Geomod Tool for Mapping

[Gigantus]

It will work with any mod - all you need are the files that Geomod uses. See the manual for the list.

[ggggtotalwarrior]

Hi, I've been trying to learn modding for awhile and finally joined the forum to ask for some help. My Vista desktop computer's installation of Med 2 Kingdoms has been messed to the point where I can't install Geomod .6.18. So I decided to install on my windows 7 laptop. However, when I try to save changes with Geomod, none of my changes are saved onto the Bare_Kingdoms when I reenter the Geomod tool. The tool saves to 100 percent and does not give any message or errors, and I've tried to mod several different mods and have redownloaded the mods and Geomod, but it still doesnt work. Does anyone here know why this is happening?

(just so you know I've used Geomod .3.18 on my desktop and have been figuring out how to use it for several months now

[irishron]

Have you looked in the virtual store for your changes?

[ggggtotalwarrior]

I'm not quite sure what the virtual store is, but I've went through the descr_strat file and went back to geomod and it's almost as though my changes never existed, so I assume it's not saving everytime I leave geomod. I do validate abd save all my changes, so I;m not sure what the problem is

[irishron]

Have you unhid all files and folders in Folder Options and use the search function in Computer?

[ggggtotalwarrior]

yes, and for some reason my changes aren't saved when I leave Geomod, even though I select validate and save without a problem. The files are not being edited, and I use geomod (the older version) without problem on my desktop, so I assume the problem might have to do with my laptop

[irishron]

Are you logged in on your laptop as Administrator?
Do you have "Run as Administrator" and "XP Compatible" checked?
Have you done this for your laptop? http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=397636
I ask because Geomod is too old and too minimal in code to redflag it for you and just doesn't do it, it seems.

[Gigantus]

When making changes in Geomod, you have to 'verify' them before saving. Check my manual for more details.

[ggggtotalwarrior]

I do verify all my changes before I save, so I'm really annoyed that it's not saving. I guess I'll try reinstalling

[ggggtotalwarrior]

Irishron I'm trying what you said to do, and I'll see if that helps

[ggggtotalwarrior]

It worked! thank you so much for your help guys! Now to create the most amazing mod ever!

[irishron]

You're welcome.

[Gigantus]

From now on I am going to put a link to the Virtual Store fix into all my tutorials - it's simply happening too often and it should be the first thing a modder does. Even before using "file_first = true"

[Caesar Clivus]

Just been fiddling around in Geomod with the Baltic map I've got in BftB. I was getting that crash at 1% on saving the map after making changes. I read that it was caused by the rebel factions file. I couldn't for the life of me work out why Geomod didn't like the rebels file but in Geomod, I noticed that even though descr_regions.txt had rebel factions listed for each region, all the rebel entries were blank in Geomod for every region. Plus only about half the rebel factions in the SS6.4 file were listed in the drop down, the rest were blank lines. I set one region's rebels to one of the rebel factions actually listed. This changed ALL of the regions' rebels to that rebel faction but it did allow me to save my changes. For the time being I'm happy because I already have an established map that I'm tweaking and dont have to change the regions file. Just wish I could work out why Geomod doesn't like the rebel factions file from SS

[Gigantus]

There might be a small formatting discrepancy in there, like a surplus comma. Compare the entries in there (from a formatting point) with the vanilla file.
The missing text could be a formatting error in the data\text file for the rebels. Sometimes there are a lot of empty spaces between the curly bracket and the text which displays properly in the game but not in Geomod.
If you still can't find it, upload the descr_rebel_factions file and the pair from the data\text folder.

[Caesar Clivus]

If a rebel faction is listed in the rebels file but it doesn't have a corresponding entry in data\text\rebel_faction_descr.txt (and consequently the strings.bin file), would that cause the crash do you think?

[Gigantus]

That could cause Geomod to crash, even if the entry is not used (the game will work as it simply ignores the unused entry).

I am afraid Geomod is the real Grammar Nazi when it comes to formatting.

[Caesar Clivus]

Yep that seemed to be the cause of it. I created a rebel factions file specific for Geomod that only had the rebel factions that were listed in the strings.bin file and it's working fine now

[Gigantus]

Why not the other way round? It's simple: open the txt version of the file in the data\text folder. Add the name of the rebels into curly brackets and then add a descriptive name after the bracket. Delete the string.bin version and start the game. That generates a new string.bin file that Geomod then can use.
Alternatively you can use the BinEditor provided with Geomod. See it's use in my manual for Geomod.

[Caesar Clivus]

Why not the other way round? Because it was midnight and I was tired and didn't think of it

Quick question: If a map loads in Geomod, is debugged with no errors and works fine in Geomod, is it guaranteed to work in the game? Just trying to work out why I'm getting a CTD