Creating or Modding Building Models

[Seth Krn3ll]

Seth you seem to be talking yourself into doing the tutorial you requested yourself - well done

LOL would love to be so skilled to write down a tutorial, my ones are just ideas and weird tentatives :)

You can add a new name for something but it needs a look up added in data/text/building_battle.txt
(version of that file can be included in mod-folder.)

Wait: in my version of the game the data/text/building_battle.txt seems to be greatly outdated. Maybe export_buildings.txt works for that too? I see if I msis adding name, descr and descr short there game crashes.

It doesn't matter which dbb file you add buildings to - but they must be in a dbb file or in
descr_building_battle.txt
itself - if you open that file you'll see if gives the list of all the dbb files which the game should read - its just a way of splitting up the files so you don't get one super long file with everything in.

Perfect! That sounds great, so I will just include my own dbb files and not tounch the original ones.

You should be able to get totally new buildings in - other mods have and I did for eod2 (they are statues and odd totems etc, but game doesn't know they're not 'buildings') - what problem / error messages are you getting when you try new ones?

Ok, I made a try and followed those steps:

1. added a building "orthanc" in export_descr_buildings.txt with a single level and its features:

building orthanc
{
levels orthanc
{
orthanc requires factions { romans_brutii, } and hidden_resource orthanc
{
capability
{
happiness_bonus bonus 1
recruits_exp_bonus bonus 1
}
construction 1
cost 400
settlement_min town
upgrades
{
}
}
}
plugins
{
}
}

(of course I added a "orthanc" hidden resource and added it to the region where the tower is settled).

2. added "orthanc" to the list of primary buildings in descr_settlement_plan.txt , and also added a slot named "slot_orthanc", no variants:

slot slot_orthanc
{
default
{
orthanc, 0, 0, 0, 0
}
}

3. Added names to export_buildings.txt

¬--------------
¬-------------- Unique buildings made by Krn3ll for LOTR-TW
¬--------------
{orthanc} Torre di Orthanc
{orthanc_desc} Torre di Orthanc
{orthanc_desc_short} Torre di Orthanc
¬--------------

and to be sure also to building_battle.txt

{orthanc} Torre di Orthanc

4. Included a personal file to includes in descr-building_battle.txt:

;krn3ll adding
include dbb_krnell_orc_buildings.txt

5. in that new dbb_krnell_orc_buildings.txt added the new building:

orthanc
{
stat_cat large_stone
localised_name orthanc
level
{
min_health 1
battle_stats
item orthanc
physical_info none
}
transition default_large_stone
level
{
min_health 0
battle_stats
item roman_rubble_48x32
physical_info info_roman_rubble_48x32.cas
}
}

I temporary let "none" for collisions becasue I had not a suitable game model: the idea was to find one suitable later on.

6. added my orthanc thing to the orc_large_city.txt (settlement plan)
slot_orthanc, 0, 0, -90, 0.5

7. added to ITEM folder the orthanc.ITEM (just a copy and rename of the actual roman_proconsul_palace.ITEM, which is the orthanc tower I remodelled and already works ingame)

8. Not just because I'm lazy but because the tower is already there at the time the campaign starts, added orthanc to a settlement in descr_strat.txt:

building
{
type orthanc orthanc
}

Then I run the game, it loads. I enter war of the ring campaign, it loads. I enter Isengard city, I see a "orthanc" building there with his own features.
I click on see settlement in battlemap, it starts loading... and half bar loaded or so it CTDs. No error messages.

My guess is that game does not like my slot_orthanc because it has no overlay - underlay, even if I read some buildings does not need overlay and / or underlay...

Anyone can tell me if thats the reason or what else am I doing wrong?