Any Colonization Mods like Victoria series (Paradox)?

[Lib.Spi't]

oooooooooh!!!

Warcraft with a Civ Grand strategy map....

Does someone have a tissue my brain is salivating...

Download button away!

Has this been the moment I have been waiting for?

It's seems my first playthrough feel at the first hurdle, not enough gold to build a Chiefs hut... Perhaps I will ahve better luck tomorrow!

 

[knuckledragger]

Yet another one not noticing I wrote that on the first of April

Don't be sad...I just got here.

I think you should start by figuring out what can be done in XML and plan an overall picture of what you want to do. It might actually be beneficial to do that using pen and paper. Once you have a better defined goal, you can start working.

I plan on working on Resources (Extracted from Earth), Materials (made from Resources), and Goods (made from Materials). Tech tree as well. I suspect that can be done by XML editing.

There is also the slight issue that the development and the release version of M:C is now very different. It would be a bad idea to start working based on the last release, but the development version is not that stable right now... I guess we better do something about making it stable to make the next release. We talked about this for ages by now.

I will just put together some ideas based on extending the M:C mod...maybe some input from other participants on this thread?

 

[knuckledragger]

Imperialism 2 is such an epic game!

I actually played around with a concept for building it onto Civ4, but then my Fallout mod picked up momentum again so I left it alone.

Yes M:C(Medieval Conquest) is the better choice for modding over tfan basic Col, although more complex. (you can do a lot more at just an xml level though, just means more yu have to learn to understand.)

Civ4 mods are not usually compatible with Col without modifying, so i would wave yourself away from that thinking.

The production part of Imp. should be transferable relatively easy, in spirit.

Especially if you use the same number of resources as M:C (Yields) I cannot off the top of my head count how many resources there are in Imp. but I don't think it is more than M:C

In the M:C code citizens can also 'consume' goods, so you can have the 3 level of citizen expert from Imp. Consuming their resources.
(At the moment hough I don't know if there is any consequence to not fulfilling the need, I think you just get gold from them... Night would know more.)

The trick with yields though would be replacing them 'cosmetically' rather than changing their code names as this requires modifying the .dll. Which is hard work starting out.

Other things from Imp. could also be done like 'Capital Production' where everything is done at home. You could make something like a capital building that is required for all manufacturing buildings, then everyone would have to work at this home base and all resources would have to be taken to the capital... something like that might work..

Expanding the map is doable as well, I did it once so it can't be that hard! I think it was just changing a couple numbers in a map size file somewhere, but my memory is fuzzy at the moment..

Here is all the stuff I did for World History Mod (I think). Feel free to scavenge. (some of the yield art might be useful.) It is based on a version of M:C that is two or three steps out of date with M:C though, so it is a bit out of love and was only ever the very first steps on the road. (I think it has the skeleton of a tech tree, extra yields(LOTS of extra yields) and possibly an expanded map size..) Still you are welcome to mine it all.

I also included some art files that I had gathered for use. Along with design files too.

The whole thing is quite large though.

World History Mod Content

Do you have enough interest in helping to extend the M:C mod to include Imperialism I and II?

 

[Nightinggale]

Don't be sad...I just got here.

I'm not sad. I'm more like amazed that nobody figured it out. Fair enough not to look at the date when it's an old post, but everybody replied like it was serious even on the day I wrote it.

I plan on working on Resources (Extracted from Earth), Materials (made from Resources), and Goods (made from Materials). Tech tree as well. I suspect that can be done by XML editing.

All that is pure XML. You should however also consider units, professions and buildings. Most likely one profession for each building type, but it still has to be done for the computer to know what to do. All of this is XML, but before digging into the details, you should try to get an overview of what to add because when you look at the XML files, you see such a small section at a time that getting an overview is tricky.


I'm thinking. Maybe we should scrap the world history mod and move the modding power from it to Imperialism. A shorter timespan and more people on a single mod would make a playable result more likely. The one person-one mod approach is likely to spread modding power too thin to get good results.

 

[knuckledragger]

There is also the slight issue that the development and the release version of M:C is now very different. It would be a bad idea to start working based on the last release, but the development version is not that stable right now... I guess we better do something about making it stable to make the next release. We talked about this for ages by now.

