Hi General_HZ,
and welcome to CivBE modding, you've come to the right place
First of all, setting up your tools:
To make modbuddy stop complain, you have to add some paths in the option. To reach the options, select ...
Tools > Options
You'll be flooded with options you can configure. The one you want is the lowest option in the list ("Civilization Beyond Earth").
Select this and you'll find two fields where you can add paths and two checkboxes:
- Check both Checkboxes (Use custom paths)
- For the first field, add the path where your game is installed. By default, that's:
[Steam Directory]\SteamApps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth
- For the second field, add the path to your profile folder. By default, that's:
C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth
Click ok and your tools are all set up. Now you can create new modding projects (each project is one mod), add content and see how it turns out.
Create a lookup reference project
I always have a project in my Mod Buddy that's not actually a mod, but a lookup reference. Basically, it's a mod that contains every XML file the game uses to fill the data tables. This means all the files found in:
[SteamDirectory]\SteamApps\common\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth\assets\Gameplay\XML
and all subfolders. Keep the folder structure in tact.
Let's call that project "ZZZ BE Game Data" (Starting it out with three "z" will cause it to be the last mod in the list, a good place for a reference).
This allows you easy access to all the content the game uses, making it easier to lookup how the devs did it (and just what to change).
Studying the basics
There's a
good guide by a guy named Kael for Civ 5. It's still valid for much of the content in CivBE and lays a good foundation.
I recommend reading it in full, even if you don't understand all of the technicalities. He not only shows you how to use tools, he also gives insights in just what might be possible and - far more importantly in my opinion - a good guide on the philosophy of mod design. Great modding skills that serve no purpose are wasted modding skills. Good stuff that guide, hope Kael is doing fine.
Preparing to test things
You will fail many times.
It's a given, trial and error, minor typos and thousands of minor stepping stones just waiting for you. In order to prevent giving up in frustration, get some tools to help you troubleshoot things. Three recommendations in ascending order of complexity:
Simple game setups
To test a mod's technical function, start minimal games:
- Smallest map size
- Highest game speed
- Minimal amount of Enemies
- Low graphics settings
This speeds up individual test runs.
Get the Mod Test Helper mod
Alright, this is a bit of self-advertisement: I released a mod to help testing mods, you can find it
here. It helps you speed along your tests by giving you any amount of any resource you might desire. Want to test whether a unit unlocks properly but need to tech there first? No problem, just build the All Technologies Mod Test Building and you've got them all unlocked, no need to wait many turns the hard way. Want to build the unit, but it's expensive? No worries, Production Test will give you all the production you'll ever need. And so on ...
Learn to use Firetuner2
Don't try this as you start modding, but keep it in mind for later. Firetuner is the tool Firaxis provides for tests and it's powerful. It's also a headache to use unless you know the scripting language Lua (which will come in due time if you persist in modding; Lua is also helpful for modding many other games including World of Warcraft btw).
Look at other mods
Other people have already done much work in this field. Take a peek at their work and steal ruthlessly. Most of us don't mind - welcome it actually - and it shows you what works.
Cheers, and successful modding,
Bosparan
