Some help with bodyguards?

[Cyricist]

Hey all. I love this friggin' mod. However, I've been finding lately that I really wish some of the bodyguards were a bit more... diversified. So I've been trying to do that. I tested it, and found that (for example), I could change Lurtz's bodyguard to an Uruk-Hai Archer unit, and it worked fine. Same for Ugluk changing to an Uruk-Hai Pikeman unit. However, I could not change Faramir's bodyguard into any mounted unit. I assumed that was because he is an infantry general, so he can't be a mounted general.

If I made such a change, the game would launch fine, except when I got to start the campaign, it puts me back at the main menu. It doesn't crash... it just doesn't launch. So I change Faramir back, with Lurtz still edited, and the campaign launches fine. Again, these are just examples, not what I'm attempting to change.

That said, I edited many of the bodyguard units, while holding to the idea that any mounted general must remain a mounted general, and any infantry general must remain an infantry general. I did give some mounted generals mounted archer bodyguards, instead of mounted melee, assuming that would be fine, since the general never actually shoots anyway, if he's an archer general to begin with. I also did the same for infantry - gave some infantry generals foot archers instead.

I updated these units in the descr_strat file located in the imperial campaign folder, I updated them in the export_descr_units file in the general folder, and I updated them in the export_units file located in the Text folder. So they should be all squared away.

However, I can't launch campaigns. I've checked and double checked why, but can't come up with a reason. So I'm uploading all three of the files I edited, and I'm hoping some kind soul can help me out as to why it's not launching.

I only changed bodyguard units for generals. I didn't adjust anything else. Some of the more "iffy" changes I did were to give Cave Troll / Snow Troll bodyguards to the faction leaders/heirs of the Orcs of Misty Mts & Gundabad, respectively. After the campaign failed to launch, I considered that perhaps Trolls are classified differently than infantry, and thus wouldn't work with an infantry general, so I undid that change and left them with their original bodyguards. It still didn't work.

So I'm at a loss now. Can anyone help me out?

Thanks in advance. And I don't know if I'm breaking any rules by trying to edit these bodyguards; I certainly hope I'm not. I don't mean any offense and don't mean to suggest the mod isn't great, because it's fantastic. I just wanted to tailor it slightly to my own preference.

I'm attaching two of the three files to this post, and then the Text file to the next post, because it would exceed the upload limit if I put all three on this post alone. Sorry about that, and the double post.

[Cyricist]

EDIT: Sorry, nevermind. I can't upload the export_units text file, it's too large, apparently. Sorry about that. Not sure where else to host it. Unnecessary double post. :/

[Wizad]

I think you are able to upload it if you zip it first.

[Brune]

You may try this submod. http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=490115

[Withwnar]

...I don't know if I'm breaking any rules by trying to edit these bodyguards; I certainly hope I'm not. I don't mean any offense and don't mean to suggest the mod isn't great, because it's fantastic. I just wanted to tailor it slightly to my own preference.

That is perfectly fine. Even if it you wanted to release what you've done as a submod - not all mods allow submods but this one does.

I can't think what the problem might be. As I understand it you are not making new units, just using existing ones as bodyguards. That is exactly what the Bodyguard Switcher does so I'm at a bit of a loss. The log is probably telling you something useful: {M2TW}\logs folder.

EDIT: oh, wait, you are adding new units. Did you add them to battle_models.modeldb? You don't need to add new units, unless you want to give them unique stats etc. e.g. You could just use normal "Cave Trolls" instead of a new "Cave Trolls Bodyguard". That way no changes would be needed to EDU, EU or modeldb.

[Cyricist]

I figured out the issue. And let me tell you, I had a lot of facepalms. I did want to add new units, sort of, such as Cave Trolls Bodyguard instead of Cave Trolls. The reason I wanted to is because I wanted to have the bodyguards be smaller than the normal unit sizes, but slightly better. So I had to edit the stats.

I'd like to say for the record that I've never done any of this, so... it was trial by fire. And I learned a lot. In order to make Cave Troll Bodyguards, for example, I had to go into the export_unit_descr, copy+paste the Cave Trolls entry, add Cave Trolls Bodyguard as an identifier, add Cave_Trolls_Bodyguard as the dictionary identifier, then go into the Text folder, open export_units file, create listings for {Cave_Trolls_Bodyguard}, {Cave_Trolls_Bodyguard_descr}, and {Cave_Trolls_Bodyguard_descr_short}. I also added the name, like, "Uglag's Troll Bodyguards". Then I had to go into the UI/unit_info folder, and go to the proper faction folder (Holy Roman Empire (HRE) for anyone curious), find the cave_trolls_info entry, copy + paste it and create an additional cave_trolls_bodyguard_info entry. Then I had to go to the world/campaign/imperial campaign folder, go to the descr_strat file, find Uglag, and change his unit from Moria Bodyguard to Cave Trolls Bodyguard. All of this work yielded the result: High Chieftain Uglag has a bodyguard of Cave Trolls, with the appropriate Cave Troll description, the appropriate short Cave Troll mouseover description, and the appropriate Cave Troll unit card, without actually being the Cave Trolls unit (different unit size/stats), and also having the unique bodyguard name of Uglag's Troll Bodyguards.

Craziness, right? I did that for every bodyguard unit I changed, and I changed a lot. I'd gladly upload this as a submod with a complete list of what I changed, if people are interested. Generally speaking, I made bodyguards more interesting, without necessarily making them more powerful. Obviously the Moria Bodyguard --> Cave Trolls Bodyguard example is an exception to that rule. I kept unit sizes appropriate (smaller bodyguards with slightly better stats than the units they come from), and kept them lore-appropriate where possible. Some factions I left alone entirely, such as Mordor. There wasn't much to be done with the Nazgul, and giving any other unique bodyguards to Mordor with 9 Ringwraiths seemed unnecessary.

Anyway, I figured all this nonsense out on my own. I guess I didn't need to make a forum thread after all. Sorry about that, guys. That said, if anyone wants to know what I changed, or would like these bodyguard changes released as a submod, I'd gladly do so. I'm not entirely sure how to go about doing that, to be honest, but I could figure it out, I'm sure.

EDIT: Brune, that submod looks great, and it's actually part of what gave me the idea to make these changes. I liked the idea of changing bodyguards, but the options presented in that submod weren't really what I was looking for. Very cool, nonetheless.

[Cyricist]

Bumping this, because I have another question, and don't want to clutter up the forum with a new thread for it, since it's relevant.

Is there a way to change anything involving a general's model so that he doesn't get launched through the air by Trolls? The issue I'm having is I'm trying to have the Faction Leader of Moria use Cave Trolls for his bodyguard. It works totally fine, except for two issues.

1.) The trolls move faster than he does, so they leave him behind quickly. I think I can tweak this by using move_speed_mod and reduce it to maybe .65 for the Trolls, so that they keep pace with him. Maybe. The next issue is the bigger one.

2.) If any of the Trolls bump into the general, they knock him down. It doesn't appear to hurt him, but it definitely makes him lag very far behind them when moving towards a fight, and in combat, he's pretty much constantly knocked on his butt, which isn't exactly safe.

So my question is... can I edit him in any way so as to make this better? Like, can I increase his mass so he's not as easily knocked down?