Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

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08-02-2005, 00:05
Epistolary Richard

Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Modding Resource Header

Title: Adding new units for beginners
Posted by: Epistolary Richard
Modding area: Units
Required programmes: Notepad (or other text editor)
Related links: Hard Coded limits
Summary: A beginner guide that takes you step-by-step through adding units you've downloaded as well as creating your own. Note that this is a collection of modding discoveries made by the community for nearly a year and so the discoveries here are not attributed to a single author.
__________________________________________________

This flowchart highlights the most important files for each aspect of adding a new unit. Scroll down to read more about them, or click on a file to learn more about that step.

http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_top.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_description.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/edue.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/eu.JPG
http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_unit.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_plus.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_unit_edu.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/edu.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_top.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/textures.JPG
http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_mid.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_unit_cards.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/unit_files.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_mid.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/models.JPG
http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_mid.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_models.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/dmb.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_left.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/sprites.JPG
http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_bottom.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/unit_recruitment.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/edb.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG

And here's how some of these references appear in the game here:

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newunits-sparta1.jpg

If this all looks confusing, don't worry. We're going to take you through it step by step below.

First off, a few choice picks from the Modding Rules of Cool:
:cool: cool modders make back-ups :cool: cool modders use show_err :cool:

We'll be following two examples through the process. We'll be adding an entirely new unit made by a group of modders called the Spartan Royal Guard as well as a unit - Briton Archers - that we'll be making ourselves.
08-02-2005, 00:07
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Step One - adding a new entry in export_descr_unit

Inside your Data folder you'll find a text file called export_descr_unit (which I'll refer to as edu). This file defines the stats for every single unit in the game.

Spartan Royal Guard
On the Download page, the creators of this unit provided us with the entry we should use:

Code:

type spartan royal guard dictionary spartan_royal_guard ; Spartan Royal Guard category infantry class spearmen voice_type Heavy_1 soldier spartan_royal_guard, 30, 0, 1 officer greek_standard attributes sea_faring, hide_forest, can_sap, command, frighten_foot, frighten_mounted formation 1, 1, 1.7, 0.5, 4, square, phalanx stat_health 2, 0 stat_pri 27, 8, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, spear, 25,1 stat_pri_attr spear, long_pike stat_sec 21, 4, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, sword, 25, 1 stat_sec_attr no stat_pri_armour 12, 8, 5, leather stat_sec_armour 0, 1, flesh stat_heat -2 stat_ground 2, 0, 0, 0 stat_mental 60, disciplined, highly_trained stat_charge_dist 30 stat_fire_delay 0 stat_food 60, 300 stat_cost 1, 1000, 220, 130, 190, 1740 ownership greek_cities

So adding the new entry is a simple matter of copying it and pasting it at the bottom of the edu file.

Briton Archers
As we're creating the Briton Archers ourselves, no premade edu entry exists, so we must make our own. I don't want the Briton archers to be very different from other barbarian archers and so I'm going to model them on the Dacian archers.

Here's the existing Dacian archers entry:

Code:

type barb archer dacian dictionary barb_archer_dacian ; Archer Warband category infantry class missile voice_type Light_1 soldier barb_archer, 40, 0, 0.9 attributes sea_faring, hide_improved_forest formation 1.2, 1.2, 2.4, 2.4, 3, square stat_health 1, 0 stat_pri 7, 2, arrow, 120, 30, missile, archery, piercing, none, 25 ,1 stat_pri_attr no stat_sec 3, 2, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, knife, 25 ,1 stat_sec_attr no stat_pri_armour 3, 2, 0, leather stat_sec_armour 0, 0, flesh stat_heat 2 stat_ground 2, -2, 3, 2 stat_mental 4, normal, untrained stat_charge_dist 30 stat_fire_delay 0 stat_food 60, 300 stat_cost 1, 270, 170, 30, 40, 270 ownership dacia

To make my new unit, I'm going to copy this entry, but I have to change a few lines.

First: the type line

Code:

type barb archer dacian

This name is used by the game for recruitment purposes and in other ways. No two units in edu can have the same type name, so I'm going to change it appropriately.

Code:

type barb archer britons

Second: the dictionary line

Code:

dictionary barb_archer_dacian ; Archer Warband

The dictionary line is used to reference the unit description and also the unit card (more on those later). I'd like to have a different description and unit card so I'll change this line to the following:

Code:

dictionary barb_archer_britons ; Archer Warband

By the way the ; in the line is used to comment out sections, as soon as the game reaches a semi-colon it will stop reading that line and skip to the next. The "Archer Warband" name there is not used by the game but only by the developers to keep a track on which entry is for which unit. I'm not worried about forgetting my changes so I'm going to leave it alone.

