A Guide to Export_Descr_Buildings.txt

[UndyingNephalim]

Is there a limit to the amount of building entries that there can be in the EDB file? It seems when I add buildings past a certain amount they refuse to show up in the Development tab of Geomod. Deleting stock buildings or entries further up on the list causes the entries after the limit to appear in Geomod.

[Eothese]

I think it would be a good idea to compile a list of all the hardcoded limits in Medieval 2. There was one of these on the org as well (which I will try to find), but in the meantime Ill start it off:

Maps:
*Number of regions: 200 (Including sea regions)
*Map size smaller maps (e.g map_regions): 510x510 pixels
*Map size bigger maps (e.g map_heights): 1021x1021 pixels

Buildings:
*Maximum number of buildings per tree is 9
*Maximum number of building trees is 128.

Units:
*Maximum number of units per mod/game: +/- 500

General:
*Faction Limit: 31 (Including slave/rebel)

[UndyingNephalim]

Buildings:
*Maximum number of buildings per tree is 9
*Maximum number of building trees is 128.

Thank you, that answers that I suppose. Time to rethink my buildings.

[Noobio]

can someone tell me, if there's a way to make it that a certain building appears in the second row of buildings in the strat-UI panel ?

what i'm asking is : what does the order of appearance in the strat-UI depends from ?

edit :found it! it's defined by the order in which buildings are coded in the descr_strat

[Frogorc]

Can someone show me how to recruit Qapakulu's in towns for Turks?

[MIKE GOLF]

I have read through this forum and found a few answers but I still have a few questions. I am trying to make an "allied" unit from faction a recruitable by faction b but only if the two factions are allies... here is my example:

recruit_pool "rohan rider" 1 0.05 2 2 requires factions { sicily, }
and region_religion numenorian 80 and hidden_resource minas_tirith and DiplomaticStanceFromFaction milan = Allied

when I leave off the text in red the unit is recruitable. How can I write this so that the unit can be recruited only when the two factions are allies? My next question is more a verification where it says 1 0.05 2 2 the second set of numbers is how fast that unit can be replenished, the third number (2) is the max units recruitable the last number is the experience level of the recruited unit. Just trying to get that sunk in my head. Last question is since this unit can only be recruited by this faction in only one city (minas_tirith) then Gondor should only be to have only two rohan riders at any given time, and if not how do I limit the number allowed for this faction and will the ai follow this as well? Thank you in advance.


I know this last thing may be next to impossible to script, but lets say the allied faction your recruiting a unit from dies off, how could it be scripted to still recruit that unit. My thinking is that remnants from the fallen faction will migrate to their allies and in exchange for asylum they provide military service for the rest of the game.

[Tsarsies]

that is quite easy to achieve. You will need to add a script in the campaign_script.txt. something along the lines of this:

monitor_event FactionturnStart FactionType sicily
	and TargetFactionType milan
	and DiplomaticStanceFactions = Allied
		set_event_counter allowUnit 1
end_monitor
monitor_event FactionturnStart FactionType sicily
	and TargetFactionType milan
	and not DiplomaticStanceFactions = Allied
		set_event_counter allowUnit 0
end_monitor

This is just an example and i am using sicily and milan as the two factions you want to be allied.
the first monitor sets an event counter to 1 when the two factions are allied. the second monitor sets it to 0 when they are not allied (they can still have trade agreements and be on good terms though and the unit will only be available IF they are allied).

this event counter can than be added to the EDB unit line you wish to make available, as such:

recruit_pool "rohan rider" 1 0.05 2 2 requires factions { sicily, }
and region_religion numenorian 80 and hidden_resource minas_tirith and event_counter allowUnit 1

This will make the said unit available to sicily when sicily is allied with milan.

your last question will require a little more scripting...and you can only do it for one or all of the said unit. Allow me to show you...

monitor_event FactionturnStart FactionType sicily
	if I_UnitExists milan rohan rider
		set_event_counter allowUnit 0
	end_if
	if not I_UnitExists milan rohan rider
		set_event_counter allowUnit 1
	end_if
end_monitor

This will only allow 1 unit of the unit type in question faction wide.

another option is the folowing:

declare_counter unitCount

monitor_event UnitTrained UnitType rohan rider
	and FactionType sicily
	if I_eventCounter allowUnit = 1
		if I_CompareCounter unitCount <= 2
			inc_counter unitCount 1
		end_if
		if I_CompareCounter unitCount >= 2
			set_event_counter allowUnit 0
		end_if
	end_if 
end_monitor

with this, the unitCount counter is not reduced so once you get to 2 thats it. you will need another script to decrease the unitCount to once again allow the unit to be trained. Somthing like:

monitor_event UnitDisbanded UnitType rohan rider
	and FactionType sicily
		inc_counter unitCount -1
end_monitor

But that still doesnt take into account if the unit is lost in battle or rebels against you. You might want to reduce the counter every 50 turns or something... or just allow the unit to be recruited once.

