Modding Bannerlord - Questions

[quote="Duh"]
Dear Callum, Frank and Taleworlds at large,

we are thankful for the recent reengagement of the community on the forum and look forward to a more interactive relationship. Many of us content creators are excited about your upcoming game M&B:Bannerlord and the opportunities it will offer for modding. While we understand that the development is ongoing and things remain subject to change, we hope that you will be able to provide us with a glimpse of the status quo. For that purpose, the forge has collected a catalog of relevant questions, which are presented here in no particular order. We realize that some of the inquiries are fairly complex and understand that you might require some time to discuss them with the developers. You should therefore not feel the need to rush. A detailed response would be much more appreciated than a quick, but superficial one.

[b]General questions [/b]
1. What language will be used for modding?
2. Assuming C#/.net integration:
Will it be proper .NET integration (as in we can build and inject our own dll into the game in some way) or just the syntax of C# and the compiling will be done by some bannerlord tool instead?
3. Which IDE will have support (like Visual Studio Express) from TW? 
4. Can you provide us with screenshots and/or a list and description of the various tools that you use and that may be made available to modders?
(We would like to learn more about the creation and implementation of items, animations, sounds, the worldmap and scripts/dialogs/etc)
5. Are we going to see a return of the module system and its scripts, like last time, or will we be scripting in another way?
6. Can you share the windmill script mentioned in the engine video (Blog 8 ) as an example of what coding might look like?
7. Would you be willing to share the Bannerlord equivalent of Warband's header_operations?
8. Would you be willing to share a base human model for reference before the game comes out.
9. Will modding tools be made available prior to release and/or as part of an early access?
10. Will we have a TW developer working with the community to support modding (learning, tools, tutorials, feedback, etc)?
11. Would you partner with a team to create a stand alone offering? 
12. Are multiple game/world maps possible?
13. Do you have a hard limit for the number of world map terrain types and map icons?
14. Is seafaring/battles implemented? If not, will it be possible for modders to introduce seafaring (f.e. by teleporting a party unto sea terrain and changing its icon)?
15. With Warband the list of hardcoded features lessened as time progressed. Will this be the same for Bannerlord as you decide over time what should and shouldn't be hardcoded? 
16. Will there be an ingame/engine tool/camera to create FMV sequences?
17. Will we be able to launch/select several mods (like elder scroll games) or it will be one module at a time (like Warband)?
18. How will (texture) folder structure be handled? Is it still a single folder like in warband with all textures placed together or will it have subfolders for things like ground textures, armours and such? And if so will the subfolders name and structures be moddable?

[b]Coding[/b]
19. How is the code split between hard-coded (engine) and modsys (open to the modding community)? What level of access do we have to the game UI code? AI? etc. Could you provide us with an example of what will likely remain hard-coded?
20. Will we be able to seed a randomized number? This is highly important in order to seed a randomized process and utilize pseudo-data. Is it possible to procedurally generate the terrain/towns/castles/villages/NPC's?
21. How has the Dialogue system been improved? Is the Dialogue system dynamic?
22. How many factions can this system support?  Are there easy mechanisms to create/modify factions?
23. Will battlefield AI (Both the troop AI and the strategic AI) be accessible or hardcoded?
24. Will troop and party pathfinding AI be accessible or hardcoded?
25. Assuming that the AI takes into account terrain - will we be able to translate this understanding of the battle scene into a graphical representation? In other words, while you decided against a minimap in the main game, do you intend to provide us with a framework and/or operations that will enable us to generate a simplified visual representation of unit locations, terrain details and possibly even AI strategy?
26. Will there be greater control over the core variables and booleans of the core combat mechanic? For example, will we be able to directly edit the code used for horse charge damage, hit detection, AI movement and so on?
27. Will it be possible to alter where the AI aims with ranged weapons? 
28. Can moving objects (e.g. missiles) be manipulated on the fly? (Would allow us to apply dynamic friction/drag, wind and aerodynamic lift)

[b]Debugging[/b]
29. Can we debug code at runtime using variable inspection, break points, variable value manipulation, etc ? In other words, will we get a version of the game .exe that allows debugging our mods? 
30. Will we have more control for logging data? Warband requires use of Edit Mode and only uses one file (rgl_log.txt), we could use different modes so logging is available on normal gaming (to support bug reporting), and the use of different files would simplify testing individual mods.
31. How is savegame data stored? Will we have tool support to load data from them?
32. What strategy is being used for testing code? Will we get the modsys with unit tests included? Are mocks being used? Or is it dependent on the engine for running?
33.  Warband allows for quick reloading (refreshing) of the game code after compilation. Will we have this for Bannerlord as well?
34. Will we have an ingame tool to create bug reports? If so, what will players be able to submit (img, txt, savegame, logs, etc.)?

