Adding (historical) Events? Is it possible?

[Teleklos Archelaou]

I haven't found much in the way of information on modding events here. Has anyone else been able to add any new historical events? All I want to do is add a longer "Year in History" sort of thing that pops up once a year. I've already done a lot of them but they are too big for traits (they run over the edge of the screen) and would like to use them there instead - is it possible to add new ones? The files that seem like they reference them are:

strat.txt
historic_events.txt
descr_events.txt

Seems like I should be able to add a new 'body' and 'title' in the historic_events section, mirror it in the strat.txt file, then put it in on the descr_events.txt and have it pop up, but I get weird GUI errors and it messes things up (probably by putting something new into strat.txt).

Anyone have any ideas about this sort of stuff?

[Makanyane]

For BI you can add event (in terms of just getting message at pre-set date) using just :
historic_events.txt
descr_events.txt

I never touched strat.txt - mainly because it hadn't occurred to me that they would be in it

that seemed to work fine but you get the default message picture - is your issue that you're trying to give it a different pic? Or does RTW not work with just the top two?

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Nah, I don't need a new pic, I just tried to use a current historical event that was in vanilla and imitating it. I'll try to do what I did before but this time without touching strat.txt (though it sure looks like it would be needed since those other vanilla historical events are listed there too).

All I'm wanting is that message at a pre-set date though - image is mostly irrelevant.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Weird, same thing happened again, directly as a result of changing the strat.txt file.

I tried just adding an event to the other two (descr_events.txt and historic_events.txt), but the event never appeared when I told it to. Have you successfully added *new* historic events Mak?

[Makanyane]

yep, but only for BI, I guess the system is a bit different.

To be very specific I didn't have more in number per campaign, I had re-named events in descr_events.txt for one campaign and historic_events.txt referencing both those and the original events which were active in the main campaign within same mod.

BI strat.txt is weird it seems to have RTW event followed by the BI description, a bit like they were just converting old RTW ones via that themselves

{SMT_ESPIONAGE_IN_CARTHAGE_TITLE} New Testament Formulated

but historic events has

{NEW_TESTAMENT_FORMULATED_TITLE}

in properly as well as the Carthage event, so I'm guessing they changed the system at some stage and strat.txt isn't used for that in BI? Sorry obviously doesn't help you, I wonder if there is some other file you have to add new SMT.... things to? As you apparently need to use that for RTW

[Dol Guldur]

Yep, same as Mak - works in BI. I just used the New Testament slot and changed the year, text (and image icon).

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Oh well. We were wanting to add a new 'year in history' each year, so it would take a lot of new slots. I guess it's not possible to do it this way then.

If anyone has any other ideas about how something like that could be implemented (besides traits - which don't show enough text) I'd be happy to share in the results if our mod periods overlap or if there was anything else.

[Makanyane]

Yep, same as Mak - works in BI. I just used the New Testament slot and changed the year, text (and image icon).

I was explaining rather badly as rushed this morning. Under BI I did in fact have new ones in addition to adapting old slots.
{NEW_TESTAMENT_FORMULATED_TITLE}
&
{NOTNEW_TESTAMENT_FORMULATED_TITLE}
as I got a bit lazy about redoing titles!

The only thing that might be worth noting is that it is funny about wanting lower case in descr_events.txt and upper case in historic_events.txt , unlike most other files that require the case to correspond.

Also anyone who's added factions other than slavs as emergent will have obviously added completely new historic event as it has to be : {THE_FRANKS_EMERGE_TITLE} etc in historic events.txt which doesn't exist in vanilla - that can also be done under -mod in RTW files without touching strat.txt. Obviously though anyone doing that would have had to have been running it under BI.exe anyway to support hording.....

So it is quite likely to be an issue of it working under one .exe and not the other.

So far short of any other ideas for what to do under RTW.exe, sorry.

[Makanyane]

DP as new info. No it isn't the .exe, think you must have had something wrong.

{MAK_EVENT_TITLE} its a Mak event!
{MAK_EVENT_BODY} if this turns up it worked.....

in historic_events.txt

event historic mak_event
date 2 summer

in descr_events.txt
nothing done to strat txt
using RTW disc and .exe (but under mod-folder, can't see why that would make a difference but might be worth trying if you aren't already in one)

I'd screenied message turning up but can't get image shack to work - you'll have to trust me!

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Will definitely have to try this tonight. I did it twice on my own though, so I am not sure what the mistake.... oh. Wait. date 2? Hmmm. I went to the bottom of the list and saw all these dates like: date 270 date 268 and such, and I was using the year, not the years from start! Gah. Probably why my "date 271" wasn't working then.

edit: yay!!! It works. We owe Makanyane one for testing it and showing it works, and I saw the error from the post Mak made detailing the information.

[Dol Guldur]

Now, that would be it...

Any more discoveries on getting disasters to behave themselves yet, Mak? It's the floods at sea that just break the spell of believability...

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Seems like I've seen reference to some RTR guys getting them to work. Kull's been trying to get someone to fix the problem for us, but I don't think we will arrive at an answer independently. Probably need to shoot them a PM when I get this stuff under control.

edit: yay!! Thanks Mak! It works. We owe you one for that.

[Makanyane]

Probably why my "date 271" wasn't working then.

not unless you were going to be very patient clicking through campaign! That was one thing it hadn't occurred to me to say...

and no I haven't tried fiddling with disasters, was sort of on "to do list" but never got round to, I hadn't noticed problem on Eod, that might just be lack of concentration, but then map is still Europe shaped except extension east so co-ordinates would still behave logically.

EDIT: see you fixed it, good news - now all you have to do is write them all... :) ( and as small tip, initially set them all to go off in first few go's to check they work - misaligning spelling of event name CTD's without message, which is remarkably annoying half way through long campaign!)

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Great tip. Thanks!