modded ground type TGAs where they have left the names the same as vanilla or where, by coincidence, have called them the same as another mod using the switch; well, the map's not going to look like it ought to ;)

So the first rule for mod switch users is definitely to use unique TGA names here - I'd suggest Foot's approach of using the mod abbrev. prefix. We use "4a_" (helps see everything listed in the same place in files too for viewing and manipulation!), Foot above is using "eb_".

Now on to loading bars where, alas, the same method cannot be implemented I believe...

EDIT 3: Nah, as already mentioned, loading bars seem quite stubborn. This means mids with modded bars and overlays will overwrite each other, so each mod you play will have the latest mod's loading bars ;) There are ways around it but they all involve the player having to rename files so it might be best just to have the variety of bars :) Something to put in the install notes though.

EDIT4: Music seems impossible to move down to the bi folder unless it is unpacked.

EDIT5: Tile pieces may be problematic. I am trying to move down a modded texture file for the volcano_dormant.tga but can see no reference to it in the text files; I suspect it must be a memory texture for the dormant volcano cas file and so may need to copy it to bi and repath that. Nope, no go - no path reset in file by the looks of it. May well have to copy over the entire file and all associated elements.

Now, what about the intro movie (into mymod)?

[Dol Guldur]

OK.

Now working (and appears to be complete).

I have made no attempt to identify what can be removed as of yet, and indeed may not do so as I do not really have the time atm.

I also had to repath custom_locations.txt (for tgas), desc_cultures (here you must copy the cas files over even if only the texture has changed because of the cas memory; still, can give some potential variation to your cities in terms of textures at least), descr_sm_landmarks, and descr_beliefs (repathing the pips).

Has anyone ever got a modded trailer video to work from a mod folder? And if so, how? Thx.

[kburkert]

will this work with Alexander TW?

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Dol Guldur, did you find a way to make the palms you had gotten to work with FATW to work in the mod with the -mod format?

[Dol Guldur]

I've no idea if it will work with A:TW but one must assume it is the same principle; I do not have the game yet as my Eras pack has not yet arrived. Still, games are but a distraction to the serious modder ;)

Teleklos, I'm afraid I did not factor the palms in simply because they failed the first test of actually working once I had copied over the files to a new installation of bi (with the rest of the build). Leaving them in was causing any battle on the strat map or CB to load up a little and then hang and freeze. I was having to use CTR+ALT+DEL to exit. I copied over all the files (inc. the db one and even messed around with rwms generated from the original), but nothing worked and I had to restore a vanilla db file and veg file which seemed to do the trick. I think the sprites are still in so it may give the appearance of palm forests until you get too close and they turn into deciduous trees ;)

I do want them in, but not at the cost of messing up my build at present. I will probably make them an item for a not-too-distant patch. A quick look at the files does not hold out much hope for repathing, so you might want to try copying the entire file set (and related elements such as cas and dds.tga files) into the mod folder.

[Dol Guldur]

Before I dedicate myself to more hours of work next week, has anyone got the tga.dds files running from out of a -mod folder for the climates, e.g. those that would be normally found at:

...\Rome - Total War\Data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer

If so, would you be kind enough to share how it might be done?

[Sir Dinadan]

Has anyone found some files from BI that don't need to be copied?:help: :dizzy2: :juggle2: :wall: Thanks in advance.

[DaVinci]

Is anywhere a list of mods, that use CA's -mod function?

I know only about Chiv and TFT.

I would like to install other mods, but just only with -mod functionality.

The times, that i used to copying several vanilla directories is gone for me, as i have not longer lust and time to manage this and/or to buy bigger/new hd's due to new mods.

However, i would like to "encourage" all big mod projects to produce actual mod folders, and not overwriting any kind of vanilla TW data. It is so much userfriendly :yes:

[swell]

DaVinci,
XGM (Extended Greek Mod) uses also the -mod switch.

[Dol Guldur]

Fourth Age is a BI mod folder.

They are useful and not just for players. However, some elements will be overwritten in your vanilla if the mod is quite "deep" in what it has modded - but these are usually quite small and harmless changes.

[Epistolary Richard]

Napoleonic 2 for example uses a mod folder - but puts the new skies in the main data folder - presumably because they wouldn't appear otherwise.

