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Mod help?
O.K. This may have been asked before, but I'm relatively new to the forum (Though not to the game franchise) Checking out and playing the different mods that have been made has gotten me itching to make one of my own. However, I haven't even a clue where to begin. I checked the Mod Tools and Tutorial thread, but there seem to be more tools for maps than anything else. Not to mention no tutorial to speak of. And when I say tutorial, I mean step by step, do this and that kind of thing. I'm totally comp. illiterate. All I use PC's for is gaming, surfing the net and (hopefully soon) uploading music.
So now my question. What exactly do I need to get this moding thing going? All I know for sure is a Paint program. And something to read .dm files. And has anyone written a step by step guide on what to do? I've read the modding document in the Dominions CD but it made my eyes glaze over and gave me a splitting headache and then I woke up on the floor naked. Can anyone help a wannabe modder? |
Re: Mod help?
This is what I use:
Paint Shop Pro for graphical editing. Notepad for editing .dm files. That's it. Seriously. The first step to making your first mod is to have a skim throug the modding manual found in the docs folder in the dom3 install to see what's possible. Then start with a totally blank .dm file and fill in the bare minimum that you need to make the mod show up - the stuff right at the start of the modding manual. Then look at nation modding and select a nation which already exists in the game - change the name and the descriptions. Don't clear anything from the nation yet - this is just for practice. Since you're working with a pre-existing nation you at least know that the mod is going to work and be playable - you can keep adding stuff in and eventually you can change a few bits of 'code' to make an entirely new nation. I suggest just making one or two new units which use sprites already in the game, maybe even stats already in the game (#copyspr and #copystats commands) just with some minor changes to their stats,... and then add them to the lineup of your 'replacement' nation's recruit screen,... To be honest I think it's best to just stick to the mod manual as a reference, don't use any new graphics at first and look at what people have done in other .dm files to work out what you should be doing. Don't bee too ambitious until you know how to make weapons, armor, sites, monsters,.. maybe even spells. There's a lot you can do just by mixing and matching units already in the game. For example you could make a very simple mod with a big impact by making a new nation and giving it a recruiting lineup of all the heavy cavalry found in different vanilla nations. |
Re: Mod help?
i use open office for editing text, but I also use paintshop pro for graphics.
for instance the sphinx's in my small mod were basically abunch of photos i GISed put together. |
Re: Mod help?
I use Crimson Editor for text files (or the .dm files). A very powerful text editor for that sort of purpose, so much better than Notepad that I haven't used Notepad for years. Also allows you to keep severl files open in separate tabs at the same time.
For graphics that you might want to make, Paint, GIMP, PAintshop and other image processing programs, depending on what you want to do and how many features you need. That, and reading the mod manual AND reading mod files somebody has already created (e.g. Juzza's Tarent mod, the Complete Balance mod or any other) to give you an idea of how to do it. If you can use a text editor and know how to read instructions, you can mod the game. And you can always ask for more help here. |
Re: Mod help?
i second crimson editor, though i still find uses for notepad
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Re: Mod help?
I find it difficult to see how a text editor with more features than notepad is actually beneficial for editing .dm files. They are incredibly simple.
But hey, use whatever. It's just raw text editing after all. |
Re: Mod help?
Sombre, things like "find and replace", "find", changing case for words, lines etc. I've done a crapload of map editing and reading mods and so forth and the last thing I want is having no tools to quicken the process.
If you want an accurate comparison:
If you want to see what I'm talking about, download and install Crimson Editor and try it. Then tell me what you think. The program is freeware for personal use, so it'll not cost you anything. I've noticed you do a LOT of modding, so you could probably find use for some of the additional features. You don't absolutely NEED them, but they make things easier. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif |
Re: Mod help?
Notepad has find and replace.
