Hi, everyone! Thanks for all your feedback.
I'll reply to each of you below. I'd also like to note that I added a little info to the posts about
terrain types and
victory conditions.
I didn't know that it's impossible to create light sabres. I also didn't know that you want to do sci-fi realistic things. What about greek hoplites with elctrifying spears? It's possible?
Yep, electrifying spears are possible within the realm of physics.
Hey Iridescent Rain! Looks like you're undertaking an ambitious project, but so far it sounds quite cool! I did enjoy playing around with the Mars terrain mod, and I've tried playing around with some of my own ideas for a near-future mod, so I'm quite curious to see how it goes.
I'm curious about how broad of a scope you plan -- will the mod run all the way up to a "green/blue Mars" terraforming? I suspect it would make a natural conclusion, although there could be other goals. (An orbital elevator would seem to be an interesting science victory equivalent...)
In terms of military units, I suspect sticking to relatively modern units is a good idea. While hoplites in powered armor with electrical spears are a possibility, it sounds rather space opera-ish compared to harder sci-fi, although I suppose Clarke's Law would allow it. It depends on how you consider the tech tree evolving. I know there's at least one old future mod that postulated a futuristic tech tree that you could consider.
I'm also curious how easy you plan growth to be. It would be interesting if, at least in the early game, growing population would be difficult, with famine being a constant danger. It would also be interesting if simple survival was a major concern, making warfare less likely in the beginning, although once technology advanced to make it easier to thrive, I imagine old human habits would kick in. Still, a tech tree where you had to make hard choices between military advancement and the tech necessary for survival would be interesting.
Finally, if you need some help with some of the graphical elements I can try to give it a shot. For military vehicles, you're mostly stuck with modern units (although there's been quite a few of those over the years, so you can at least vary up aircraft and tanks a bit to reflect different designs). There's Skajaquada's Warhammer 40K models that could serve for future tanks and such as well, although they need some work to use visual effects properly. I've also been converting a few of the sci-fi city models from Civ 4 for use in my own mods -- there's a domed model I think from Civ 4 BTS that was adapted to make a hydroponic form I've been considering adapting. (I already used part of it to make a sci-fi citadel for a mod I'm working on.) So I can probably help with some of the improvement models you might need.
Good luck with it!
Yep, I do plan on making it go all the way to blue Mars (passing through green Mars along the way). This is why I've been struggling with which terrain features update dynamically (without having to reload the game) and which ones don't; Nutty's been incredibly helpful here. I'm still in need of textures for one of the green-Mars features (grassland, which should replace jungle) and the blue-Mars feature (water, of course; I'd use the normal water terrain type, but, as it's not a feature, it doesn't update dynamically, so I need to make it a feature... which makes me wonder whether coastlines can ever be right).
I'd planned for a space elevator (I wonder if
this is what you mean by "orbital elevator") to be a world wonder providing some huge benefit, not a science victory condition. Then again, you're right that it would make for an interesting science victory. Maybe I could have space elevators be a prerequisite for researching techs such as Trade with Earth, Migration from Earth, etc -- techs which would eventually lead to some world wonder which would be the condition for a science victory. Thanks for the idea!
I did mention somewhere (I think it was at the end of the post about terrain types) what I expect the growth/development rate to be. It appears we think alike; super-slow early growth which slowly gives way to an easier growth as Mars is terraformed is exactly what I had thought of. Your idea of making famine an actual hazard in the game, forcing players to choose between military might and survivability, is an excellent one. I might have to modify the tech tree to achieve this.
I'd very much like and be grateful for your help concerning the graphics. Thanks for the suggestion! For terrain improvements, I'm thinking stuff like early extraction plants and biodomes for the early game, more-advanced mines for the middle game, and eventually farms for when Mars is terraformed. The exact specifics of the improvements are yet to be detailed, but I doubt it'll deviate much from there. Think you could make a design or two and send it/them my way so we know we're on the same page here? I'd really like to see your hydroponic farm.
The only time the filename matters is if you're trying to replace a base game file (in which case you'd set it to VFS=true, i.e., import="1"; in which case you wouldn't use OnModActivated > UpdateDatabase nor a Lua entry point (though Lua files imported by another Lua file would not have an entry point, and would instead be VFS=true. File paths, likewise, don't matter, but it's always nice to have things organized before it gets too confusing.
There's 2 XML files included in whoward69's template mod. MyXmlChanges.xml is meant to make changes to the game database, where MyUiTextStrings.xml is meant to make changes to the language database (TXT_KEY_*). Keeping it in the one file versus the other doesn't actually make a difference, however.
Your XML files should be VFS=false, i.e., import="0" because you're instead bringing it into the game by using OnModActivated > UpdateDatabase.
Your problem is you're trying to put it into the Terrains table, and then Language_en_US is a sub-table or something (there's no such thing). Treat Language_en_US as it's own table (it's really a view, but that's how you add to it).
In other words, just take out <Terrain> and </Terrain> and it should work.
Thanks for this advice. I'll try it out and get back to you.