STARTPOS.ESF analysis and modifications. HYBRID startpos.esf

[husserlTW]

I just had another Idea...

If savegames can be made into working campaign starting points, we have all we need for a multiplayer/hotseat campaign.

Everything that needs to be done is automated -save, switch the playing faction, load-. If the ui could be taught to do this, we have a hotseat campaign.
If one can even find out a way to do this without the need to upload 10megs(zipped) every time, we'd have modded together a multiplayer campaign.

Can you give more details about your idea?

[Lazy Knight]

I do not really have more details.

just this:


A hotseat campaign is a campaign where two players on one PC play a turn each. Now what you do is play a turn, save, change playable faction, play a turn as that faction, save, change faction back, and let the AI make their turns. Then you have executed a hotseat campaign turn.

As with 2 this would work the same with an arbitrary number of players. Each makign their turn, switching the playable faction, play a turn as the next faction and so on, with each player uploading the savegame to a server (check Broken Crescent Multiplayer forum, this has been / is common)

What would need to be done is
- automate the playable faction switch
- teach the "end turn" - button to not end the turn, but switch the playable faction, if it is not the last one before the AI make their turns.


The core is switching the played faction each turn. What is possible by starting a new campaign with that faction already.


Edit: Or in other words, everybody who understand how to make Hybrid Startpos's can now get together and play a MP-campaign

This would work like this (You, Alpaca and Me on a Multiplayer Campaign)

1. We agree on a game version to play, and get our folders up to that standard. We agree on IS 2.1 beta We also agree that all battles between our three factions will be auto-resolved.
2. We choose our Factions. I choose Russia, You choose Great Britain and Alpaca Chooses France
3. I start a campaign, make my first turn, save and Exit
4. From my savegame, I make a startpos file that only features Great Britain as playable faction. I upload that file.
5. You download that file. You start that campaign, make a turn, save and exit.
6. From your savegame, you make a startpos that only features France as playable faction. You upload that file.
7. Alpaca Downloads that file and does the same, Russia is now playable.
8. I hit the end turn button and then make my turn. Alpaca could also have hit the end turn button and made the savegame before.
9. It is my turn again, and it is Winter, we can continue like that till we grow bored or one of us holds world domination.

So the "only" things that needs doing is an automatisation of the "save and exit, make a startpos with the next faction playable" procedure, and propably more save&load stuff to make it playable by the crowd.

[Pikemen]

I have a question or two:

How do I change election times? I made the game run at 12 turns per year, but election still happen at 8 tpy, so I have a new president every year.

Also, how do I extend gameplay times? The game ends 16 years into the game. (I geuss the game uses turns and not years to determine the end of the game. I still get the 200 turns but because I am playing with 12 tpy, the ending year is a bit off (1799 in the 4th RTI, it should be 1825).

Cheers,
Pikemen

[husserlTW]

I have a question or two:

How do I change election times? I made the game run at 12 turns per year, but election still happen at 8 tpy, so I have a new president every year.

Also, how do I extend gameplay times? The game ends 16 years into the game. (I geuss the game uses turns and not years to determine the end of the game. I still get the 200 turns but because I am playing with 12 tpy, the ending year is a bit off (1799 in the 4th RTI, it should be 1825).

Cheers,
Pikemen

Election time: GOV_IMP/GOVERNMENT_REPUBLIC 3rd line

Extend game: Go to victory conditions and change the end year in the several scenarios.

[Greggo]

After I make a Minor faction playable
is it possible to make it visible in the Prestige List?

[husserlTW]

After I make a Minor faction playable
is it possible to make it visible in the Prestige List?

Yes if you just make it major. See in Level 1 for "how to".

[hip63]

Helo,

I'm trying to put togther a startpos.efs fro the latest Darthmod to increase the begining army unit sizes but can't figure out what entry to change.

Anyone know where I should look?

hip63

[husserlTW]

Helo,

I'm trying to put togther a startpos.efs fro the latest Darthmod to increase the begining army unit sizes but can't figure out what entry to change.

Anyone know where I should look?

hip63

This has nothing to do with startpos.esf. Unit size are determined by db/units table.

