The Complete Guide to NTW Modding Tutorials, Tools and Resources

[Invictus XII]

Ladies and Gentlemen, this thread is made for the easy access and categorical listing of all tools, tutorials and recourses for Napoleon Total War Modding.

To Start you on Your Way to Mod and Modding Success:

Tools:

-Pack File Manager (PFM) v1.5.9 - Probably the most useful thing you will every have when it comes to modding NTW.

-Startpos Analysis and Tools - Probably the best hub for a singular tool. HusserLTW has created the greatest tool for editing esf files, with complete tutorials and images to help you editing your NTW campaign today.

-Mod Manager for NTW - A simple tool to help activate and deactivate your mods currently installed in NTW

-NTW Data Checker - Ever installed a mod, it didn't work, and its all because of a little mod you forgot to previously uninstall. Well this tool allows you to make your NTW data folder back to the original game with one click, and see what you have in there thats not mean't to be there.

-GIMP - If you don't have Photoshop, you'll need this to do any picture editing

Tutorials:

-Modification Basics - A little tutorial, that will help you through the process every single step of the way, clear and in plain English.

-How to Create a Mod - If your looking for a speedy tutorial like the one above, or something to just jog your memory, this is perfect to starting you off.

-Startpos Analysis - Again, this is the hot spot for ESF file modding tutorials and other links.

Resources:

-How to Repair NTW if Modding "Breaks" Your Game - This guide is something we all need at one stage, if you can't get your normal NTW working, try this.

-Before You Start Your Mod, A list of things that can and can't be modded - A great guide of things that can and can't be modded as of yet, and a must for those planning to make a decent mod.

-Do's and Dont's - Just some little tips before you start, its a MUST, because these small tips are usually what makes or breaks your mod, trust me, I know

_____________________________________________

Intermediate

Tools

-No real tools for the intermediate stage, just all the tools from above.

Tutorials

-How to Create a New Unit in NTW with PFM - Probably the most common task done by modders, but the most frustrating. This tutorial will have you creating the more units in no time.

-How to Make Your Own Music Mod - This one is a fun one to start you off, we all prefer our own music, so why not do the same, and put that music in NTW. I would love to listen to the Beach Boys whilst massacring my enemy.

-How to add a unit to another faction - Simple as pie. Ever wanted to have the British Foot recruitable as France, or wanted some extra units for a minor nation. This is for you.

-How to make a unit playable in battle mode - Simplest thing ever, scroll down to HussarlTW's post to find out how.

-Larger Unit Sizes/Bigger Battles - This little trick will get you up to having 1000 men a unit if you want.

-How to create a custom unit card - After you make your new units, try this to making a card for that unit.

-Enabling Two Rank Fire for Infantry - A cool little trick I use in all my mods, to make the first 2 ranks fire.

-Projectile Basics - How to mod everything to do with projectiles, so like cannonballs, muskets, the their impacts and effects.

-How to change a faction leaders portrait and name - Great for modding how like to change details like this. Simple and easy to follow, Maybe you want George Bush to rule France in 1805.

-How to edit in-game text - Excellent, and fun, rename your units, campaign, people, will help with the tutorial above.

-Earn Chevrons Fast - Wanna rank up faster, edit the stats with this tutorial, so you can make it, every kill you rank up or your troops can never rank up if you want them too.

-Removing the Defensive Requirement for Abilities - This tutorial will help you unlocking deployable's before battle whether you are defending or attacking, so you can have your men behind earthworks or fougasses in no time.

-AI Campaign Basics - To help you understand those tricky CAI tables that make no sense when you first see them.

Resources

[Invictus XII]

Reserved for Historical References to Help Modders*

[♔Oggie♔]

Thanks mate this will help a lot! + rep.
DARN I can't rep you, I have done it too much often... don't worry sir you'll get it.

[T.C.]

