Small update, it definitely seems to be possible. The biggest problem I have ran into is the differences between ".Civ5Pkg" files and the structure and actions a ".modinfo" file can carry out. For instance, I can't find a way to execute SQL actions like modinfo's can in a Civ5Pkg file - mods do this via the XML like so:
Code:
<Actions>
<OnModActivated>
<UpdateDatabase>SQL or XML file</UpdateDatabase>
</OnModActivated>
</Actions>
But there seems to be no similar mechanic available to Civ5Pkg files. Another issue is the way Civ5Pkg's handle loading art assets and XLS files, I can't find a way to do either. I'm thinking art assets are loaded automatically, most of the various DLCs art assets are all inside "Sid Meier's Civilization V\Assets\DLC\Shared" and seem to be loaded automatically rather than imported into the VFS with the XML:
Code:
<file md5="hash" import="0/1">file path</file>
So I can't think of a way to get XLS files to load nicely. I am thinking both of these barriers could be solved with a custom Civ5DLL, but thats a bit out of my range. Any thoughts from any experienced modders? If anyone is interested in helping just post here or send me a PM.
If we could get around these small issues and also add in a way for lua to be executed automatically that isn't inside a mod (perhaps "Sid Meier's Civilization V\lua", as its searched for when using require() in the MainState) I think we can start experimenting more with modding multiplayer. The idea being creating a custom Civ5 DLL that would execute lua, read and execute SQL files and import files into the VFS, probably by parsing an XML file in a custom directory and bypassing the mod interface entirely so that it persists to multiplayer games.
On a side note, I missed out on the last Firaxis Q&A session, but in lieu of the new multiplayer enhancements announced, in the next Q&A would anyone that is able to attend be kind enough to pose the question of Multiplayer Modding support? I would appreciate it, and I think alot of other people would to, it'd be nice to have a more up to date answer on their stance or progress regarding adding support for this in the future.
