A request to the developers: raise the unit limit!

[Foodstamp]

Well it was worth a shot. I guess I must have got lucky for some weird reason in my test game.

[Foodstamp]

2nd test game. No crash so far, but I have some missing descriptions that have been replaced with "No Description Available".

I think that is enough proof along with the errors you got that modding out nations does not free up space.

[Edi]

Logically it would not free up space, since the unit array and the descriptions array are separate from the nation array and the array entries don't actually get deleted, they just get deactivated by the mod. In other words, a mod is just an overlay on the base game, a Halloween costume, if you will, but the plumbing is still the same underneath.

The only viable solutions are for the array sizes being expanded in a patch, but that probably entails the ranges of numbers being adjusted as well. IIRC modded unit range was 2000-5000 or something like that, and the number of units in the game already is 1917, so any more big expansions in patches and the base unit range runs into the mod unit range, causing conflicts.

Things could be somewhat alleviated if it was possible to add descriptions separately into an array and then reference them by #description <nbr>, or if existing descriptions could be referenced by #description <monster nbr>, which is how the game handles descriptions (references them from a separate file).

I need to set aside a couple of days for mod related issues, make a coherent list of them and send it on...

[HoneyBadger]

How about this? what if Illwinter offered unit-expansion (and maybe some other nice bits they aren't comfortable just adding to the game) in a nice supplimental "Dominions 3, the Goddenning!" modder-friendly expansion pack, and charged us $9.95 for it? I'd pay.

Kristoffer could add maybe 3-4 new nations to the game, along with some supplimentary graphics, and we could hold a contest and vote for the 20 or so mods we'd most like to see added to the expansion-pack, purely for the community "feel-good" factor.

This way, the main game still works on an abacus powered by a gerbil, and nobody is forced into dealing with all those icky mods that apparently make certain people feel very uncomfortable, and the rest of us aren't punished?

And it's not a patch, it doesn't fix anything that's wrong, it just adds features that noone really needs all that very much to have a good time, so nobody has to feel ashamed of making money.

And it doesn't even have to cost a fortune to publish it. Just make it a pay-for-play download off Shrapnel that you need your serial number to access.

I'm sure there's atleast a hundred people here who would eventually spring for it. Atleast a hundred more would probably feel a little better about purchasing Dominions 3 for it being there.

[lch]

So, it'd be like a regular update, but this time you pay for it? I don't think you'll find many fans for that idea...

[HoneyBadger]

No it wouldn't be like a regular update. Regular updates are called "patches". If you read what I wrote, I'm saying, *specifically* "And it's not a patch".

[Sombre]

So you get some more nations and units from KO (like the stuff in the patches) and you get 20 mod nations as well?

...

These things are already free. I'd pay a bit of money to get a bunch of modding stuff put in the game, but only if everyone can use it.