[b]Scenes[/b]
35. To what extent will modders be able to access and/or tweak the random scene generation for battles?
36. Is it possible to combine designed elements with procedurally generated elements into the same scene?
37. How does the AI pathfinding work? Will sceners have to create AI meshes for their scenes?
38. In the Engine Power dev blog we were shown new scening mechanics such as animated objects (windmills rotating), multi-material painting and the decal system. What other new features do we get with the new scening tool?
39. Is there an inbuilt method to voxelize the scene in order to use cheap ray-tracing for global illumination?
40. Are seasonal effects generated or will they have to be manually added? Will it be possible to preview them in the editor?
41. Will it be possible to make caves/ tunnels in the map/scene editor? Will it be possible to alter terrain during play and/or will modders have the tools to enable/alter such a functionality?
42. What is the biggest scene the editor can handle?
43. Do you think the level editor will support multi-user working? I.e. Cooperative scening over a server.
44. How will movable scene props/objects be handled? will they meet the same limitations as they currently have in Warband (e.g. polycount, collision detection, etc)?
45. Will we be able to simulate the flow of time in a scene without forcing a reentry? (Morning-Noon-Evening-Night)
46. How will scene files be organized and managed in Bannerlord? Will terrain codes and scene prop files remain seperated?

[b]Items/Textures/Animations/Shaders/Sounds/Etc[/b]
47. What sort of metadata is set around the new weapon component (and armor?) system
48. Is Armor created the same way as you have shown the weapons to be created?
49. Does this mean that creation of arms and armor now are internal to the game superstructure and if so, does this support independent artists from adding their own weapons and armor to the game?
50. Will it be possible to create new item types?
51. Will we be able to add custom skeletons and new bones? If yes, would it be able to support static object bones for real time animations(e.g. destruction effects)?
52. Any information on model dimensions etc? Poly count?
53. Any information on average texture sizes? Will 4k be supported?
54. Will every piece of equipment have physics options(tassels, cloth, etc...), including weapons?
55. Will we have access to shader source files?
56. Any information on how the new sound engine works? How many sounds can be played at once? What file format is used? How does the engine handle music transitions? What will be available for the modder to change and adjust?
57. Will we be able to dynamically change a sound's volume and frequency? (So we could create some filters for distant sounds or underwater/indoor sounds)
58. What level of modablity can we expect for the new PBR engine? PBR relies less on the shaders and textures themselves and more on skymaps, screenspace posteffects, and the location and detail of lights. Can we expect to be able to implement dynamic GI, for example? Can we expect GI and SSR at all?
59. Can we force certain bodyparts/bones to play specific animations and apply ragdoll physics on them? (Useful to simulate various injuries on different bodyparts)
60. What modelling/viewing program(s) will or should be used for Bannerlord?
61. What tools support animating campaign map icons?
62. Will firearms be supported? Will there be a (hidden) firearms weapon type proficiency again?

[b]Multiplayer/Server-Client[/b]
63. Can a server provide players with neccesary files/code modifications upon joining/after asking for permission?
64. Will we have full control of all data which is send between server and clients? (Pretty useful for optimization purposes, e.g. reducing network traffic in order to maximize the possible player count)
65. Is it possible to send data from client to client directly (P2P)? (Could be useful to reduce the server's traffic aswell)
66. What is the native admin system like?
67. Is the custom smithing feature available for multiplayer? If not, is it possible to port it?
[Duh: I believe the following is relevant to mods like Persistent World:]
68. When a player is on a server can you connect/move him to another server if he performs a particular action?

All the best,

Leifdin
Duh
The Bowman
kalarhan
saxondragon
Cozur
Hypercharge
Reus
Emiel Regis
produnu
DrTomas
Jacobhinds
_Sebastian_
kraggrim
usnavy30
BNS Marko
John.M
cwr
fedeita
Efe Karacar
NPC99
Mandible
Jezze
domipoppe
Namakan
Parrot
Nordous
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[quote]3) I vaguely remember in one of the dev blogs a camera was used to replay combat. Will we be able to use this camera or something similar to create FMV sequences?[/quote]
Check 2:20 and let me know if you want to specify/alter your question in any way :)
[MEDIA=youtube]H-wYZvApOmE[/MEDIA]

Hey folks,

I tried to organize the questions a bit and wanted to share the resulting draft with you for any input you may have. Most questions were included, though some were lost due to redundancy or because they were combined with other, similar inquiries.

