Help by joining forces :)

[heroicfort]

hi guys, i'm thinking of creating a mod for bts 3.19 and i need someone who knows how to compile dll and edit python/sdk files because i can't. what i want is simple stuff (nothing difficult or time consuming ) and in return, if he is also making a mod i might be able to help him unit-wise.
i've been using blender for some time now and although i'm still a noob, i can do some basic editing (nothing difficult or time consuming, sorry. just importing or deleting stuff, NOT creating stuff) or i can even give him units that i have already completed (nothing fancy ).
so, what do you think?

ps: i want to apologise in advance if this thread is in the wrong section but i didn't know where else to post it.

 

[keldath]

welcome to civ fanatics,

well, not many modders are available these days for civ4.

what mod did you have in mind? perhaps you could use a solid base for a dll based mod, like kmod for example, and do the xml.

xml is really really easy.

 

[heroicfort]

hi keldath and thank you for your answer

actually, i'm planning to start slowly from the beggining, meaning the default sdk/python files and start adding a few simple stuff here and there. for example, one thing that i want to add after seeing it in another mod is the plane icon on the city bar when an airport is constructed in that city. another thing is to add 1 or 2 more special people on the city screen like doctor e.t.c.
i believe for someone who knows sdk/python stuff like these are very easy since most of them are already written in other mods. the problem is when i try to copy/paste the code and compile the dll i fail therefore i'm missing smth. but i can edit xml files (add remove units, buildings, etc) so this want be a problem

edit: here are some images from units that i edited. from left to right:
a) pikeman japanese
b) spearman carthagian
c) spearman chinese

 

[keldath]

well , i gotta warn you friend,

taking on a new mod is a lot of work, time consuming and mind boggling, so
you better think about this,
there are plenty of mods here on fanatics, varied from fantasy to space.

im sure you can find something, realism invictus for instance.

but, then again, modding is fun, too much fun, im stuck with it for 10 years now....

so if you wish to start, you should read some of the tutorials here.
i learnt to compile with those guides, theres a step by step guides that can assist you .

you can start small like you said, i suggest maybe taking kmod as a basis for the mod and go from there - add stuff to it.

 

[heroicfort]

i have already made a mod . i have added new techs, units, buildings, religion, civics, resources, improvements and now it's time to do some important changes in the sdk/python files to improve my mod even more.
i have spent a lot of time learning a few basics of blender and i don't want to spend even more time learning sdk/python. so i ask for help from someone who has spent a lot of time learning sdk/python and doesn't want to spend even more time learning the basics of blender .
i've played some mods but some of them didn't have nice units or they were loaded with so many stuff that took a lot of time to load or couldn't load at all or even crushed. therefore i want to make a mod that has nice units and it is simple/stable. i mean, what is the point of making a new mod if it's basically the same with another one that already exists?

 

[Nightinggale]

i need someone who knows how to compile dll and edit python/sdk files because i can't.

I know how to compile the dll and I have nothing else to do.... oh wait, I'm actually overburdened because I know how to do magic in the DLL. It would seem that the DLL is the hardest part to get modders for. Ironically it's the only modding part that I'm actually good at

I tried to work on 3 mods in parallel, but it seems impossible to do as in it mean only 1/3 progress in each and I never really got anywhere and I kept doing boring tasks like moving code between different dlls. I have decided to concentrate fully on Medieval Conquest and there avoid hardcoding anything in the DLL. This in turn allows other mods to use the same dll and I can assist other mods without spending ages moving patches between dll files. If people are interested in modding colonization, then it would be a good idea to contact me about this dll

well , i gotta warn you friend,

taking on a new mod is a lot of work, time consuming and mind boggling, so
you better think about this,
there are plenty of mods here on fanatics, varied from fantasy to space.

I agree on this one. Starting a new mod seems to be a massive task. It takes quite a while before it is significantly different from vanilla. If you really want to make your own based on vanilla, you shouldn't actually use vanilla. There is a mod, which fixed bugs and optimized the vanilla code. Use that one (naturally I can't remember the name offhand).

but, then again, modding is fun, too much fun, im stuck with it for 10 years now....

I have been modding for around 2.5 years now. If I had been modding for 10 years at the same speed as I mod now, I would have made.... oh man
Well I have no plan to stop, which mean I might as well mod for 10+ years.

 

[heroicfort]

hello Nightinggale and thank you for your answer.
i was very happy to hear that there are people who still make (new) mods for civ4/colonization. i'll download your mod for colonization and give it a try .


edit: i attached some more images from units that i edited. although, as i have already said, i can only do some basic editing (which is nothing fancy, just a few things here and there ) i believe the units look pretty good .

 

[keldath]

hey guys,

nice units they are.

so, you have already made a mod?
interesting, if you want, you can upload it here, i would be happy to go through it and give you some tips.

as me and my dear Nightinggale friend suggested, better to use some mod as a basis

have been modding for around 2.5 years now. If I had been modding for 10 years at the same speed as I mod now, I would have made.... oh man
Well I have no plan to stop, which mean I might as well mod for 10+ years.

hehe yeah i could imagine, the problem that strikes me the most, is just like you said, working on more then 1 mod in parallel.....thats....bad.
ive created over 6 mods over the years, some spread wings and flourished, some...was half done by me...
if i could have combined my hours on all these mods - i would have had the perfect mod i ever wanted with time to sleep for a year....

I'm actually good at

yeah dear Nightinggale, and a very good one if i may say so

glad to hear youll mod in the future, i come to reason, that all i need i gaming is civ4 and xcom


heroicfort, hope you get your work here, looking forward to look at it and help if needed.