Mate, if you're going to do this, do it properly. It's a great initiative, but it's completely pointless when you only list the most popular/recent threads. I'd say you only have about ~10% of all stuff there.
Good idea anyway

[Invictus XII]

Mate, if you're going to do this, do it properly. It's a great initiative, but it's completely pointless when you only list the most popular/recent threads. I'd say you only have about ~10% of all stuff there.
Good idea anyway

No, don't worry, all tutorials, tools and recourses will end up here, hopefully I'll get it all done within the next 2 days, just ran out of time yesterday

[Invictus XII]

Updated for today, plenty more still coming!

[husserlTW]

Mate, if you're going to do this, do it properly. It's a great initiative, but it's completely pointless when you only list the most popular/recent threads. I'd say you only have about ~10% of all stuff there.
Good idea anyway

I disagree. If you do it as T.C. says then you'll almost reproduce the Tools and Tutorials list. This topic is supposed to be (mostly) for less experienced modders because most experience usually know where and how to search for a tutorial, tool or info, if they have not got them already on their hard disk. In my opinion in this topic should include only a complete but chosen collection with the absolute necessary tools and resources for modding. In this way the user can easily find the best item on it's field. Of course choosing is a very hard task...

Let me suggest for PFM PFM switcer which includes a) 1.5.9 for Napoleon b) an adjusted version of 1.5.9 for Empire and c) all tables editable. And for EsfEditor my latest Esf Total Editor.

[♔Oggie♔]

Are there any tutorials about retexturing a unit?

[Primergy]

you can add my tutorial of "adding a new cannon model", too.

It's in the Empire Section but works the same for Napoleon:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=413091

[T.C.]

I disagree. If you do it as T.C. says then you'll almost reproduce the Tools and Tutorials list. This topic is supposed to be (mostly) for less experienced modders because most experience usually know where and how to search for a tutorial, tool or info, if they have not got them already on their hard disk. In my opinion in this topic should include only a complete but chosen collection with the absolute necessary tools and resources for modding. In this way the user can easily find the best item on it's field. Of course choosing is a very hard task...

Let me suggest for PFM PFM switcer which includes a) 1.5.9 for Napoleon b) an adjusted version of 1.5.9 for Empire and c) all tables editable. And for EsfEditor my latest Esf Total Editor.

Up to the author really....it's either the "complete guide" or the "beginners guide". Either way is good, just certain tutorials are way more advanced than others.

[wulfgar610]

Thanks a lot, I'm finding this reference very handy.

[Invictus XII]

No worries, mods, a possibility of this being stickied?

[KnightFandragon]

Does anyone even use these forums anymore?

I got to modding this game just tonight, and it worked...sorta.

I was modding the British infantry and so far, parts of it seems to work, but I went to try and give Duke of Wellington General unit a carbine and turn him into rifleman cavalry and it didnt give him the gun and ammo, despite me putting in ammo, accuracy, copying the gun lines from the above dragoon infantry.

Also, the changes to the ships dont work. I changed acc and reload, and none of them changed in game.

Also, how do I made Howitzer horse artillery? I changed the gun to 5 inch howitzer as its typed above in the howitzer sections nad it didnt change...so, dang...

[KnightFandragon]

Also, what does the "armor" do? Plate and Leather, what effects does either have? Also, what does the armor number mean? I put like 5 plate on my foot soldiers, and is the number beside the armor health? that 1? In the PFM ive got alot of the lines just say "unknown"...but I thought I read in one awhile ago, that the 1 was health...

[Steph]

For the Wellington rifle, you need to check all the columns, including the animation, projectile, etc.

I think the only effect of plate/leather is for sound effect when hit. The numerical value has effect on damage

[KnightFandragon]

For the Wellington rifle, you need to check all the columns, including the animation, projectile, etc.

I think the only effect of plate/leather is for sound effect when hit. The numerical value has effect on damage

Where are they all? Alot of the columns just read "unknown". Are there more parts of the db file that I have to change as well?

[Steph]

I'm at the office. I will answer when home later