Official CA Q&A thread - XML and XSD modding

[T.C.]

Question:

So basically, a mod is intended to be a single “mod pack” file, and installing a mod is just placing that pack inside the game’s data directory, and uninstalling it is removing it. There’s a little bit more to it than that, for example there is a mechanisms to control mod pack load order, but that’s it in a nutshell.

The user script gets processed on load, and will tell the game to load your mods in that order. There are a whole bunch of other commands that can be used from there, including dependency definitions and so on, but we'll leave those for now. As I said, this is a quick preview of mechanisms that will be properly documented in the mod dev package.

Any info on these features?

[taw]

Could you fill out some minor gaps in our understanding of ESF? Values in ESF have these types (by hex code):

• 00 - 16-bit int of some kind [signed ???]
• 01 - 8-bit, boolean (0 false, 1 true)
• 02 - ???
• 03 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???]
• 04 - 32-bit signed int
• 05 - ???
• 06 - 8-bit unsigned int
• 07 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???]
• 08 - 32-bit unsigned int
• 09 - 64-bit something
• 0a - 32-bit single precision float
• 0b - ???
• 0c - pair of 32-bit single precision floats (x,y coordinates)
• 0d - triple of 32-bit single precision floats (x,y,z coordinates)
• 0e - UTF-16 string (encoded directly in old ESF formats, or index to lookup table in S2TW's new format)
• 0f - ASCII string (encoded directly in old ESF formats, or index to lookup table in S2TW's new format)
• 10 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???]
• 40..4f - array types directly corresponding to 00..0f scalar types
• 80 - object with multiple fields
• 81 - array of objects of the same type

Questions are:

• What exactly are all the 16-bit int types (00, 03, 07, 10) ?
• What is 09? It might be double precision integer or 64-bit signed/unsigned integer. The only value I've ever seen of it was 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 (as int64 0 / as uint64 0 / as double 0.0).
• What are 02 / 05 / 0b? They never occur as scalars but I think I've seen some 42 / 45 (I don't remember any 4b), which are currently left undecoded.

These should hopefully be easy to check for you.

This might be harder, but do you have some documentation of contents of varioun ESF object types?
esfxml decodes a lot of them, so we can get convert for example LAND_UNIT object into something like:

  <land_unit commander="poland_lithuania Kazimierz Potocki"
    commander_id="582121648"
    created="summer 1700"
    deaths="0" exp="0" kills="0"
    mp="29" name=""
    size="64/64"
    type="euro_generals_bodyguard"
    unit_id="582126536"/>

But a lot of others are still very obscure, and any information would be a great help,
mostly to people trying to mod startpos.esf (map will probably stay unmoddable without a lot
more tools).

[PietroMicca]

Could you fill out some minor gaps in our understanding of ESF? Values in ESF have these types (by hex code):

• 00 - 16-bit int of some kind [signed ???]
• 01 - 8-bit, boolean (0 false, 1 true)
• 02 - ???
• 03 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???]
• 04 - 32-bit signed int
• 05 - ???
• 06 - 8-bit unsigned int
• 07 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???]
• 08 - 32-bit unsigned int
• 09 - 64-bit something
• 0a - 32-bit single precision float
• 0b - ???
• 0c - pair of 32-bit single precision floats (x,y coordinates)
• 0d - triple of 32-bit single precision floats (x,y,z coordinates)
• 0e - UTF-16 string (encoded directly in old ESF formats, or index to lookup table in S2TW's new format)
• 0f - ASCII string (encoded directly in old ESF formats, or index to lookup table in S2TW's new format)
• 10 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???]
• 40..4f - array types directly corresponding to 00..0f scalar types
• 80 - object with multiple fields
• 81 - array of objects of the same type

Questions are:

• What exactly are all the 16-bit int types (00, 03, 07, 10) ?
• What is 09? It might be double precision integer or 64-bit signed/unsigned integer. The only value I've ever seen of it was 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 (as int64 0 / as uint64 0 / as double 0.0).
• What are 02 / 05 / 0b? They never occur as scalars but I think I've seen some 42 / 45 (I don't remember any 4b), which are currently left undecoded.