Third: the soldier line

Code:

soldier barb_archer, 40, 0, 0.9

This line tells the game which entry to look for in another file called descr_model_battle, also in the Data folder. That file dictates what model the unit will use and what texture it will wear. As I don't have a new model for my unit I'm happy to use the existing one and so I leave this unchanged.

Fourth: the ownership line

Code:

ownership dacia

This line tells the game which factions the unit can be used by in custom battles, whether it can be recruited by a faction in a campaign and it also dictates whether the unit will swap sides when its bribed or disband. As this unit is going to be for the Britons I change this to the following:

Code:

ownership britons

I want to make my archers a little different from the Dacian archers so I tweak some of the stats so that they fire a shorter range, heavier shot that I think would be appropriate for their lands. so finally we're left with the following:

Code:

type barb archer britons dictionary barb_archer_britons ; Archer Warband category infantry class missile voice_type Light_1 soldier barb_archer, 40, 0, 0.9 attributes sea_faring, hide_improved_forest formation 1.2, 1.2, 2.4, 2.4, 3, square stat_health 1, 0 stat_pri 9, 2, arrow, 100, 25, missile, archery, piercing, none, 25 ,1 stat_pri_attr no stat_sec 3, 2, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, knife, 25 ,1 stat_sec_attr no stat_pri_armour 3, 2, 0, leather stat_sec_armour 0, 0, flesh stat_heat 2 stat_ground 2, -2, 3, 2 stat_mental 4, normal, untrained stat_charge_dist 30 stat_fire_delay 0 stat_food 60, 300 stat_cost 1, 270, 170, 30, 40, 270 ownership britons

And, like before, we paste it at the bottom of edu.
08-02-2005, 00:08
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Step Two - adding a new unit description

Both my new units need a new description because they both have new dictionary lines. As you can see from the chart above, adding a new description involves two files: export_descr_unit_enums (edue) and export_units (eu), the latter of which you can find in the text folder within the Data folder.

The process is the same for both units so we'll do them both at once.

Again, for the Spartans, the creators have given us the code I need. So I go into edue and paste it at the bottom. For the Britons I had to write new entries (remember it's based on the dictionary line in edu).

Code:

spartan_royal_guard spartan_royal_guard_descr spartan_royal_guard_descr_short barb_archer_britons barb_archer_britons_descr barb_archer_britons_descr_short

Then I need to add the text that the game will actually display, so I go into text\export_units and paste the following at the bottom:

(Again the Spartans were already written for me, for the Britons I've copied the Dacian entry, changed the name in the {} to correspond to my entried in edue and added a line of my own to make it unique.)

Code:

¬---------------- {spartan_royal_guard} Spartan Royal Guard {spartan_royal_guard_descr} Legendary warriors they are 'elite perfect soldiers' and nothing else. All of Spartan life is spent training for war. Weaklings perish soon after birth; youths are taught to thieve and terrorize the slave class to harden them; young men are taught nothing unless it has something to do with the arts of war - even music and dance are there only to help keep step when marching and obeying orders.The result is a man who thinks nothing of danger, expects to win, and creates a sense of dread in his opponents.\n\n From this group of men only the best make it in to the Spartan Royal Guard. They carry the Eagle of Olympus as a sign of leadership and to inspire the troops. They also fight in the traditional fashion like hoplites, with a long thrusting spear and the large red round hoplon shield incrusted with the gold symbol of Sparta. They are also protected by an iron breastplate with an external layer of silver.\n\n The Royal Guard: is an elite unit in Greek Army. A small group of selected soldiers who acted as shock troops. The Thebian army had a group of 300 soldiers. The Spartans had a group of 300 hoplites who were a Royal Guard. {spartan_royal_guard_descr_short} The Spartan Royal Guards are elite hoplites trained and selected from the best soldiers of the Spartan Greek units. They are perfect soldiers made in the image of the Thermopylae heroes. ¬---------------- {barb_archer_britons} Archer Warband {barb_archer_britons_descr} Archer warbands are used to harass and break up enemy formations, so that other warriors can then get in amongst their enemies. The members of the warband are lightly armed and equipped, relying more on speed as a protection from foes. Any archers caught in the open by cavalry will be in trouble unless they can withdraw to more favourable ground or behind a shield wall of friendly warriors.\n\nTheir bows have a short range, but each warrior carries a good selection of hunting and war arrows, designed to cause massive bleeding and pierce armour respectively. Their choice of missile is matched to the nature of the target.\n\nThese archers are at their best in wooded country, where their superior stalking skills learned on the hunt can be put to use. Archers from Britannia tend to carry a fewer, heavier shots which have a shorter range, better suited for their style of warfare. {barb_archer_britons_descr_short} Archer warbands are used to harass and break up enemy formations, so that other warriors can then get in amongst their enemies.

The only difference between the _descr and the _descr_short descriptions are that they're used in different points in the game.