[Makanyane]

Umm, bump...
As its been a while I was wondering did anyone work out how to get an intro video ('bi_Intro_640x480.wmv' equivalent) to play if placed in -mod folder.

Also any ideas on these bits I can't seem to shift out of RTW, let alone get into -mod;
RTW\data\UI\culture\cities\ .tga's
so far putting them even in BI has corrupted the whole UI with portraits appearing instead of the city logo's etc. :embarassed:

and RTW\Data\terrain\aerial_map\sea\ .tga's (ground types I can find paths for but not these)

Lastly did anyone find any difference between copying BI folder leaving it at the same level and renaming copy for -mod so you get -mod:my_mod or copying BI into itself and naming internal one so you get the -mod:bi/my_mod set up. So far I'm struggling to see difference (except to what you re-path textures etc to).

[Dol Guldur]

I believe RNJ has the structure like that and had some issues - can't remember. I'll ask next time I see kagemusha online.

I cannot get the music (in a packed state) or a game intro movie to work from within the modfolder - but we do not have an intro vid :(

I will get back to you about the other things.

[Dol Guldur]

Many things which mods leave to overwrite vanilla can actually be got into a modfolder, some by repathing. In the case of the CITIES you will need to pack them into mod_0.pak and place that file in your modfolders packs folder. This will probably work for your other folder too. It also works for loading bars btw.

The game will assume what is in the modfolder is the one to be used, taking priority over the vanilla counteprart. This is generally true of all files where filenames cannot be changes and repathing is not possible.

[Makanyane]

Cheers Dol Guldur, many, many thanks.... I wasn't thinking about packs so that one was never going to occur to me! :2thumbsup:
I just tried and it seems to work fine for both cities and the sea terrain files. :2thumbsup:

Now just need to find a home for a very nice intro video. Assuming all else fails (which seems likely) think I'll just give instructions for re-instating / switching to the old one as when you copy the BI folder the vanilla one must automatically end up in modfolder, hmm....

[iamphet]

Trying to repeat Stuie's steps for SPQR. All seems working besides loading screens and colours of faction banners. Colours are still vanilla. Any ideas?

[iamphet]

Ok, got it. There is a reference to textures\strat_flag.tga in strat_flag.CAS. So strat_flag.tga.dds is looked up in vanilla folder.

[Monkwarrior]

Hi.

I've almost successfully transformed the whole Iberia Total War mod to -mod system, but I have some problems.

- intro videos, but it seems that there is no solution. I've tried by including descr_fmv.txt, but no success.

- sounds: if I include the mod without the new sounds system, I receive the message "unable to load sounds database".
Any idea of the reason for this?
I thought that if I eliminate all the descr_sounds_* and export_descr_sounds_* files, the mod would use the original sounds in vanilla RTW.
Is there any file needed regarding sounds?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Dol Guldur]

Music and sounds will not work packed in a modfolder (all my tests were in a BI modfolder). They have to be mp3/wav additions to the modfolder where they do not draw upon vanilla (in which case you need to change the pathing in the relevant files).

Intro videos wil not work either from within a modfolder.


Is this what you mean or did I misunderstand your comments on sound? Do explain in more detail if necessary...

[Monkwarrior]

Music and sounds will not work packed in a modfolder (all my tests were in a BI modfolder). They have to be mp3/wav additions to the modfolder where they do not draw upon vanilla (in which case you need to change the pathing in the relevant files).

Intro videos wil not work either from within a modfolder.


Is this what you mean or did I misunderstand your comments on sound? Do explain in more detail if necessary...
I explained badly.:embarassed:

I want to make two versions:
1- Full version, with all the sounds. This works perfectly at the moment.
2- Version without new sounds. Vanilla sounds will be used. If I eliminate the sounds folder and all the text files related to sounds (32 descr_sounds_* + 6 export_descr_sounds_*), the mod doesn't load and gives me an error message about being unable to load sounds database.

I'm quite sure (not 100%, but nearly) that it was possible to make this in the normal installation (overwriting files).

Edit: now I'm 100% sure. When I eliminate the text files related to sounds from a normal installation, the game loads with no error message.