You can say it's much more powerful, but then Microsoft Word is also much more powerful than notepad - it doesn't mean it's any help modding .dm files,.. which is the only thing I use notepad for. There are certain modding tools which would be very helpful and I'd like to see. For instance a prog that output a mod-ready version of a unit from the vanilla database. It would make changing the equipment of units that much easier. Or a full blown unit editor where you input fields, browse for pictures etc. |
Re: Mod help?
a unit editor would be really sweet, even if it lacked a database of the in-game units and just allowed for creating new ones.
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Re: Mod help?
Very nice. It's nice to know I just need stuff that's already on my comp. I'll prolly toy around with some of the things Sombre first posted. And I will check out the other programs as well. I know it has been suggested that I not worry about custom graphics at first, but eventually I would like to. How do most of you modders go about this? Do you import graphics into your paint program or make them from scratch? Can you simply edit and add to some units already in game? Thank you guys very much for the help. Who knows, I may just see this through and (hopefully) have something up here for others to check out. |
Re: Mod help?
I often use graphics from the game as a template,.. but I don't use a time consuming and precise method to extract them, so I only get one sprite (from the unit recruitment screen, enlarged by about 120% width, 140% height) and it's blurry due to enlargement, has some other graphical glitches etc. I then go about a process of chopping bits off, sharpening it up, changing colours and adding bits. I sometimes use graphics from other sources too, but recently (with Ulm Reborn for instance) it's been my own work on top of a Dom3 recruitment screenshot template.
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Re: Mod help?
Bandarlover:
Here's my suggestion. Don't even start with a nation - start even simpler by just modding a couple of items, monsters, or spells. I started with a new pretender! Don't restrict your modded monsters/items/spells by nation. Don't worry about graphics - use the #copyspr to copy graphics from an existing unit (check out the various Units View maps to get the numbers). Play and tweak. That way, you can have a simple mod up and running in a few minutes. Then you can start building around a theme and get more ambitious. |
Re: Mod help?
I certainly plan on starting slow to get my feet wet. The last thing I want to do is jump right in and drown (which looks easy to do after attempting to read the mod file in the Dom 3 CD). As for ambitous, well the idea I have is certainly that. In fact, I'm not even sure it feasible but I wanna try at least. If more questions or problems pop up I'll certainly post here again. You guys are fast and willing with the advise and I appreciate it. |
Re: Mod help?
I have another suggestion for modding entire nations. When I first started working on my nation (Haida Gwaii), I opened a Dominions 2 nation mod called Ashikaga Shogunate and basically copied the structure of this mod by Potatoman while making my mod.
The way Potatoman formatted that mod is similar to what order the modding command sections are listed in the Dom3 modding pdf. So I was able to just follow along with his mod opened side by side with mine and know exactly what commands I needed to use to make units, weapons and the nation specific functions. Without using an existing mod as a reference, it would have been a nightmare to try to structure the mod with any semblance of order. The modding commands for Dom3 are alot more varied and complex, so once I was finished with the core part of the mod which is similar to dom2, I just plugged in areas for starting magic sites, spells and other new features where I felt appropriate. So my final format looks like this: 1. Mod Info 2. Weapons/Armor 3. Units 4. Commanders 5. Summons 6. National Heroes 7. Pretenders 8. Existing Pretenders 9. Spells 10. Magic Sites 11. Nation I hope maybe some of this information is help with your ambitious project. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif |
Re: Mod help?
i've decided to create that unit editor. it's actually pretty far along already, thanks to the wonders of visual c#. i'll start a separate thread for those who are interested
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Re: Mod help?
O.K. I said starting out that I would be asking a lot of stupid questions and here is the first.
Been toying with modding. Taking the suggestion to copy another DM file and change some small things in it, which I am doing. Uhmm...I can't save it as a DM file though. Notepad only saves it as a txt and won't let me manually save it as a .DM What am I doing wrong? |
Re: Mod help?
You should be able to select "Save As" from the "File" menu and change the three letter file extension from the dialog manually. The "Save As Type" field will still be text, but that's ok, it is still a text file, you just want to change the extension.
