Couple questions about changing things

[MrBlue]

Hey,

I've decided that instead of trying to find the "perfect" mod for me personally (don't think it exists), I'm going to chop and change one until it's as close to perfect for my tastes as possible. XGM is certainly the mod that has come closest to being perfect for my tastes, so I'm going to use it, plus it's very stable and just all round awesome

Here are a couple questions I have:

1.) What stats make the biggest difference for making the SRG so powerful?

I want to edit their stats so that they're still the strongest infantry unit in the game but only by a little bit, instead of being as powerful as they are now.

I'm going to change their recruitment details so that they cost around 2000 denarii and take 3 turns to train, so I need to make sure they're not as overpowered as they are now. What should I change to make them less powerful but still just slightly the best infantry unit in the game?

2.) I was browsing some tutorials and noticed one about turning infantry units into cavalry units, would it be possible to make a mounted SRG? I was thinking of just taking the horse from one of the elite cav units and combining it with the SRG, would this be possible?

3.) What do we need to know about for adding new units from other mods?

I want to add some new units to the game from other mods that allow sharing but from what I've gathered, this can cause problems due to things like unit stats plus there only being a certain amount of spaces for units available in the RTW engine, so anyone who has added units from others mods or unit packs, could you share any tips?

4.) I may remove some of the AOR units in order to make space, is that possible or will it lead to problems? Perhaps it would be easier to simply take the skin from whatever unit I want to add and replace it over one of the AOR units, would this be easier?

Thanks a lot

P.S. Sorry for all the questions, I'm really new to changing things in mods as I've only ever played them as they come before.

P.P.S. I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not too concerned about historical accuracy, lol, I know that a lot of the changes I'm thinking of making aren't correct that way but I wanna do em anyway

[Zarax]

1) the extra hitpoint is the defining stat here, remove it and you'll have an unit of excellent but not super human hoplites

2) it's merely matter of changing the skeleton in descr_models_battle.txt.
Just make a copy of the SRG DMB entry (it's the soldier line in EDU) and change the skeleton to a cavalry one.
After that, it's just matter of making a copy of the SRG entry in EDU, give it a mount and use the SRG copy name you created in DMB.

3) There are some good tutorials for that at the org if you need.

4) That might be trickier as you need to make sure they are removed from EDU, EDB and descr_strat.txt plus scripts and rebel files.

[Drakontos]

I wish you good luck with that - and have a good time too, I recently started doing the same thing. Mundus Magnus 1.2 + bits from xgm + SubRosa's Thrace: The Serpent Reborn + Andalus' Additional Units Pack 1.1b + some modifications of my own... I'm not sure if I'm enjoying playing or just knowing I've managed to mod the game more.

I haven't really tried modding units yet, so I can't really help with 1 or 2.
With regard to 3, provided there is space in the EDU you shouldn't have any trouble adding new units, it seems surprisingly easy. You had a thread on the subject the other day, no? CV's (?) advice was what helped me add the units into my mod there. I had worried that there were dozens of files that I would have to change, but instead there are only 3. Plus putting textures etc in the right folders, which isn't too hard.

4... I can't see any issues with it. If any armies in descr_strat have the unit, you may have to remove it from there, otherwise it should just be removing references in export_descr_buildings, export_descr_units and descr_model_battle for the unit, after which you can use the space to add in your own unit.

*edit* As Suppanut said, scripts and things too complicate 4. So ignore me, and pay attention to the experienced ones!

[DimeBagHo]

1.) What stats make the biggest difference for making the SRG so powerful

Hitpoints - they get one extra. If you change that (from 3 to 2, or 2 to 1, depending on whether you are using 2hp or 1hp) they will go from being an awesome hoplite unit to one that is just good.

2.) I was browsing some tutorials and noticed one about turning infantry units into cavalry units, would it be possible to make a mounted SRG? I was thinking of just taking the horse from one of the elite cav units and combining it with the SRG, would this be possible?

It is possible, but they have large shields that may look a bit weird.

3.) What do we need to know about for adding new units from other mods?

Tutorial Here

I want to add some new units to the game from other mods that allow sharing but from what I've gathered, this can cause problems due to things like unit stats plus there only being a certain amount of spaces for units available in the RTW engine, so anyone who has added units from others mods or unit packs, could you share any tips?

