MTW Viking Expansion Revisited - Help With Belated Mod?

[OldMan]

Hi. I am trying to perform a rather simple modification of MTW - Viking Expansion. I know most have moved on to bigger and better things, but I don't want to move on and I like modding, so here I go.

What I have done so far is placed all factions that are in the MTW, including Horde, Swiss and Burgundians, and given them their own home provence with some basic buildings then let them carve out their own empires from there. Then, I got the bright idea of adding in some of the factions from the Viking Expansion.

I have done so with the Scots, though I do have a few problems I'd like some help with. I have added the Vikings recently, also.

1. My banners for my troops in the battles do not show the shields, only the colors.

2. Whenever the Viking pieces come into view, the game CTD. I had this problem with the Scots, but I just started copying and pasting files until I got lucky. It seems that this has something to do with the /pieces (I think it's in the textures sub). But I have no more files to copy/paste, so I don't understand why the game CTD when the Viking pieces come into view.

3. With the Scots, I gave them DarkAgeRoyalKnights instead of RoyalKnights (wanted some variety). They are supposed to be able to dismount before battle, and the option comes up, but the game won't let me dismount them.

I have other issues with the all-to-common CTD during the battles, but I want to address other problems first.

Can you help?

[OldMan]

I am pretty frustrated with this, as I have been working on this off and on for about 3 years. I am almost at the point to pay someone ...

[OldMan]

One last word, if I may.

My primary concern at this point is the inability to see the pieces of the added factions. CTD each time a new faction piece becomes visible. Please help?

I have added the Scots, the Welsh and the Vikings.

Whenever the Viking or Welsh pieces come into view, the game CTD. I had this problem with the Scots, but I just started copying and pasting files until I got lucky. It seems that this has something to do with the /pieces (I think it's in the textures sub). But I have no more files to copy/paste, so I don't understand why the game CTD when the Viking or Welsh pieces come into view.

[drone]

I guess the first question would be, "What files have you created/modified?" I'm assuming you are modifying the Crusaders_unit/build_prod files, along with the Early.txt?

[OldMan]

No.

I have created, and am pointing to, other files:

VikingsIncUnit.txt
VikingsIncBldg.txt
MyHeroes.txt
...
VikingsInc.txt is the base file, and is modified from Early.txt;
...

The Building and Unit files are copied, then modified, from the base/default files.

I have copied and pasted from the Viking files into these files to accomplish my goal.

Thus, for sake of your question, basically, yes, I have modified the files you have mentioned (as I copied them in their original form to other file names then modified them).

[OldMan]

My answer may be confusing.

To be more detailed, here are commands I have in the viking.txt file (which is copied, then modified, early.txt):

Prodfiles:: UNITPROD "VikingsIncUnit.txt" BUILDINGPROD "VikingsIncBldg.txt"

SetNameData:: "campmap\\names\\MyHeroes.txt"

RegionSpecificFile:: "vikingsIncRegionSpecific.txt"

FactionSpecificFile:: "vikingsIncFactionSpecific.txt"

viking.txt is a copy of early.txt then modified.
VikingsIncUnit.txt is a copy of CRUSADER_UNIT_###.TXT
VikingsIncBldg.txt is a copy of CRUSADER_BUILD_##.txt
VikingsIncRegionSpecific.txt and VikingsIncFactionSpecific.txt are also copies of the original, then modified.

....

Thanks so much for your interest!

[drone]

How are the new factions declared inside the VikingInc.txt, did you just copy the "DeclareFaction::" lines from Viking.txt into the new file or did you give the faction identifiers more descriptive text than FN_0X?

[OldMan]

Copied directly, then changed to FN_0X to something more descriptive.

I copied directly, also, "SetStartLeader" lines.

Thinking that this may be Viking-specific (as I managed to somehow fix the Scots problem), I now have 2 with this problem; the vikings and the Welsh! Hahaha.