Learn more about editing a unit description here:
How to edit a unit name/description
08-02-2005, 00:09
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Step Three - adding a new model and texture (skin) in descr_model_battle

I mentioned descr_model_battle (dmb) above, remember it was referenced by the soldier line in the edu entry.

Spartan Royal Guard
The Spartans use an entirely new model. The dmb entry is provided for me, so again I just paste these at the bottom of the dmb file.

Code:

type spartan_royal_guard skeleton fs_fast_spearman, fs_fast_swordsman ; combat spear indiv_range 40 texture greek_cities, data/models_unit/textures/Royal_Spartan.tga model_flexi data/models_unit/Royal_Spartan_100.cas, 15 model_flexi data/models_unit/Royal_Spartan_200.cas, 30 model_flexi data/models_unit/Royal_Spartan_300.cas, 40 model_flexi data/models_unit/Royal_Spartan_400.cas, max model_sprite greek_cities, 60.0, data/sprites/greek_cities_greek_armoured_hoplite_sprite.spr model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f

Unfortunately, it does not finish there, as this entry references several files that do not exist in the vanilla game. The files I need are what's available in the download. Here's the contents of zip file you can download (Spartan Royal Guard):

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newunits-zip.jpg

If you look at the file names you can start to see how they correspond. The roots where the files have to be placed are listed in the dmb entry, but we'll go through them one at a time:

First: adding the model

The model is the 3d base of the soldier, kind of like a statue. The texture is a 2d image that is wrapped around the soldier and provides the colours and detail. If the model is the chassis, then the texture is the paint-job.

You can see above the following lines

Code:

model_flexi data/models_unit/Royal_Spartan_100.cas, 15 model_flexi data/models_unit/Royal_Spartan_200.cas, 30 model_flexi data/models_unit/Royal_Spartan_300.cas, 40 model_flexi data/models_unit/Royal_Spartan_400.cas, max

Each .cas file is a model of the soldier used for the unit, the different versions are just the same model at different degrees of detail. In order to maintain processing speed, the game swaps in the lower detail models as you away from the solder, so it can handle the number that appear on screen.

All modellers should create these different versions of their model for different ranges, otherwise even high performance machines will begin to suffer from lag as the game tries to cope with thousands of intensive models on the screen at the same time.

We follow the root written in the dmb entry and we drop the .cas within data\models_unit\

You'll find quite a few files there already, in fact all the .cas unit files used by the vanilla game.

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newu...dels_unit1.jpg

At even further distances it will swap from a 3d model to a 2d sprite. As you can see, the sprite line is properly defined

Code:

model_sprite greek_cities, 60.0, data/sprites/greek_cities_greek_armoured_hoplite_sprite.spr

The line is referencing a .spr file which already exists in vanilla, so we don't need to worry about it any further.

Second: adding the texture (skin)

This is the texture line

Code:

texture greek_cities, data/models_unit/textures/Royal_Spartan.tga

It looks very similar to the model line, the main difference is that the faction (greek_cities) is referenced as well. In order to save space, CA use different textures on the same model in order to achieve a different unit.

A good example of this are the roman troops for the different families, the velites of the different families all use the same model because they're all the same shape. They do wear different colours and so you'll find they reference a different texture for the different factions. We'll have a clearer example of this later.

Again, this is just a matter of dropping the file we're given in the download and dropping it in the folder called for in the root in dmb, in this case data\models_unit\textures - just one folder below where we dropped the .cas files.

The files we need in this case are the .tga.dds files. The .dds extension just shows that the file has been compressed in a certain manner, it's really a .tga file which is why the texture line refers to it as a .tga and not a .tga.dds

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newunits-textures1.jpg

You'll note that the textures folder is empty. That's because, unlike the .cas files the texture files that the game uses are all hidden away within .pak files within the packs folder. Because we're adding a new texture however, we don't need to worry about them, we'll just drop the new textures in.

You'll also spot that I've added another file with _GLOSS at the end of it. This file tells the game which areas of the texture should be reflective with the write Video options. Again, this is something that the skinners will sometimes include as well, though you can make your own if you want.

Briton Archers

For my Britons, I don't have a new model or a new texture for them. Nevertheless I still need to do some work in dmb. The soldier line in the edu entry referenced a model called barb_archer in dmb, which is the following.

Code:

type barb_archer skeleton fs_fast_archer, fs_fast_dagger indiv_range 40 texture dacia, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_archer_dacia.tga texture scythia, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_archer_scythia.tga texture slave, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_archer_slave.tga model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_warband_archer_high.cas, 8 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_warband_archer_med.cas, 15 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_warband_archer_low.cas, 30 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_warband_archer_lowest.cas, max model_sprite slave, 60.0, data/sprites/slave_barb_archer_sprite.spr model_sprite scythia, 60.0, data/sprites/scythia_barb_archer_sprite.spr model_sprite dacia, 60.0, data/sprites/dacia_barb_archer_sprite.spr model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f

Now the model is used across all the factions, so I don't need to make any changes there. But I need to define my texture line for the Britons so that the game knows - when this unit is controlled by the Britons - which texture it should use.