An alternative is to go ahead and save it with the txt extension, then rename the file manually by right clicking on the file and selecting "rename" from the pop up menu. Again, the goal is to change ".txt" to ".dm". |
Re: Mod help?
You are right. Notepad has gotten abit too "user friendly" in trying to keep you from making mistakes. You can rename it to just .dm after you save it, and tell MS "yes I really really want to". After that the save should allow to the same file name with no problem.
In some ways I find WordPad to be less obnoxious if you have a machine that doesnt bog down with the very slight extra abilities of it. |
Re: Mod help?
quick note, the unit maker has been released, the link is in my sig
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Re: Mod help?
*heavy sigh* I'm simply not getting this and I know it's cause I'm doing something wrong. GRR!
Let me break it down: I'm taking Sombre's advise and copying the Haida Gwaii dm. Instead of copying over it, I'm trying to use it as a template, giving me 2 Haida dms. I save the one I am doing to name of new nation, add new description, etc. Just to see if I can get it to appear in my mod preferences so I know if I'm on the right track. Save as "newnation.dm". Still says it is a text file, which I suppose is fine, it's just that everyone else's shows up as DM file. Nothing in my mod preferences when I launch game. I've also created a new folder in my mods titled the new nation, and just copy/pasted Haida's tga's into it. I've tried what Ballbarian and Gandalf suggested as well, with the same results. So where have I gone wrong? I'm just trying to get it to show up in the mods and can't get it to work. Paradox: I've not yet downloaded your unit maker yet,just waiting until I get this sorted out I guess. Interesting side note (or not), I've recently discovered an Irish rock band called Paradox that I quite enjoy. They sound kinda Silverchair-ish. Very grungey. Oh yes, almost forgot, I've also tried creating a new game, thinking perhaps the mod pref still thinks Haidais my mod, but it's not in the nations list there either. Just in case someone suggests trying that. Guess I'm being preemptive. |
Re: Mod help?
Your windows is probably set to "hide known extensions" or something like that.
Try right-clicking on the file and selecting rename. Or selecting properties |
Re: Mod help?
I believe I can help you with this issue.
When you are ready to save your work, you need to click file ----> save as. This will bring up the save as box showing the directory you intend to save the file in. Here is the part to pay attention to http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif. Towards the bottom, you will see a field labeled "Save as type:". This field needs to be changed to "all files" Once you have selected all files. Save your work as filename.dm . This will save the file as an actual dm file instead of filename.dm.txt like you are doing currently. I hope this helps! |
Haha Yay!! I program!!
Awesome!! That worked Sombre. Thank you guys again for the fast and varied help. And yes, I did need to pay attention. Missed a step the first time and nearly put my head thru the monitor. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Wow I'm so stoked, just over that little thing. Don't know what else to say. Thanks again everyone. |
Re: Haha Yay!! I program!!
Sombre? I think you mean foodstamp. Sounds like you're on your way though.
If you need any help don't hesitate to ask. A lot of the stuff that seems obvious to us actually took a while to work out. |
Re: Haha Yay!! I program!!
Yes Foodstamp. Told ya I was stoked!
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More information, more questions....
O.K. I'm still flying high after finally getting my mod to show up and now I think it's about time to let you guys in on what exactly I am trying to do. This way, maybe you will all see something I need to add or whatever.
