Epistolary Richard
04-10-2005, 01:24
http://www.geocities.com/epistolaryrichard/wonder1.jpg
The Egyptians & the Scipii battle amongst the mighty Pyramids
INITIAL BETA RELEASE - DOWNLOAD (http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?act=mod&id=475)
Caveat
This mini-mod is only intended for users who have had experience in modding their own games. This beta has to be manually installed and therefore requires a certain degree of familiarity with the game's file directory.
What does it do?
This mini-mod allows you to fight campaign battles actually in and around the proper Wonder structures instead of only being able to see them from afar.
How does it work?
Using the method of inserting custom battlefield tiles in the campaign map as developed by Myrddraal, it uses a different custom tile at each Wonder location.
What's the catch?
Because the Wonder models on the campaign map block any movement into those squares, for this initial beta at least we've had to drop the strat map Wonder models (as a result they are no longer visible from adjacent squares) and the associated bonuses. But, there are simple ways to restore most of these attributes. It's just a matter of finding the best method to do it.
How big is it?
Approx. 11 meg
Install instructions
1) Download wonders.zip
2) Place the custom_tiles_db.txt file and the custom_tiles folder in your campaign folder (eg, data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign\)
3) In that same campaign folder, delete the map.rwm file if it exists.
4) In that same campaign folder, open up the existing descr_Strat.txt file and find the landmarks section - either delete or comment (ie, add a ; at the beginning of the line) this entire section
5) Launch RTW normally.
DOWNLOAD (http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?act=mod&id=475)
If you'd like to view the wonder custom tiles in battle then one easy way is to change the starting locations of some of the rebel units listed near the bottom of descr_strat. Just change the x and y co-ordinates to match that of the wonder you'd like to see:
X Y
pyramids_and_sphinx 181, 12
pharos 178, 21
colossus 160, 44
temple 157, 53
statue 134, 49
gardens 237, 46
mausoleum 160, 50
Thus the rebel stack will indicate exactly where the Wonder is and will allow you to view the wonder by fighting a battle there.
Feedback
There are several different ways that this mod can be improved upon, but I'm releasing this beta version to get feedback on which aspects are more important than others and the best way to go about restoring them.
- Strategic map models - These are easily restored by simply moving them or the custom tile into adjacent tiles. This means that the Wonders locations wouldn't exactly match up, but more significantly it would mean that the strategic map model would be visible in the background of the custom tile (thus there would be two Colossus, Mausoleums, etc.)
- Restoring bonuses - Putting the strategic models back on the map will simply restore the bonuses. But if you want to avoid the duplication issue then the strategic model can perhaps be alpha'ed and even moved to a less significant part of the province. Whichever square it was moved to, however, would then become impassable.
- Viewing from adjacent tiles – removing the strategic models also removed this feature and it cannot be easily replicated within a custom tile.
- Ideally, therefore, we'd like to stop the strategic model from blocking the square from being entered and put our own custom tile there. Any ideas as to how this could be done would be gratefully received.
Historical accuracy
At the moment, the Wonder buildings have just been placed in the middle of the tile that they occupied in descr_strat. In order to do them justice in the final version, we'd be interested in any information as to their real-life immediate surroundings so that we can make them as accurate as the game will allow.
http://www.geocities.com/epistolaryrichard/wonder2.jpg
At the very foot of Mount Olympus, the Spartans stand against the Roman invaders
Thanks as ever go to CA, the Org modding community and Myrddraal for discovering the custom tile method which was the only way this mod could be accomplished.
The Egyptians & the Scipii battle amongst the mighty Pyramids
INITIAL BETA RELEASE - DOWNLOAD (http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?act=mod&id=475)
Caveat
This mini-mod is only intended for users who have had experience in modding their own games. This beta has to be manually installed and therefore requires a certain degree of familiarity with the game's file directory.
What does it do?
This mini-mod allows you to fight campaign battles actually in and around the proper Wonder structures instead of only being able to see them from afar.
How does it work?
Using the method of inserting custom battlefield tiles in the campaign map as developed by Myrddraal, it uses a different custom tile at each Wonder location.
What's the catch?
Because the Wonder models on the campaign map block any movement into those squares, for this initial beta at least we've had to drop the strat map Wonder models (as a result they are no longer visible from adjacent squares) and the associated bonuses. But, there are simple ways to restore most of these attributes. It's just a matter of finding the best method to do it.
How big is it?
Approx. 11 meg
Install instructions
1) Download wonders.zip
2) Place the custom_tiles_db.txt file and the custom_tiles folder in your campaign folder (eg, data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign\)
3) In that same campaign folder, delete the map.rwm file if it exists.
4) In that same campaign folder, open up the existing descr_Strat.txt file and find the landmarks section - either delete or comment (ie, add a ; at the beginning of the line) this entire section
5) Launch RTW normally.
DOWNLOAD (http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?act=mod&id=475)
If you'd like to view the wonder custom tiles in battle then one easy way is to change the starting locations of some of the rebel units listed near the bottom of descr_strat. Just change the x and y co-ordinates to match that of the wonder you'd like to see:
X Y
pyramids_and_sphinx 181, 12
pharos 178, 21
colossus 160, 44
temple 157, 53
statue 134, 49
gardens 237, 46
mausoleum 160, 50
Thus the rebel stack will indicate exactly where the Wonder is and will allow you to view the wonder by fighting a battle there.
Feedback
There are several different ways that this mod can be improved upon, but I'm releasing this beta version to get feedback on which aspects are more important than others and the best way to go about restoring them.
- Strategic map models - These are easily restored by simply moving them or the custom tile into adjacent tiles. This means that the Wonders locations wouldn't exactly match up, but more significantly it would mean that the strategic map model would be visible in the background of the custom tile (thus there would be two Colossus, Mausoleums, etc.)
- Restoring bonuses - Putting the strategic models back on the map will simply restore the bonuses. But if you want to avoid the duplication issue then the strategic model can perhaps be alpha'ed and even moved to a less significant part of the province. Whichever square it was moved to, however, would then become impassable.
- Viewing from adjacent tiles – removing the strategic models also removed this feature and it cannot be easily replicated within a custom tile.
- Ideally, therefore, we'd like to stop the strategic model from blocking the square from being entered and put our own custom tile there. Any ideas as to how this could be done would be gratefully received.
Historical accuracy
At the moment, the Wonder buildings have just been placed in the middle of the tile that they occupied in descr_strat. In order to do them justice in the final version, we'd be interested in any information as to their real-life immediate surroundings so that we can make them as accurate as the game will allow.
http://www.geocities.com/epistolaryrichard/wonder2.jpg
At the very foot of Mount Olympus, the Spartans stand against the Roman invaders
Thanks as ever go to CA, the Org modding community and Myrddraal for discovering the custom tile method which was the only way this mod could be accomplished.