For stats, pick a similar unit already in XGM and copy those, then tweak slightly. XGM currently has room for around 50 new models so you probably won't run into that limit for a while.

Hope that helps.

[MrBlue]

Excellent help, thanks a lot! :-)

Ok, so after reading through the tutorial threads on adding new units, I decided to give it a try, however, I can't seem to find the Export_descr_unit_enums file, it's supposed to be in xgm/data folder, isn't it?

Thanks a lot

[MrBlue]

Never mind, I just found out that it's not used anymore. Hmm, I hope there's nothing else in that tutorial that's wrong.

[MrBlue]

YAY I just added the Immortals from Warlords Of Sparta and it worked! I just watched some spartan royal guard face off against a few immortals in a custom battle, lol. Thanks guys

Now to learn about mounting infantry units

[MrBlue]

Hey guys,

Ok, so I tried to mount a spartan royal guard unit on a cataphract just as a test and it "sort of" worked. The Spartan WAS mounted on the cataphract, however, it was still in the standing position (as originally) and it's legs were not showing (they were inside the horse). Not sure if I explained it very well there lol. It's as if the spartan is a part of the horse, the top half is the spartan and the horse is its' legs, looks really weird.

Here's the entries I used to do this, could someone let me know what caused the problem please?...

type h hoplite spartan
dictionary h_hoplite_spartan ; Spartan Cavalry
category cavalry
class heavy
voice_type Medium_1
soldier greek_spartan_hoplite, 50, 0, 1.5, 0.3
mount horse cataphract
mount_effect horse +4, camel +4
attributes sea_faring, hide_forest, can_sap, very_hardy
formation 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, square, shield_wall
stat_health 3, 0
stat_pri 12, 6, no, 0, 0, melee, blade, piercing, spear, 25 ,1.0 ; Hoplite
stat_pri_attr no
stat_sec 0, 0, no, 0, 0, no, no, no, none, 25 ,1.0 ; no weapon
stat_sec_attr no
stat_pri_armour 9, 8, 5, metal
stat_sec_armour 0, 0, flesh
stat_heat 2
stat_ground -1, 0, -2, 0
stat_mental 30, disciplined, highly_trained
stat_charge_dist 30 ; Foot
stat_fire_delay 0
stat_food 60, 300
stat_cost 30, 8000, 520, 90, 130, 2400
ownership greek_cities, romans_brutii

type h_spartan_hoplite
skeleton fs_hc_spearman
indiv_range 40
texture greek_cities, xgm/data/models_unit/textures/unit_greek_spartan_hoplite_royal_atg.tga
texture romans_brutii, xgm/data/models_unit/textures/unit_greek_spartan_hoplite_royal_atg.tga
texture merc, xgm/data/models_unit/textures/unit_greek_spartan_hoplite_perioici_atg.tga
model_flexi_m xgm/data/models_unit/unit_greek_spartan_hoplite_high.cas, 15
model_flexi_m xgm/data/models_unit/unit_greek_spartan_hoplite_medium.cas, 30
model_flexi_m xgm/data/models_unit/unit_greek_spartan_hoplite_low.cas, 40
model_flexi xgm/data/models_unit/unit_greek_spartan_hoplite_lowest.cas, max
model_sprite merc, 60.0, xgm/data/sprites/greek_spartan_hoplite_sprite.spr
model_sprite greek_cities, 60.0, xgm/data/sprites/greek_cities_greek_spartan_hoplite_sprite.spr
model_sprite romans_brutii, 60.0, xgm/data/sprites/greek_cities_greek_spartan_hoplite_sprite.spr
model_tri 400, 0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f

[Zarax]

You didn't assign the right soldier entry.

It should be soldier h_spartan_hoplite, 50, 0, 1.5, 0.3

instead of soldier greek_spartan_hoplite, 50, 0, 1.5, 0.3

[MrBlue]

OMG Spartan Royal Guard Cataphracts, it worked! I'd take a pic but for some reason "prnt scrn" takes a picture of my Steam account, must be something to do with how it runs games.

Thanks Zarax, I've learned a ton the last few days from you and everyone else here.

