Warhammer 40k modmod?

[KarstenChu]

I'm a pretty big WH40k fan. I just put together an "Imperium of Mankind" civ complete with an Emperor (Imperialist/Scientific) leader. I gotta say...I want to go further with this. A while ago, I really wanted a mod that took the future age further. I was very pleased to see that RoM did so. I want to give it a little 40k flavor...

So here's what I was thinking...

Unique Building
Genetorium (Replaces Cloning Lab)
+10% military hammers
+1/2 xp /unit
+5% science

Unique Units
Space Marine (Replace Power Armored Infantry)
Dreadnought (Replace Anti-Personnel Mech)
Baneblade (Replace Dreadnought Armor)
Thunderhawk (Replaces Dropship)
Titan (Replaces Assault Mech)

Cities
The Imperial Palace
Nova Yourk
Roma
Zhongdu
Athina
Byzantium
Memphys
(Need ideas for more here)

Promotions (I kind of take these ideas from the Dawn of War games/board game)
Mk's 1-7 Power Armor promos for Space Marines
Las-Cannon/Missile Launcher/Heavy Bolter upgrades for Space Marines
Las-Cannon upgrades for Dreadnoughts
Warhound, Warlord, Imperator upgrades for Titan
Psyker upgrades

Great Wonder
The Astronomicon
...I have no idea what this will do, but it sounds epic...

National Wonder
Eternity Gate
Forbidden Fortress

Religion
Cult of the Emperor

I'm not a modder, but I'm looking into this stuff to see how to implement it. I think I'm gonna make my Imperium civ modular tonight. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[Praetyre]

Sounds like a better idea for a full scale Final Frontier style conversion than a modmod. It would be a very ambitious project. You'd probably have to have planets as entire regions of the galaxy, considering the scale.

 

[KarstenChu]

Final Frontier? Never heard of it...but I am googling it now. I'm actually thinking of it as a mod to represent the time before the Imperium...well...before it left Terra. So cities are still cities...they just need to be 40kified.

 

[zappara]

Final Frontier? Never heard of it...but I am googling it now. I'm actually thinking of it as a mod to represent the time before the Imperium...well...before it left Terra. So cities are still cities...they just need to be 40kified.

There's couple WH40k unit graphics in the RoM fpk files... though unused as I couldn't decide what kind of unit classes they would represent (tank units).

 

[KarstenChu]

Oh are there? I remember doing a bit of searching about a year ago for a 40k mod or at least 40k unit graphics/animations to no avail. I found some beautiful stuff for Civ III (can that be used for Civ IV?) but nothing for Civ IV.

 

[Galacticat42]

Oh are there? I remember doing a bit of searching about a year ago for a 40k mod or at least 40k unit graphics/animations to no avail. I found some beautiful stuff for Civ III (can that be used for Civ IV?) but nothing for Civ IV.

Unfortunately no, Civ III uses 2d video clips to represent units, Civ IV uses 3d models and bone animations.

 

[KarstenChu]

Damn...I guess I'll just have to use my imagination then, haha. The future units do look nice as is.

 

[KarstenChu]

So I've finished the Imperium Civilization...added on 20ish cities. I've got the Emperor done. I have the civ's unique building done. All of these things I've got modularized successfully.

I am now working on the Space Marine. It's going to be a modified Power Armored Infantry. I think it's going to have the same base strength as the regular PAI...but start off with promotions Drill I, Combat I and...a special promotion Mk.1 "Thunder" Power Armour.

This got me thinking that I want a special promotion system. Perhaps where I can bring a Space Marine unit to a lab in a city and give it a SM-specific promotion with gold. So what I am thinking that in addition to the normal promotions, there will be Space Marine promotions, like Flamer, Heavy Bolter, Mk.II Power Armour. Space Marine units can access these via experience or gold. Would this be hard to implement? I am getting pretty comfortable with XML, but don't know anything about the game engine.