I am already using this script in mod i am working on and it works fine. the only difference is i am ensuring the two factions in question have trade agreements.

[MIKE GOLF]

Thank you for your help Tsarsies, I had more questions which I'll ask later, something about expired tokens.

[MIKE GOLF]

I have a few more questions I hope to get answered after rereading this thread and a few others. Since not every province has its own unique hidden resource, how can I make the allied unit recruitable only in a factions capitol? My examples are below.

recruit_pool "rohan rider" 1 0.05 2 2 requires factions { sicily, }
and region_religion numenorian 80 and hidden_resource minas_tirith and event_counter allowUnit 1

recruit_pool "rohan rider" 1 0.05 2 2 requires factions { saxons, }
and region_religion orthodox 80 and Celebrant_Province and event_counter allowUnit 1

Since Minas Tirith for example has its own unique hidden resource and Caras Galadhon (Celebrant_Province) does not, how should this look? I have just tested using the second entry which results in a ctd. I know one solution would be to make "allied" or "allies" as a hidden resource. However since they are getting to be at a premium that, I do not think is an option at this time.

[Tsarsies]

You can create a new hidden resource specifically for your script. add it to the top of the EDB with the other hidden resources (the limit i believe is 64 hidden resources), then in the regions.txt (found in data/maps/base folder) add it to the region in question. You can call the hidden resource whatever you like. then add it to the unit line in replace of the minas tirith hidden resource.

Along with the script already in place, that would make the unit only recruitable by sicily in that province and only when that building is completed and they are allied with milan (or whoever u state in the script).

If the unit is to be available to other factions in there capitols when allied with milan (or whoever) then all you need is a separate unit line entry for that faction and possibly use a separate unique hidden resource. else if sicily controls denmarks capital then sicily could recruit the unit from denmarks capitol as well. (that's why you would use a separate hidden resource for each faction that can gain the unit once allied)... if that makes sense...

[MIKE GOLF]

I am having an issue, hopefully an easy one to fix, I have added conditions in order to build the building below,

building northsourthroad
{
levels northsouthroad
{
northsouthroad city requires factions { byzantium, sicily, turks, } and building_present_min_level hinterland_roads paved_roads city and hidden_resource road and event_counter union_accepted 1
{
convert_to 2
capability
{
trade_base_income_bonus bonus 2
road_level 2
}
material wooden
construction 8
cost 5000
settlement_min large_city
upgrades
{
}
}
}
plugins
{
}
}
The last two conditions work fine and I can build it, but I can also build it prior to paved roads being completed as they both appear together, so you can build the northsouth road first, which I do not want before complting the paved roads. Also when I pull up the building browser it says <northsouthroad> instead of "The North South Road." Lastly, since I am fairly new to posting anything larger than a sentence, can someone tell me how to use the drop down scroll feature? Thank you.

All the brackets are in the correct place, it didn't transfer well it seems.

[Tsarsies]

the entry looks fine to me except for this one part...

and building_present_min_level hinterland_roads paved_roads city and hidden_resource road and event_counter union_accepted 1

You should't have the 'city'. As to why your EDB is still being read and your able to construct the building with this error, it could be that the engine is just ignoring those conditions on that line and therefore the building is available. But i would have thought that your game would not load with such an error...

As for it appearing in the building browser as <northsouthroad>, check your export_buildings.txt file which is found in data/text/. as for the drop down scroll feature, are you referring to the 'spoiler' tags?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

blah

you can access them in the advanced text editing when posting your message. The colourful exclamation mark 5th from the right. or just type [ spoiler ] [ / spoiler] with no spaces around the text you want... if thats not what your talking about, well, i have no idea

Just a note, and this is not pointed at anyone in particular, i just feel the information could be useful to some modders... if i ever encounter an error in my modding i always check the log file and search for whatever it is that i was working on. If i am trying to put a new building in then i will search the log for 'export_descr_buildings.txt' and check all entries relating to it. If that file is the culprit, then ill find the error and the log will tell me what was wrong (usually in the way of line number and whether there was a parsing error or whatever the case might be). This works for every file that you edit. simply make your changes, load the game, then check your log (make sure the log is on trace). With experience, you will come to know exactly what to search for ([trace] counter - for example)

the reason i am stating this is because too often people explain they have a problem when the answer is in thier log file and they only look at the last few lines of the log. the last few lines generally will not tell you anything about an error unless it is a CTD (crash to desktop error). For example, an error in the campaign script where the campaign script is not even parsed will result in the game working just fine, but your scripts are not firing. Looking in the log and searching for campaign_script you will notice one or just 2 entries, stating that the file WAS found, but couldnt load due to an error with monitor_event on such and such a line. But you would never know this unless you searched for it. my point is, the last few lines of a log mean nothing.