In case you need them, here are my lines:

DeclareFaction:: "FN_SCOTS" //06
DeclareFaction:: "FN_NORSEMEN" //07
DeclareFaction:: "FN_WELSH" //08

SetShieldImage:: FN_SCOTS "Scots_lge" "Scots_sml" "Scots" "Scots" "Scots" //SHL021
SetShieldImage:: FN_NORSEMEN "Vikings_lge" "Vikings_sml" "Vikings" "Vikings" "Vikings" //SHL022
SetShieldImage:: FN_WELSH "Welsh_lge" "Welsh_sml" "Welsh" "Welsh" "Welsh" //SHL023

SetStartLeader:: FN_SCOTS 0 8 3 1 1 1 2 0 0 2
SetStartLeader:: FN_NORSEMEN 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
SetStartLeader:: FN_WELSH 0 6 1 0 0 1 0 2

[drone]

Have you mapped out which of the new factions will get what troops throughout the game? And have you set up the tech-tree for building the VI-specific troops in Early? You will need to modify the unit_prod file column 50 for faction availability, and column 17 for build requirements. Column 17 cannot be copied from the Viking unit prod, the buildings are different in the grand campaign and must match. When determining the faction troop allowances, don't forget about the era restrictions (column 20), you don't want a faction to lose the ability to train units at year 1205.

Your dismount problem might be a faction thing, I think you need to set the faction availability of Early(Royal)FootKnights, which dismounted DarkAge(Royal)Knights turn in to.

I assume you have copied/modified all faction-specific lines from Viking.txt to VikingInc.txt: GGConquestReward, SetFactionMusic, SetActiveFaction, SetTreasury, SetReligion, SetCulture, SetBehaviour, SetFactionCol, SetRegionOwner (for at least 1 province), AddOffice (for the MTW buildings, not VI), and PlaceLeader. I'm pretty sure you need these or the campaign will CTD.

Small bit of advice, try to get 1 faction working completely before adding the others. It will make it easier to hunt down the problems and will make adding the later ones a breeze. Fortunately you can just comment out lines in the startpos file. Faction declaration order in the startpos file (VikingInc.txt) does matter, getting the names.txt and faction_specific text stuff correct depends on this order.

Can't help with the shield thing (or any kind of graphical stuff) at the moment, I've only got access to the basic txt files on my work PC.

[OldMan]

Have you mapped out which of the new factions will get what troops throughout the game? And have you set up the tech-tree for building the VI-specific troops in Early?

-- Yes, and it seems to be going okay, as I have assigned troops to different factions other than Vikings and tested.

Your dismount problem might be a faction thing, I think you need to set the faction availability of Early(Royal)FootKnights, which dismounted DarkAge(Royal)Knights turn in to.

-- Considered that, too. Will experiment later with this one. Thank you for your thought.

I assume you have copied/modified all faction-specific lines from Viking.txt to VikingInc.txt: GGConquestReward, SetFactionMusic, SetActiveFaction, SetTreasury, SetReligion, SetCulture, SetBehaviour, SetFactionCol, SetRegionOwner (for at least 1 province), AddOffice (for the MTW buildings, not VI), and PlaceLeader. I'm pretty sure you need these or the campaign will CTD.

-- All except "add title"; I thought I could do that later. But I will put those commands in there for them and see what happens.

Small bit of advice, try to get 1 faction working completely before adding the others. It will make it easier to hunt down the problems and will make adding the later ones a breeze. Fortunately you can just comment out lines in the startpos file. Faction declaration order in the startpos file (VikingInc.txt) does matter, getting the names.txt and faction_specific text stuff correct depends on this order.

-- Wilco.

Can't help with the shield thing (or any kind of graphical stuff) at the moment, I've only got access to the basic txt files on my work PC.

-- Okay.

_______________________

I will do the AddTitle and see if that changes anything. Thank you for your efforts.

[drone]

-- All except "add title"; I thought I could do that later. But I will put those commands in there for them and see what happens.

Actually the "AddTitle" bit doesn't need to be in for the game to run, I forgot Novgorod is missing that anyway in the vanilla.

-- Considered that, too. Will experiment later with this one. Thank you for your thought.

Also, the Dismount option for DarkAgeRoyalKnights is set to default(No) in column 69, which means they can only dismount in a castle battle. Not sure if this was the situation you tried it in.