I don't have a new texture for the Britons, but I'm happy to have them appear in Dacia colours, so I add the following line:

Code:

texture britons, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_archer_dacia.tga

As I copied the .tga file line from the Dacian line, I know that it already exists (even if it's hidden in a .pak) so I know it will be used properly.

If I didn't have this line, the game would go to its default texture for the model, or possibly no texture at all, in which case the models would appear totally white or invisible.

I'm also going to add the following:

Code:

model_sprite britons, 60.0, data/sprites/dacia_barb_archer_sprite.spr

This line makes sure that when I pull the camera back as the Britons, it knows which sprite file to reference. Again, it's just a copy of the Dacian version, so I know it already exists.

If I didn't have this line, my unit would disappear when I got a certain distance from it.

So, with my modifications, the final barb_archer entry looks like this:

Code:

type barb_archer skeleton fs_fast_archer, fs_fast_dagger indiv_range 40 texture britons, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_archer_dacia.tga texture dacia, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_archer_dacia.tga texture scythia, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_archer_scythia.tga texture slave, data/models_unit/textures/unit_barb_warband_archer_slave.tga model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_warband_archer_high.cas, 8 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_warband_archer_med.cas, 15 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_warband_archer_low.cas, 30 model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_warband_archer_lowest.cas, max model_sprite slave, 60.0, data/sprites/slave_barb_archer_sprite.spr model_sprite scythia, 60.0, data/sprites/scythia_barb_archer_sprite.spr model_sprite dacia, 60.0, data/sprites/dacia_barb_archer_sprite.spr model_sprite britons, 60.0, data/sprites/dacia_barb_archer_sprite.spr model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f

Learn how to make your own .cas files here:
How to Model New 3D Units
Learn how to make your own sprites here:
Sprite Generator
08-02-2005, 00:10
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Step Four - adding new unit cards

Unit cards are the small images you see in your HUD that display the unit type. Some skinners will include unit cards with their downloads, others won't. If you do create a unit card for a unit that you've downloaded, it's a good idea to send it to the skinner who made the unit. That way he can include the unit card in the download for other people.

There is another type of unit card, a larger version called a unit_info card, which are the images you see when you right click on a unit. The method for adding both is similar.

Unit cards for the Spartans were included in the download (the plain .tga files without the .dds extension). And barocca has made a unit card for a unit of Briton Archers, which I'm also going to use.

The unit cards and their directories are hidden away in .pak files, so to add more we're going to have to reproduce that to place these unit cards correctly.

We're going to recreate the directory structure

- Create a new folder in the Data folder called UI

- In there create two new folders, one called units and the other unit_info

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newunits-ui1.jpg

- Within each of these folders, create new folders named after the faction that will be using these units (same syntax as the ownership line in edu) - here greek_cities and britons

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newunits-units1.jpg

- Drop the unit cards in the units folder with the right factionname and the unit_info cards in the unit_info folder with the right factionname

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newu...ek_cities1.jpg

The file names of the unit cards follow the dictionary line entry in edu, and the unit_info cards the same, but with _info on the end.

If you don't name it after the dictionary line correctly - or you don't add one at all - then you'll get a default unit card, which looks like a dark/grey/rebel peasant. Every time someone asks on the forums "What's this rebel peasant about?" you can tell them that this is where they went wrong :smile:

Learn how to make your own unit cards here:
How to - Edit Unit Cards
Learn how to unpack .pak files here:
xpak tutorial
08-02-2005, 00:10
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Step Five - making it recruitable

Well, we've done everything we need to make the unit available in custom battles, but I want to be able to recruit them in campaigns as well. To do that I need to edit a file called export_descr_buildings.txt

Spartan Royal Guard
In that file, you'll find all the buildings that can be constructed, in particular for my purposes the military buildings. I want the Spartan Royal Guard to be recruitable just like normal Spartans, so I'm going to find their line and duplicate it.

Code:

recruit "greek hoplite spartan" 0 requires factions { greek_cities, } and hidden_resource sparta recruit "spartan royal guard" 0 requires factions { greek_cities, } and hidden_resource sparta

The only change I have to make is the name, which I replace with the name listed in the type line in the edu entry.

So, slotting this entry in means I have an army_barracks building that looks like the following.

