Re: Modding the Alliance to build AT's

[wraithorn]

I've been looking through the XML files to no avail, trying to figure out how I could make the AT-AT's buildable by the REBEL faction.  Not captured mind you, but the actual building of the advanced factory and the resulting AT's in Galactic Conquest mode. 

 

Apparantly its not just a little modification here or there.  Unless I'm missing something.  I tried looking through some of the mods that activate a particalar unit for a faction, but cant figure out how I'd do this.

 

Heh, I simply love the Rebel faction and always have, but who does'nt love AT's too?  Besides I've started reading the Thrawn trilogy and have found that Lando had some 

 

Anyone done anything like this yet?  Any ideas how I'd go about accomplishing it?

[Malikovski]

Short version of the answer:

 

Copy the imperial AT-AT entry in GROUNDVEHICLES, paste it into the same file, give it a new name and change tag to Rebel.

 

Copy the AT-AT entry in GROUNDCOMPANIESEMPIRE and paste into GROUNDCOMPANIESREBEL, change the name to something new, change affiliation, change the unit which makes up the company to the Rebel AT-AT you created in GROUNDVEHICLES instead of the imperial one.

 

That should do it, or at least get you started.

 

There is no guide to modding this game. Everyone who has modded anything has looked at the XML files, figured out how they interact by trial and error, and slowly learned how to make changes that work. Until there is an SDK, anyone who want to make a new mod should do the same. Even armed with the short instructions above, you're going to have to dig through the code and learn what the different attributes do by trial and error. There are no shortcuts to modding.

[wraithorn]

Thank you.  At least I have a direction to go in now though.  Long before space_cap mods were popular, I figured out how to raise it by tearing apart someone elses mod, to see what and how they did it.  The particlar mod had changed the cap, but not to what I wanted it to be for my personal use.  But it did help me figure out how it was done.

 

Ill take a look at what you've said.  Tinker around with it tonight and see if I can break my game thoroughly  ;D

 

I hate computers lol.  I REALLY hate programming, which is basically what all this modding stuff is.  Like I said, I can look at code and sometimes decipher what I want to change, but thats about it.  Code sucks.

 

Thank you again for the help!

[wraithorn]

BWAHAHA!

 

It worked! lol

 

I did exactly what you said, in addition to changing the required_something something_to build to the Rebel Heavy factory, instead of (of course), the Imp Advanced Factory.  Kept everything else the same except for the names.  Odd how in the companies.xml file how its named Imp_Heavy_assualt or such.  But anyway I renamed those several things, changed the build thing and walla.  I thought I would have problems with the GUI positioning of the build button for the heavy factory, but I think that space is empty anyway for the rebels, so it lined right up! 

 

THE FUNNIEST thing is when I deploy stormtroopers, they are Imp traitors!  I can control them same as any Rebel unit once they hit the ground hahaha.  I'll most likely try and change that later on to make them Rebel infantry to make it more like a "captured technology".   I wish I could see the look on the Imp's faces.

 

Thank you so much.  Lando would be proud.

[wraithorn]

Well after messing around, I am stumped once again.

 

Got the AT's for the rebels no problem.  They even have the red stripe going down the side.  Pretty cool, I have no idea how that happened  .  I guess anything affiliated with the rebels gets a red stripe.

 

Having problems trying to get rebel infantry deploying from it though.  They use Veers_Deployed troopers as a varient of the regular stormtroopers.  I tried the same thing with rebel_infantry but as soon as I go to deploy them, the game crashed and I get an exception error.  The funny thing is, the rebel troops actually begin to deploy from the AT, but then get halfway down their ropes, and the game crashes. 

 

Then I thought that it was because they come down in groups of 3, for a total of 9 troops a squad.  So I made my own little batch of modded rebel troopers as a varient of rebel infantry.  And changed them to mimic veers at 3 groups of 3 for 9 total troops.  Same thing, they come down, get halfway, and the game crashes.  I mimicked the data from veers' deployed troops exactly.  I renamed my new troopers to wraith_depoyed_etc.  Im not sure if the groundcompany name would show up in any other files, perhaps that would be the problem.  And I would just need to input my own little troopers there.  But where to look, theres so many files. 

 

Any more ideas?

[Prophion]

Well I'm no expert, but there might well be an entry for that in the groundinfantry.xml as well as the groundcompanies.

[Mikan Cyclone]

My guess is that there is no animation for them slidign down the ATAT, so it freezes.

[Bodin]

Why would you make the AT-AT buildable for Rebels?  ???

And I think Mikan Cyclone is right, but we don't have an ALA Viewer, so we won't know for sure.

[DragonShadow]

My guess is that there is no animation for them slidign down the ATAT, so it freezes.

 

That's definitely the problem. For now, only Imperial Stormtroopers can drop out of AT-ATs.

[Mikan Cyclone]

Why would you make the AT-AT buildable for Rebels?  ???

And I think Mikan Cyclone is right, but we don't have an ALA Viewer, so we won't know for sure.

 

My guess on this is that he likes walkers but likes playing as the Rebel Scum more.

[wraithorn]

My guess on this is that he likes walkers but likes playing as the Rebel Scum more.

 

Ding!  Absolutely!  Long live the Alliance!

 

Well, I thought of that.  The strange thing is though, it LOOKS like its about to work.  I mean the rebels start to repel down the lines same as the stormys.  Then halfway, crash.

 

Like I said, I thought it was due to the fact there's 5 per squad for the rebels.  And Veers' squad had only 3.  So I even changed that, but no joy.  I'll probably look over it today and re-recheck my changes.  But it looked good.

