How to Start Modding!

[♔The Black Knight♔]

Now looking thorugh these threads, I noticed we don't really have a general tutorial on how to mod in general. This tutorial will start off with the basics, but if people want te know some extra information or need some help, feel free to ask me.

Anyways, the thing you will probably want and only need is the latest updated pack file manager. Found here. The packs are data storages that hold the data that get loaded. When you make a mod, the data that you modify is "injected" into the data directories that is read by the game.

This is kept up by dainu so please give him the support and praise that he deserves. It makes the modder's life way easier and allows to get mods done faster.

So lets start off by opening up that tool.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

After that, if you want to make your mod, you need to go to my mods and press new. You then need to to browse to find the folder it will go in which is in the shogun 2 data folder.

This is found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\total war shogun 2\data

If you don't feel like that, just press ok and save the mod in data folder. By using the mymod, the add files act differently so you will want to do that.



Now you have the start of a mod. Now, you say "how do I get data in there?" Well, this is where you are going to have to search around.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Lets say, you want to change the color of a factions uniform. The data you are looking for is probably in the latest patch. Lets go there.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

At first glance, the pack seems to be filled with the information. If you look at the animations, that is where the data of the latest animations have been stored. And if you explore, you will find that all those folders hold different information, with all kinds of data.

Other patches hold different information as well so check around there to find the data you need. The data for changing uniforms is in the dbs so lets open that.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Now the amount of data in front of you may be huge, but each little data area holds a little information that changes the game. Look around for a while and get a hang of what these thing can do. Other tutorials will help with more complicated things like making units, but we just need to find which pack changes the faction's units color.

Let's see, I'm changing an entire factions uniform so lets look to see if there is a data pack for that.

AHA! Now open that little pack to find the data in it. Go ahead an look what in there.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Now go right click and extract selected it. Since we can't modify the patch itself, we have to extract it to an area where we can find that data and add it to our pack. Close that patch and bring up your own.

Go to add files and find that data and click on it.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

You now have that data and you can go ahead an modify it. After you modify it, and you think it's perfect go save it. Then go to file, change pack and then change the mod to a movie. Go play the game and see what you did.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Ok thats the basics, just repeat for the other files in that db, and if you get good at that, I may do some more advanced stuff like modifing textures. Anyways, moding is all about exploring, and it's the figuring out on what to do to make yourself a better modder. I may add more later in a later update but that's the most of it for right now.

[♔The Black Knight♔]

Reserved

[daniu]

Good effort, +rep.

Maybe a link to the MyMod feature tutorial is appropriate here since you're using it.

[♔The Black Knight♔]

Thanks, will do.

[evan300]

Thanks, will do.

Nice tutorial for beginners !
I am new to modding , made a few tweaks from some other mods to suite my needs , but what I want to know is there are building req's for a unit . As Ninja's (Agents) need Sake Den , now I want to change that . I have found the table which does that but how to name the building I want ?

[pieisgood100]

Modding.... much harder than it sounds

[♔The Black Knight♔]

It's not really, unless you are trying to hex edit. That takes a whole lot of effort.

Once you get a hold of the packfile manager, it actually becomes quite simple, and you'll be able to do this in 30 seconds at the least. As you figure out things, it will get easier and easier so try it out and see what happens.

[aseedlesmelon]

there needs to be more threads like this, consider doing one for say money? adjusting a settlements income? or loading a downloaded mod?
thanks

[♔The Black Knight♔]

There are other mods like that, in the tutoirals forums. You should check there. Several that will help you out.

[M@GIC]

It does not say how to mod turns Shoguns / data.pack??

[♔The Black Knight♔]

You actually mod turns in the startpos.esf. This is just a tutorial on how to create a pack and add data to modify. I think there are other tutorials that show how to do that, so if you look around, you may find it.

[Junaidi83 de Bodemloze]

nice thread , i will start modding too )

[Caesar_of_Rome]

How do I increase the Range for units?

[Ceorl84]

Glad the OP made this post. I never woulda thought I had to change my mod to a "movie" in order to get things to run.

[daniu]

I never woulda thought I had to change my mod to a "movie" in order to get things to run.

You don't. If you make it a "Mod" and put it in your data folder, it should appear in the ModManager and you can activate it from there.

[Junaidi83 de Bodemloze]

i found my self quickly addicted to modding right now , thanks for the post and thanks for pfm tool daniu

[AngryTitusPullo]

i found my self quickly addicted to modding right now , thanks for the post and thanks for pfm tool daniu

You've been cursed ! Once you start modding you can never stop.

[Junaidi83 de Bodemloze]

You've been cursed ! Once you start modding you can never stop.

, damn right

[nzranga]

So I was keen to learn how to make a mod for Shogun 2, followed this guide but when I got to the step where you have to open a patch file I couldn't find any...

I think it may be because I bought the game on Steam after it had been out a while so it came with the patches when I got it. Not sure if that's correct but from what I've read (whilst trying to find the someone on the internet who knew where the files were) it's a fair guess.

So anyway I was just wondering if there was a substitute file I could use or if you knew where the files might be located or if I needed to download the patches from somewhere. If so do you know where? Because I had a quick look and couldn't find them.

Thanks heaps for any help

[weeeee659]

Download the Assembly Kit