Code:

army_barracks requires factions { ct_carthage, armenia, pontus,, egyptian, greek, roman, } { capability { recruit "carthaginian city militia" 0 requires factions { spain, } recruit "carthaginian infantry" 0 requires factions { spain, } recruit "spanish scutarii" 0 requires factions { spain, } recruit "barb infantry briton" 0 requires factions { britons, } recruit "barb infantry dacian" 0 requires factions { dacia, } recruit "barb infantry gaul" 0 requires factions { gauls, } recruit "warband spear german" 0 requires factions { germans, } recruit "barb horse archers scythian" 0 requires factions { scythia, } recruit "warband sword briton" 0 requires factions { britons, } recruit "warband sword gaul" 0 requires factions { gauls, } recruit "warband axe german" 0 requires factions { germans, } recruit "warband falx dacian" 0 requires factions { dacia, } recruit "barb warguard gaul" 0 requires factions { gauls, } recruit "barb warguard briton" 0 requires factions { britons, } recruit "barb warguard dacian" 0 requires factions { dacia, } recruit "warband dhaxe german" 0 requires factions { germans, } recruit "warband axe scythian" 1 requires factions { scythia, } recruit "carthaginian city militia" 0 requires factions { carthage, } recruit "numidian javelinmen" 0 requires factions { numidia, } recruit "carthaginian infantry" 0 requires factions { carthage, } recruit "numidian desert warriors" 1 requires factions { numidia, } recruit "carthaginian medium infantry" 0 requires factions { carthage, } recruit "carthaginian heavy infantry" 0 requires factions { carthage, } recruit "numidian legionaries" 0 requires factions { numidia, } recruit "east hillmen" 0 requires factions { eastern, } recruit "east infantry" 0 requires factions { eastern, } recruit "east heavy infantry" 0 requires factions { armenia, } recruit "east hoplite" 0 requires factions { pontus, } recruit "east hoplite brazen shield" 0 requires factions { pontus, } recruit "east legionary" 0 requires factions { armenia, } recruit "egyptian nubian spearmen" 0 requires factions { egyptian, } recruit "egyptian nile infantry" 0 requires factions { egyptian, } recruit "egyptian infantry" 0 requires factions { egyptian, } recruit "egyptian elite guards" 0 requires factions { egyptian, } recruit "greek hoplite militia" 0 requires factions { greek, } recruit "greek levy pikemen" 0 requires factions { seleucid, macedon, } recruit "warband falx thracian" 0 requires factions { thrace, } recruit "greek hoplite" 1 requires factions { greek_cities, } recruit "greek pikemen" 0 requires factions { seleucid, macedon, } recruit "greek hoplite elite" 0 requires factions { greek_cities, } recruit "greek royal pikemen" 0 requires factions { macedon, } recruit "greek silver shield pikemen" 0 requires factions { seleucid, } recruit "greek hoplite spartan" 0 requires factions { greek_cities, } and hidden_resource sparta recruit "spartan royal guard" 0 requires factions { greek_cities, } and hidden_resource sparta recruit "greek bastarnae" 0 requires factions { thrace, } recruit "roman city militia" 0 requires factions { roman, } recruit "roman hastati" 0 requires factions { roman, } and not marian_reforms recruit "roman infantry auxillia" 0 requires factions { roman, } and marian_reforms recruit "roman princeps" 0 requires factions { roman, } and not marian_reforms recruit "roman legionary cohort i" 0 requires factions { roman, } and marian_reforms recruit "roman legionary first cohort i" 0 requires factions { roman, } and hidden_resource rome and marian_reforms recruit "roman triarii" 0 requires factions { roman, } and not marian_reforms recruit "roman legionary cohort ii" 0 requires factions { roman, } and marian_reforms

You'll notice that there's actually a level above army_barracks - royal_barracks. If I want to make sure that I can still recruit the Spartan Royal Guard when I upgrade I have to add their line there too.

Briton Archers
Much the same, except this time I'm duplicating the Dacian line:

Code:

recruit "barb archer dacian" 0 requires factions { dacia, } recruit "barb archer britons" 0 requires factions { britons, }

Again I change the name to the edu entry type line, but I also have to change the faction name from dacia to britons.
(NB, don't forget the , after the faction name otherwise it won't work.)

So the full practice_field entry looks like this, and again, I have to add the Briton Archers line to each of the upgraded missile buildings.

Code:

practice_field requires factions { barbarian, ct_carthage, eastern, parthia, egyptian, greek, roman, } { capability { recruit "carthaginian peltast" 0 requires factions { spain, } recruit "barb peltast gaul" 0 requires factions { gauls, } recruit "barb peltast german" 0 requires factions { germans, } recruit "barb slinger briton" 0 requires factions { britons, } recruit "barb archer dacian" 0 requires factions { dacia, } recruit "barb archer britons" 0 requires factions { britons, } recruit "barb archer scythian" 0 requires factions { scythia, } recruit "carthaginian peltast" 0 requires factions { carthage, } recruit "carthaginian archer" 0 requires factions { numidia, } recruit "east peltast" 0 requires factions { armenia, pontus, } recruit "east slinger" 0 requires factions { parthia, } recruit "egyptian peltast" 0 requires factions { egyptian, } recruit "egyptian slingers" 0 requires factions { egyptian, } recruit "greek peltast" 0 requires factions { greek, } recruit "roman velite" 0 requires factions { roman, } and not marian_reforms recruit "roman light infantry auxillia" 0 requires factions { roman, } and marian_reforms

