Modding Questions and Help Thread

[Ngugi]

I would guess you did not use the tab-key between the names, but only space? I bet that's the case from what the log says

[krxphe]

Hello,
can someone help me and make generals recruitable as silvan elves?
I found Insatructions on how to do it but can't get it to work...
(Would like to have the standard generals unit that one gets as family members or adopted family members to be normally recruitable in a city...)

Greetings

[Ngugi]

Welcome to TWC, krxphe

You backed up export_descr_buildings.txt (called EDB) in .../Medieval II Total War/mods/Third_Age_3/data before you did anything to it? (I assume you tried to mod it already but faced problems)
If not, download the attachment at the end of this post, if you have TATW 3.2.
But in case you play with a submod, ask in that submod's thread if someone migth be kind and upload it for you instead of adding this attachment.

Before I go on: do you play TATW 3.2 or do you use any submods? It will have impact on the description I will give you.

[krxphe]

Hi,
i play unmodded TATW 3.2 only "Il Ducce's Expanded Map V3.5" is what im using...
And yes i still have the original file.

Greetings

[krxphe]

and TotalDiplomacy_1.8.3 but that doesn't affect export_descr_buildings.txt but if you could only give me the modded file for Vanilla TATW 3.2 i would be ok with playing Vanilla again...

[Ngugi]

Goodo, then we roll;

I begin with to recommend that you use Notepad++, though when not editing a complex submod it's not required, just smoother.

The bodyguard (BG) is named Elf Bodyguard so you want to add lines in the EDB with that name to buildings so you can recruit them.
Considering it's an archer unit, I'll add it to the missile-buildings in this example, and make it an easy version, but you can add it to barracks or whatever building you want and with other requirments, of course.


The line I propose look like this:

                recruit_pool "Elf Bodyguard"  1   0.06   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 75

I coloured some parts so you can tweak them to fit you own taste in the EDB.
Red = how many units are avilable when you construct the building [and is in a region that has enough orthodox religon]. 1 or 0 is normal.
Blue = replenishment rate, how many turns it takes from you recruited a unit until next one is avilable. Number is between 0.00-1.00, where 1.00 equal a new unit every turn. In this case I set 0.06 which means ~17 turns (1/0.06=16.66).
Purple = how big is the pool? Meaning, how many units of this type can be stacked, in case you do not recruit the first avilable directly? 1 means if you do not recruit the first avilable unit, no new one will be stacked. Since a BG is such a uniqe and powerful unit, more than 1 for the pool seemed to generous. You do as you please.
Orange = I mark this only because in the code the name of the Solvan Elves = mongols. Don't get this wrong or nothing will work, hehe.
Green = how much religion do you need to be able to recruit this unit? Religion ingame is called culture. The culture "Elves" actual lable is "orthodox". In this case I gave the BG same requirment as the elite archers, which is 75% "Elves/orthodox".


Now, backup and then open the EDB.
There are three different missile-buildings. For city-settlements. And three other missile-buildings, for castle-settlements. Yup, that's a lot of work if you shall do many units hehe, but is good when one is out to do more advanced work. Gladly you shall only add one unit.
In your case, I suggest the BG is only added to the highest level of missile-buldings (third one, in cities and in castles), just as the normal elite archer unit for the Silvans.
In castles the building in question is named archery_range so look it up (ctrl+F). You see the name to the left (here marked in blue). Add the line I given above (here marked in red) to the other mongols to keep it ordered (I cut out a lot of all the units, but keep the beginning and the end so you can orient):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