I can mod the XML before this is released, yes?

Also, could aircraft be modded in? This is a limitation in the Paradox Victoria Series.

Thanks for the quick replies!

 

[Nightinggale]

I can mod the XML before this is released, yes?

You know, maybe it would be best to simply get you started with getting the code. Follow the guide I linked to earlier and see if you can download M:C using GIT. If you can, then try to switch branch to develop for all 3 modules (main, source and python).

Having access to the develop xml files will allow you to modify them before next release. The only limitation is that you shouldn't touch the files related to CivEffects (I wrote that list before, inventions, civics and so on) because that will conflict once I finish CivEffects.

If you are adventurous, you can set up the compiler as well and see if you can compile the DLL. Page 3 and 4 in the wiki guide should tell you how to do that. If you fail after reading the wiki, then I failed to write the wiki good enough.

We should likely make a new module soon for Imperialism. That way it will be possible to commit changes to git, hence sharing progress and allow multiple people to contribute. We can set write permission for each module, meaning it will possible to allow people to write to Imperialism, but with read only from everything else. I changed from providing write permission to everything to write permission to just what people need access to after somebody committed to the wrong mod by mistake. Not assigning write permission to something that shouldn't be touched protects against mistakes like that. Also if everything goes wrong, the module can be deleted and started over and M:C itself will be unaffected, making it tricky to cause serious issues.

Also, could aircraft be modded in? This is a limitation in the Paradox Victoria Series.

There is no technical limitations to say no and it has been mentioned before. However nothing happened because of the following:

• how should it work for the user? (normal roaming units like civ1 or home city principle or something else?)
• how is that implemented in the code?
• how will the AI figure out how to use aircraft in a useful way and not just crash all of them because it lacks a concept of fuel?
• the lack of planes in medieval times has made this a low priority issue

Planes will be available someday. It's just a question of when and how. If you are interested in discussing it now, make a thread about plane implementation in the M:C subforum. If ideas for it is written here, they will be forgotten when we get to actually coding and the discussion will be lost. However a dedicated thread is possible to find later.

 

[knuckledragger]

You know, maybe it would be best to simply get you started with getting the code. Follow the guide I linked to earlier and see if you can download M:C using GIT. If you can, then try to switch branch to develop for all 3 modules (main, source and python).

Having access to the develop xml files will allow you to modify them before next release. The only limitation is that you shouldn't touch the files related to CivEffects (I wrote that list before, inventions, civics and so on) because that will conflict once I finish CivEffects.

If you are adventurous, you can set up the compiler as well and see if you can compile the DLL. Page 3 and 4 in the wiki guide should tell you how to do that. If you fail after reading the wiki, then I failed to write the wiki good enough.

We should likely make a new module soon for Imperialism. That way it will be possible to commit changes to git, hence sharing progress and allow multiple people to contribute. We can set write permission for each module, meaning it will possible to allow people to write to Imperialism, but with read only from everything else. I changed from providing write permission to everything to write permission to just what people need access to after somebody committed to the wrong mod by mistake. Not assigning write permission to something that shouldn't be touched protects against mistakes like that. Also if everything goes wrong, the module can be deleted and started over and M:C itself will be unaffected, making it tricky to cause serious issues.


There is no technical limitations to say no and it has been mentioned before. However nothing happened because of the following:

• how should it work for the user? (normal roaming units like civ1 or home city principle or something else?)
• how is that implemented in the code?
• how will the AI figure out how to use aircraft in a useful way and not just crash all of them because it lacks a concept of fuel?
• the lack of planes in medieval times has made this a low priority issue

Planes will be available someday. It's just a question of when and how. If you are interested in discussing it now, make a thread about plane implementation in the M:C subforum. If ideas for it is written here, they will be forgotten when we get to actually coding and the discussion will be lost. However a dedicated thread is possible to find later.

Get some sleep!

 

[Lib.Spi't]

The fact is none of the mods have been worked on for ages.

Much of the bare bones of WHM are actually done (If I remember rightly...)