Edit2: I've found the solution. :idea2:
If the mod has not new sounds, it is necessary to include a sounds folder with the files events.dat and events.idx from vanilla for the mod to work.

[Dol Guldur]

Indeed - and I assumed you knew that. Sorry :(

[Sunhawken]

You can play Rome: Total War 1.5 with BI 1.6 engine by well um like this

"C:\Program Files\The Creative Assembly\Rome - Total War\RomeTW-BI.exe" -mod:rtw1.6 -show_err


The rtw1.6 folder is a "shortcut" of the Rome:Total War folder the one that is

C:/progames/blah/rometotwar :)

[Makanyane]

um yes, but that isn't because rtw1.6 refers to the folder - it is because it doesn't recognise it. anything it doesn't recognise that comes after -mod like -mod:xxxx
it will run as -mod which is just playing the rtw/data folder.

You will find though that you just made yourself a redundant "rtw1.6" folder inside Rome - Total War.

"C:\Program Files\The Creative Assembly\Rome - Total War\RomeTW-BI.exe" -mod -show_err

is actually all you need to play the original RTW files on the BI.exe. you only give it a name after the mod: if you are actually making a mod-folder with changed files.

[Makanyane]

if trying to reduce the files in a BI mod-folder, beware of removing some of the ui/roman and ui/barbarian/buildings tgas especially the ones in the /construction folder.. I think probably the churches and temples that are new to BI, or whatever doesn't exist in RTW packs.

Not having some of these - even if they are for a building not actually buildable by any faction in your campaign causes a KTM without error message, or apparently randomly, a message that it doesn't recognise your first USED hidden resource, and maybe a few others.... I've been having hours of fun with 'inexplicable' results on trying to get maps to load before pinning problem down to slimmed down UI file. :wall:

This only occurs if trying to start with a re-generated map.rwm, it doesn't seem bothered about missing building tga's if you're working from old rwm created before altering mod-folder ui etc. Hence not realising there was problem till after making few hundred other changes....

[Dol Guldur]

For reference, I here make available the listings of the FATW modfolder elements for basic and advanced repathing, and the content listing of the mod pack. I hope this will help anyone seeking to create a modfolder.

A. Contents for mod_0.pak...

The following is the list used in creating the mod_0.pak file for FATW; this generally contains files the reference to which cannot be repathed. The game will look to this pak and use the file there (without this file it would look to vanilla).

mod_0.pak
mod_0\data\ui\generic\#generic_construction.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\#generic_unit_card.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_building.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_constructed_building.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_fort.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_preconstructed_building.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_unit_card.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_unit_info.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\placement_message.tga
mod_0\data\ui\pips\pip_garrison.tga
mod_0\data\ui\pips\pip_governors_influence.tga
mod_0\data\terrain\aerial_map\tile_textures\volcano_dormant.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\forest.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\oz_rockydesert_summer_pebbles.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\oz_rockydesert_summer_rock.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\oz_rockydesert_summer_sand.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\oz_rockydesert_summer_shrubbase.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\pebble.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\sand.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\shrub_base.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\grass1.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\grass.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\oz_medi_forest.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\oz_medi_grass1.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\oz_medi_grass.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\oz_medi_shrub_base.tga.dds
mod_0\data\loading_screen\loading_bar.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_huge_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_large_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_large_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_huge_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_large_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_large_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_fort.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_large_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_huge_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_large_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_fort.tga
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_11.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_12.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_13.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_14.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_15.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_11.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_12.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_13.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_14.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_15.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_11.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_12.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_13.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_14.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_15.tga.dds


B. Advanced Repathing

../ used to jump up directories to repath back down.

https://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/dubhdara/th_fatw_dirleapfiles.jpg (https://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/dubhdara/fatw_dirleapfiles.jpg)

C. Basic repathing

Usually just sticking the mod's folder name in after the bi/ folder...

https://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/dubhdara/th_fatw_basicrepath.jpg (https://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/dubhdara/fatw_basicrepath.jpg)

Note that B is a subset of C, as all redirected directory jumping also of course contain the basic repath.