Can you post the Viking(faction) specific changes you have made? The Vikings are different because of their culture (pagan), their VI raiding skill, and their music/pics.

Welcome to the .Org, btw. Where are my manners....

[OldMan]

Your manners are just fine, Drone. Thanks for helping.

I'm not 100% positive the lines you are looking for, but here goes:

DeclareFaction:: "FN_NORSEMEN" //07

SetFactionMusic:: FN_NORSEMEN 2

SetActiveFaction:: FN_NORSEMEN FT_MAJOR

SetTreasury:: FN_NORSEMEN 10000 8000 6000 4000

SetCulture:: FN_NORSEMEN PAGAN_CULTURE

SetBehaviour:: FN_NORSEMEN BARBARIAN_RAIDER

SetReligion:: FN_NORSEMEN REL_PAGAN


SetShieldImage:: FN_NORSEMEN "Vikings_lge" "Vikings_sml" "Vikings" "Vikings" "Vikings" //SHL022
SetFactionCol:: FN_NORSEMEN 235 235 235 255 0 0
(Note: Identical to the Danes, so I edited from 255 255 255 to 235 235 235 in order that the player -- me heh heh -- can tell the 2 apart)
SetRegionOwner:: ID_NORWAY FN_NORSEMEN

WHICH REMINDS me, I did forsee the issue of Pagan on Catholic lands, so I changed attributes for Norway:

SetAttributes:: ID_NORWAY "Norway" 0 PAGAN_CULTURE TEMPERATE AT_WESTERN_EUROPEAN -1 85 "Norway Castle_xzy" INLAND MOUNTAIN NO_RIVER TRUE


Continuing on:

SetStartLeader:: FN_NORSEMEN 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
PlaceLeader:: ID_NORWAY FN_NORSEMEN

~And I don't know what you mean by VI raiding skill; I have not been in any other files other than the ones mentioned.

I have also copied/pasted Famous Kings/Heroes in the Names file, and pointed the names to a name list nearly identical to the original Vikings. I find the Names files to be so tempermental that I keep my changes there to a minimum, and I certainly avoid names.txt/changes.txt -- Really bad luck with those in the past.

[drone]

~And I don't know what you mean by VI raiding skill; I have not been in any other files other than the ones mentioned.

The raiding ability that allows them to loot full value from destroyed buildings, as long as they stay Pagan. They will convert to Catholicism when they occupy enough provinces that are majority Catholic (can't remember the exact circumstances). I can't remember what triggers this ability in the engine though.

Those entries look fine. For the moment, is the Viking king the only Viking unit you are starting with? Have you defined the Viking royal unit (column 49, unit prod file)?

[OldMan]

Did some double checking and experimenting.

* King only.
* King leader unit is associated with, and even exclusive to, the Vikings.
* CTD when starting as Vikings, when Viking king comes into view, or when any Viking unit comes into view on the strategy map.

~sigh~ Your patience is extraordinary. Thanks for hanging in there with me. And, at least we're finding out what it's not, which is moving in the right direction.

[drone]

What unit type is the Viking king, Huscarles?

Now that I'm home, I can look through the directory tree. I notice that campmap\pieces\units\pagan does not have a "shields" subdirectory. Maybe copy the one from christian into pagan (christain\viking subdir included)?

[OldMan]

Ach! I had NO idea that you were waiting for me at home! So very sorry! I have been swamped with phone calls, and one of these happened to be a job offer! Whoopee! It looks like that after 8 months, I am FINALLY Employed! (giggle like a schoolgirl)

Anyway, more news ...

i got it working.

whew.

There are many directories in which graphics files are stored, I am sure you are aware of this:

\battle\flags
\campmap\gameend
\campmap\parchments\prebat
\campmap\shields
\campmap\sheilds\colour
\textures\campmap\castleflas
\campmap\pieces\units\christian\shields
\campmap\pieces\units\muslim\shields
\campmap\pieces\units\pagan\shields

I kept copying/moving files until it worked.