        archery_range castle requires factions { sicily, byzantium, scotland, turks, spain, venice, england, hre, france, egypt, mongols, }  and hidden_resource big_city and event_counter large_city_barracks 1
        {
            convert_to 2
            capability
            {
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer2"  1   0.08   2  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 33 and hidden_resource forest
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer2"  1   0.06   1  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 33 and hidden_resource grasland
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer2"  1   0.04   1  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 33 and hidden_resource mountains or hidden_resource desert
                recruit_pool "Homeguard Warriors"  1   0.12   2  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 50 and hidden_resource forest
                recruit_pool "Homeguard Warriors"  1   0.08   1  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 50 and hidden_resource grasland
                recruit_pool "Homeguard Warriors"  1   0.06   1  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 50 and hidden_resource mountains or hidden_resource desert
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer3"  1   0.10   1  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 75 and hidden_resource forest
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer3"  1   0.07   1  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 75 and hidden_resource grasland
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer3"  1   0.05   1  0  requires factions { egypt, }  and region_religion orthodox 75 and hidden_resource mountains or hidden_resource desert
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer"  1   0.08   2  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 33 and hidden_resource forest
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer"  1   0.06   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 33 and hidden_resource grasland
                recruit_pool "Elf Archer"  1   0.04   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 33 and hidden_resource mountains or hidden_resource desert
                recruit_pool "Silvan Archer"  1   0.12   2  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 50 and hidden_resource forest
                recruit_pool "Silvan Archer"  1   0.08   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 50 and hidden_resource grasland
                recruit_pool "Silvan Archer"  1   0.06   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 50 and hidden_resource mountains or hidden_resource desert
                recruit_pool "Elf Guard"  1   0.10   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 75 and hidden_resource forest
                recruit_pool "Elf Guard"  1   0.07   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 75 and hidden_resource grasland
                recruit_pool "Elf Guard"  1   0.05   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 75 and hidden_resource mountains or hidden_resource desert
                recruit_pool "Elf Bodyguard"  1   0.06   1  0  requires factions { mongols, }  and region_religion orthodox 75
                recruit_pool "Axethrowers"  1   0.15  2  0  requires factions { moors, }  and region_religion khazad 25 and hidden_resource mountains
                recruit_pool "Axethrowers"  1   0.10  1  0  requires factions { moors, }  and region_religion khazad 25 and hidden_resource forest or hidden_resource grasland
                recruit_pool "Axethrowers"  1   0.08  1  0  requires factions { moors, }  and region_religion khazad 25 and hidden_resource desert
(...)
                recruit_pool "Uruk-Hai Crossbow"  1   0.09   2  0  requires factions { france, }  and region_religion catholic 50 and hidden_resource forest or hidden_resource desert
                recruit_pool "Goblin Trackers"  1   0.20   3  0  requires factions { portugal, }  and region_religion catholic 33 and hidden_resource mountains
                recruit_pool "Goblin Trackers"  1   0.14   2  0  requires factions { portugal, }  and region_religion catholic 33 and hidden_resource grasland
                recruit_pool "Goblin Trackers"  1   0.10   2  0  requires factions { portugal, }  and region_religion catholic 33 and hidden_resource forest or hidden_resource desert
            }
            material wooden
            construction  6
            cost  4800 
            settlement_min city
            upgrades
            {
                marksmans_range
            }
        }

Do the same thing for the city-building, named c_archery_range, it is found a bit further down.
Save and you're done.

If you want to, you can add the line to the other, earlier missile-buildings too, if it fit your taste. I just gave the example as how I would done it.


As you see, most units have two or three different lines, not only one, and each end with "and hidden_resource X" or with "and hidden_resource X or hidden_resource Y".
With "X" and "Y" there I mean the four different terrain types, as you can see in the example above: forest, grassland, desert and/or mountains.
This is coded so, so that the units has higher or lower replenishment and pools in different kinds of terrain, such as that Elves recruit faster in forest but slower in mountains.
I did not care to have three different lines, because the BG is costly, will be avilable only in certain settlements anyway and 0.06 is a fairly slow replenishment anyhow. You can make it three entries though, and change the replenishment just as the other mongol units have it.

A last note is that this recruitable BG will be avilable for the AI too, when you do not play the Silvans. Just could be good to know, if you play Orcs

Good luck!