There were just a few technical missings, that needed to be resolved before it could go forward with gumption.

Fullerenes Multivasion mod: Last bit of news I remember then was a 'hang' bug that was not resolved, but otherwise it was more or less ready for integration I think.

Planes: Reintegrating DOMAIN_AIR and all it's attendant mechanics from BTS (That was my vote on how planes should work)

Trains & Railroads: Something like the jroutenative modcomp from bts, making units only move on certain routes.

Stable USM: Waiting for the code base of M:C to become 'xml stable' to avoid doing loads of work that would then have to be redone when things like civeffects was finished.

WHM was always my dream mod for Col.

The fact is any time period can simply be 'integrated' into the overall project more or less anyway. Or any time period planned for WHM can be lifted out and built 'standalone' first.

I would certainly be interested in the the project, though I don't really have the energy to get involved in the construction much at the moment.

FTTW is taking up all the modding energy and more than I have at the moment... So many headaches, so little progress...

I would certainly be willing to act as a sounding board, discusser of the mod.
If you are anything like me then I find this is a very big motivator in modding, there is nothing so unmotivating as toiling in obscurity, but getting a little discussion going always makes me want to do more!

 

[Androrc the Orc]

oooooooooh!!!

Warcraft with a Civ Grand strategy map....

Does someone have a tissue my brain is salivating...

Download button away!

Has this been the moment I have been waiting for?

It's seems my first playthrough feel at the first hurdle, not enough gold to build a Chiefs hut... Perhaps I will ahve better luck tomorrow!

Thanks Feel free to PM me about the game!

 

[Androrc the Orc]

All that is pure XML. You should however also consider units, professions and buildings. Most likely one profession for each building type, but it still has to be done for the computer to know what to do.

If it would follow Imperialism's setup, then it would need multiple professions per building. In Imperialism you can produce different goods in the same building (i.e. Lumber and Paper both at the Lumber Mill). It was actually Imperialism which inspired me to create that modcomp I imagine its code is already incorporated into the Medieval DLL?

 

[Lib.Spi't]

That feature was incorporated in some way, but I can't remember how exactly and I remember a discussion about modifying it to be easier to use (Or some such debate...) but the armourer could make different kinds of armour in the same building. I just don't think it was very moddable in it's current implementation in M:C...

 

[Nightinggale]

If I recall correctly, we talked about changing some armoursmith dll code into generic code, which then should be controlled by xml. I can't remember doing that. However when I try to remember, I keep mixing it up with subprofessions. Kailric added something to allow two nearly identical professions, like same weapon, but with different armour. I changed that into subprofessions since that allowed a better interface, more than two of the same type (we could have 4 armour types for swordsmen if we like) and the code became much more AI friendly. I know I did a lot to that part of professions, so maybe I did some to building professions.

Regardless of what we did, the plan says we should allow multiple professions in the same building and if it doesn't work, then it will be fixed.

 

[knuckledragger]

@Nightinggale: Got the mod via git. Your directions were fine. Git looks a little overwhelming, though.

First stop, add yields. I will use this tutorial:



Using the tutorial above, I loaded CvEnums.h

However, I looked for the following:

enum DllExport YieldTypes
{
	NO_YIELD = -1,

	YIELD_FOOD,
	YIELD_LUMBER,
	YIELD_SILVER,
	YIELD_COTTON,
	YIELD_FUR,
	YIELD_SUGAR,
	YIELD_TOBACCO,
	YIELD_ORE,
	YIELD_CLOTH,
	YIELD_COATS,
	YIELD_RUM,
	YIELD_CIGARS,
	YIELD_TOOLS,
	YIELD_MUSKETS,
	YIELD_HORSES,
	YIELD_TRADE_GOODS,
	YIELD_HAMMERS,
	YIELD_BELLS,
	YIELD_CROSSES,
	YIELD_EDUCATION,
	YIELD_FORTUENTECULTURE,

#ifdef _USRDLL
	NUM_YIELD_TYPES
#endif
};

Nothing like that to be found. I suspect that is for the vanilla DLL. Your particular CvEnums.h file is heavily edited, I guess.