 

I like only a couple of the Empires units.  The AT of course is one of them.  I just cant bring myself to play as them because I feel dirty  ;D  They are evil and suppressive ya know.

[DragonShadow]

It's a game. The main point of games is being able to do stuff you can't in real life...like CONQUER THE GALAXY!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!

[wraithorn]

Well I'm no expert, but there might well be an entry for that in the groundinfantry.xml as well as the groundcompanies.

 

Yea, I thought of that too.  Theres no entry for Veers' troopers in their either though.  Thank you for the input though.  What I'll most likely end up doing (what I dont see a problem with) is just removing the option alltogether.  Just like if it had been captured by Chewie.  Maybe I'll put Veers super turret ability there instead lol.  Then again though, it might be a bit off balancing (more so) by giving my entire squad of AT's that ability.  I could just use it lightly though.  Promise!

 

An AT with the dark red stripe down the side is very cool looking.

[wraithorn]

It's a game. The main point of games is being able to do stuff you can't in real life...like CONQUER THE GALAXY!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!

 

With stolen Imperial technology turned against them!  LOL.

[DragonShadow]

Yea, I thought of that too.  Theres no entry for Veers' troopers in their either though.  Thank you for the input though.  What I'll most likely end up doing (what I dont see a problem with) is just removing the option alltogether.  Just like if it had been captured by Chewie.  Maybe I'll put Veers super turret ability there instead lol.  Then again though, it might be a bit off balancing (more so) by giving my entire squad of AT's that ability.  I could just use it lightly though.  Promise!

 

An AT with the dark red stripe down the side is very cool looking.

 

Veers' troopers? There's no such thing. The AT-AT spawns a normal company of stormtroopers.

[wraithorn]

Veers' troopers? There's no such thing. The AT-AT spawns a normal company of stormtroopers.

 

Sorry, wrong.  Take a look at groundcompanies.xml.  And groundvehicles.xml.  There you will find entries for the special ability of DEPLOY_TROOPS with Veers_Deployed_Imperial_Stormtroopers.  I think thats what they are called anyway.  There is data on them in the groundcompany that lists them as a variant of regular stormtroopers (with only half the firepower; maybe being cramped all day in an AT makes you wary?)

 

But they are definately not regular stormtroopers.

[wraithorn]

Heres the code.  They use Veers' troops for all the AT's.  The actual entry for the troops is in ground units.  Maybe someone can look at this and let me know whats going on?

 

-

  DEPLOY_TROOPERS

  20

  Veers_Deployed_Imperial_Stormtrooper_Squad

  2

  B_Trooper_00, B_Trooper_01, B_Trooper_02

 

 

Thats the entry for the actual ability.  Then in groundcompanies.xml they have the entry for what they actually are.  This is my code to alter them for the rebels.

 

-

  Rebel_Infantry_Squad

  Squad_Rebel_Trooper, Squad_Rebel_Trooper, Squad_Rebel_Trooper, Squad_Rebel_Trooper, Squad_Rebel_Trooper, Squad_Rebel_Trooper, Squad_Rebel_Trooper, Squad_Rebel_Trooper, Squad_Rebel_Trooper

  9

  6

  No

  15

 

 

Then I just substituted in the Veers' troops with mine in both ability areas for the AT's.  In both groundcompanies and groundvehicles.xml.  Even if the animation was the problem, why would they (the rebel troops) actually be seen doing the animation?  Again I see them getting halfway down their ropes, and when about to hit ground.....exception error.

[Malikovski]

One trick which has served me well is using Windows search feature to look for text inside files. If you bring up the search function in a directory with the complete set of original XML files, you can search for a text string within those files. So if you want to find every time " Veers_Deployed" shows up in the XML files, that search will find it. It's a good way to see if there is another XML file you haven't thought of getting involved in the aspect of the game you're modding. This is how I figured out, for example, that CONTAINERS, GROUNDCOMPANIES, and GROUNDINFANTRY were all involved in creating a new infantry unit successfully.

[DragonShadow]

I don't get why ground units are so complicated and spread across multiple files when space units (aside from fighters, and discounting hardpoints and projectiles) are only on one.

[Malikovski]

I suspect they are split so that the AI can do different things with different levels of the organization, e.g. the individual trooper AND the squad AND the company he is in. The company is a dummy, AI wise, it's just there to manipulate in the game interface. The other two levels need separate AIs.

 

That's my take on it, anyway...

[wraithorn]

Thanks again!  Containers....hmmm....containers....nowhere in my meddling did I look at that file.  I'll try again soon.

 

I had given up for now on deploying rebels from it (but I shall try again when time allows) and I've been tinkering with the other special ability, veers super de duper laser fire from his personal AT-AT.  I DID (after several tries) manage to get my newly created Red Stripe Rebel AT's to fire the same blast.  That was a pain in the arse to get right.  The special ability icon is mirrored though in the GUI, but I can live with that.

 

Again thanks everyone for the help.  Modding is fun when stuff works out hehe.

 

Maybe next I'll make a REBEL DEATHSTAR with a red stripe down the side of it MWAHAHAHAHAHA....  Then give Sidious a taste of his own filth.

 

I was thinking, after all, this is a modding forum, would anyone be interested in this little mod of mine?  I have plenty of personal webspace I never use and could host the file, but from alot of forums I get the sense that alot of people like playing as the Imp scum.  No offense but I couldnt resist 

 

AT's are dang fun though I gotta admit.

[Mikan Cyclone]

Containers is a real pain to edit...I don't know why, it just it...

 

IMPERIAL SCUM?  I think you have it the other way around.  The Rebels are a pest that needs to be eradicated.