Pazyryk
Deity
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2008
- Messages
- 3,584
I'm going to skip items that could be done by modders and probably should go in the C++/Lua Request Thread, like new GameEvents or a better AssignStartingPlots.lua.
Modding Limitations
Modding-Related Bugs
SDK Issues
Please tell me what I've missed below.
Moderator Action: Updated list for post-BNW changes
Modding Limitations
- No multiplayer for mods.
- Can't modify a number of different kinds of data that are added by core game or DLC xml
- LeaderLighting and LeaderSkin (possibly others) needed for leader screen.
- Can't add custom fonts. (You can add system-installed fonts or extended font sets by xml in the Text folder, but they are not bit-mapped so look terrible. The bit-mapping/glyph system seems to be off limits to modders.)
- Others... (I'll list as I find them)
- No access to graphics dll. Related:
- Can't update terrain graphics in-game (e.g., you can't terraform hills to flat, water to land, etc.).
- No access to UI dll. Related:
- Don't have "Get" methods for all of the different Controls we can "Set"
- Can't update the vanilla dll via a mod, only G&K (perhaps related: the GetDLLPath option in ModBuddy doesn't work).
Modding-Related Bugs
- Graphic errors near x-wrap in all(?) modder-created map scripts: flatland often represented as hills or mountains and visa versa on the main map screen, though they are represented correctly in strategic view. It's not possible for modder to cause this error since we can't influence terrain graphics in any way. Described in Tectonics and PerfectWorld3 threads. (Note: there are other glitches around the "map seam" that appear in non-modded maps: empty rivers, vertical white streaks, strange attach animations, etc...)
- Runtime errors are not reported for Lua chuncks called by GameEvents (but they are for Lua called from Events or the Live Tuner).
- Mini-map: putting a tile back into the FoW doesn't clear the minimap
- VFS load order not correct for Referenced mods (database xml/sql updates and AddIns do load in the proper order).
SDK Issues
- Creating unit art is horribly convoluted, requiring outdated versions of several programs (including the SDK itself) and modder-created software. Only a few individuals have mastered this.
- When Runtime errors are reported in the Live Tuner, the file path is truncated such that the file name can't be identified. (This 60-char truncation is default Lua debug.traceback behavior, but it could be altered.)
Please tell me what I've missed below.
Moderator Action: Updated list for post-BNW changes