Process of Modding when a new patch is out

[trango]

Hi all

I just finished my modding of the Greenkins, and now a new patch is coming out, so I will have to start over again what I am wondering is when a new patch is out what is the process/time usually till we can mod.

1. Will there be a new Schema, I see the last one was december so I am thinking not?

2.What can I do to be able to start modding quicker

Basically only these two questions I haven't been through a patch where I was modding this close to it to have to worry about waiting.

[Steph]

Here is what I do.

1- Use RPFM, currently the best available tool.
2- BEFORE the new patch is released (like today!), use RPFM to open data.pack and do a mass export of the whole db as tsv file. Put that in a folder (I usually give the name of the latest DLC, for me the latest is S&B2, since they released an update after S&B).
3- Also do mass export of your mod in a folder (MyMod S&B 2)
4- When the DLC is released, wait a bit. CA will provide information about the new schema, and it will be added to the tools such as RPFM. It's usually fast, but it could take a few days.
5- When you get the update, export again the whole db from data.pack as tsv file. With a new folder like W&P.
6- Use a tool such as WinMerge to automatically compare the two folders with the data.pack db mass export.
-- It will show you all the files which have been modified.
-- If they are not included in your mod, discard them (you have an option "hide files" in WinMerge).
-- If the table is include din your mod, double click it to see the actual changes. See if they apply to your case. Like if your mod is about Greenskins, you can just ignore all the lines for other factions. If the line is for something in your mod, look at the change in details. And apply the change to your table if you tbink it is relevant.
-- If you are not sure, you can also compare your tsv file vs the one from CA latest DLC to be sure of what has been changed. But it's a bit tricker as you can have many differences, especially since usually your table have only a few lines, while CA has hundreds if not thousands.


I'm doing it for every DLC and update, and I think it is faster to report the changes from CA into my tables, than trying to redo my modifications.

Like if CA adds +10 MA to a greenskin unit, it is easier to just add +10 to your current land_units table than redoing the whole table, and adjusting again all your values.

Usually, it's half a day work to fully update SWO-RD. Even with many tables and many lines as I have.

[trango]

Hmm I expected work I might need to put more time aside for this, thank you for the info.

[trango]

So I am now ready for the update, one last question before we get into the thick of it

So how I normally mod is I find the needed table for what I want to change, let's say it is "land_units_table" I have then changed the "data__" to something like "Unit stats & Ammo" Let's keep this as background though

So I have now exported both the new DLC db and previous DB

and now I have my mod with a single land_units modified

Now this is where I am a little lost on.

My next I would be thinking would be to load this DLC and compare it to my mod for the "land_units_table" if winmerge notices a difference I look through the choices, if there are a crap ton of changes it may just be better to use the new table and if only a few changes it may just be better to edit my own mod to reflect these changes. is this correct?

okay so I won't actually have to compare the two db files themselves right? as my old DB won't matter on the new patch is there a reason I need to compare the two?

[Steph]

I consider that if I changed things, it was for a good reason. So my own tables should be the more important. Especially since they could add many new lines.

However, CA may have made a small change, which is a good idea.

Several cases:

- CA modified the tables, usually adding a new column. In that case, I use RPFM to create a new data_MyMod_land_units_2 table, empty, but with new column. And I copy/paste my own new data_MyMod_land_units table in it (it will miss the last column). And then decide what to put on this column.

- CA made a minor change. For exemple +2 HP for one unit. Comparing the old and new db from CA allows to be sure you detect all these changes, and if they are for a unit you have in your land tables, decide how and if you report it. For exemple, if for some reason you decide to double the HP for everyone, it is faster to just add +4 HP to the unit CA modified, rather than starting from CA's table, and redo the x2 HP for everyone.

- CA changed a reference. For exemple in latest DCL, the eagle "weapon" for Alarielle is gone, renamed. Comparing old db and new db allows detecting this, and so be sure you report it everywhere you need.

You have two ways to handle the update:
- Compare your own table against the new DB, and so don't need the old one.
- Compare the old and enw DB, see what CA changed, and decide if you want to report the change to your own table.

As I have MANY new lines, I think solution 2 is more effiicient.

[trango]

Thank you for the help I understand now and was able to make progress, thank you very much again for the help and guidance Senpai.