So... [Hardcodes in MTW2]

[Carthaginian General]

I keep hearing about ''we can't mod X, Y or Z''. Is this a case of Activision refusing to ''release'' something which eases modding? or has anyone even tried to make them release something like this?

[General Appo]

IIRC, there are hardcoded limits and stuff in the MTW2 engine that prevents these things from being modded.
Now, before you say that CA are evil *******, the hardcodes are there for a reason. Don´t ask me what the reason is though.

[Foot]

This has been discussed many times before, try searching for it. But the simple answer is that some parts of the game are accessed through .txt or .xml files, these we can mod, other parts imbedded in the .exe file and these we cannot. The reason people do the latter is because it takes far less time to load data from the .exe than it does from .txt or .xml files, on the otherhand files that you want to change quickly and easily are generally kept in .txt or .xml files because then they can be changed without re-making the .exe each time you do.

EDIT: Oh and please bother to put understandable and meaningful titles to your new threads. It makes things easier when people want to search for a matter later on.

Foot

[Parkev]

I don't know how "accurate" this will be, but maybe my layman explanation will be more useful to you than someone's with a more complete grasp. EDIT: Seems Foot got here before me, I think I like his explaination better but I'll leave this here.

AFAIK there's two "kinds" of hardcodes:

1. Limits, such as the unit limit. Everything computer-wise ultimately comes down to binary code and the computer needs to know how much memory to allocate, for say which unit the game refers to. If you increase the number of units, you need more 0s and 1s, aka more expensive versions of those wonderful pieces of plastic and metal inside this whirring box I've got sitting here.

2. Changing features, such as suggested in this thread https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=109057. Things are only moddable if they are in a text file. By putting the number of option and what they do, in say the "what to do with prisoners", straight into the game, the game doesn't have to work out how to convert a text file into something on the screen, its easier to code and again uses less resources.

It comes down to making the game run efficiently, there's no sinister forces at work. So much for being brief, hope that helped.

[a completely inoffensive name]

A good rule of thumb to follow, is that the EB team can't add anything, only work with what is already there (if its not hardcoded). Any suggestion which means "creating" something brand new, is probably 99.9% not going to happen.