[krxphe]

I tried it with town_guard so that i can see directly at the start of a campaign if it works, and it does... the recruitable units name is sindar archers but when you recruit it an actual generals unit appears...


thanks so so much Ngugi!

[Ngugi]

Smart; its saved game compatible I should mentioned (might take a turn before it can be seen, merely), so returning to an ongoing campaign is an alternative if you want to

No problem

[Bloodly]

One of my weird dreams is putting a faction from here into 'standard' Med2. Or bringing a 'Standard' faction into Third Age. I wonder if it's actually possible?

[Ngugi]

Yup. It would be a really big job and require a broad band of skills to pull off (none too complicated in itself, as all units already exist for example, but none the less there is the share quantity of it).
I would not recommend i for any unexperienced modder, as it is so big, though of you do start with small projects, you may aquire the skills in time

Though you perhaps will not want to use the M2 unit textures, since they are extremly inferior to TATWs unit skins

[aetiusaetius]

One of my weird dreams is putting a faction from here into 'standard' Med2. Or bringing a 'Standard' faction into Third Age. I wonder if it's actually possible?

I wanted to bring Tomb Kings to Third Age, start a campaign with the Undead raiding Harad and expanding afterwards, fighting both free people and Sauron.. never knew how to so however..

QUESTION: how can I script an epidemic?

[Pooploop]

I posted this in the DAC thread, but as I really want to get some answers, I hope main mod people won't mind if I post it here. My query is as follows:

"Loving this mod, however, there is one personal change that I would like to make. I don't want to harass the devs and force them to put in what my personal taste dictates so I would just like to ask some modding advice instead. How does one change the preferred bodyguard unit for FAMILY member generals? You see, my favorite faction is the Northern Dunedain under Aragorn (hell yeah!!) and I would like all FAMILY member generals to have his Grey Company unit. If I remember, in the books it numbered around 200, and as Aragorn has around 50 only in his unit...there's a possibility for more (that's what I tell myself to keep my changes lore-accurate). So basically, I'm asking how does one make any male child of Aragorn or Halbarad (as in DAC he's a brother-in-law) have a Grey Company unit as his bodyguard? No, Araphor, Hirvegil, Halbarad and all the other generals that start out with foot Dunedain bodyguards are fine, I don't want to change what they have, and I don't want to screw up the ability to recruit generals with foot dunedain bodyguards. I just want to make it so, I repeat, that family member generals (basically sons of the Aragorn's family or grandkids, or maybe even the generals that marry any potential daughters) have the GRey Company unit as their bodyguard. THAT'S IT. Thanks for any help given."

So, in summary, I just want to change the unit this faction uses as bodyguards. However, I don't want to simply overwrite Dunedain Foot Bodyguards and put in the models and stats of the mounted Grey company unit. I just want to point the faction into the direction of using an already preexisting unit as their bodyguards. So instead of morphing unit A (Dunedain Foot archers) into A2 (name of Dunedain foot archers, stats and looks of mounted archer Grey company) , I just want the faction mechanics to use the already fine unit B (Grey company) instead.

[♔atthias♔]

I posted this in the DAC thread, but as I really want to get some answers, I hope main mod people won't mind if I post it here. My query is as follows:

"Loving this mod, however, there is one personal change that I would like to make. I don't want to harass the devs and force them to put in what my personal taste dictates so I would just like to ask some modding advice instead. How does one change the preferred bodyguard unit for FAMILY member generals? You see, my favorite faction is the Northern Dunedain under Aragorn (hell yeah!!) and I would like all FAMILY member generals to have his Grey Company unit. If I remember, in the books it numbered around 200, and as Aragorn has around 50 only in his unit...there's a possibility for more (that's what I tell myself to keep my changes lore-accurate). So basically, I'm asking how does one make any male child of Aragorn or Halbarad (as in DAC he's a brother-in-law) have a Grey Company unit as his bodyguard? No, Araphor, Hirvegil, Halbarad and all the other generals that start out with foot Dunedain bodyguards are fine, I don't want to change what they have, and I don't want to screw up the ability to recruit generals with foot dunedain bodyguards. I just want to make it so, I repeat, that family member generals (basically sons of the Aragorn's family or grandkids, or maybe even the generals that marry any potential daughters) have the GRey Company unit as their bodyguard. THAT'S IT. Thanks for any help given."