[Zarax]

For some reason it sounds scary...

[MrBlue]

LOL, yeah it does a little. They look a little weird with the variety of colours, I think the SRG would look sweet on a different mount though so I'm going to play about and see what I can come up with.

Ok, I have just a few more questions about modding (you must be sick of me by now lol):

1.) Where do I find the following stats:
Archers range - I want to make the indian longbowmen have even better range
How many soldiers are in a unit - For example, Hypaspists have half the troops (101 I think) that a phalangite unit would have (240 I think)

2.) How is Total Defense for a unit calculated?

3.) Are their any stats that would logically need changed when mounting an infantry unit?
From the looks of the example above, I'd guess that the "mount_effect horse +4, camel +4" part would need to be changed, are there any others that are commonly used? Spear bonuses perhaps?

4.) Last one, when I add a new unit from a different mod or by editing an existing one, how does this affect saved campaigns? I mean, will I need to start a new campaign in order to see the changes or can I edit/add units during a campaign?

Thanks a lot I think that's everything I need to know, lol. Sorry for all the questions

[DimeBagHo]

Most of what you need is explained in the top section of export_descr_units.txt, all the rest can be found here: http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=88859

[DimeBagHo]

2.) How is Total Defense for a unit calculated?

Armour + Defense Skill + Shield, or in order words, just add up the three numbers on the stat_pri_armour line.

3.) Are their any stats that would logically need changed when mounting an infantry unit?
From the looks of the example above, I'd guess that the "mount_effect horse +4, camel +4" part would need to be changed, are there any others that are commonly used? Spear bonuses perhaps?

Take a look at comparable cavalry units to get an idea of what the stats should look like. You will want to change charge attack values and charge distances.

4.) Last one, when I add a new unit from a different mod or by editing an existing one, how does this affect saved campaigns? I mean, will I need to start a new campaign in order to see the changes or can I edit/add units during a campaign?

Removing units will break saved games (and is far more complicated than adding units). When you add a unit if you make all changes at the end of any files you edit then saved games should work fine.

[MrBlue]

Ok, from looking at that, I've found the following:

1.) Got the archers range stat - Check
The unit stat is only for medium size, am I right that it is doubled each setting higher? Eg, 25 medium = 50 large = 100 Huge

2.) Couldn't find the answer

3.) From what I can tell, the only things that would affect this are - mount effect stats and the spear/light_spear attributes in the "stat_pri" field, is that right?

4.) Couldn't find the answer

[MrBlue]

Thanks guys for all the help, one more thing if you could advise please...

So I already know how to change a units faction and make them recruitable by other factions, however, I'd like to transfer a few units but I'm worried might cause some problems.

The units are:
Peroiki hoplites/phalangites
Syracusan hoplites
Greek sacred band

If I transfer these units to different factions from the Greeks, can anyone tell me what I need to edit so that there's no conflict with things like scripted events, garrison scripts, hidden resources, marian reforms or anything else that might cause a problem?

Thanks a lot

BTW, the reason I'm transfering some of these greek units to different factions is because I've added some other units from unit packs, etc and have given the Greeks too many elite units, it makes it hard to choose who to recruit, lol

[MrBlue]

Anyone?

[DimeBagHo]

If you just want to remove the units from the GCS roster without actually cutting them from the game, then the easiest way is to remove their recruit lines from export_descr_buildings.txt. That way they won't show up in the recruitment screen, but they will be available for scripts etc.

[MrBlue]

Actually I'd like to transfer them to other factions for recruitment, so cut them from GCS but give them to another faction. Is it just a case of:

1.) Deleting the recruitment line for GCS
2.) Doing the steps in this thread to add them to another faction
3.) Remove the hidden resource Sparta/Syracuse sections

Is that all it takes? Will that not cause any problems with scripts or anything else?

Thanks a lot

P.S. While I'm posting this, I may as well ask about another thing I'm looking for info on, is there any way to make it so that every General automatically gets the ability to do night battles?

[DimeBagHo]

It could cause problems if those units are used by the GCS in any script, historical battle, or campaign start. It's a lot less trouble to just remove the recruit lines. You can still add the units to other factions if you want to.