Scripting

**Monkwarrior** · 12-19-2004, 11:22

Sorry if it is a silly question (I am a blissfuly ignorant about scripting

):
Could it be possible to simulate invasions with scripts?

An example:
We place only 19 factions in the map and keep one as "invader horde", let's say goths. We set a date and a place for the invasion, and the composition of the invader army. Thus when the date arrives, an army (coming from nowhere) suddenly appears in one corner of the map.
Would it be possible?

Thx.

**GodsPetMonkey** · 12-19-2004, 12:34

Originally Posted by Monkwarrior

Sorry if it is a silly question (I am a blissfuly ignorant about scripting

):
Could it be possible to simulate invasions with scripts?

An example:
We place only 19 factions in the map and keep one as "invader horde", let's say goths. We set a date and a place for the invasion, and the composition of the invader army. Thus when the date arrives, an army (coming from nowhere) suddenly appears in one corner of the map.
Would it be possible?

Thx.

This is entirely theoretical, but the answer is yes/no.

Why yes/no? Well, it’s possible to spawn armies through scripts (its done in the tutorial) and it should be possible to spawn a rebel army no problems, but you may run into issues when it comes to spawning essentially a new faction in the middle of a game, I don't know how well that would go down.
Actually, I'm not sure if re-appearing factions is in RTW, I remember reading someplace that they can, but I can't say if I really did or my imagination got me all hopeful. If factions can re-appear, then I would guess the game is capable of starting a new faction in the middle of a game (though don't quote me on that).

Only one way to find out though!

**Botis** · 12-19-2004, 12:49

Monkwarrior

I like your idea, I'm coming up to a few weeks off for christmas and thought I'd like to make a few changes meself in this time,,, I've been thinking about how to do something like what you suggest and find a way around the factions not returning --- I want revolts from factions and barbarian invasions... on top of the SPQR mod it would make the game more like what I want... anyway...

One idea I had for barbarians with AI (such that there is) attached - what if you made a "goth" capital in an isolated island region in the west in the atlantic (using the Mr Hide map editor) or something and made that island somehow inviolable, and then scripted some regular invasions to appear in the EAST... you could have them turn up regularly to harrass you... (Wonder what problems that Island might cause...)

I do wonder if you can make new-units-for-faction, events, random... that would be interesting.

**Myrddraal** · 12-19-2004, 21:10

Thats entirely possible. No need for an island, you make a new settlement in the middle of a big patch of inpenetrable forest. Then when the date arrives, the script (all using console commands) gives a settlement in the east to that faction (The existing factions men are automatically ousted), give that settlement loads of troops, and there you go, a new faction is born. Of course, the faction could never be officially defeated as there would be no way to kill the people in the woodland province.

And another problem would be the one I'm trying to tackle, the fact that loading a game stops the script. I've devised a way of launching a show_me automatically at the start of a campaign, but I've no idea what to do about loading.

In the meantime, the idea for running the show_me script automatically at the start of the campaign worked, but I'm having trouble getting it to start again after a saved game. There are no triggers that I can find which would launch the advisor when you load it.

But there is other good news, the game actually saves the number of turns which have elapsed, so you can save on any turn, and load on any turn, the script will pick up where you left off.

**GodsPetMonkey** · 12-20-2004, 07:34

Originally Posted by Myrddraal

But there is other good news, the game actually saves the number of turns which have elapsed, so you can save on any turn, and load on any turn, the script will pick up where you left off.

Sorry to beat this dead horse, but thats been the case since I first started working on a show_me script. I'm sure I mentioned it back then too.

As for getting a script to launch when we load a game, that may have to be something that we pray CA implements in a patch. Scripting could prove to be very powerful, I'm disapointed that they haven't made any effort to help us.

**Myrddraal** · 12-20-2004, 16:19

Originally Posted by GodsPetMonkey

Sorry to beat this dead horse, but thats been the case since I first started working on a show_me script. I'm sure I mentioned it back then too.

Oops

**Paul Peru** · 12-20-2004, 10:40

Originally Posted by Myrddraal

No, I guess this is just a research thread really. We should eventually get round to making a guide, what do you want to know?

I don't need to know anything as such, just curious. If there were a doc of all the events, commands etc, I'd have wanted to play around with some scripting. I'm probably too lazy/busy/something to reasearch all that stuff myself, though. Perhaps we could petition/nag/pester CA for some info?

Originally Posted by Myrddraal

Of course, the faction could never be officially defeated as there would be no way to kill the people in the woodland province.

Couldn't you just give the woodland province to the rebels after you've given the "emerging" faction the new province?

**Enrique Orduno** · 12-21-2004, 08:40

Originally Posted by Paul Peru

I don't need to know anything as such, just curious. If there were a doc of all the events, commands etc, I'd have wanted to play around with some scripting. I'm probably too lazy/busy/something to reasearch all that stuff myself, though. Perhaps we could petition/nag/pester CA for some info?

Well, all the commands are available already. That's how I made the CamHack script. You need to look in the EXE (a cracked exe) and you can find anything or so...scripting commands, console commands, command line arguments, constants and about everything you need. It's all there, it's just that no one has really bothered to compile every important stuff in the exe(well I did a while ago for testing purposes, though I doubt I kept the file).

**Monkwarrior** · 12-21-2004, 09:38

Originally Posted by Enrique Orduno

Well, all the commands are available already. That's how I made the CamHack script. You need to look in the EXE (a cracked exe) and you can find anything or so...scripting commands, console commands, command line arguments, constants and about everything you need.

Ehhhh, could you please explain all this stuff for ignorants as me? Or at least give an indication of a web page where it is possible to learn something about it.

(Translation: ¿podrías explicar todo este galimatías para ignorantes completos como yo? O indicar dónde podemos aprender algo acerca de esto.
Perdón por el paréntesis en español.)

**Paul Peru** · 12-22-2004, 11:08

Originally Posted by Enrique Orduno

Well, all the commands are available already. []You need to look in the EXE (a cracked exe) and you can find anything or so...scripting commands, console commands, command line arguments, constants and about everything you need.

Goodness!

But how, exactly, do I crack my EXE? Actually, could I booze it or pot it instead? I try to lay off the crack...

Here's a thought: Some crackhead extracts the whole bucketfull and posts it somewhere. I could do some formatting and basic commenting on it if that's helpful.