Messages

31

User modifications / Re: Couple of questions

« on: July 07, 2012, 06:48:10 pm »

This is something we've been working on improving, but I'm not sure if it's there yet. Currently, all text is uncompiled .po files which are then compiled into .mo files used by the game. You can edit the .po files but you would have to distribute new, compiled .mo files with your mod -- and these contain all the translations as well, so could limit your mod to just English.

While I'm not too concerned with limiting the mod to English (at least with regards to the descriptions etc) I've had a look at editing the .po file to make a.mo file and while it's possible, you have to overwrite the one in the base/i18n folder because the game ignores anything in the mod/neotweaks/i18n folder. As this takes the mod beyond the scope of script changes and would mean the descriptions took effect even with an unmodded game, I shall be leaving them out for now. Hopefully some smart person will figure out a way to let modders edit it without overwriting unmodded game files at some point

Also, editing the .po file only allows you to change the current strings, not add new ones as far as I can see, so no new tech descriptions etc as it currently stands.

32

User modifications / Re: MAX_OBJDEFS

« on: July 07, 2012, 11:46:51 am »

Well that's probably beyond me, I haven't tried delving into the code and I have no idea how much extra memory is used per item.

I shall remove the two extra items I added last night so I can play the game then, I got everything in I wanted to (for now) except for a few extra base defence weapons so it'll tide me over until a solution is forthcoming, even if it's "We don't want you putting that much extra stuff in the game, get stuffed modder!"

33

User modifications / MAX_OBJDEFS

« on: July 07, 2012, 01:36:12 am »

While adding new things to the game I appear to have hit a hard-coded item number limit, as the last item I added causes my loading screen to go black and the log to throw up this error:

Com_ParseItem: MAX_OBJDEFS exceeded

Is this constant something that could simply be upped in the official code to give us modders more room to play with, or is it a more complex issue than just bumping up the number?

34

User modifications / Re: Couple of questions

« on: July 07, 2012, 01:32:22 am »

Ok, after looking at the base defence buildings a bit more and playing around with the scripts for a bit I've discovered it IS possible to add new batteries to existing buildings, so for example I can make the Laser Battery building pick from a bunch of different possible weapons and each one has its own characteristics. The inability to add a "type" other than laser or missile stops you from creating a building specifically for a certain type of weapon though, but at least it's possible to add some of what I wanted!

35

User modifications / Re: Couple of questions

« on: July 06, 2012, 04:38:15 pm »

Oh I see! Sorry, feeling a bit dense today...

If that process will let me edit the text in the game without recompiling the whole thing that'll be exactly what I need for the skill and the tech descriptions because I can just distribute the .mo file with the mod, assuming that putting it in the mod directory (so mod/neotweaks/i18n/uk/LC_MESSAGES/ufoai.mo) will work. That'll certainly be better than a load of techs and items with "No description" in the UFOpaedia. Thanks geever!

36

User modifications / Re: Couple of questions

« on: July 06, 2012, 02:23:51 pm »

If you only want to rename them on the UI you can probably do it by translating (translate skill_sniper to Pistols).

That sounds like what I was trying to do. Is that possible in a script file? I need to find the UI one that calls up that information too in that case!

37

User modifications / Re: Couple of questions

« on: July 06, 2012, 01:12:57 pm »

Thanks for the responses guys I think you've cleared most things up, I'm going to have a fiddle with base defence buildings again and see if I can bodge a workaround using existing types. Basically I was trying to add a new type of battery, I think if I use the existing ones I can get it to work.

As for the skills, here's an example of what I was on about:



As you can see, in the UI I changed how the different skills appear in the soldier skill panels that show up in the game (aircraft equip screen, hire screen, base defence pop-up screen) and then modified the firedef to use the skill I wanted (so pistol weapons use the sniper skill, sniper now uses assault which is renamed to Rifles etc) but the weapon description window shows what skill you've set in the firedef because it pulls it straight from the weapons file and there doesn't seem to be any way for me to change how the string turns up in the UI.

I shall keep playing around with it, though if the skills affect hidden variables in the game engine itself I might revert that change.

38

User modifications / Couple of questions

« on: July 06, 2012, 11:36:06 am »

Just a couple of questions I have regarding the extent of modding capabilities currently available, so I know how far I can go in editing stuff without touching the code files and recompiling:

1 - Is there any way of editing the files that contain ufopaedia text and mail messages? I've found the .mo files in the i18n directory but it doesn't edit properly with Notepad or Wordpad.

2 - Is it possible to add new base defence buildings using tweaked, existing models? I tried and had the building showing up no problem but ran into an issue with assigning the weaponry.

3 - Are the skills hard-coded or is it possible to change them? I can change the name they appear with but the equipment window still shows Skill: Sniper even after it's been changed to Pistols because it seems to be pulling the information from the weapon script file where the skill type is set for that firedef rather than a string from somewhere else.

Having a blast playing around with the modding opportunities even with these queries, so thanks for adding the possibility to the game!

39

User modifications / Re: NeoTweaks [V1.0 Current]

« on: July 06, 2012, 11:24:09 am »

Well, I can't model, I can't really draw, and my coding knowledge is limited to very basic C and C++ from fiddling around with MUDs in my youth, but tweaking scripts is definitely something I can do!

40

User modifications / Re: NeoTweaks [V1.0 Current]

« on: July 05, 2012, 11:59:03 pm »

WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS!

With that out the way, if you're still interested...

NeoTweaks V2.0 Tech Tree


You can view the full version by clicking this...

41

Discussion / Re: Review & Suggestions

« on: July 05, 2012, 03:01:10 pm »

I think I remember reading that there was a small bug in 2.4 that caused the map selection to only choose between a limited set. Since playing that and moving to the 2.5-Dev version there's a huge difference in the maps I'm playing this time around!

42

Offtopic / Re: What should i play now?

« on: July 05, 2012, 02:59:05 pm »

If you've ever had a subscription to the MMOFPS PlanetSide, it's currently free to play for old accounts. Wasting some of my time playing that.

43

Offtopic / Re: Firaxis Games announces XCOM: Enemy Unknown

« on: July 05, 2012, 02:58:21 pm »

Err... the Firaxis remake is a turn-based strategy like the old XCOM games, it just features a few interesting tweaks like close-up cinematics when you get a headshot and stuff like that. Apparently you'll be able to turn those off too. I can't wait for it, although the desire for it to be here NOW is what brought me to this site and this game for which I am eternally grateful!

44

User modifications / Re: NeoTweaks [V1.0 Current]

« on: July 05, 2012, 12:24:02 am »

Bloody hell, you're right... I did see that topic a while back but it totally slipped my mind. I went with the blue because I used a similar colour for one of the spears in my PHALANX logo, but it is almost identical to the one you used! Great minds think alike

Also, one last sneak peek for today:

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User modifications / Re: NeoTweaks [V1.0 Current]

« on: July 04, 2012, 07:32:35 pm »

A couple of sneak peeks at V2.0:

Tweaking the tech tree the hardcore way... on the living room floor!



A new addition, the Firebird MkII Dropship: