MOD Tools: What will we be able to do?

[Lamaros]

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere already, I had a look around and couldnt' see much.

I was wondering what the upcomming Mod tools will allow us to do. There is a fair scope of stuff availaible to play around with even without them, but just how far will we be able to go?

 

[Murka]

Another thing I would like to know is the knowledge required to use the tools...
Will they require any basic knowledge of something?

 

[Keemo]

One of the biggest things would be importing your own models obviously. Don't know how flexible the rest will be.

 

[n00854180t]

Models seem to be contained in the .rsf files. I imagine we'll be able to add models and textures, edit conversations and troops and the like.

 

[Ummu]

I hope that you will be able to script events and access things like faction relations soon. So, it would be kinda like, if the Swadians are a fan of your services, you get to recruit Swadian troops that are stronger, like an Infantryman, instead of a Peasant.

 

[armagan]

Yes, those are quite right. You'll be able to add all kinds of content and scripted events. However, you will not be able to do things that require changes to the game engine. For example you won't be able to add new skills or change the way skills work, and you won't be able to change combat controls or animations.

Making simple changes will be quite easy. However adding conversations and
event will require some understanding of scripting/programming.

 

[Eagle114th]

So, we can do everything to mod game WITHIN the area of engine instead of being able to edit engine itself.

So I'd be able to add a new weapons, thus using an existing animations, thus giving it excalty mesh and point where weapons would impact on other model (soldier) while tweaking the damage with different way it'd inflect on enemy?

Just making sure that I know how moddable this game would be, and I look foward to this mod tools for this game!

cheers!


Eagle out...

 

[Lamaros]

Thanks for the reply!

I'm looking forward to making a content heavy MOD.

Will we be able to create/edit towns and the landscape easily?
Will we be able to edit what certain shops sell and buy?
Will we be able to add factions?
Will I be able to add in a new type of horse/weapon/etc as long as I reuse some of the existing art?
Will I be able to change the upgrade paths and add new unit types there?

Will I be able to reshape the world, adding in more factions and quests, adding in a wide range of tournaments with quest and story implications? Will I be able to add more complicated exchanges between the various factions when they meet on the battle field? Will I be able to make rescuing a group give me faction with that group? Will I be able to make it so that a fully upgraded farmer becomes a level 15 hero? And so on!

There's so much stuff that could be put in to make this a great RPG as well as a nice medieval action game, and I'm hoping the mod tools will allow us to do this!

 

[armagan]

Actually, I should call the tools "content development tools" rather than mod tools to avoid confusion. You'll not be able to modify hard-coded things but rather write new content.

Adding new items, NPCs, dialogs, factions, towns, party types, etc.. are the main things you'll be able to do. But changing the game dynamics will not be really possible.

As to your questions:
--------------
Will we be able to create/edit towns and the landscape easily? YES
Will we be able to edit what certain shops sell and buy? TO SOME EXTENT
Will we be able to add factions? SURE
Will I be able to add in a new type of horse/weapon/etc as long as I reuse some of the existing art? YES. YOU CAN ADD NEW ARTWORK AS WELL
Will I be able to change the upgrade paths and add new unit types there? YES

Will I be able to reshape the world, adding in more factions and quests, adding in a wide range of tournaments with quest and story implications? CERTAINLY.
Will I be able to add more complicated exchanges between the various factions when they meet on the battle field? NOT SURE WHAT YOU MEAN HERE, BUT PROBABLY NO.
Will I be able to make rescuing a group give me faction with that group? YES
Will I be able to make it so that a fully upgraded farmer becomes a level 15 hero? NOT REALLY.

 

[n00854180t]

Any chance you'd consider also developing some way for us to influence the gameplay more directly(for programmers)?

 

[Lamaros]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Keemo]

As to your questions:
--------------
Will we be able to create/edit towns and the landscape easily? YES

Does this include the creation of new types of battlefields and some battlefields that are pre-made? (not random generation)

Thx.

 

[Blackspirit]

no new animations? So does that mean I can't add, say a deer, and create a new animation for it?
Or does it just mean that I cant change any pre-coded animation?

 

[Worbah]

Is it like running one mod at a time, or is it like the plug-in system of Morrowind?

 

[armagan]

Oh-oh Lots of questions!

OK....

n00854180t: Writing the logic for dialogs and triggers is quite involved and will require programming skills.

Lamaros: my pleasure

Keemo: Yes, it will be possible to have premade battlefields.

Blackspirit: No, you won't really be able to add a deer or another animal with mod tools.

Worbah: The game will only run one mod at a time.

 

[Nairagorn]

No, you won't really be able to add a deer or another animal with mod tools.

Aww.

Could we, say, model a horse that looks like a deer?

 

[armagan]

Hmm. That is somewhat involved, but yes you can do that. and you can ride it to too. But there are many other problems to solve for making a deer-hunter mod. It is not really fit for the content-development tools.

 

[n00854180t]

Oh-oh Lots of questions!

OK....

n00854180t: Writing the logic for dialogs and triggers is quite involved and will require programming skills.

I was thinking of something more along the lines of how Half-Life's SDK works. That is, the mod maker provides whatever methods the game needs for a particular event, and uses that rather than the original bit. I'm fairly sure that's how that works out. Mods are compiled into DLLs, and the game gets methods from them for the new content.

 

[armagan]

I see. Unfortunately that's too much work to be feasible.

 

[n00854180t]

Yeah, sort of the thing that you have to start out with in mind, otherwise it requires massive rewrites. Maybe something like that can be put into Mount & Blade 2 though. Can't wait to see the mod tools