PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

With the patch soon to be released... any chance the PDF guides will be updated??

These PDF files are getting outdated.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

How so? I don't remember any commands that are broken that aren't fixed by the patch.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

I don't know if they are outdated, but they could be improved. For mapmaking at least, there's no mention of needing white dots, of how to create neighbors, using red lines, etc. Also, more examples would help. This is something that perhaps the community could take on if the devs don't.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

> This is something that perhaps the community could take on if the devs don't.

That would be appreciated http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

Maybe I'm just lacking the technical knowhow, but I don't believe pdfs can be directly edited. Could you provide the source for the documents KO? Then I'm sure we can update them as a community.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

Oh! I guess JK has them. I havn't looked at them in ages.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

PDFs can be edited, but most people don't have the software. (Adober Distiller?) But I think things like word can change themselves into a PDF (can write PDF, but not edit). So if we could wordify the original PDF, then have a working word doc (and PDF it for pretty release).

I'm up for working on this, but my knowledge right now is very minor. But maybe in a few months..

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

Check the bug thread, there are even red(major) commands which are still broken.

New commands and the new nations should be included within the PDFs. Typos in the old PDFs should be corrected(such as Johtunheim listed in the late age when that slot is actually Jomon). Broken commands should be marked as broken so new gamers don't lose several hours trying to get commands like #startspell working. Reviewing the progress page shows lots of information which can be added into the PDFs.

I'm mainly suggesting the update because new gamers which bought the game and install the patch shouldn't be discouraged or confused after reading outdated PDF guides.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

If the original documents are in any form that can be converted to Open Office without losing formatting, the rest would be easy. Open Office does excellent PDF porting right out of the box, complete with index, table of contents and everything.

I could do some of the stuff, I've got some experience in writing end user documentation for completely software illiterate people, so fixing the existing mapmaking and modding documentation would be fairly easy, especially if done in collaboration with the experts on these forums.

I could probably do the mapedit section on my own, but I would probably need some help on the modding documentation.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

yay for Edi. I owe your DB props as it was invaluable in my Eight Gates map. If you captain the map making pdf I'd love to proofread or add tips or whatnot.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

Perhaps the devs can work with Edi on updating the PDFs. I can also provide lots of time saving details regarding the map edit commands... such as the limitations of the #god command.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

We are talking about those PDFs in the doc directory that shipped with the game, right?

Yep, there are some programs for that. Of course, PDF isn't really meant to be an editable document format.
If by "wordify" you mean OCR, then that would be the obvious solution. AFAIK the structure of those files isn't very complex. Even in case only the text is retained, it will be easy to recreate the document afterwards. I'll look into it.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide
 

Well, here they are in word... they came over but they're ugly. Lots of formatting needed. The two column format, all the headings, and tables made Adobe 6 unhappy.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

They actually look a bit better in rtf, everythings justified and some of the tables look wonky. It seems the level of effort to format may be less though.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

As I said, if the originals are something that translates to Open Office, we can get PDFs with the double columns formatting no problem. I've made both single and double column PDFs that turned out looking really good.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

Looking at the PDFs again now, I am fairly sure that this is TeX / LaTeX output. It would be easy as pie to update them given the original source, and even creating them from scratch would be fairly easy.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

If you need any help with updating these, let me know. I could certainly add some extra comments to the mod commands.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

I also thought it was LaTeX output. We should harass JK for the source.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

The new patch has new docs.
But I do see some things on the map doc that could use some fixing

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

The modding doc doesn't seem updated to me.

It still says stuff like "#poisonres [percentage] - currently grants total immunity no matter what number is used" which isn't true, for example.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

I don't think so... I installed the patch yet the PDF docs still show file date of april_28th. If the docs were updated the file dates would have been updated.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

The modding doc isn't up to date. It doesn't even have the Lanka, Eriu, Tir na n'Og, Fomoria or Serpect Cult nation numbers, never mind things like the site masks section being updated.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

Maybe the next patch will update the docs. This seems like one of those tasks Illwinter would mark as 'not fun'... perhaps Illwinter will request help from people on the forum so the docs can be officially updated.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

Since Illwinter does not do incremental updates, but rather only requires you to install the latest pack to be up to date, those PDFs are from a previous update. Same as they don't update the NewDawn and Urrapand maps and images in every new patch, but they have to carry them over from previous patches.

