Empire Mod Architecture Primer

[Jams79]

They load in order, first being lowest priority (overwritten by later ones).

[♔ST0MPA♔]

They load in order, first being lowest priority (overwritten by later ones).

Thankyou jams

[waronmars]

If I want to overwrite an entry in a db file, what do I put in the file that will do the overwriting? Just the rows I want to replace? Do I just use modified data file with the changes...I am confused -_-


To clarify a bit more:

My Spain retexture changes colour entries for Spain in factions.db. How can I put this information in a fragment file so that it does not overwrite the game file?
I am creating a France retexture, and I want to edit France's faction colour as well, but if I use the way I am now, the last one loaded will overwrite the first one -_-

[MrThib]

That's it, just make sure you rename your faction db to your liking (like spain_retextured in place of faction, else the game will crash) and delete all unused rows.
See my how to make mod tutorial, that's only speaking about this (I mean file structure in a mod), there's a sample too if you're confused with a few things.
that way, your spain mod will have just the spain line in his db, and france mod just france line -> no more overwriting on top of each others.

[juniroxors]

I have a problem: I can't get localisation files to be recognised when I put them in a mod pack. I can neither overwrite the existing localisation.loc nor does adding a new file to the text directory work (the latter doesn't work in patch.pack either so it's probably not supposed to work the same way as the db files).

So, what's the supposed way of creating new string entries, and what happens if I don't want to add strings for all languages?

Thanks

My solution has been to create a new pack exclusively for a localisation.loc - eg. my_loc.pack and this is saved as patch type NOT mod. Add your localisation.loc to it (making sure it's default name) with the default text plus your added entries and that should work. It means you don't have to mess with any game files as well. Be careful with naming the pack as certain alphabetic places will stop it from working but as far as I can tell, calling it m.....pack seems to work fine.

....Oh and this is just based on the loc from patch_en.pack

[alpaca]

My solution has been to create a new pack exclusively for a localisation.loc - eg. my_loc.pack and this is saved as patch type NOT mod. Add your localisation.loc to it (making sure it's default name) with the default text plus your added entries and that should work. It means you don't have to mess with any game files as well. Be careful with naming the pack as certain alphabetic places will stop it from working but as far as I can tell, calling it m.....pack seems to work fine.

I know that this works (mine is a movie pack ) but that way we can't have multiple mods with different localisations.

[MrThib]

The loc format seems a little strange to me because using the headers in the editor for alphabetical classement is affecting the file itself, what seems pretty wrong.
Guess we don't fully understand that format now.

[juniroxors]

I know that this works (mine is a movie pack ) but that way we can't have multiple mods with different localisations.

Yeah I know we are at a bit of an impasse - but there are ppl out there still importing the text back and other stuff into the game files which is a bit daft and whilst this isn't true "mod" patching it's the closest thing we have - It's a mess on because packs can't be shared properly due to the text issue (and probably others we are unaware of yet) but at this stage I think until a proper dev pack comes out the mod format is really beta - if that

[MrThib]

The mod format isn't beta, it's already fully fonctionnal, that's the way we're using it that is beta actually.
And I think Alpaca know quite well the loc files since he's the one who wrote the editor.

[juniroxors]

The mod format isn't beta, it's already fully fonctionnal, that's the way we're using it that is beta actually.

Sure - my wording is incorrect and of course we are restricted in how we can create the mods due to the limited info so you are right.

And I think Alpaca now quite well the loc files since he's the one who wrote the editor.

I think I can read m8 - but in any case, there are plenty of ppl who are "passing through" and they won't get the intended sarcasm... They might end up finding out nothing about what they want to know when dealing with this issue if we just joke about it and don't clarify. They see a post with question that pertains to them - they look for a reply because it's relevant to them. They see nothing sensible and go off with no solution.

[MrThib]

No sarcasm intented, I'm just not that good in english.
But actually, yes, this is a major point that is blocking people of releasing proper mods since there's no way to pass it now.
I just hope someone will figured this out before the official tools release.
Or perhaps one of the helpfull people of CA will make a little point about this.

[juniroxors]

No I was referring to Alpaca's sarcasm m8... hehe - it's not a problem... I'd be the same - just making sure ppl who read stuff don't get too confused with the friendly chat and jokes that are included.

[MrThib]

Actually the movie pack wasn't a sarcasm either, I even think this is the best way to go for the loc files by now .
The loading order is: boot/release/patch/mod/movie

[juniroxors]

Actually the movie pack wasn't a sarcasm either, I even think this is the best way to go for the loc files by now .
The loading order is: boot/release/patch/mod/movie

OMG! I thought he was joking. I changed mine and it worked... So the question I have now is - why is this designated as "movie" and not say "mod2" for example? The answer is pobably something simple but yes it would be the way to go until we know better.

[alpaca]

The loc format seems a little strange to me because using the headers in the editor for alphabetical classement is affecting the file itself, what seems pretty wrong.
Guess we don't fully understand that format now.

That was built in deliberately. I decided it was easier to code the editor working on data binding and re-writing the ordered data to the pack. It doesn't matter to the game so I took this freedom.

The advantage is that the file is saved as you see it, there are disadvantages, too, but I don't talk about them (mainly that the edit doesn't show up until you leave the file)

Edit: And no, I wasn't joking about the movie pack.

[MrThib]

@alpaca:
Ok, thanks for the info .

[Shigawire]

Excellent explanation. I expected nothing less from Jerome Grasdyke.
Seems like the pack-method might be a good architecture to build on.
Especially if you can build a mod on top of another mod, which very often happens with some bigger mods.

I just hope the Developer kit will include ways to add 3d-models. Also, if this is going to be possible, how will it work to mod ship models? I mean, with all the lil guys runnin around pulling ropes and looking really important on the ship's deck.

[Rorarii]

My solution has been to create a new pack exclusively for a localisation.loc - eg. my_loc.pack and this is saved as patch type NOT mod. Add your localisation.loc to it (making sure it's default name) with the default text plus your added entries and that should work. It means you don't have to mess with any game files as well. Be careful with naming the pack as certain alphabetic places will stop it from working but as far as I can tell, calling it m.....pack seems to work fine.

....Oh and this is just based on the loc from patch_en.pack

NO-NO-NO! I don't want to create mulitple PACKS per MOD, this is a BUG CA!

If we cannot have a Mod completely in one pack it's going to turn into a MESS!! I suspect this relates to CA having separate packs for different languages but with multiple mods ... UG!

Please fix CA!!

R

[DariusOfLancs]

The .loc files are one issue, and it looks like the .tai files are going to be another. See my 'Creating a new faction...' thread:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=240950

... for the horrid details.

[TheSavage]

NO-NO-NO! I don't want to create mulitple PACKS per MOD, this is a BUG CA!

If we cannot have a Mod completely in one pack it's going to turn into a MESS!! I suspect this relates to CA having separate packs for different languages but with multiple mods ... UG!

Please fix CA!!

R

Well in past games we had mods with 500 files... so I really don't see the problem with a mod having 2 .pack files instead of just 1.