When it came to the Viking factions, the pattern didn't seem to fit on those last 3 entries; I put the Viking shield in the Pagan/Shields folder and CTD, then I put the welsh in christian\shields and ctd, so I finally ended up putting a copy of each and every faction shield in each and every one of those 3 folders.

But, no more CTD when I play Viking, Welsh or Scots.

I ~think~ that I also have the battle shields problem fixed, too. At least, the last time I went into the battle scenes (using troops I knew wouldn't cause a crash), my shields were there, big and pretty.

But stay tuned. I'm sure I'll get stumped again.

mwhaahahahahahaaaa sweet victory.

And I most certainly appreciate your help in all of this. Now, the project is not done; stay tuned; I still have the CTD during battles to figure out.

[drone]

Ach! I had NO idea that you were waiting for me at home! So very sorry! I have been swamped with phone calls, and one of these happened to be a job offer! Whoopee! It looks like that after 8 months, I am FINALLY Employed! (giggle like a schoolgirl)

Congrats on the job!

And no, you didn't keep me waiting. I went home after your last post, didn't think I could help at that point without seeing the directory tree.

mwhaahahahahahaaaa sweet victory.

And I most certainly appreciate your help in all of this. Now, the project is not done; stay tuned; I still have the CTD during battles to figure out.

Great news.

[OldMan]

Well, it looks like I'm going to have to start over. I wanted to avoid this, !!####!! My Unit Production File, I have been using a text editor and Gnome wouldn't load it. I didn't want to loose all my changes so far and start over, so I have literally spent HOURS trying to fix that file for Gnome to load it. The good news is, Gnome loaded it allright, but then MTW wouldnt!!! In the process, I have corrupted my Viking unit file (don't ask me how, copying/pasting and did something wrong!)

So, I'll be uninstalling/reinstalling MTW and then starting a new unit file, adding the Viking units again, and then doing all my changes all over again.

Sheesh.

But I do have a question about Gnome.

It is only giving me 71 columns; the last 3 columns are all combined. It's doing this on all my unit production files. It's not supposed to be doing that, is it? Is there anything I can do to fix it?

[drone]

I only get 71 columns in Gnome. The last 3 columns in the text file are actually combined in Gnome, deals with how the unit is available as mercenaries. You can't see all 3 usually unless you select a unit box for that column, then you see YES/NO, an era distinction, and a faction distinction. You might want to check that box for all units to verify that you aren't missing a column for a unit.

[OldMan]

Ah-ha! So after the "yes/no", it indicates which factions are eligible to hire such as mercenaries, and early/high/late for doing so! Is that it?

Also, after doing quite a few modifications in the unit file, the game is now not showing up. That last box; Does that have anything to do with it? Or do I have a problem somewhere else that I need to look?

(Cripes, I'm getting closer than I have in 3 years of working on this silly thing!)

[OldMan]

Nevermind. I got it. A Couple missing lines from the startpos file and some junk from the Viking Expansion in the UnitProd file. Got the Danes, Scots, Welsh, Mercians, English, Sicilians, italians, Papacy (non-playable), (with as many factions that are bunched up, he's gonna be on excommunicating *** ), Germans, Hungarians, Polish, French, Aragonese, Spanish, Almohad, Turks, Irish, Egyptians, Byzantines, Golden Horde, Novgorod, Russians (which I may take out, haven't decided yet), Swiss and Burgundians -- and I think that's all. Going to ignore the Saxons (assumed they became or were obsorbed by the English) and the Picts (assuming they became or were absorbed by the Scots). Gonna throw in the Northumbrians, though, and then work from there and see if i can't get all 30+ factions vying for control.

[drone]

If I remember correctly, there is a hard limit of 31 factions (+ rebels), so you will need to fit under that. Are you going to have both Novgorod and the Russians? In vanilla they are essentially the same faction, just named differently based on era.

[OldMan]

Haven't decided yet on the Russian thing. Maybe so, being as I do not want to mess around with flags/directories etc. that will mess up the Vanilla game. I like to play it sometimes.

You've been a lot of help and I really appreciate it, but I do have yet another question ....