Unless there are major problems with the above, I will submit it tomorrow around noon. Up until that point you are welcome to submit more questions or suggest any changes to the order or wording of the catalog.

Best,
Duh
[/quote]

[quote="_Sebastian_"]
Got a few more questions.
Will we be able to send http requests; post and get?
Can the clipping plane distances (near/far) be changed? (In Warband we only could change the far clipping distance via module.ini)
Can animation-speeds be changed dynamically, without messing around with weapon proficiencies or -stats?
Will it theoretically be possible to implement an ingame voice-chat?
[/quote]
[quote=Lumos]Will the system support asset (re)loading and modification at runtime? E.g. programmatic changes to the world map mesh, other models, or "static" module data?[/quote]

1. What language will be used for modding?
We are using C# as the scripting language. Data files are generally formatted in XML.

2. Which IDE will have support (like Visual Studio Express) from TW?
You can use any version of Visual Studio 2015 (e.g. Community edition)

3. Can you provide us with screenshots and/or a list and description of the various tools that you use and that may be made available to modders?
Scene editor
Mesh editor
Material editor
Model/Animation viewer
Skeleton editor
Replay editor
Particle editor
Atmosphere Editor
Cloth editor
Path editor
Resource Browser

Also, the runtime performance profile tools that we use will be available for modders. They will be able to check the performance impact of their changes.

4. Will modding tools be made available prior to release and/or as part of an early access?
Not decided.

5. Will we have a TW developer working with the community to support modding (learning, tools, tutorials, feedback, etc.)?
We will share a documentation site and we are planning to make some tutorial videos. Also, we will be taking feedback and engaging with users on our forums.

6. With Warband the list of hardcoded features lessened as time progressed. Will this be the same for Bannerlord as you decide over time what should and shouldn't be hardcoded?
Most probably.

7. Will there be an in-game/engine tool/camera to create FMV sequences?
We will provide a replay editor.

8. Will we be able to launch/select several mods (like elder scroll games) or it will be one module at a time (like Warband)?
The game will support multiple mods at the same time.

9. How will (texture) folder structure be handled? Is it still a single folder like in Warband with all textures placed together or will it have subfolders for things like ground textures, armours and such? And if so will the subfolders name and structures be moddable?
You can use any number of folders for resources but it is a flat system, so we don’t support subfolders within folders.

10. How is the code split between hard-coded (engine) and modsys (open to the modding community)? What level of access do we have to the game UI code, AI, etc.? Could you provide us with an example of what will likely remain hard-coded?
Unlike Warband, the vanilla game scripts will not be directly modifiable by modders. However, it will be possible for modders to add new scripts as plugins and also have modifications for XML data files. In Warband, we had the problem that, whenever we released a new version or patch, almost all existing mods would immediately become incompatible with the new version and modders had to go through the lengthy process of reapplying their changes on the new version’s scripts. Moreover, it was impossible for players to run multiple mods in conjunction. The new system will make modders’ lives much easier and also support multiple mods.

By changing XML files, it will be possible to modify or add/delete most types of game objects such as items, characters, factions etc. Of course it will also be possible to add new assets such as meshes or textures.

Modders will be able to add new campaign behaviours, mission behaviours and quests. Campaign behaviours are executed while the player is spending time on the campaign map, whereas mission behaviours are executed when the player is in a scene. For example, if you want to create some extra bandit parties every few days, you can do that with a campaign behaviour. 

Modders will also be able to change most of the formulas used in the game. For example, if you want to add a special item that makes you move faster on map, you will add the item through an xml file, and also modify the formula for campaign map speed so that it returns a higher number if a party is in possession of the said item.

Modders who want to change an existing behavior (like party members deserting when morale is low) will have two options: Either they will modify the default formula, or if that’s not adequate for some reason, they will be able to disable the default behavior entirely and add a new one from scratch.

11. Will we be able to seed a randomized number? This is highly important in order to seed a randomized process and utilize pseudo-data. Is it possible to procedurally generate the terrain/towns/castles/villages/NPCs?
You can use random seeds and any kind of random number generator.

12. How has the Dialogue system been improved? Is the Dialogue system dynamic?
There is a very powerful string processing system, (you can pretty much embed programs into the string itself.) Dialogs, game menus, and everything text related can make use of that.