 

[heroicfort]

hi keldath
although i've made many changes to my mod, i believe that unless i do some changes i want to the dll, it cannot stand as equal among the others that already exist. my goal is to make smth simple (meaning stable/light) but also good n unique. i have the units (most of them ), i have the xml's, i have the ideas. all i need is the programming

 

[keldath]

well, dll it the basis yeah,

i usually start from getting my self a mod basis, most cases - i use kmod as the base along with some sdk additions i gathered.
then start the design of the mod, and implement via xml at first.

what exactly do you need from a dll right now? to get you started? are you looking for something specific?

 

[Leoreth]

Most of the non-XML things you mentioned can be done in Python, no DLL required.

I would also recommend to release your mod as soon as possible, instead of waiting for it to be perfect. First, it's motivating to see people play it and you can use their feedback. Second, it's much easier to find other people to join you once they see what exactly they are joining and that you are actually making progress on your end.

 

[heroicfort]

hello keldath ,
right now i need 2 simple things:
a) an airplane icon on the citybar when the city builts an airport. i have already edited the gamefonts with the appropriate icon. all i need is smne to add the necessary code

b) the addition of two special persons on the city screen, a doctor and a military instructor. again i only need someone who can write the code, all the other stuff (xml, dds e.t.c.) i can do them myself, i'm not gonna burden the programmer with stuff that i can do myself

if smne can help me to get this two things done, in return i will try and help him too with the units from his mod (if they need some basic editing) or i can give him some units from those that i already have and wants/likes. plus,of course, i will upload my mod and pm him the link so that he can try it himself and see if it's good or not (i will upload it with no units for a smaller archive). then if he likes it and wants to keep helping me and me helping him ok. if not, it's ok too

leoreth,
hi leoreth and thank you for your answer which contained a lot of good suggestions but the thing is i'm very strict with myself. i will never upload a mod for people to play if i'm not 100% satisfied with it first . therefore, if noone can help me to do the few minor changes it needs to become a nice mod, i will just drop it

 

[Nightinggale]

a) an airplane icon on the citybar when the city builts an airport. i have already edited the gamefonts with the appropriate icon. all i need is smne to add the necessary code

File: CvGameTextMgr.cpp
Function: CvGameTextMgr::buildCityBillboardIconString()

That's the place to set the icons on the city billboard. It's not really complex to do so, but it has to be done in C++ as there is no code to handle input from xml or python. Being C++, it requires setting up the compiler.

Also if you don't want to mod on top of an existing mod, I recommend using K-mod due to optimization and improved AI. I think you can use the dll file and still use your modded xml/graphics files, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm not a K-mod expert.

 

[heroicfort]

hello Nightinggale,
i'll try kmod and see

btw, i may go a little off topic here but i was wondering, in your mod for colonization, are you using units from the civ4 game as they are, meaning with their default movement files (kfm, kf) or do you have to edit them to use the colonization's game movement files?

 

[Nightinggale]

Graphics can be moved between bts and colonization with little effort. There are more details here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=14077340#post14077340

 

[isenchine]

b) the addition of two special persons on the city screen, a doctor and a military instructor. again i only need someone who can write the code, all the other stuff (xml, dds e.t.c.) i can do them myself, i'm not gonna burden the programmer with stuff that i can do myself

They don't appear automatically on the city screen? Or do you mean to code special abilities for them (that would be dll too - not my domain. However, there is a mod comp "Specialist Enhancements" by Supercheese that adds health and happiness tags for example)?

By the way, K-Mod is not just a plug-in "better" dll, it is a mod designed by Karadoc for himself. He changed the XML statistics, altered a bit some XML Schemas (Buildings for example) to add his own stuff and re-wrote to his likings mechanics like Global Warming, Culture spread, Religion decay and so on. Edit: Also, many functions in the dll have been altered, heavily re-written, suppressed, making it difficult for non-coders to integrate other mod components in it.

Edit: K-Mod also includes the BUG mod which alters significantly the way Python files are handled. In other words, I would not recommend using K-Mod as a base if you're not a C++ and Python coder.

 

[keldath]

Humm.. Im no coder and i used kmod, with alit if additions.
But, the main reason for me using kmod, and ithwrs as well, is that kmod is one of the rare dll mods, that works in multiplayer, flawless.

 

[isenchine]

Try merging Advanced Diplomacy or Super Forts then. The problem comes when the function is already altered, when arguments have been added or modified. Some functions have even disappeared in K-Mod, replaced by others. Small Mod comps can still be easily merged, it does not mean that everything is doable for a non-coder.

Anyway, it's a decision to take and as for every decision, it's better to have a more detailed picture in front of you.

 

[keldath]

humm true in some cases.

mu kmod version contains jculturecontrol + jimprovementlimit,
both mimics the super forts idea almost exactly.
advanced diplo, i have merged it in kmod successfully before, but removed it cause i thought its not good for multiplayer games, but since then i know its works, just didnt used it , yet.



you can always strip one of the mods you want, like realism invictus, or dawn of mankind, and build your mod on top of those ( i also did that once, ontop of dawn).

but still, indeed better to have more details of whats in front like you say isenchine.

 

[heroicfort]

hello isenchine and thank you for your answer
i totally agree with you and that is why i want to start from the default sdk/python files and then add things slowly, one or maybe two at a time just to make sure that everything is well (balanced gameplay without bugs, normal loading time, etc).
i had some problems with adding the military instructor by myself (which i believe it can be solved if i search around in the forum) but the real problem is the doctor where i have to add the appropriate code.
thank you for the link, i will give it a look but because i'm not very good at adding code/compiling sdk, plus i don't want to spend more time on the mod that i can already afford, i was hopping if smne could help me save time and in exchange i could save him some time by helping him find/edit units for his mod .
but, from what i see in some mods,people don't really care too much if the units in their mod look good or not so good.