I tried following the directions precisely of John Duke's guide for not CTD during battles. So, I copied/renamed Peasants folder, called it Custom0, renamed all files within with Peasant in the name replacing with Custom0 then tried to play.

"Description label is unknown. Clumn 27 row 1. Custom0".

What did I do wrong? Any ideas? I've reviewed my work and the directions, and don't see anything different than what is described.

Also, there is a file there called "Peasants"; Should that be renamed as well to "Custom0s"?

[OldMan]

Nevermind. Got it. Found it in another thread. Must be all caps.

CUSTOM0 not Custom0.

Not crashing in battles. And those Joms Vikings are pretty tuff.

Problems with labels. Guess I will have to play around in names.txt and changes.txt. Don't want to. They have been touchy with me in the past. Of course, I have been doing ok with the FactionSpecific file, and that one gave me fits in the past too.

[drone]

The labels are tough, if I remember correctly everything has to be in the order the factions are declared. Very easy to mess things up.

Haven't decided yet on the Russian thing. Maybe so, being as I do not want to mess around with flags/directories etc. that will mess up the Vanilla game. I like to play it sometimes.

One thing you might want to try is to work in a directory copy. The standard way of playing multiple mods of MTW is to do a fresh install/VI/patch, and then copy the entire directory to another pathname. All you need to do then is create a desktop shortcut to the new directory's Medieval .exe to play the mod, while the vanilla game is untouched. It also leaves you an unmodified set of files for reference when playing around with your changes.

[OldMan]

There are files everywhere in this program! When it comes to graphics, I am just guessing at moving/copying/naming/renaming files.

Right now, my Mercians have the Welsh prebat shield and my Welsh army does not have graphics when marching into battle. Is the latter, though, due to that CUSTOM0, CUSTOM1 thing that I did to stop the crashing?

If possible, can someone explain to me what these different folders are for and what files it's looking for?

\battle\flags FLAG####.TGA/ [FactionName].LBM
\campmap\gameend [FactionName]_win.BIF
\campmap\parchments\prebat SHL###.BIF
\campmap\shields [FactionName]_lge.BIF/[FactionName]_sml.BIF
\campmap\shields\colour [FactionName]_lge.BIF/[FactionName]_sml.BIF
\textures\campmap\castleflags [CountryName].BIF
\textures\campmap\Prebat SHL##.BIF
\campmap\pieces\units\christian\shields BIF files
\campmap\pieces\units\muslim\shields BIF files
\campmap\pieces\units\pagan\shields BIF files

I know that there are a lot of questions in this post, and that they are likely not short-and-sweet answers, so no rush.

Enjoy your thanksgiving!

[OldMan]

Oh. And I did find some stuff from the XL mod that I'm playing with. Trying to add the Bohemians. Problem is, the Prebat shields from campmap\parchments\prebat are all nonexistent! What can I do? Is there another file I can copy/paste?

[OldMan]

Well, i'm getting it. Not sure how, with all these graphics files ... pretty confusing about what goes where and why ... but, I'm working on Faction #30 now. Not including the Russians, but I am leaving them as "declared" so that I don't mess up the already confusing graphics situations. So, less the Russians and the Rebels, that's 28 active factions, less the Papacy, which I am leaving a minor faction, that leaves 27 playable factions. That should keep me entertained for a couple years!!

[drone]

Sounds like fun. How have you set up the faction AIs for balance? Have you tried running with the -ian switch to see how things pan out over time?

[OldMan]

I have no idea what you're talking about ...

heh heh ...

I do have a problem, though ... My Welsh generals are coming out with 0 to 2 loyalty. I have built and built, and I have expanded my kingdom from 1 piddly little provence ... I have trade routes stretching from Wales to Finland to Naples ... but no loyalty and no influence.

Is there a way to alter this? I mean, I don't want my Welsh generals to have absolute loyalty, of course, so I don't want a huge change. But as I seem to be doing what works for other factions and I have no general loyalty ....

When you say "Faction AI's" are you referring to when to build what, that's in the prodfiles? Or, are you fixing to introduce me to a new file ...