Variable Games

[Edi]

How many times have you started a game of Dominions only to find halfway through that something isn't working as it should or that you would like something else to be just a tiny bit tweaked? Or just to test something but that you can't unfortunately do without starting a whole new game and investing the time to get things to the proper point? Time you really can't afford at the moment? Sound familiar?

Well, there is a way to get around this problem. Mods.

I'm not talking about mods in the traditional sense as modifying something and then sticking with that through the game, but as something else.

It turns out that mods are, for want of a better term, a sort of masquerade costume or facade tacked on to the game. Everything beneath the mask is still the same. But the key point is that even though a game is started with a mod enabled, it is still only a loosely attached mask. Change the mask and the game changes accordingly.

Meaning that if you start a game with a completely blank mod (containing only the mod info commands) enabled, all the commands in the mod will be executed and the mod will be required for the game to work. It just does nothing at all. If you notice at some point that e.g. some unit is not working correctly, has the wrong weapon or it seems as if some unit is missing from the recruitment roster, or whatever else and you want it fixed NOW instead of in the next patch, you can do so.

Just go to your previously blank mod and change things as you like within the possibilities given to you by the mod commands. Close and restart Dom3, resume your game and enjoy your new modified Dominions experience. If some of the changes didn't work well, rinse and repeat until you get them right.

The beauty of this approach is that it affects everything on the fly. Even retroactively.

Already recruited units? Modified.
Recruitment rosters for nations? Modified.
Site properties? Modified.
Scale effects? Modified.
Anything else you care to name? Modified.

So you could for example change your blankly started game to a CB modded game in the middle just by copying its contents to the blank mod.

The danger here is of course that it might be tempting to stack the deck in your own favor, but that's one of those things where you just have to resist temptation.

This is something that I have not seen mentioned here previously other than a post of mine I made in passing a couple of months ago. Not too surprising as I found it out by accident. Figured I might as well share that knowledge.

Edi

EDIT: Blank mod attached

[Gandalf Parker]

You should attach a bare placeholder mod to this thread. If I remember, didnt we get it down to 3 commands?

[Edi]

Mod attached. Contains commands

#modname "Blank"
#description "Blank slate, add commands to modify your game"
#version 1.0

That's all it takes.

Edi

[Epaminondas]

Originally Posted by Edi

Mod attached. Contains commands

#modname "Blank"
#description "Blank slate, add commands to modify your game"
#version 1.0

That's all it takes.

Edi

What application do I need to open this?

[Gandalf Parker]

The zip attachement? A zip program.
Or you can just open NotePad or some other text editor, cut-n-paste those three lines into it, and save it to your dominions3/mods directory with a name like blank.dm

[Sombre]

This is obviously not news to the modding community, but I hope it helps some people out ;]

I don't think it's actually as simple and helpful as you're making out though. Getting a game started and making sure everyone has the blank mod adds another pain to proceedings, as the post by Epaminondas illustrates. Then you have the fun of getting everyone to agree on changes and to update their mod file.

[Epaminondas]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Parker

The zip attachement? A zip program.
Or you can just open NotePad or some other text editor, cut-n-paste those three lines into it, and save it to your dominions3/mods directory with a name like blank.dm

I meant the file itself. It appears that Notepad works.

So how do I actually change stats?

As a huge favor, could you simply write me a example of a dm file that only changes the Pegasus Rider cost from 125 to 100?

I will figure things out from there. Thanks so much in advance.

[Sombre]

Originally Posted by Epaminondas

I meant the file itself. It appears that Notepad works.

So how do I actually change stats?

As a huge favor, could you simply write me a example of a dm file that only changes the Pegasus Rider cost from 125 to 100?

I will figure things out from there. Thanks so much in advance.

You're barking up the wrong beard there.

[Gandalf Parker]

[quote=Epaminondas;636874]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Parker

As a huge favor, could you simply write me a example of a dm file that only changes the Pegasus Rider cost from 125 to 100?

#modname "Filler"
#icon "../guihead.tga"
#description "Include in every game to allow changes on the fly."
-- whipped off sloppily by Gandalf Parker

#selectmonster 367
#gcost 100
#end

Gandalf Parker

[Epaminondas]

[quote=Gandalf Parker;636890]

Originally Posted by Epaminondas

#modname "Filler"
#icon "../guihead.tga"
#description "Include in every game to allow changes on the fly."
-- whipped off sloppily by Gandalf Parker

#selectmonster 367
#gcost 100
#end

Gandalf Parker

I figured it out on my own. Thanks much. You and Endoperez are the nicest guys on this forum!