I am thinking that the other special units for the Imperium will have a system like this too...like the Titan will be a Warhound and have weapon promotions and perhaps even upgrades to Reaver, Warlord and Imperator.

Thoughts? I'm going to start XML'ing the promotions.

 

[zappara]

This got me thinking that I want a special promotion system. Perhaps where I can bring a Space Marine unit to a lab in a city and give it a SM-specific promotion with gold. So what I am thinking that in addition to the normal promotions, there will be Space Marine promotions, like Flamer, Heavy Bolter, Mk.II Power Armour. Space Marine units can access these via experience or gold. Would this be hard to implement? I am getting pretty comfortable with XML, but don't know anything about the game engine.

Unfortunately current BtS promotion system doesn't support this kind of option ie. buildings can give 1 promotion for free but it goes to all units (who have access to that promotion). So no buying promotions with gold - something like that would have to be programmed to the game with SDK. What you could do is make a new unitcombat group, assign this Space Marine to that group, make new promotion that's only available to this unitcombat group and and set it require Special Promotion tech (placeholder tech that can not be researched, used in RoM for similar promotions that are gained only through some random events). Now make building that gives this promotion for free and then if city has this building and it builds Space Marine, they will have this promotion.

 

[KarstenChu]

Interesting...I do kind of like the idea of making like National Wonder buildings that give the Space Marine a special promo. I'm going to look into how I'd have to mod python/dll to make this happen.

Space Marines are the most flexible military unit...you can tack on different weapons to make them more effective vs. different units. Ideally, I'd like to have a promotion system where you can buy as many promotions as you can afford with gold for each Space Marine unit. If I can get this working for them, I'd do it for Dreadnoughts and Titans.

I guess I'll be looking into how I'd mod it with the SDK to see how difficult it is.

Also if anyone has any 40k units models or wants to make some, please let me know!

 

[Afforess]

I guess I'll be looking into how I'd mod it with the SDK to see how difficult it is.

Fairly easy, but the initial set-up can be daunting. Before re-inventing the wheel, I would look at all the changes FFH2 has made to promotions, because it's easier to "borrow" work from them then make something from scratch.

 

[KarstenChu]

Work continues...

I've put in the basic XML for a new religion, the Cult of the Emperor. It's going to provide science rather than culture. I've also come up with a few ideas for religion specific buildings reading the Warhammer 40k Lexicanum. I think the shrine building will be the Temple of the Savior Emperor and also provide science and perhaps hammer bonuses. Actually, maybe I'll skip the science bonus and throw in a unit promotion instead.

The Cult of the Emperor religion will become available with the technology Lectitio Divinitatus. I haven't really thought of any other benefits of this technology besides providing this new religion so late in the game. Perhaps it'll make Imperial Inquisitors available or enable certain militant units of the Adeptus Ministorum. Perhaps it'll enable the building of said Adeptus Ministorum as a national wonder?

I also put in the basics for an Imperial Missionary to spread my religion. I think I want him to look kind of like the Christian Missionary but cowled. It's a little tough coming up with all these ideas without being able to graphically make them happen. But I was thinking a cowled guy walking around with a censer since those are just so damn cool.

I'm going to separate the Titans into 4 distinct units - Warhound, Reaver, Warlord and Imperator with Reaver being first available technologically. Right now, Reaver is a replacement for Assault Mech and I'm ok with that for the time being.

No progress on the unique promotion system front. I've been marching through Xienwolf's idiot's guide to the dll, but parts of it have been proving difficult to take a lesson away from. I am pretty sure I get the schema stuff...but not too sure when adding fields into the .cpp files. I'll just have to go over it again...the tutorial references a promotion that I wanted to add. Was it me, or did it not say what promotion I was adding? I thought the beginning goal was just adding the bNoBadGoodies field.

Time to make this simple mod way more complicated haha. Oh! And if anyone wants, out of the kindness of their heart, to make some units for me...well, I have nothing to offer besides the Emperor's Benediction.