How do I make a mod?

[rhino78]

Ok I would like to know how to make a mod because I have 0% knowledge of making a mod. Any help would be appreciated.

BTW: Someone tell me if this is in the wrong forum

 

[zulu9812]

Well, have you looked the Tutorials sub-forum?

 

[rhino78]

Where exactly can I find that Sub-forum? (Yes new person)

 

[zulu9812]

Civ4 - Tutorials, Reference, & Guides

 

[rhino78]

Ok went to that and I couldn't find anything that could help.

 

[Red Door]

Maybe Kael's "How To Design A Mod" would help.

 

[Gerikes]

The forum link that was given to you is a good step, but make sure when you go to that forum you click the top and say to view posts for longer than the last week (try from the beginning). You'll have a LOT more posts, most with a ton of information about different styles of mods and how to make them. You should be able to find your answers there.

 

[rhino78]

One more thing do I need a certain program to make a Mod? If so please specify.

 

[Gerikes]

One more thing do I need a certain program to make a Mod? If so please specify.

Depends on what you're trying to do. Most things you want to do with mods can be done with just editting the XML files located in the "assets" directory.

It's recommended that rather than change the actual files there (C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Assets) you make a new mod folder in your "mods" directory, and place a folder within that called "Assets". This assets folder should contain a file structure similar to that found originally, and any files there will be used rather than the original files. This prevents you from having to overwrite the default files, which could be troublesome.

So, to modify the "C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Assets\XML\Civilizations\Civ4CivilizationInfos.xml" file, you would make this folder-structure inside your mod's directory: "Assets\xml\civilizations\Civ4CivilizationInfos.xml".

Now, when you load your mod, the new xml file will be used instead of the old one, while all the other files work as normal.

Once again, editting XML files can be done just with Notepad or Wordpad (which come normally on Windows machines), although if you start really getting into it you might want to get some programs that are used just for editting XML files, as they'll help you out (coloring the code, making indenting it more easier, etc.)

Python is the same way. You can edit with notepad, but it's definetely recommended that you use something designed to write code in, such as Idle (the editor that comes packaged with Python if you download it seperately).

For modifying graphics, you're definetely going to need some programs. Modifying the .dds images (2D images) you'll need a free program like gimp, or something else that handles .dds images. There might also be available programs that take .bmp files and converts them to .dds format.

For modifying 3D graphics, you'll need a modeling program. A free one is Blender.