EDU editor, tool?

[Dago Red]

1. Question for the veterans around here -- is there any kind of helpful tool or editor for dealing with the EDU?

Something like the DBE for ETW I'm sure I would have heard of or be stickied right here, but if there is anything at all for managing changes to the EDU (or EDB for that matter) please do tell.

2. If not, here's another Q for you other modders: what methods do you use for keeping track of changes you make to those files?

Being a total novice, my concern is losing track of what I've done, some minor change missed and either fouling up my little project - or simply not being able to implement my changes successfully again when the next version of the mod in question comes out because it will take me 3 months to do it all over again.


edit: Aha, I found this [Tool] Easy EDU Editor http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...=462315&page=3
The forum is not easy to search for this kind of thing (EDU turns up nothing if you can believe it). Are there others people use?

[danny X]

1. http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=92488

2. pen and paper!

[valvegas1]

Here is a tool I've been using to help with this issue...I just set it to monitor my entire M2TW folder...Take a look and see if it will be helpful...I think it is....http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/win...w-131777.shtml

[Taiji]

Dago Red, the method I use is called designing a system. Change all units according to the system, then the system is the record of changes made to the units.

Sounds simple probably, and I don't mean to be patronising. It actually takes a lot of experimentation to create a system that I'll want to apply to all units.

So, roughly, I might decide that Y unit needs to be better vs X unit, and so I make a change and check it and then apply what's succesful to arrive at the 'final' system - Which then gets applied to all units.

I've heard of people making 'calcs' using spreadsheet apps. But since I've worked without that kind of thing for so long I actually appreciate the mindlessness of doing it all by hand. Sure everyone's different, but I find myself having some awesome ideas while boring myself to death applying a change to 480 units....

I will use calcs for other things, but unit balancing is so complicated that I appreciate the mental space that the boring task provides. Probably I'll have more ideas at this point, while coding it, than while doing the 100s of hours of tests on the battlefield. It might be because I can't see the slightly overwhelming full picture, and I might come up with some pretty stupid ideas to try out as a result of this detachment from the battlefield. But stupid ideas that don't work usually teach me a lot and sometimes show the way to an awesome idea I would never have thought of.