So, in summary, I just want to change the unit this faction uses as bodyguards. However, I don't want to simply overwrite Dunedain Foot Bodyguards and put in the models and stats of the mounted Grey company unit. I just want to point the faction into the direction of using an already preexisting unit as their bodyguards. So instead of morphing unit A (Dunedain Foot archers) into A2 (name of Dunedain foot archers, stats and looks of mounted archer Grey company) , I just want the faction mechanics to use the already fine unit B (Grey company) instead.

I can give no modding advice but in the books [unless you mean the amount of northern dunedain as a whole] the grey company numbered 30 dunedain and elladan and elrohir and hallbrad

[Ngugi]

Just switch place on the "Dunedain Bodyguard" and the "Dunedain Aragorn Bodyguard" in the export_descr_unit.txt and all new generals (maturing or adopted) will get the mounted BG.
Backup before you do any chanegs and use Notepad++ though, not normal Notepad, or the game will crash.

[GavDog]

Hey guys,

recently got TATW going on my Mac's steam copy of M2 and its been going well for the most part (with the exception of custom settlement crashes and black backgrounds hahaha.) Anyway, i noticed that the gondor units appear to be wearing black fabric on their chests instead of the plate armour I have seen in videos (if anyone knows why/how to 'fix' this it would be greatly apprecited btw), so i downloaded one of the gondor unit overhaul mods expecting it to change not realising it didnt have its own textures, so now my gondor units have different models and everything is mismatched. Basically if someone could upload to a file hosting website the "ui" and "unit_sprites" folders of the data section, patched to 3.2 i would be extremely appreciative.

Additionally, if anyone knows how to fix the custom settlement crash or has any advice that would also be great.

Cheers guys. )

[Ngugi]

Hello GavDog, welcome to TWC

...ehm, to get it sorted out, exactly WHAT submod did you install? Because one that change models and textures but do not contain the files, that sounds VERY odd. And I sincerly expect more files than so will prove affected, meaning you may have a bigger problem on your hands if to restore it again, hehe.
Likewise, if the mod changed mdoels and textures, you should not need the ui-folder, that only concern unit cards, not textures etc.

Plate mail is something the soldiers get in the game when you upgrade their armour, in steps, in settlements, using smithies.
And if one want to skip the steps and make the unit use full platse directly [visually], it suffice to edit a single line for each unit in export_descr_unit.txt


One guy managed to get it to work, see here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...1#post14972654

[WickedMortal]

A quick question to all who know... what tutorial would i look at if i wanted to remove a unit from a roster, add one from another faction or maybe a different third age mod entirely, with unit description and card, and alter stats to make weaker, stronger, and/or give armor visual upgrades to... thanks for any and all help when anyone gets around to it.

[WickedMortal]

oh before i forget... how can i also change settlement levels properly... like give a wooden castle a castle upgrade etc... thanks again

[Craig_wilson45]

hello, I made a forum on this a few months ago... but somehow it got deleted some really helpful person went through how to put a unit from lets say silvan elves into rohan I really want to know how to do that again if anyone knows how please tell me

[Veteraan]

hello, I made a forum on this a few months ago... but somehow it got deleted some really helpful person went through how to put a unit from lets say silvan elves into rohan I really want to know how to do that again if anyone knows how please tell me

I moved your post to this thread, which is were it should be. I suspect the thread you made a few months ago was not deleted, but moved to this thread too.

In fact I did a quick search and you can find your post and the answer HERE.