[Chris Byler]

Originally posted by johan osterman:
Yhere will be mod tools in the first patch. They might not be as complete as some of you might wish but there is no reason why they can't be updatted further in later patches. As of now you can add or alter units pretty much in any way you want. You can rename and alter nations etc. You cannot at present change or disable spells or items.

It would be nice to be able to add new summonable units, which inherently requires adding a new spell to summon them (for example, the Japanese theme that was being discussed on another thread could get to summon kitsune, yuki no onna, tengu, etc.). Some national themes rely on national summons (especially Ashen Empire, Soul Gates, Carrion Woods and Desert Tombs).

Do you have any plans to add spell editing in later releases?

Also, you didn't specifically mention: can you add a new special theme to a nation, without having to modify or replace an existing special theme of that nation?

I have some ideas for a "Black Widows" theme for Machaka where the queens have taken over the government and priesthood and no king reigns for more than a year before he is sacrificed to make way for his replacement. (Obviously they don't get the King Triumphant as a national hero!) The God Forest has been corrupted, and the Shadow Queens raise undead Hunter Spiders to fight for their cause (this would require either a national summon or an "enter to summon" site, since undead Hunter Spiders are too powerful to be available as a special reanimate like lictors and tomb wyrms - I'm thinking they should still be sacred; almost every nation and theme has some sacred non-commander, and Black Widows will lose the living Black Hunter). Some queens are normal and some unholy priests (replacing all the usual priesthood), and the Black Sorcerer is replaced with a Black Sorceress with a heavier emphasis on death magic.

I haven't decided yet if there should be any change to the basic military, witchdoctors or sorcerers. They may need a scout since they lose the Ear along with all the other standard Machakan priests - but on the other hand, they would still have Bane Spiders. Forcing them to rely on Bane Spiders or indy scouts for stealth could be an interesting counterbalance to the new stuff they get.

Can I do all that without having to make it the only theme for Machaka in my mod? Can I do it at all given that I want to add a unit that isn't recruited normally? Adding new themes requires adding new capitol sites that enable the new theme's capitol-only units and have the appropriate gem income for the new theme. Can the existing mod tools do this?

Also, if people do design their own themes, is there a chance they could be incorporated as official themes in a future Version of Dom II?