13. How many factions can this system support? Are there easy mechanisms to create/modify factions?
You can add as many factions as you like. Technically, creating factions is just a method call, but of course making them interesting would be the harder part!

14. Will battlefield AI (Both the troop AI and the strategic AI) be accessible or hardcoded?
Lowest-level troop AI is hard-coded, but you can customize it somewhat by changing aggressiveness, maximum speed etc. You can also give AI target movement points.

Formation AI and overall battle AI is extendable and modders can add new tactics and AI behaviours.

15. Will troop and party pathfinding AI be accessible or hardcoded?
Pathfinding will be hardcoded. You can turn faces on/off in a navigation mesh though, so there are ways to control path-finding behaviour.

16. Assuming that the AI takes into account terrain - will we be able to translate this understanding of the battle scene into a graphical representation? In other words, while you decided against a minimap in the main game, do you intend to provide us with a framework and/or operations that will enable us to generate a simplified visual representation of unit locations, terrain details and possibly even AI strategy?
It will be possible to draw graphical primitives on screen. Also, one can render multiple scenes on the screen for other uses. (As long as they are lightweight, they won’t affect the overall performance that much).

17. Will there be greater control over the core variables and Booleans of the core combat mechanic? For example, will we be able to directly edit the code used for horse charge damage, hit detection, AI movement and so on?
It will be possible to change certain variables, but a lot of constants may remain hard-coded. 

18. Will it be possible to alter where the AI aims with ranged weapons?
You can give them an entity to target.

19. Is it possible to combine designed elements with procedurally generated elements into the same scene?
Of course. Script components can be used to add, alter or remove stuff from the scene. Materials, other scripts, physics and polygon attributes can be changed at run time.

20. How does the AI pathfinding work? Will sceners have to create AI meshes for their scenes?
Yes, scene makers will need to create navigation meshes. The scene editor has a tool to create the nav-mesh automatically but results vary and we generally prefer to create them manually.

21. Is there an inbuilt method to voxelize the scene in order to use cheap ray-tracing for global illumination?
No.

22. Are seasonal effects generated or will they have to be manually added? Will it be possible to preview them in the editor?
You can definitely preview what the scene will look like in different seasons and different atmosphere settings in the editor. You can set alternative terrain materials and alternative foliage for different seasons. It’s all very customizable.

23. Will it be possible to make caves/ tunnels in the map/scene editor? Will it be possible to alter terrain during play and/or will modders have the tools to enable/alter such a functionality?
For tunnels and caves you need meshes, the terrain system does not support them. We do not currently support dynamic changes to terrain height-maps during the game.

24. What is the biggest scene the editor can handle?
Depends on the power of the computer and available RAM. Our typical scenes are not too large because we want scenes to load quickly and not take an excessive amount of hard disk space. We experimented with larger scenes on a few occasions but this is not something that’s a priority.

25. Do you think the level editor will support multi-user working? I.e. Cooperative scening over a server.
No. The editor does not support that.

26. How will movable scene props/objects be handled? Will they meet the same limitations as they currently have in Warband (e.g. polycount, collision detection, etc.)?
The physics objects for dynamic rigid bodies will have some polygon count restrictions.

27. Will we be able to simulate the flow of time in a scene without forcing a re-entry? (Morning-Noon-Evening-Night)
The atmosphere system is not designed to update in real-time, so you cannot simulate that without stutters. Maybe you can darken the screen, change the atmosphere and then do a fade in.

28. How will scene files be organized and managed in Bannerlord? Will terrain codes and scene prop files remain separated?
We divide scene files into two groups. One is the editable data for the scene editor (some binary, some text) and the other one is loading time optimised binary files.

29. Is Armour created the same way as you have shown the weapons to be created?
The crafting system only works for melee weapons. Armour, shields, bows and crossbows cannot be crafted.

30. Does this mean that creation of arms and armour now are internal to the game superstructure and if so, does this support independent artists from adding their own weapons and armour to the game?
Crafted and non-crafted items are added in different ways, but modders can add both. For crafting, modders can easily add new crafting parts. They can also add new weapons by editing an xml file only, specifying which parts the new item is made of.

31. Will we be able to add custom skeletons and new bones? If yes, would it be able to support static object bones for real time animations (e.g. destruction effects)?
Yes, you can add custom skeletons to meshes.

