New Modder has question/problem

[Edratman]

Hi. I made the first mod of my life. Amazing, I'm 51, been playing computer games since they first came out (i.e., text Zork on a Commodore 64) and never even knew it was possible. But I have been reading a lot of posts so I think I can do it.
My first mod is simple, I just added trade goods and some resources to all provinces. The reason I did this is because the AI builds ports in provinces without trade goods, which only benefits my trade.
Anyway, I made the mod using Excel, so I assume I did not put any spacing or others errors in. I copied the file into startpos so that there are 4 files in it now. But the mod does not show up on the start campaign screen. I then copied the original early file and then removed it from startpos file and all that happened was my start campaign screen now had 2 choices, high and late.
I tried changing the initial lines of the mod from "cn_predefined:: true" to "false" and the same with the "cd_predefined without success, and various combinations also without success.
Obviously I am doing something wrong.
The campaign startup screen looks like it has a slider next to early, high and late, so I think I should be able to add multiple mods on top of the 3 initial choices, but I am obviously not doing something correct, and I suspect it is something simple.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Modding seems like fun and I am anxious to try other things.

[Lord Krazy]

http://www.totalwar.org/cgi-bin/forum/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=5;t=2384

Have a look here http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

LK http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

[Edratman]

Thanks, but I was unable to find anything that worked for me. It seems simple enough, but I must be doing something wrong.
I wonder if it may be related to my operating system, Windows XP. Even if name my mod "Early" and rename the original "Early" file something else, I only get the original early campaign on the campaign menu. And if I remove the original early from startpos I am left with only high and late campaigns.
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[NagatsukaShumi]

Lord Krazy I must say that you should drop that disgusting habit...... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/idea.gif

[el_slapper]

Mmmmh, try using another name, so you'll have one more ".txt" in the folder. My reb987.txt, based on early.txt, does appear without problems in the campaigns list. With a bizarre title - due to the fact I was too lazy to modify the loc(translation) files

It makes me think that it's tested by several french players, and that I should upload it here for the benefit of all.....

reb987 (http://60gp.ovh.net/~armeeroy/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=getit&lid=8)

Rebels everywhere, 1 province per state. Big trade income only if you manage to make peace with the huge rebel factions(i.e. avoiding any contact). Have fun

[MonkeyMan]

Yes try changing the title to yourmod.txt

also the start of the file, an exaple from a turk mod i made

cn_predefined::true
cn_title::"Turks Period Title"
cn_short_title::"Early Period Short Title"

this coes out to some horrible thing like " _Turks_ "

but there you go.

If i might recommend you don't edit the startpos files in excel, they really don't need it.

If you have an error in what you did this may also be the problem.

You might like to create a copy of early.txt, put in the title and check it appears in the campaigns.

Then change just a few things in a text editor and try starting the campaign a few times to check they have worked. Continue this until you really are confidant that you are doing it correctly and using the correct syntax.

One good way to do this is to copy lines from other places and only change the text parts you need to change, this should ensure the syntx is perfect until you feel comfortable with it.

One thing to be aware of is the difference between

SetTradableGoods::

&

SetResources::

its easy to get them the wrong way round in this part of the file. Also make sure each province has at most 1 entry for each of these types.

the correct syntax should be

SetResources:: TAB ID_PROVICENAME 2 ro 3* TAB then any three of IRON, GOLD, COPPER, SALT, SILVER separated by a TAB

well good luck with it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[fenir]

EXAMPLE: RENAMING OF EARLY.TXT

//========================================
//campaign name: can either be text or a
//label. Set predefined accordingly
//========================================
cn_predefined::false
cn_title::"Early Custom"
cn_short_title::"Early Custom"

//========================================
//campaign description: can either be text
//or a label. set predefined accordingly
//========================================
cd_predefined::false
cd_line::"Custom_fenir_Early"
cd_predefined::true


when editing the resources, please use copy and paste, it seems the safer way of doing things imho.
Just be mindful of your thoughts.

[Edratman]

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.
I've got it now. Obviously the game will reject a mod if there is a mistake in it. Haven't found mine but I am redoing it, 3 lines at a time and then I check it's viability. It's quite slow, but it is working.