[Lazy Knight]

LEVEL 2

7. Editing Starting Armies

To change the starting armies, go to:

CAMPAIGN_STARTPOS/CAMPAIGN_ENV/CAMPAIGN_MODEL/WORLD/FACTION_ARRAY

Search for your factions entry. open it

/FACTION_ARRAY/FACTION/ARMY_ARRAY

Each ARMY contains UNIT_ARRAY's and a Military Force. I attach a screenshots with everything I know about the UNIT block.

You can also change a unit by changing the Unit name to what PFM calls "the Unit ID" in both the LAND_RECORD_KEY and the UNIT_RECORD_KEY.
To change the unit size, simply edit the values in the UNIT block.

More things I know:
The third entry in ARMY is the same as the first entry in MILITARY_FORCE. I call it the Army ID.
The second entry in MILITARY_FORCE is the General ID. Only the first unit in the army has that ID in the UNIT block.

Good Luck.

P.S. this Information is brought to you by the Imperial Splendour team

[husserlTW]

Sorry to disagree here, HusserlTW

I like to disagree with me Lazy Knight in advance of the better knowledge about startpos. Thanks again mate ! It would be very helpful if you could upload your NodesDescriptions file.

EDIT: Imperial Splendour team tutorial has been added in modifications ssection.

[hip63]

Thanks!

found it but the Description field is blank on all entires for some weird reason. (?)

EDIT: Ah I see, you add them yourself (you can tell I'm new at this) LOL

hip63

[Lazy Knight]

Here it is.

It contains most commonly known descriptions, and some extra stuff in faction array mainly. Diplomacy and Army Manager as seen in previous posts.

And edited above post to a more sober appearance.
one of the 0's in the unit block is propably the units experience, but I have not tested that yet.

and while i am at typing here, Vicar has made a tutorial to enable unique regiment names. The key is also the Startpos.esf, maybe a link here wouldn't harm

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=295716


Since the list of modification tutorials is so large, would it not be wise to start with a table of contents?

[husserlTW]

Thanks again Lazy Knight. You and alpaca constantly contribute in this thread, so the players should be much obliged. Good idea the table of contents (all the tutorial needs one). I've tried to add one with links but it didn't succeed (links inside the tutorial). Any help to that?

Edit: Tutorial to enable unique regiment names and Lazy Knights Node descriptions file has been added.

[Lazy Knight]

No idea inside a single post. What works is each point getting its own post, but you would need a moderator to enforce the cleanness of the thread then.

A Table of Contents without links is something useful as well though.

[husserlTW]

EDIT: Table of contents has been added with links for easy navigation inside the tutorial.

[Erik3E]

Every time I try to save my changes nothing hapeneds :/ I tried to change the Minor factions to playable but nothing hapeneds... every time I start a new campaighn it only shows the original playable factions :/

[Lazy Knight]

Are you saving? Are you giving it enough time to save? Are you editing a file called "startpos.esf" in the folder "campaign/main"? (not copy of startpos.esf or something else). Are you running / have you been running any mods, if so, which? Are you sure you have them properly disabled with the user.empire_script.txt?

[Erik3E]

Are you saving? Are you giving it enough time to save? Are you editing a file called "startpos.esf" in the folder "campaign/main"? (not copy of startpos.esf or something else). Are you running / have you been running any mods, if so, which? Are you sure you have them properly disabled with the user.empire_script.txt?

Yes I am saving and I think I give it enugh time to save It sas so in the botom of the program, yea Im editiong the right Startpos file not the one in "main 2" but the one in "main".

But im not sure if I have any mods runing, It was sutch a long time I played so I have forgot if I used any mods, mabe I shold try uninstaling every thing and then reinstal it and see if that makes it better?

Thank you for the help in figuring out the problem

[Lazy Knight]

only very new mods can influence the startpos. So that cannot be it. And since you are saving, and using the right file, I dunno what it is. Is the file maybe read-only? (File Property)

[husserlTW]

Yes I am saving and I think I give it enugh time to save It sas so in the botom of the program, yea Im editiong the right Startpos file not the one in "main 2" but the one in "main".

But im not sure if I have any mods runing, It was sutch a long time I played so I have forgot if I used any mods, mabe I shold try uninstaling every thing and then reinstal it and see if that makes it better?

Thank you for the help in figuring out the problem

Just open again to see if the changes are o.k. Always save before exiting by clicking File, Save. If you try to close the editor and save after the message that prompts you to save the changes are not saved.