Dogs without handlers

**General Custer** · March 13, 2011, 11:42 AM

I have been working on a mod called Narnia Total War, and we wre planning to use talking dogs, and the plan was to make them dogs without handlers. I can get as far as having the dogs in battle, but once they are actually in combat with the enemy, as soon as an enemy should die, (I believe) the game crashes. Why is this?

Here is my EDU entry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I do have the correct animations in my anim packs, the dogs work and run and fight, but when they kill an enemy the game crashes. What do I do?!

**Eothese** · March 13, 2011, 02:50 PM

You sure it's when the dogs kill an enemy?

**General Custer** · March 13, 2011, 09:09 PM

I'm pretty sure; they will run into battle and seem to work fine but then all of a sudden, after about five seconds of fighting, the game will crash. I assume it is when an enemy would die, because I had some dogs die and the game still ran.

**Eothese** · March 14, 2011, 04:50 AM

I'd be interested to know how it works with dogs v dogs... I suspect the problem is due to the skeleton of the dog and how it reacts to fatality attacks, where the victim anim is imposed on the dog. If you are using the descr_skeleton entry which I created and is included in Banazi's anim set, this is most likely to be the problem as you have the dogs classed as infantry...

**General Custer** · March 14, 2011, 03:54 PM

I don't know if I am using that animation or not, but when I do dogs vs. dogs it still crashes.

Any ideas on how to FIX it?

**Eothese** · March 14, 2011, 04:10 PM

Not without knowing what you've used.

If you don't know what your using how can you expect anyone to be able to help?

A descr_skeleton and the battlemodels.db entry would be useful.

**General Custer** · March 17, 2011, 07:33 PM

Sorry for the long delay, but if you still look back at this thread, here is my battle models entry,
:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

And descr_skeleton:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Eothese** · March 18, 2011, 07:36 AM

Looks familiar. Well you can try and adjust the height to above 2.6 or class them as cavalry, which would probably be better as it would stop the AI using them to push rams and climb ladders etc, but involve more work...

I got it to work by classing them as elephants, as long as I only have that one unit. If I try to have more than one unit involved on that side the game crashes, whether its more dogs or not and whether the captain is in the dog unit or not...

Edit,
So I got it to work perfectly with the dogs classed as infantry, by re-writting a vanilla descr_skeleton entry with reference to the appropriate dog anims. Combat in the open field is fine, no CTD. However when testing on a settlment, the dogs with the ladders couldn't climb up them once they'd raised them to the walls, whilts the dogs manning the siege tower caused a CTD. The dogs with the ram had no problems and mounted the wall from the inside and later went on to capture the city.

Hurragh!!

Now it just remains to see what happens when they're classed as regular cavalry...

#Final Edit
As regular cav, the dogs are less good, they don't attack, their invisible riders do the fighting and again if I try to put another, or any other unit on the same side the battle won't load...

**General Custer** · March 18, 2011, 09:24 PM

Can you show me how you re-wrote the descr_skeleton entry? I really have no idea what animations are what, or the rules of the descr_skeleton file.
-Edit
Nevermind, it's explained in the link. Thanks

Also, when you explained you had them classed as infantry and the captured the settlement, did you get a CTD when having more than that unit on your side?

**Eothese** · March 19, 2011, 06:45 AM

No as infantry they worked fine, except when using seige equipment. I could make some anims to stop that, they just need climb up/down anims I think. But I'd rarther there was a way to stop them using the equipment full stop...

#Edit
And there is of course, class them as a handler unit. With dogs as the handlers using a modified vanilla descr_skeleton entry and the height put in to stop the crash.

**General Custer** · March 19, 2011, 04:55 PM

What are talking about with the whole height thing, or climbing up and down, I really dont get it

**Eothese** · March 20, 2011, 08:18 AM

Take a look at en existing descr_skeleton entry, like M2TW_Mace, to class the dogs as infantry you have to use that type of format where there are many more entry's than the one you are using at present or you will just get a CTD as you found out already. The Mace entry and indeed all other entry's for foot troops include crew requirments, the only one which you can't just fudge are the climb up/down anims, so seige towers will CTD and ladders will glitch up.

As for the height, well they need to be above 2.6 so that the game treats them as cavalry and so doesn't apply fatality/victim anims to them. Radius and height are hidden attributes, which have a default value if they aren't included.

Code:

soldier          wolfdogs, 60, 120, 2.75, 0.5, 2.6
animal           wardogs

My soldier line for the unit in the screen above. 60 handlers, 120 dogs, mass 2.75, radius 0.5 height 2.6. Result an all dog unit classed as infantry which can't use siege equpiment and is crash free. Behaviour is typical animal handler upon release of the 'dogs' the handlers pause then eventually follow up, once released the dogs are no longer able to be commanded.
Every work around has it's drawbacks, but this is probably the most satisfactory/stable way of getting it working.

**General Custer** · March 20, 2011, 08:25 AM

Thank you, I understand it now enough that I can do it! Thanks for explaining why the height needed to be above 2.6.

**Eothese** · March 20, 2011, 08:27 AM

Good luck, and post us a screen when you've got it working.

**General Custer** · March 20, 2011, 11:29 AM

I'm sorry, one more question: What exactly do I need to add to the wardogs anim in the descrs_skeletons?

**Eothese** · March 20, 2011, 02:20 PM

You don't need to add, you need to make a full new entry. Take the Mace entry for example, and replace all the references with appropriate dog anims.
EG.
anim knockback_from_front data/animations/MTW2_Mace/MTW2_Mace_knockback_from_front.cas -fr -evt:data/animations/MTW2_Mace/MTW2_Mace_knockback_from_front.evt
Becomes
anim knockback_from_front data/animations/wardog/Wardog_Shuffle_Back.CAS -fr -evt:data/animations/wardog/Wardog_Shuffle_Back.evt

**HannibalExMachina** · March 20, 2011, 05:50 PM

just poppin in, but are you aware that Call of Warhammer has such a thing?

**General Custer** · March 20, 2011, 06:17 PM

Thanks Eothese

And no, Hannibal, I did not.

**Eothese** · March 21, 2011, 03:14 PM

I got it working properly with the dogs classed as elephants, turns out it was a problem with the formation that caused the crash when you tried to have more than one unit. If you don't want them as infantry this may be a better option, it also means you can use an existing dog anim set as they have the same anim types as elephants.

**General Custer** · March 21, 2011, 04:34 PM

Okay so then how do I do it as an elephant? Do I just change the class to elephant?

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