New to modding (in MI and in general)

[tootee]

Hi guys.

I'm starting to get bored with battling in MI. But I love MI very much. So I'm considering doing some modding work on MI (for multiplaying only).

I'm new to this work. I first learn of this term 'mod' in this forum (yeah i'm green).

I hope modding (for MI at least) doesn't involve much programming (i know ANSI-C.. and yes it's old stuff. Know none of Java, visualC/C++ whatever), more like playing with the troops.stat and such like ascii files?

Some basic questions before I decide to venture into the uncharted water.

1. What level of programming skill is needed?

2. Can we modify the sprite images of the unit? (in the battlefield) e.g. like change a Kensai figure into a Geisha-like?

3. Mainly I wish to change a unit stats and its appearance in the battlefield. How to do it?

4. The appropriate tools?


Thanks guys.

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tootee the goldfish
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[TosaInu]

Konnichiwa Tootee san,

I liked the online battles we had very much, and I hope that we'll play again sometime.

1. Unless you want to make an unofficial patch: no programming skill is needed. But you should be prepared to experiment.

2. RSW san has made a BIFReader, version 2 allows per pixel editing of shogun BIF files (units, pieces and mons).
ScottMcDonnell san has found a graphic application that can edit the LBM files and save them into the proper format (grafx).
The units on the battlefield uses many files, this thread could learn you a bit more http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000319.html also see the folder textures/men in STW. The file Fog.LBM is used to make the cards that are used to display the units. The subfolder arq seems to store the files that make the animations of the arq on the battlefield (bif, lbm and txt), the folder actions contain some txt files too.

3 Changing stats is easy: Troopstats.txt and Projectiles.txt in the stw maindirectory (a normal txteditor is required). Creating a Stat that works how it should is a bit harder, keep in mind that the game also uses built in stats (for exemple: the MHC is a YC on steroids -that means a 8 point combat bonus vs cav- but it needs the normal 8 points to beat nods, bringing the normal points back to 4 could give a better MHC vs japCav fighting but will make the 800 koku mhc lose vs 300 koku nod).
Online fighting and offline fighting are two very different things. Not only because a human opponent is smarter than AI. During the making of the stat for 1.02 beta, we regularly thought we found THE ANSWER during an offline test. Proudly and happy we would demonstrate it to the rest of the testers in an online test: completely different.

If on the other hand the stats are intended to be used in offline play, online testing is not needed.

Please feel free to ask details about the stat, but try & error and common sense will teach you some.

4. The BIF and LBM editor are for download at Totalwar.org/maps, there are also some other tools (historical battle).

If you know a thing or two about making small programs, than you could make some simple and small tools (like the logfilereader/ hecoses campaigneditor). A manager for Statfiles is very welcome too, humble me made a very simple BAT file to swap stats, but there should be a much better way to make a manager.

If someone thinks he could and is willing to make such a thing:
The Tool will be either stored in the main STW directory or it should remember its path.
A folder Stats is stored somewhere on HD (Tool should know where). Inside the Stats folder are subfolders (1 level deep). The Tool should automatically list all folders that are stored in Stats folder in a small column in the window. When a folder is selected/highlighted by the mouse the Tool peeks into that folder, it should contain Projectiles.txt, TroopStats.txt and an optional Description.txt. If there isn't a Description.txt the mainwindow displays: No Description Available. If there is one, the mainwindow displays the text of Description.txt. Description.txt is made by the author of the Stats and provides some information about it (it could be nice to be able to display the actual txt of TroopStats/Projectiles as well.

When the user has choosen a Stat, a LOAD button copies Projectiles.txt and TroopStat.txt to the main STW folder.




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Ja mata
Toda MizuTosaInu
Daimyo Takiyama Shi

http://www.takiyama.cjb.net