If you have any questions then post here where Makanyane someone will be pleased to answer them :laugh4:

[Makanyane]

*posts here to confuse things* if you have any questions Dol Guldur someone will answer

(was a good idea to show that btw)

similar from EODII

eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\ground_types\beach.tga
eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\sea\beach_strip.tga.dds
eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\sea\sky_environment_summer.tga.dds
eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\sea\surf2b.tga.dds
eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\tile_textures\cliff.tga.dds
eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\tile_textures\volcano.tga.dds
eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\tile_textures\volcano_dormant.tga.dds
eod\data\ui\barbarian\cities\BARBARIAN_CITY.TGA........ and similar
....
eod\data\ui\pips\PIP_GOVERNORS_INFLUENCE.TGA
eod\data\textures\#arrow.tga.dds
eod\data\textures\#arrow_distance.tga.dds
eod\data\models_building\textures\GATES2.TGA.DDS
eod\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_11.tga.dds........ and similar
.....
eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\ships\trade_boat.CAS
eod\data\terrain\aerial_map\ships\textures\Riczu_trade_boat.tga.dds

pack is still called mod_0.pak when its made, the folder name before \data doesn't actually matter, except obviously it has to be the one the files are actually in before packing.

textures in data\terrain\battlefield\..... you can put directly in mod folder if you change folder path (to something with same number of characters) with hex editor in geography.db file, but if you aren't hex editing that for other reasons, packing them is easier!

textures for buildings seem to have to be packed if you change them for existing building items, but if you have new model .cas's converted to new items then textures can work from mod-folder without packing.

[ThePianist]

Has anyone found some files from BI that don't need to be copied?:help: :dizzy2: :juggle2: :wall: Thanks in advance.

And i would ask the same question.
Trying to make a BI mod into -mod option. Apparently playing BI is already doing -mod:bi, so just creating a mod folder and a shortcut pointing to it doesn't work. So you still have to duplicate the entire BI folder, just minus some files. Anyone found out what files can be omitted?

[Sir_Lysander]

A further question.

Modding just units (some new unit and unit_info cards, changes to EDB/EDU as appropriate) I put everything into a "mymod" folder to keep the plain vanilla files "safe." However, running the mod, every time I zoom to battle map (either to view one of my own settlements, or for combat) I get a CTD when the game tries to generate the settlement:

"Error. Filename doesn't exist" data/models_building/..."
then a laundry list including "militia_barracks_eastern_high.cas" and so forth. I have not modified any Cas file, nor planned to. All remain in the original data/ folder.

When running RTW without the -mod switch, everything runs fine. I've tried copying data/models_building/ into the mod folder, tried removing it from the mod folder, no change.

My understanding is that if RTW didn't find it in the mod folder, it looked in the original data/ folder. Is that assumption off, or is something else going on?

[Aradan]

Is your mod BI-based? BI-based mods need the majority of vanilla BI folders to be brought inside the modfolder.

[Sir_Lysander]

Is your mod BI-based? BI-based mods need the majority of vanilla BI folders to be brought inside the modfolder.

Nope, regular RTW (when I run using the installed RTW icon, it gives version 1.5) I figured I'd start with something "easy",

[Aradan]

Can you list which files exactly you have modded?

[Sir_Lysander]

Can you list which files exactly you have modded?
EDU - added units
EDU_enum - for above
text\export_units - for above
EDB - for new units only
DMB - for new units only
UI folder for UNITS and UNIT_INFO only

names files

Descr_strat (set back to plain vanilla for CTD on end turn and/or AI turn)

No buildings were added or buildings files were altered other than EDB for unit recruitment.

At first, MYMOD folder held complete copy of DATA folder, but went back and removed duplicates (of DATA) that were unmodified. This change had no effect.

[Dol Guldur]

For general information, before I disappear forever....

Viking Invasion II is a modfoldered BI mod which involved no copying of the vanilla BI folder (either manually or by means of a batch file). It is complete in and of itself. I stripped out everything I could from it and so it should represent, as a mod at least, probably the best example of the minimum files required to have a BI modfolder to function.

