apply interface changes in a mod

[juni_be_good]

I have read several threads about how to change the interface, editing .thm files in Resource folder.

I tried to put some of these changes into a mod, but since the files are in Resource folder and not in Assets folder, it doesn't work. In one of the threads I read, someone said that it might be possible to change in Python scripts the links to thoses theme files, so that they point to custom files.

But I looked in Python scripts and didn't find any reference to these .thm files.

So my question is : is there a way to apply interface changes in mods, and how ?

 

[juni_be_good]

I was afraid to get that answer

I don't undersatnd why they put these settings in Resource folder instead of using XML art tags. These .thm files are very poweful tools, but it is a shame that they are unmoddable...

 

[Déja]

There's no way to do it with a mod. There is, of course, the option of writing a mod loader which would back up the original Civ files, copy your altered files into place, launch the game and then restore the backup when the game exits.

 

[juni_be_good]

Yes it's an idea.

But mods using this would be very long to load and unload.

 

[Déja]

Indeed. I'm working on a better alternative, but I haven't had a chance to test it out very thoroughly, yet. I'll post more information once I'm sure I've worked any major kinks out.

 

[Déja]

Well, it seems to be working, though it's FAR from ideal. Basically, I took a page from the Warlords book and copied the civ install directory (sans Mods) into a subdirectory (so my "mod" is in Program Files\Firaxis Games\Civilization IV\<mod name>\)

You don't need to copy any of the linked files (Civ will create the links when you start it), and you don't need to copy the Warlords or Mods folder, but all the DLLs and Resources, Assets, etc folders should be copied.

It's an ugly solution, but it works.

One other benefit, though, is that you can link to the copied EXE and load such a total conversion mod directly by editing the copied assets without having to load a mod after loading the base game.

Obviously, this wouldn't work for a trivial mod, but for the kind of project I'm working on, it's a workable solution.

 

[Déja]

I should add, though, that it's almost certainly violates the ELUA to create a mod that packages up most of the CivIV install directory, so a safer bet would be to create an installer that nabs the install directory from the registry and copies over the necessary files (which is the direction I've headed)