With that said, not all errors in the log are fatal, and some files simply skip over that error and read the rest of the file. Such as the traits, ancillary, campaign script. some errors in those files will result in just that monitor, or trigger being skipped and the rest of that file is read and executed. So it could be very well likely that when you search for the file in question that you find hundreds of instances of that file being parsed. so it CAN take some time to track down the particular error in question...

[Gigantus]

You require the {northsourthroad_name} entry in export_buildings for the building tree name and then the three lines again for the building:

{northsouthroad}
{northsouthroad_desc}
{northsouthroad_desc_short}

Did you notice that the spelling of the name is inconsistent? Maybe that's your problem?

[MIKE GOLF]

I want to thank both Tsarsies and Gigantus for your assistance with these issues. I will make the noted changes. It also seems that when working on something so exacting and detailed, where one misplaced comma or one misspelled word can lead to a ctd or something not working as intended, that it is good to take an occasional break now and then. I think most things become easier with time and experience, when I first started using the Geomod program that it was an exercise in trial and error but eventually I learned it enough to be able to make an expanded map mod with it. To all who are the tutors on this site I want to thank, especially when seeing so many very related questions. After I make some corrections I will post the results (using spoilers LOL).

I have got the roads buildable, they do not appear till after Arnor is reformed. The roads only appear in the building que when either a fortress or large city are present AND only after paved roads are constructed and they apply the movement and trade bonuses. The sense of accomplishment I feel seeing everything work as planned is high. The only issue still left (minor as far as I am concerned) are those brackets in the building browser. I have read every page of this thread and several others many times and applied every correction I found, added edb_enums, checked spelling etc. Perhaps I am missing an entry at the bottom of the export_buildings or perhaps it is not tied in to a building tree. At this point though I am pleased that they function as desired. I even changed the road texture tga and tga.dds (GIMP 2.8 does both). I really wanted to post a few screen shots but I may do that after I learn how. Gigantus and Tsarsies, thank you both for your assistance. I may call once again upon your infinite wisdom as I turn back to my initial project of recruitable allies. Good day gentlemen.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

THIS IS A TEST

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

THE TEST WAS SUCCESSFUL! Thank you Tsarsies

[MIKE GOLF]

It took me awhile to realize what you were talking about but I finally figured it out.

You require the {northsourthroad_name} entry in export_buildings for the building tree name and then the three lines again for the building:

{northsouthroad}
{northsouthroad_desc}
{northsouthroad_desc_short}

Did you notice that the spelling of the name is inconsistent? Maybe that's your problem?

In the MOS submod for TATW the name lines for unique structures are located at the bottom of the export_buildings file. After adding the following lines the buildings now show up properly in the Building Browser:

{northsouthroad_name}
The North-South Road
{castle_northsouthroad_name}
The North-South Road
{westroad_name}
The Great West Road
{castle_westroad_name}
The Great West Road

Once again thank you both Tsarsies and Gigantus

[Lifthrasir]

Is there any list of requirements for the buidings with their meaning.
For instance, as a newbe, I don't know what "event_counter first_watch 1" or "event_counter ADV_MATCHLOCK 1" mean.
Many thanks in advance.

[Gigantus]

Check the first page thoroughly, it's all there:

Events – requires event_counter first_piano 1
You can tie it in to any of the events in the game. If you put a 1 after event_counter, then the building may only be built after the event. If you put a 0, it can only be built before. Events are listed in the descr_events.txt in the campaign folder and include:

requires event_counter [event_name] 1

[Lifthrasir]

Many thanks Gigantus. I've read all pages of this thread and I've even looked at the descr_events.txt file. I guess I need glasses or a "cafein boost"

[Gigantus]

One is glad to be of service

[Lifthrasir]

I'm coming back here for another question. I hope it's the right thread.
I've created a new unit called Thanes to reflect the new Scottish Nobility from Lowlands and created by the Davidian Revolution.
That unit will be superior and recruitable in cities. The Scots will start with 2 of these units in Edinburgh but won't be able to recruit them until the settlement reaches the Minor City level and that a City Watch is built (with very low replenish rate at the start). Meanwhile, I would like to make them at least "retrainable" from the start.
So basically, that unit will only be "retrainable" and not recruitable, until a city watch is built.
I'm not sure how to do it. Do I just need to set the first number at 0 on the recruit_pool line?
Example: recruit_pool "Thanes" 0 0.1 1 0 requires factions { scotland, }
Many thanks in advance.