[Tellos Athenaios]

This is thread necromancy with a purpose:

It would seem that it hadn't yet occured to anybody here that the relative path . (single dot: current directory) and .. (double dot: parent directory) can be used as true filename patterns: chained together we can have multiple builds of the same fully modfoldered mod running off the same RTW.exe without name collisions. I had tested this a good while ago with EB, but the internal thread is of course not accessible to the public. So here goes:


Prepare a clean RTW installation capable of supporting modfoldered mods.
Note the path of the RTW w/ever .exe file, say "C:\Games\Vanilla\RTW\".
Prepare a modfoldered mod installation somewhere outside that path, say "C:\Mods\", note its path (in this case "C:\Games\Mods\").
Compute the relative path from your .exe under (2) to your modfolder under (3): in this case we end up with "..\..\Mods\[modfolder]" where [modfolder] is the name of your modfolder. (Alternatively use: "../../Mods/[modfolder]", that will work too.) Say: "..\..\Mods\EB".
Use (4) as the argument to the -mod switch, example: Target: "C:\Games\Vanilla\RTW\" -mod:..\..\Mods\EB -show_err


This means that you could in theory set up multiple versions of EB 1.2 like this:

Target: "C:\Games\Vanilla\RTW\RTW.exe" -mod:..\..\Mods\EB\release -show_err
Target: "C:\Games\Vanilla\RTW\RTW.exe" -mod:..\..\Mods\EB\remod -show_err
Target: "C:\Games\Vanilla\RTW\RTW.exe" -mod:..\..\Mods\EB\devel -show_err
etc.

Note: people who run this game off a FAT partition *may* find that this doesn't work as expected, due to the fact that FAT does not support symlinks IIRC.

Note: a similar effect is possible through having a suitable [io] setting for each of any number of configuration files for M2TW, but of course you still must take care of avoiding naming collisions with the configuration files themselves.

For a slightly cryptic prior art reference (the use of symlinks in paths), just a few posts up I saw:


For reference, I here make available the listings of the FATW modfolder elements for basic and advanced repathing, and the content listing of the mod pack. I hope this will help anyone seeking to create a modfolder.

A. Contents for mod_0.pak...

The following is the list used in creating the mod_0.pak file for FATW; this generally contains files the reference to which cannot be repathed. The game will look to this pak and use the file there (without this file it would look to vanilla).

mod_0.pak
mod_0\data\ui\generic\#generic_construction.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\#generic_unit_card.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_building.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_constructed_building.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_fort.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_preconstructed_building.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_unit_card.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\generic_unit_info.tga
mod_0\data\ui\generic\placement_message.tga
mod_0\data\ui\pips\pip_garrison.tga
mod_0\data\ui\pips\pip_governors_influence.tga
mod_0\data\terrain\aerial_map\tile_textures\volcano_dormant.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\forest.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\oz_rockydesert_summer_pebbles.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\oz_rockydesert_summer_rock.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\oz_rockydesert_summer_sand.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\oz_rockydesert_summer_shrubbase.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\pebble.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\sand.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\rocky_desert\summer\shrub_base.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\grass1.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\grass.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\oz_medi_forest.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\oz_medi_grass1.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\oz_medi_grass.tga.dds
mod_0\data\terrain\battlefield\test_climate\summer\oz_medi_shrub_base.tga.dds
mod_0\data\loading_screen\loading_bar.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_huge_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_large_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\roman\cities\roman_large_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_huge_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_large_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_large_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\barbarian\cities\barbarian_fort.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_large_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_huge_city.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_large_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_town.tga
mod_0\data\ui\hun\cities\hun_fort.tga
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_11.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_12.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_13.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_14.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_01-02_15.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_11.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_12.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_13.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_14.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_03-04_15.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_11.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_12.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_13.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_14.tga.dds
mod_0\data\sky\clouds\heavy\cloud_top_15.tga.dds


B. Advanced Repathing

../ used to jump up directories to repath back down.

https://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/dubhdara/th_fatw_dirleapfiles.jpg (https://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/dubhdara/fatw_dirleapfiles.jpg)

C. Basic repathing

Usually just sticking the mod's folder name in after the bi/ folder...

https://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/dubhdara/th_fatw_basicrepath.jpg (https://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/dubhdara/fatw_basicrepath.jpg)

Note that B is a subset of C, as all redirected directory jumping also of course contain the basic repath.

If you have any questions then post here where Makanyane someone will be pleased to answer them :laugh4: But note that item (B) is *not* a subset of C, rather the converse holds true.