Which source files within the source DLL do I need to edit? Also, how would one create yield dependencies (e.g. steel requires two coal and two iron and the building steel mill)

Have a good evening!

 

[Nightinggale]

@Nightinggale: Got the mod via git. Your directions were fine. Git looks a little overwhelming, though.

At least you have a GUI. That's more than I had back when I had to figure out how to use it using a text interface only. Yeah depending on your mindset and experience level, it might be a bit much to get started with. However you managed to get the source, which mean you figured out most of what you need to know.

First stop, add yields. I will use this tutorial:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=319070

Adding text to the link makes it easier to click on


However that tutorial assumes that only one mod use the source code. Since we share the code, I had to come up with a different design.

When standing in Medieval_Conquest, M:C modders have write access to everything except:

• sourceDLL
• Assets/Python

The content of those two is shared and shouldn't contain any mod specific data. Also only DLL modders have write permission to those.

The solution is the directory sourceMOD in the git root dir. This directory contains a few header files, which will be included when compiling. Those header files contains all the mod specific data and only the mod specific data. Yields is one of those. As this is a file layout I designed, it's unique to us and you will not find it in any tutorial.

 

[knuckledragger]

At least you have a GUI. That's more than I had back when I had to figure out how to use it using a text interface only. Yeah depending on your mindset and experience level, it might be a bit much to get started with. However you managed to get the source, which mean you figured out most of what you need to know.

Adding text to the link makes it easier to click on

That's why I am a knuckledragger

However that tutorial assumes that only one mod use the source code. Since we share the code, I had to come up with a different design.

When standing in Medieval_Conquest, M:C modders have write access to everything except:

• sourceDLL
• Assets/Python

The content of those two is shared and shouldn't contain any mod specific data. Also only DLL modders have write permission to those.

The solution is the directory sourceMOD in the git root dir. This directory contains a few header files, which will be included when compiling. Those header files contains all the mod specific data and only the mod specific data. Yields is one of those. As this is a file layout I designed, it's unique to us and you will not find it in any tutorial.

Excellent.

I assume you are in the UK. Do you sleep?

 

[Nightinggale]

I assume you are in the UK. Do you sleep?

No and no. While I hide it well, I'm not a native English speaker and has never been to an English speaking country. Also I'm not asleep while writing this

 

[knuckledragger]

No and no. While I hide it well, I'm not a native English speaker and has never been to an English speaking country. Also I'm not asleep while writing this

I was asleep when I wrote my post.

BTW, how would I do dependencies? Example: Steel=2 coal, 2 iron, a steel mill + labor of some type?

Also, ORE refers to Iron Ore?

 

[Nightinggale]

BTW, how would I do dependencies? Example, for steel, 2 coal, 2 iron, a steel mill + labor of some type?

The dependency is set in assets/xml/units/professions.

		<ProfessionInfo>
			<Type>PROFESSION_DISTILLER</Type>
			<Description>TXT_KEY_PROFESSION_DISTILLER</Description>
			<Civilopedia>TXT_KEY_UNIT_DISTILLER_PEDIA</Civilopedia>
			<Strategy>TXT_KEY_PROFESSION_DISTILLER_STRATEGY</Strategy>
			<Help/>
			<Combat>NONE</Combat>
			<DefaultUnitAI>NONE</DefaultUnitAI>
			<SpecialBuilding>SPECIALBUILDING_RUM</SpecialBuilding>
			<bWorkPlot>0</bWorkPlot>
			<bCitizen>1</bCitizen>
			<bWater>0</bWater>
			<bScout>0</bScout>
			<bCityDefender>0</bCityDefender>
			<bCanFound>0</bCanFound>
			<bUnarmed>0</bUnarmed>
			<bNoDefensiveBonus>0</bNoDefensiveBonus>
			<iCombatChange>0</iCombatChange>
			<iMovesChange>0</iMovesChange>
			<iWorkRate>0</iWorkRate>
			<iMissionaryRate>0</iMissionaryRate>
			<iPower>0</iPower>
			<iAsset>0</iAsset>
			<YieldEquipedNums/>
			<FreePromotions/>
			[B][COLOR="Red"]<YieldsProduced>[/COLOR][/B]
				<YieldType>[B]YIELD_ALE[/B]</YieldType>
			[B][COLOR="red"]</YieldsProduced>[/COLOR][/B]
			[B][COLOR="Blue"]<YieldsConsumed>[/COLOR][/B]
				<YieldType>[B]YIELD_BARLEY[/B]</YieldType>
			[B][COLOR="Blue"]</YieldsConsumed>[/COLOR][/B]
			<Button>,Art/Interface/Buttons/Civilizations/Colonization_Civilizations_Leaders.dds,3,7</Button>
			<ProfessionSubTypes/>
		</ProfessionInfo>

