Annoyed by cattle herding? Try this simple modification. (v1.003)

[TheMageLord]

I got fed up with herding cattle, so I changed their behavior. It's quite simple, really - I just made them behave like caravans. Instead of run from you, they go to you - triggering the menu once they reach you. All you have to do is change one little number in menus.txt, and cattle herding will no longer be annoying. The menu is menu_cattle_herd (obviously!).

Heres the specific menu you need to change, with the number highlighted in red. Just change the 11 to a 4.

menu_cattle_herd 4096 You_encounter_a_herd_of_cattle. none 2 600 1 1152921504606847136 2031 1 1441151880758558741 4
mno_cattle_drive_away  0  Drive_the_cattle_onward.  4 501 3 144115188075856110 7 1 1640 2 144115188075856110 11 1641 2 144115188075856110 648518346341351424 2040 0  .  mno_cattle_stop  0  Bring_the_herd_to_a_stop.  3 501 3 144115188075856110 7 0 1640 2 144115188075856110 0 2040 0  .  mno_cattle_kill  7 2133 2 1224979098644774912 1 4 0 200 1 504403158265495578 546 3 504403158265495578 8 144115188075856110 2133 2 1224979098644774912 0 3 0 31 2 1224979098644774912 1  Slaughter_some_of_the_animals.  1 2060 1 864691128455135262  .  mno_leave  0  Leave.  1 2040 0  .

That 11 tells the cattle to run from you. Instead, we change it to 4 - which tells them to follow you, like the caravans do.

No more shall cattle herding waste our time. Hurrah!

- update - As suggested by Highlander, changing it to 10 works even better. This is the AI Lord's behavior when they are campaigning. That way they follow you without initiating the menu every stop.

Link to other tweaks.

 

[Gimpy Son of Loins]

And there was much rejoicing! 

 

[Sanzo84]

And there was much rejoicing! 

Huzzah!

 

[Lyx]

THANK YOU! The Mage Lord did it again!

 

[Gerg]

Epic win!

 

[bravesirknight]

Pfft... noobs. How are you gonna handle some smooth moves later on like getting out of a surrounded castle to go get some food?

 

[Highlander]

Actually 10 works better. It's the behavior the lords use when following the king or a marshal. That way the cattle stops before reaching you.

 

[TheMageLord]

Hey, you're right. I didn't even think of using the accompany behavior, I just stuck the caravan one in.

Much more convenient for driving them long distances.

 

[mrcrotch]

Nice. Thank you.

 

[Ringwraith #5]

Bookmark'd!

It's getting a tad cliché, huh?

 

[Darmoth]

Glorious!!! Thank you... I'll actually do some of those guild master cattle quests now!

 

[Aqtai]

Hi,

Does this work also with saved games? I've got a level 28 character etc...

Thanks

 

[Highlander]

Hi,

Does this work also with saved games? I've got a level 28 character etc...

Thanks

Yes, no need to start a new game.

 

[Kathek]

This is by far one of the best tweaks. Thank you SO much. I just had a quest for a campaign to get 8 cattle! 8! I can barely get 2 from one town -_-. Thank you again! I threw down 4k bucks for 4 cows because it was a 9 day quest then the king canceled it! Wasted money!

Howver, I was able to get some of it back by slaughtering the foul beasts 

 

[Lady Leo]

Ok, noob question time. I've been lurking on the forums here for a month or so but have recently gotten quite fed up with all the villages wanting cattle lately and wanted a fix. Did a search, found this thread. Now.. my problem is this. I am using 1.01 and Vista. For the life of me, can't figure out how to edit thes txt files because the original folder is read-only. Change it to not be read-only and it just changes right back. So, I open up txt files to make little edits like these and can't save the changes. I know, it's something totally foolish that I am doing wrong here, but I really, REALLY don't want to chase any more cattle around Calradia and this seems so easy to fix. Is there some crucial step I am overlooking?

 

[Lady Leo]

Anyone? Ever village in Calradia practically wants some cows now and I really don't have the patience for herding them when there's a quick fix that I can't quite get to work..

 

[FrisianDude]

Ok, noob question time. I've been lurking on the forums here for a month or so but have recently gotten quite fed up with all the villages wanting cattle lately and wanted a fix. Did a search, found this thread. Now.. my problem is this. I am using 1.01 and Vista. For the life of me, can't figure out how to edit thes txt files because the original folder is read-only. Change it to not be read-only and it just changes right back. So, I open up txt files to make little edits like these and can't save the changes. I know, it's something totally foolish that I am doing wrong here, but I really, REALLY don't want to chase any more cattle around Calradia and this seems so easy to fix. Is there some crucial step I am overlooking?

Have you tried, opening the file, editing it and then saving it somewhere else? That should work. After that save, simply cut and paste the file over the original one. ( I would suggest first copying the original file somewhere else!)

Anyway, thanks TmL, that'll be very useful. (I'm gonna try it for 1.011.)

Edit: It worked, but I did have to wait because the cattle was very slow.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Thank you MageLord 

 

[Mindfodder]

Ok, noob question time. I've been lurking on the forums here for a month or so but have recently gotten quite fed up with all the villages wanting cattle lately and wanted a fix. Did a search, found this thread. Now.. my problem is this. I am using 1.01 and Vista. For the life of me, can't figure out how to edit thes txt files because the original folder is read-only. Change it to not be read-only and it just changes right back. So, I open up txt files to make little edits like these and can't save the changes. I know, it's something totally foolish that I am doing wrong here, but I really, REALLY don't want to chase any more cattle around Calradia and this seems so easy to fix. Is there some crucial step I am overlooking?

I've got Vista as well, and I found out (thanks to great guys on here) that with Vista, you need to make your changes in the text, copy the text, open a new wordpad document, paste, and save it as the same file name you're trying to edit.

 

[Arch]

Wow! Now the dumb animals will follow me! Thanks for this mod!