These should hopefully be easy to check for you.

This might be harder, but do you have some documentation of contents of varioun ESF object types?
esfxml decodes a lot of them, so we can get convert for example LAND_UNIT object into something like:

  <land_unit commander="poland_lithuania Kazimierz Potocki"
    commander_id="582121648"
    created="summer 1700"
    deaths="0" exp="0" kills="0"
    mp="29" name=""
    size="64/64"
    type="euro_generals_bodyguard"
    unit_id="582126536"/>

But a lot of others are still very obscure, and any information would be a great help,
mostly to people trying to mod startpos.esf (map will probably stay unmoddable without a lot
more tools).

Ok, here's the scoop.

I just spoke to the team about the pathfinding stuff. We don't have any of that stuff. I'm told all of the ESF is generated from in-game data, so I don't think we can help out much there. Maybe that information alone will be useful?

This was my terrible doubt. We can't translate every single Pathfinding Raw Data just because there isn't a human logic behind. Many outwardly meaningless data I have found in Pathfinding are automatically generated by a software. Likely an adding trouble.

[T.C.]

Craig, what's the position on possible sharing of decompiled UI lua files? We have our own tools to decompile the luacs, but they don't decompile very well, in some cases at all or in a totally unusable state. Would you be able to share even one or two that are of interest to modders; we won't need any post release support with these, such as was given with the db files. I'm one of few people who can/does edit these files and I've a good grasp on it

[CraigTW]

Hi T.C.,

I've forwarded your questions to the guys. Will keep you posted when I get answers back

-C

[CraigTW]

Question:

Any info on these features?

I'm not sure what happened to this approach. The programmer in question is no longer with us, so I can't ask him about it. Could you please point me to the source?

What I know is that although we don't have a mod loader in the games at the moment, that doesn't preclude us from doing it in future.

[alhoon]

I'm not sure what happened to this approach. The programmer in question is no longer with us, so I can't ask him about it. Could you please point me to the source?

What I know is that although we don't have a mod loader in the games at the moment, that doesn't preclude us from doing it in future.

Nah, we have our mod loaders at the time, and I'm happy with them.

Any info on which of the tables in the XML were implemented?
Is Zone of Control moddable in ETW for example? I know it is for S2TW

[The Hedge Knight]

Well craig as you aint seen it here is tcs source: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=239487

Pretty much the place where all the rage over the lack of an sdk has stemmed from these past three years.

[CraigTW]

Well craig as you aint seen it here is tcs source: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=239487

Pretty much the place where all the rage over the lack of an sdk has stemmed from these past three years.

Ah yes, cheers for the heads up.

[taw]

Nah, we have our mod loaders at the time, and I'm happy with them.

Any info on which of the tables in the XML were implemented?
Is Zone of Control moddable in ETW for example? I know it is for S2TW

We already tested that it doesn't work in ETW.

[alhoon]

We already tested that it doesn't work in ETW.

I just can't accept that my dreams would be crashed; hope dies last. Perhaps we did something wrong, perhaps it's somewhere else, perhaps it also needs something more. Before falling on the floor crying and hitting the planks with my head, I would like some official confirmation that it is indeed, unmodable.

[Steph]

For NTW, In the battle_type_faction_presets table, what is the meaning the the values in the weighting type column?

These I know
88 - Land - Small fund
89 - Land - Medium fund
90 - Land - Large fund

148 - Naval - Small fund
149 - Naval - Medium fund
150 - Naval - Large fund

But what are

28
62
63


for?