It's no real big mod. I was actually inspired by Frank Trollman's Themiskyra mod (For those that may not know, it makes all of the various Amazon tribes a playable LA nation. Very dif. from Sauromatia). I'm attempting to create a late era nation of unified Barbarian tribes, basically just taking all those indy barbarians and making them playable as a stand alone nation. I want to use reg barbarians and the barb light cavalry as the 'regular' troops and was thinking of making the 'tribes' barbarians (i.e- Wolf tribe, Deer tribe, Bear tribe) as sacred troops. The melee units, not their archers. I know as a LA nation, they would be severely handicapped against other more heavily armored nations and thought to balance that out by making them more magic friendly than the other LA nations. I want to use the Barbarian Chiefs and Barbarian Lords as commanders, with EA Ulm mages to compliment the other 'tribes' mages. Should be very doable with in game graphics. After getting my mod to show up, I've now attempted to change a unit or two from the Haida mod that I am using as a template. I've basically added barbarians, replacing the first two Haida units, tweaked their stats a little, and then fired up the mod to see if the changes took. The two units were indeed different but they were graphics I've not even seen in game before. Unless barbarians now wear golden armor with shiny helmets and a broadsword, that is. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I used the sprite image (I thought) in the Dom DB list but it wasn't the right unit that appeared. None of the stat changes were there either, nor the description. Where did I go wrong? (again). I also don't know what to use as the #itemslots number. I picked 3334 from the modding docs itemslots table. (I still get a headache just trying to read thru that document.) There you go. What I really need is for someone to come to my house and look over my shoulder and tell me what to do. But barring that ever happening, I'll just pick your brains here. Also, any suggestions on this mod are of course welcome. |
Re: More information, more questions....
Try this to get the standard itemslots for a commander...
#itemslots 13574 (should give you all the slots including 2 misc slots) As far as your graphic dilemma goes, post what monster number you are copying sprites from and I will tell you which one it matches with. Also let me know the name of the unit you wish to use graphics from and I will hunt them down for you if the database is incorrect. As far as the description problem and stat changes, I would need to see the code your using for those units to be able to help you better. I will PM you my email address so I can help you make this mod http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif |
Re: More information, more questions....
Just paste a bit of the code in a post here and we'll soon see what's up.
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Re: More information, more questions....
Yes, please post. For every poster that are at least a dozen lurkers. Public questions and public answers helps many.
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O.K. here is what I have coded in for my mod. Could it be the #newmonster number giving me fits? I admit I don't really understand what most of this is or does. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif
Barbarian #newmonster 2700 #name "Barbarian Warrior" #copyspr 139 #descr "Life in the wastelands is very tough and these warriors start at a young age learning how to survive on next to nothing. The Barbarian Warriors are near reckless in their thirst for battle and fight for the pillage of spoils that comes afterwards." #ap 12 #mapmove 2 #hp 13 #prot 8 #size 2 #str 12 #enc 2 #att 11 #def 11 #prec 10 #mr 9 #mor 9 #gcost 13 #nametype 100 #itemslots 3334 #weapon 11 #armor "Full Leather Armor" #pillagebonus 1 #wastesurvival #end |
Re: More information, more questions....
Disregard what I said about the itemslot number. It should be 15622 to get all the standard humanoid slots.
Your scripting looks fine to me. I think the conflict may have to do with the way your invoking these units. Do you have the #addrecunit set up properly? PS. be sure that your not running more than one mod. Haida Gwaii was not built to play friendly with other existing mods, so a command in one of the other mod files may be overwriting a command in your attempt to create a mod. |
Re: More information, more questions....
I should hope the scripting looks fine, I just changed a few things using your mod. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
And it was the #addrecruitunit. It was still set to your old one. P.S.- How do you take screenshots? P.S.S. - Anybody feel up to making an original banner for me? |
Re: More information, more questions....
I use fraps to do screenshots. I am pretty sure you can just hit printscreen and paste to MS paint as well.
P.S. If you are wondering about the quick replies, I browse these forums when I work on mods and I am working on a very bizarre mod atm http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif |
Re: More information, more questions....
I'm sure you can make your own banner - it doesn't have to look good, just be clear and distinct. Write Bandar's Barbs or something in paint.
I'm also modding right now. Trying to get the damn cat demons to rout after they turn into little girls. Not working, so I might have to just change the description. |
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Quote:
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Here is a quick and dirty banner.
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...barbhordes.JPG I already had gimp running when I saw your post so figured I could give it a shot. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif Remember to convert it to tga if you decide to use it, or let me know and I will attach a tga version. |
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Thanks muchly Ballbarian. Is certainly better than anything I would have come up with myself.