Learn more about export_descr_buildings here:
Guide: The Complete EDB Guide (WIP)
08-02-2005, 00:12
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

The two units are now full installed and ready to fight with:

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newunits-spartans.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newunits-britons.jpg

You'll remember that, as I didn't have a Briton archer skin, I just defined the Dacian version in the dmb entry. The new unit card, however, shows up fine. My next step will be to get a new texture for them, so they fit in with my army better.

Remember this? Hopefully it'll make more sense now.

http://www.geocities.com/rjgw2/1newunits-sparta1.jpg

Download the Spartan Royal Guard
Download the Briton Archers unit card

A few final words :cool: cool modders make back-ups :cool: cool modders use show_err :cool: cool modders write tutorials :cool:

Happy modding :thumbsup:

.
08-23-2005, 15:51
sleighr

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Do you know the formula for adding buildings as requirements?

I know how to add buildings as a requirement...

recruit "greek hoplite spartan" 0 requires faction { roman, } and building_present_min_level hinterland_farms farms+2 and building_present_min_level market market

This requires both buildings in order to build a unit.

But not how to add multiple buildings to stop a unit being built. I tried the same formula:

recruit "greek hoplite spartan" 0 requires faction { roman, } and not building_present_min_level hinterland_farms farms+2 and not building_present_min_level market market

but the game ignores the second building requirement, taking only the first as necessary. Any idea how to fix this?
09-20-2005, 08:31
Philip of Massalia

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epistolary Richard

Step Four - adding new unit cards

If you don't name it after the dictionary line correctly - or you don't add one at all - then you'll get a default unit card, which looks like a dark/grey/rebel peasant. Every time someone asks on the forums "What's this rebel peasant about?" you can tell them that this is where they went wrong :smile:

I did just so and I still have the grey peasant.

also I noticed that the name of the card is not always the same as the EDU dictionnary, as I'm modding upon a Magna carta Mod and I see some cards being names as :

#RTR_GREEK_CAVALRY

whereas the edu entry is :

greek_cavalry
09-20-2005, 13:04
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Have you checked to see if there is a second edu entry with a dictionary tag called rtr_greek_cavalry?
09-20-2005, 17:25
Philip of Massalia

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epistolary Richard

Have you checked to see if there is a second edu entry with a dictionary tag called rtr_greek_cavalry?

Yes, I checked that and there is none
09-21-2005, 16:01
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Well, I can think of a few explanations, but I've never played RTR so I couldn't say anything for definite. You might want to ask one of their team. The tutorial as written is how I understand the process, if elements are wrong or incomplete then I'm happy to add or amend to it.
09-23-2005, 10:19
Philip of Massalia

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epistolary Richard

Well, I can think of a few explanations, but I've never played RTR so I couldn't say anything for definite. You might want to ask one of their team. The tutorial as written is how I understand the process, if elements are wrong or incomplete then I'm happy to add or amend to it.

I checked again and the RTR entries are leftover from the RTR mod I do not use anymore.

Still, my #SPECIAL_ARCHERS.TGA are simple copy/paste of the Vanilla #EGYPTIAN_ARCHER.TGA unpacked with Vercingetorix tool.

the dictionnary lines are :
type special archers
dictionary special_archers ; Special Archers
10-05-2005, 05:49
Suraknar

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Very Nice tutorial Thank you very Much!

Its really good to know how everything matches together.

A small question , prolly was answered a long time ago, what are the .rum files in the Models_Unit folder?

Thanks
10-05-2005, 07:02
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

I believe rum files are new type of model files introduced in 1.2, similar to cas files.
11-03-2005, 22:39
Red Harvest

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Nice work on the guide.

Just wanted to add that there is a british archer skin hidden away in the vanilla game ("lost unit" skin.) So just substitute "briton" for "dacia" in the tga part of the entry in descr_model_battle.txt and you will have a light/barbarian british archer that matches the unit card tga shown in this tutorial.

There is also a hidden tga for the skirmisher warband for the britons...in case anyone wants to add those to their game. (I'm doing that right now actually, LOL.)
12-23-2005, 03:29
Kratos

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

I'm wondering if the Paint program will work for making a unit card?
12-23-2005, 11:33
Seasoned Alcoholic

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kratos

I'm wondering if the Paint program will work for making a unit card?

MS Paint can't handle .TGA files, which are what you need to save the unit cards as in the appropriate UI subsection folder. Try The GIMP instead, its free image editing software, and is quite powerful to an extent. Although it doesn't contain many of the advanced features of Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, you can still create unit cards no problem.