[CraigTW]

• 00 - 16-bit int of some kind [signed ???] This is not a valid type code
• 01 - 8-bit, boolean (0 false, 1 true)
• 02 - ??? 8-bit signed integer
• 03 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???] 16-bit signed integer
• 04 - 32-bit signed int
• 05 - ??? 64-bit signed integer
• 06 - 8-bit unsigned int
• 07 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???] 16-bit unsigned integer
• 08 - 32-bit unsigned int
• 09 - 64-bit something 64-bit unsigned integer
• 0a - 32-bit single precision float
• 0b - ??? 64-bit double precision float
• 0c - pair of 32-bit single precision floats (x,y coordinates)
• 0d - triple of 32-bit single precision floats (x,y,z coordinates)
• 0e - UTF-16 string (encoded directly in old ESF formats, or index to lookup table in S2TW's new format)
• 0f - ASCII string (encoded directly in old ESF formats, or index to lookup table in S2TW's new format)
• 10 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???] 16-bit angle (1 = 2π/65536)
• 40..4f - array types directly corresponding to 00..0f scalar types
• 80 - object with multiple fields
• 81 - array of objects of the same type

But a lot of others are still very obscure, and any information would be a great help,
mostly to people trying to mod startpos.esf (map will probably stay unmoddable without a lot
more tools).

ESF is an object serialisation format. We have no additional documentation for it.

[CraigTW]

Btw, if the above is useful, please let me know. Would love to know how people are getting on with this info.

[taw]

• 00 - 16-bit int of some kind [signed ???] This is not a valid type code
• 01 - 8-bit, boolean (0 false, 1 true)
• 02 - ??? 8-bit signed integer
• 03 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???] 16-bit signed integer
• 04 - 32-bit signed int
• 05 - ??? 64-bit signed integer
• 06 - 8-bit unsigned int
• 07 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???] 16-bit unsigned integer
• 08 - 32-bit unsigned int
• 09 - 64-bit something 64-bit unsigned integer
• 0a - 32-bit single precision float
• 0b - ??? 64-bit double precision float
• 0c - pair of 32-bit single precision floats (x,y coordinates)
• 0d - triple of 32-bit single precision floats (x,y,z coordinates)
• 0e - UTF-16 string (encoded directly in old ESF formats, or index to lookup table in S2TW's new format)
• 0f - ASCII string (encoded directly in old ESF formats, or index to lookup table in S2TW's new format)
• 10 - 16-bit int of some kind [unsigned ???] 16-bit angle (1 = 2π/65536)
• 40..4f - array types directly corresponding to 00..0f scalar types
• 80 - object with multiple fields
• 81 - array of objects of the same type

Thanks, I'll fix esf-xml converter to handle these correctly.

I'm not actually sure why it thinks 00 is 16-bit anything,
now that I double checked I cannot find any example of it in use.

[T.C.]

Btw, if the above is useful, please let me know. Would love to know how people are getting on with this info.

Any updates on other questions?

[AmiR TimuR]

Please do not skip my question also, Craig. If I will not solve this basic problem, I will quite modding. Just wanna know from UI team how to arrange ICON for new agents. and If it is possible at which codes can we change agents' voices. Is it hardcoded??

[Steph]

I have the impression some here are a little excessive. "If I don't have the answer to a relatively minor question, I'll quite modding. I may even sulk for a while".

Sure there are some things that we cannot do, or cannot do exactly as we want. But we can still do a lot. Part of the modding is to find workaround, imaginative new approaches, and not know what to drop and what to pursue.

[AmiR TimuR]

I have the impression some here are a little excessive. "If I don't have the answer to a relatively minor question, I'll quite modding. I may even sulk for a while".

Sure there are some things that we cannot do, or cannot do exactly as we want. But we can still do a lot. Part of the modding is to find workaround, imaginative new approaches, and not know what to drop and what to pursue.

Dont worry my friend, in any case I don't have a big effect on TW modding so If i quit, noone will lose

Just for a long time I have been asking this question and searching for an answer and I am sure that it has a very simple solution and waiting for it.

[The Hedge Knight]

Any chance of the sounds bank database and sound events being explained craig?

I have attacked a sound events partially decompiled by taw here.

• u=uint32
• f=float32
• s=uint16-length-prefixed utf-16 string
• sa=uint-32-length prefixed array of strings
• X_ary = uint32-length prefixed array of Xs