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>~/dompatch310 $ find . -type f -exec cmp '{}' /opt/dominions3/'{}' \;

./army12.trs /opt/dominions3/./army12.trs differ: byte 6, line 1
./res.trs /opt/dominions3/./res.trs differ: byte 6, line 1
./army13.trs /opt/dominions3/./army13.trs differ: byte 5, line 1
./dom3_amd64 /opt/dominions3/./dom3_amd64 differ: byte 25, line 1
./dom3_x86 /opt/dominions3/./dom3_x86 differ: byte 25, line 1
./battlemaps/cave1.d3m /opt/dominions3/./battlemaps/cave1.d3m differ: byte 2629, line 15
./battlemaps/cave2.d3m /opt/dominions3/./battlemaps/cave2.d3m differ: byte 2629, line 15
./flag.trs /opt/dominions3/./flag.trs differ: byte 6, line 1
</pre><hr />

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

Does anyone know what color maps to shadows in unit sprites? I can't find that information in the modding guide.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

Looks like full magenta.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

sorry to be a dope, but im having trouble finding the tirna og and other new races race number.. anyone help?

tx

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

Potatoman - it's 255 0 255.

Zylithan - look in the conceptual balance mod thread in the mods forum.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

The nation numbers are in the v3.10 Dom3 DB.

I'm experimenting with the modding document, seeing how well just copy-pasting the thing into Open Office and playing around with the formatting works. At the rate it's going, I'll have a halfway decent port by the end of the day, but the table formatting, page numbering and headers will be lost until I recreate something for them. The tables are probably unsalvageable.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

The results of the experiment:

A modding manual, slightly edited from the original, in both Open Office and PDF format. Corrected some errors in it (magic and undead ldr values, site locmask table, added numbers to weapons and armor tables, fixed a few minor spelling errors etc).

The manual has a table of contents, which is translated into the PDF as bookmarks that you can see on the side when you click on that tab in Adobe Reader. Tables have lost the nifty little borders, but I managed to make them look like actual tables nonetheless. The only bummer is that I can't make section specific headers to leave it off the cover page or start page numbering from page 2.

In any case, the bookmarking system just means that we can chop the advanced monster modding section into pieces that are grouped by ability types. E.g. have all movement related abilities in one section, all resistance related things in one place, all stealth related things elsewhere, with a separate heading, so it will show up in the table of contents and thus get its own bookmark. Finding things just became a lot easier.

I am going to ask Illwinter's permission to attach the experimental manual files to this thread as a zip file, so that if and when I get it, you are free to peruse them at your leisure and see what has been done and how.

However, if there is going to be an update project by the community with an aim on getting the updated manuals into the next patch, that effort is doing to be done by the numbers or not at all. It means that there are not going to be some slightly edited versions attached to every other post willy-nilly. All such posts are going to be deleted without warning.

Unless there are other volunteers (or objections from IW), I will take editorial control of the project and I'll be damned sure to consult Kristoffer and Johan on how things are going to be. I have a fair idea on who to tap to update certain things (especially in the mod manual, since I have theoretical but not practical familiarity with modding) and between myself and those people, I expect we can get both the mapediting and modding manuals fully up to date with v3.10 and with added explanations, clarifications, helpful hints and complex mapmaking and modding tricks that will be easy for even neophytes to follow.

So, some patience yet.

Re: PDF Modding Guide and Map Edit Guide RTF ver
 

All right, I got permission from Illwinter to post this project online, so here goes, work in progress attached. Take a look at it if you want. Just don't copy the contents anywhere else public or we'll have something to say about it.