Download it here

More info here
12-23-2005, 13:17
timberman

My rome total war wont work when I have made new units.

First I did this:

type greek hoplite elite
dictionary greek_hoplite_elite ; Armoured Hoplites
category infantry
class spearmen
voice_type Heavy_1
soldier greek_armoured_hoplite, 40, 0, 1.3
officer greek_standard
attributes sea_faring, hide_forest, can_sap, hardy
formation 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, square, phalanx
stat_health 1, 0
stat_pri 9, 7, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, spear, 25 ,1
stat_pri_attr spear
stat_sec 7, 3, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, sword, 25 ,1
stat_sec_attr no
stat_pri_armour 11, 6, 5, metal
stat_sec_armour 0, 0, flesh
stat_heat 4
stat_ground 2, 0, 0, 0
stat_mental 8, normal, highly_trained
stat_charge_dist 30
stat_fire_delay 0
stat_food 60, 300
stat_cost 1, 640, 210, 70, 100, 640
ownership greek_cities

copied it and made it to:

type macedon hoplite elite
dictionary macedon_hoplite_elite ; Armoured Hoplites
category infantry
class spearmen
voice_type Heavy_1
soldier greek_armoured_hoplite, 40, 0, 1.3
officer greek_standard
attributes sea_faring, hide_forest, can_sap, very_hardy
formation 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, square, phalanx
stat_health 1, 0
stat_pri 13, 8, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, spear, 25 ,1
stat_pri_attr spear
stat_sec 8, 5, no, 0, 0, melee, simple, piercing, sword, 25 ,1
stat_sec_attr no
stat_pri_armour 15, 7, 5, metal
stat_sec_armour 0, 0, flesh
stat_heat 6
stat_ground 2, 0, 0, 0
stat_mental 15, disciplined, highly_trained
stat_charge_dist 30
stat_fire_delay 0
stat_food 60, 300
stat_cost 1, 700, 210, 70, 100, 700
ownership macedon

and I went on:

greek_hoplite_elite
greek_hoplite_elite_descr
greek_hoplite_elite_descr_shortcopied it and made a new one

macedon_hoplite_elite
macedon_hoplite_elite_descr
macedon_hoplite_elite_descr_short

continued:

¬----------------

{greek_hoplite_elite} Armoured Hoplites

{greek_hoplite_elite_descr}
Superior\nHardy\nCan Form Phalanx\nSapping Ability\n\nArmoured hoplites are an elite among Greek soldiery, carefully selected and given the best training to make them superior spearmen. Each of them is equipped with good body armour, greaves and a helmet and carries a large round shield, the hoplon that gives this kind of soldier the name of hoplite. Each man is also armed with a formidable thrusting spear called the xyston and a sword. They are usually employed as solid, close-packed groups of men, presenting a wall of spear points to the enemy. In phalanx formation, they use weight of numbers to batter into enemy formations.\n\nThey are vulnerable to flank and rear attacks, and ideally need some sort of light supporting troops to screen them as they approach the enemy.

{greek_hoplite_elite_descr_short}
Armoured hoplites are an elite among Greek soldiery, carefully selected and given the best training to make them superior spearmen.
¬----------------

made a new one:

¬----------------

{macedon_hoplite_elite} Armoured Hoplites

{macedon_hoplite_elite_descr}
Superior\nvery_Hardy\nCan Form Phalanx\nSapping Ability\n\nArmoured hoplites are an elite among macedon soldiery, carefully selected and given the best training to make them superior spearmen. Each of them is equipped with good body armour, greaves and a helmet and carries a large round shield, the hoplon that gives this kind of soldier the name of hoplite. Each man is also armed with a formidable thrusting spear called the xyston and a sword. They are usually employed as solid, close-packed groups of men, presenting a wall of spear points to the enemy. In phalanx formation, they use weight of numbers to batter into enemy formations.\n\nThey are vulnerable to flank and rear attacks, and ideally need some sort of light supporting troops to screen them as they approach the enemy.

{macedon_hoplite_elite_descr_short}
Armoured hoplites are an elite among macedon soldiery, carefully selected and given the best training to make them superior spearmen.
¬----------------

next I did was:

type greek_armoured_hoplite
skeleton fs_spearman, fs_swordsman ; combat spear
indiv_range 40
texture carthage, data/models_unit/textures/unit_greek_elite_hoplite_carthage.tga
texture greek_cities, data/models_unit/textures/unit_greek_elite_hoplite_greek.tga
model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_greek_hoplite_elite_high.cas, 15
model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_greek_hoplite_elite_med.cas, 30
model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_greek_hoplite_elite_low.cas, 40
model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_greek_hoplite_elite_lowest.cas, max
model_sprite greek_cities, 60.0, data/sprites/greek_cities_greek_armoured_hoplite_sprite.spr
model_sprite carthage, 60.0, data/sprites/carthage_greek_armoured_hoplite_sprite.spr
model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f