32. Any information on model dimensions etc.? Poly count?
Poly count is very varied but we use LOD meshes heavily.

33. Any information on average texture sizes? Will 4k be supported?
Average texture size is 2k. You can add 4K textures to the game.

34. Will every piece of equipment have physics options (tassels, cloth, etc.), including weapons?
Not every piece probably, but modders can add it to all types of equipment. Weapons can have them as cosmetic only, so no flails with cloth system.

35. Will we have access to shader source files?
Not decided.

36. What level of moddability can we expect for the new PBR engine? PBR relies less on the shaders and textures themselves and more on skymaps, screenspace posteffects, and the location and detail of lights. Can we expect to be able to implement dynamic GI, for example? Can we expect GI and SSR at all?
We have good variety of post effects, and you can probably add new post effects. We have SSR. It should be possible to add dynamic GI in theory but in practice it can be very hard or even impossible.

37. Can we force certain body parts/bones to play specific animations and apply ragdoll physics on them? (Useful to simulate various injuries on different body parts)
Sorry, the game engine does not support that.

38. What modelling/viewing program(s) will or should be used for Bannerlord?
For basic polygonal modelling, our artists use mainly Max, Maya and Blender and we will document work flows for these. We also use a ton of other tools for sculpting, painting textures, viewing etc.

39. What tools support animating campaign map icons?
We have some script components, which can add simple looping animations to entities in any scene. It is not as complicated as the animation system of characters in battles.

1. I would like an easier way to implement and duplicate scenes. I think it'd be a lot easier if everything was grouped together, and have terrain seed intergrated into the scene file.
- There is a prefab system you can use you save any entity hiearchy as prefab and use them in any scene, you can select them from searchable and previewed list.

2. So if I wanted to make a exact copy, scenes and everything, of BLord's praven counterpart, I could create a prefab and load it?
- Create them once and use it in any scene you want.

3. For the scene editor - the more scripted behavior we can test out in the editor the better (dont have to load the game).
- You can start missions from editor.

4. And my year old suggestion (that will never happen) cooperative scening over a server.
- No multi people scene editing at same time sorry.

5. Is there a quick way to add particle effects such as fire to a weapon without extensive use of coding?
- You can create a prefab with both sword and particle and from code you will only need add prefab to correct bone. We have a nice particle editor with curves and so.

6. Is the main menu animated? Can we record our own loop and replace it for the main menu?
- Main menu is a scene just like all the scenes, with a camera entity tagged, you can replace it with any scene.

7. Live editing would be a godsend. It’s annoying having to constantly close and re-open the game to test out the smallest change.
- Lots of things can be edited realtime you update an XML and it will reload automaticly but for somethings you will need to restart mission. Also you can update textures meshes animations in realtime.

8. Material editing - do we get nice nodes and properties like in UE4?
- No shader graph sorry. But we have a material editor you can select your shader, textures according to it and you can enable and disable its features like self illumination, casts shadows etc.

9. What language will shaders support?
- Shaders are HLSL.

10. Will we get access to the shader source files?
- Not decided, but we have a material editor you can select your shader, textures according to it and you can enable and disable its features like self illumination, casts shadowd etc.

11. Could you consider an encrypted signature for assets (scenes,etc) created with the game tools?
-There is no such things atm and this is no confirmation that there ever will be such a thing - but it is good to get the feedback that some folks are interested in such a thing.

[quote="Duh"]
[quote=DietPillPyramid]Do we know any more about the Material Editor, or what the preferred texture inputs will be? Will there be enforced texture setup channels, like "Roughness must be in the Alpha channel of the Albedo", or will we have Carte blanche to channel pack as we please?
Is Bannerlord using a Spec/Gloss, or Rough/Metal system (or other)?[/quote]
[quote=gkx]Metallic/Glossiness but there are two versions. One has modified specular color computation, the other one is same as industry standard(the one used in Marmoset, UE4, Unity etc). The texture channels are enforced.[/quote]

https://www.reddit.com/r/mountandblade/comments/71imf6/dev_blog_210917_no_release_date/?sort=confidence
[/quote]

1. Will a MP server be able to query a database directly instead of using a website as a proxy?
2. Will you provide a framework for mods to utilize assets from several TW games and/or DLCs (by f.e. requiring the player to own the respective products)?
Modify message
3. Will the development tools include TW's library of C# operations in the absence of a proprietary programming language like Warband's? 
4. Which version of Mono/.NET (and which version of C#) does the game utilise?
5. To what extent will modders be able to access and/or tweak the random scene generation for battles?