You set the produced and consumed with the highlighted text. Each of those is a list, which mean you can add multiple lines of <YieldType>. It's on a 1:1 basis and the number produced each turn is set in buildings. This allows a building to have a production of 3 and then you can make a different building, which is treated as an upgraded one, which produces 4 yields for each unit.

Now that I think about it, I wonder how the code will act to this code:

<YieldsProduced>
	<YieldType>YIELD_STEEL</YieldType>
</YieldsProduced>
<YieldsConsumed>
	<YieldType>YIELD_COAL</YieldType>
	<YieldType>YIELD_COAL</YieldType>
	<YieldType>YIELD_IRON</YieldType>
	<YieldType>YIELD_IRON</YieldType>
</YieldsConsumed>

In theory that should consume 2 coal and 2 iron and produce 1 steel. When reading the xml, it is stored in memory correctly. However since nobody thought of that while writing the code, it may or may not work ingame. We will have to find out if it does.

Also, ORE refers to Iron Ore?

You can add all the kinds of ore you like. You can add or remove as you like. Also the definition of ore is as you want in your mod, but yeah I think it's generally considered to be iron. At least you can turn ore into tools. Sounds more like iron than gold.

There is one limitation. The following yields have a special meaning in the DLL and must be present.
YIELD_FOOD
YIELD_LUMBER
YIELD_STONE
YIELD_ORE
YIELD_TOOLS
YIELD_WEAPONS
YIELD_HORSES
YIELD_TRADE_GOODS

If you want to rename one, you need to tell the compiler which new yield those keywords refers to.

The same goes for all virtual yields. There are two types of yields, real and virtual. The definition is that real yields can be loaded onto transports while virtual yields can't. Everything listed before YIELD_HAMMERS is real and YIELD_HAMMERS and the following are virtual.


Maybe we should create a mod for you on sourceforge, allowing you to commit and push (upload) your changes. It shouldn't be that hard to do. I just need a name for the mod. I'm not sure Imperialism is the best name. Maybe we should be a bit more creative. For instance the Fallout mod is called Fallout: Tame The Waste (commonly referred to as FTTW). I prefer a unique name over reusing an existing one for several reason. Confusion about which one you refer to is one, but there are others as well.

You should also create an account on sourceforge as I need a user account to give write permission.

Without a module to commit changes to, whatever you edit now will not be saved and has to be redone later when we make the module. That's a strong indication that we better make the module soon now that you started working.

 

[knuckledragger]

@Nightinggale:

Two questions:

1)Need to change YIELD_GRAPES to YIELD_FRUIT. Just change it in the three files? I am sure this would have other effects...

2)Also, I need to add back in Tobacco/Cigars, Sugar/Rum from Vanilla Civ4Col. Just use the tutorial?

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=319070

Actually, upon further reflection, we can reintroduce much of the vanilla content and add it to the mod.

 

[Lib.Spi't]

What about Victoria Imperial Empires VIE

As Victoria games was the original inspiration and it is about empires instead of just colonies. (Differing from base game and RaR type mods)

As for the yield stuff, you need to change it in those 3 files(Is it 3 I never succeeded anyway!) in the source code and then compile the source code into a new .dll

If you have removed a yield like grapes. You will need to make sure you remove all references to YIELD_GRAPES in all other files.

One way to do this is using software like notepad++ do a 'find in files' search through your whole mod folder, and it will find every reference allowing you to them work your way through and delete everything.