copied and made a new:

type greek_armoured_hoplite
skeleton fs_spearman, fs_swordsman ; combat spear
indiv_range 40
texture carthage, data/models_unit/textures/unit_greek_elite_hoplite_carthage.tga
texture greek_cities, data/models_unit/textures/unit_greek_elite_hoplite_greek.tga
texture macedon, data/models_unit/textures/unit_greek_elite_hoplite_greek.tga
model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_greek_hoplite_elite_high.cas, 15
model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_greek_hoplite_elite_med.cas, 30
model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_greek_hoplite_elite_low.cas, 40
model_flexi data/models_unit/unit_greek_hoplite_elite_lowest.cas, max
model_sprite greek_cities, 60.0, data/sprites/greek_cities_greek_armoured_hoplite_sprite.spr
model_sprite macedon, 60.0, data/sprites/greek_cities_greek_armoured_hoplite_sprite.spr
model_sprite carthage, 60.0, data/sprites/carthage_greek_armoured_hoplite_sprite.spr
model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f

and the last thing was:

recruit "greek hoplite elite" 0 requires factions { greek_cities, }
recruit "macedon hoplite elite" 0 requires factions { macedon, }

Do someone know why it want work...... It just jump out before I come to the menu????
Please help
12-31-2005, 10:33
Grand Lord of Poop

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

hi, im new to these forums, and when i looked into your guide i thought...yes! this is exactly what i need!!! and so i did manage to create a new unit, except the unit cards display it as a dark greenish - grey peasant!! i know what's wrong, i have not created a unit card for my new unit yet. So im planning to add one, but, the problem is, EXACTLY HOW do i create a new unit card, or maybe if that isn't possible i could even replace them with cards that alread exists...but i don't kno how to. please help me!!!
12-31-2005, 12:20
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

You can find out more about creating unit cards here:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=51373
01-01-2006, 09:44
Kratos

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

What I am finding odd is that in RTW/ Data I don't have UI folder at all. Yet in BI i do have UI. This is giving me headaches. Any ideas?
01-01-2006, 10:58
Meneldil

Re : Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

The UI in RTW are stored in the ui_0 and ui_1 pack files (Rome - Total War\Data\packs). To extract them, you'll need Vercingetorix' pack extractor (that may be found in the modding tools topic)
01-05-2006, 13:52
Lovasìjász

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Excellent tutorial. The best out there. Looks like a lot of hard work Epistolary Richard to put everything nicely into one tutorial package!
01-18-2006, 19:31
Seasoned Alcoholic

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epistolary Richard

This flowchart highlights the most important files for each aspect of adding a new unit. Scroll down to read more about them, or click on a file to learn more about that step.

http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_top.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_description.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/edue.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/eu.JPG
http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_unit.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_plus.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_unit_edu.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/edu.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_top.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/textures.JPG
http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_mid.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_unit_cards.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/unit_files.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_mid.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/models.JPG
http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_mid.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/new_models.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/dmb.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_left.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/sprites.JPG
http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow_bottom.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/unit_recruitment.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/arrow.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/edb.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG http://totalwar.org/images/Guides/blank.JPG

Do you think export_descr_sounds_unit_voice.txt should be added to this?

Superb guide btw ER, this is a great starting point for any potential and new modders alike.
01-19-2006, 10:57
Hans Kloss

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Quote:

Do you think export_descr_sounds_unit_voice.txt should be added to this?

It probabaly should but whole process needs of adding voices to new units needs to be explained properly as it is not just adding lines to export_descr_sounds_unit_voice.txt
02-10-2006, 17:08
TiFlo

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Hi all,

Very nice tutorial! I guess it should work, but I'm stuck: I'm trying to add 3 new units (+2officers & 1 aquilifer), which does, if I'm correct, 6 more units to be put in DMB.
There lies my problem, since you can not go over 255 entries in DMB, when I lauch the game, all I get is a nice CTD, and the -show_err indeed tells me that DMB has already reached his full limit of units.

:help: :help: :help:

Is there any way to get rid of some units, or combining them in order to decrease their effective number in DMB? For I tried a few things but nothing has been working so far... :wall:

If anyone feels to help...
02-11-2006, 09:43
Epistolary Richard

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Better to ask in the Modding Questions forum.
02-11-2006, 12:04
TiFlo

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Thanks,

I finally kind of sorted it out! :idea2:

Anyway, I still giong to keep an eye on the modding sectio and see if there is anything else I could use.
04-18-2006, 01:10
Goalie

Re: Tutorial: Adding new units for beginners

Thanks for all you work. I have created Knights of the Round Table from Scythian Noble Archers. They are really cool.

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