Now if I can just get it to show up in my mod preferences... deja vu, anyone? |
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Because I'm such a fantastically nice fellow I've decided to donate a graphic to your cause Bandar.
Now this is actually untested, this tga, but it looked ok in PSP so I don't see that it'll look bad in the game. It's a bigass barbarian with a two handed sword. It's not the most polished work and might need some very minor graphical editing, but I thought you could use a bit of practice when it comes to putting graphics in the mod, so here you go. Two tgas attached in zip. One is the normal sprite, the other is attacking. Enjoy. |
Re: More information, more questions....
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Oh and attached to this post is a little bmp preview of it for people who don't like tgas.
It's on grey backdrop for visibility. |
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nice. Very Conan.
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Awesomeness... He's gonna be a Hero unit, methinks.
Thanks again, Sombre. |
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Oh yes, forgot to add, where do I put this new sprite you gave me so the game will recognize it when I add it to my mod?
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Re: More information, more questions....
Sombre, your very talented at making sprites. Is it ok if I download this for personal use as well? By personal use I mean blowing it up to poster size to pin up next to my david hasslehoff baywatch poster.
Thanks in advance! |
Re: More information, more questions....
lol. Disturbing!!
But a David Hasslehoff pretender, hmmm.... |
Re: More information, more questions....
I'm not as talented as you might think. I'm just very good at using images as templates. I work over the top of images culled from a variety of sources (dom 3 being the major one).
You can put the sprites wherever you want, as long as you 'code' a line pointing to where they are. For instance, here's the code for the bandit cur unit in Jomon Broken. ------------------------------------------------- -- Bandit Cur #selectmonster 1238 #spr1 "./Jomon Broken/Bandit Cur.tga" #spr2 "./Jomon Broken/Bandit Cur2.tga" #name "Bandit Cur" #descr "In breaking the spirit of the Samurai the women of Jomon ensured their grip on power, but they soon realised that broken men make for poor soldiers. In the process of creating the Dog Samurai the new masters of Jomon emptied the prisons with various cruel experiments. Bandit Curs are effectively forerunners of Dog Samurai, a mix of lessor dog demon and convicted criminal. They are capable of infiltrating enemy provinces and have some degree of canine loyalty, but they are not particularly adept fighters. All halfbreeds can cover long distances without tiring." #mor 11 #ap 14 #mapmove 3 #stealthy #weapon "short bow" #weapon "short sword" #armor "ashigaru armor" #armor "jingasa" #end ----------------------------------------------- Now the important bit for graphics is the bit I've put in bold. That tells it where the two sprites to use for the unit are and what they're called. If your mod graphics are going in a folder called 'barb horde' and the files are called 'Barbarian Hero.tga' and 'Barbarian Hero2.tga' or whatever, you just need to have; #spr1 "./Barb Horde/Barbarian Hero.tga" #spr2 "./Barb Horde/Barbarin Hero2.tga" It's easy once you get used to it. Just copy, paste and change details. |
Re: More information, more questions....
Another tidbit of information that may be handy...
In Sombre's example you will notice a "." before /Barb Horde. This "." signifies "Current directory" so script is read as holding the sprite in "Current Directory"/Barb Horde/Barbarian Hero.tga. The reason I bring this up, it is easy to forget the "." and that will cause issues when the game tries to find the desired graphics. |
Re: More information, more questions....
You guys are awesome. Thanks.
There is oh so much to remember. |
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when I want to put in an icon that I know will be there, for everyone, just for a placeholder.. I use
#icon "../guihead.tga" It should exist in everyones dominions3 directory beneath the mods directory. Of course, I also tend to like it because the beta group made such a thing about it looking just like me in real life. Seriously. |
Re: More information, more questions....
You know, after looking at it again, I think that the beta group were on to something... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
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Re: More information, more questions....
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