Planning to make Mod/Mods (need feedback!)

[Rotnroller89]

Hello All,

Well to sum it up I'm fairly new to M&B only had it for 2-3 weeks. It is by far one of the best games I have ever played. Over past few days I have been trying out several mods (Lords & Realms, 1257 and The Eagle and Radiant Cross). As well have enjoyed them just as much. However, as any player there is bits and pieces of each I would like to have in one mod as rather then cycling through each. I'm still poking around and trying different mods as well. What I would really like to do is start a Mod project myself. I do have a basic outline of what I would like to do. Which I will list below.

Please note this is for Native 1.011

* Bigger Map
  - Boat Trips
  - Boat Combat (Either ship to ship or boarding actions)
  - Two Continents and Small Islands, or One Continent with Small Islands

* More Factions/New Factions
  - New Troops
  - Recruit from Towns and Castles
  - Player Faction
  - Steal Faction Lords (As in hire for your faction, mainly for player faction)

* Combat
  - Truly make troops specialized (Ex. Example Ranged units good at range and poor in melee)
  - Formation Commands (Form Line, Double Line, Wedge etc etc.)
 
* Equipment/Companions
  - More Companions
  - Randomly generated Companions (Generated at start of each new game)
  - New Armors and weapons
  - The Realistic Metal texture. (I've really enjoyed that feature)
  - Some new facial options at start of game
  - Customizable Faction Lords, (Player faction only at hire)
  - More coat of arms

I have some modding experience with other games which I don't think my skills from that will help me with this particular game, (Editing ship and weapon stats in Star Trek Armada) I'm going to sort through some of the topics here on the forum for guides on how to achieve allot of the above plus anything I may have left out. If you  want to drop a line of advice or a link to some helpful stuff please do so. I just wanted to drop a basic outline to get some feedback from the community. Any help would be appreciated as well.

Keep it Rotten,

Rotnroller

 

[Rotnroller89]

Did leave out this feature on my list:

New/ Improved mounts, including various animals such as wolves, lions, tigers etc.

 

[xDiGiTaL_FeaR-]

im impressed, i also would like several parts from misc. mods put into one. you should try to add outpost. but im not sure if you can have ship to ship combat...i dunno i might be wrong

 

[Rotnroller89]

By outposts do you mean as in just small encampments on say the border between factions?

 

[Lumos]

No, he means this little creation of mine: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,80871.0.html

 

[Rotnroller89]

Well that looks niffty thanks for the link and all the work you did to make that niffty thing. As noted in the original I have very limited knowledge of modding at this point. Depending on how well this idea of man pans out I may use it I may not no idea at this current time. I'm really only at the story boarding and planning stage of this whole project.

 

[Jezze]

Maybe it be better if you started with something smaller, add or change some units, change a faction or add a new one, or work on the world map, edit a scene, try some modelling or texturing etc.

In that way you get more familiar with the Module System, modelling software, OpenBRF etc. Because it is quite a lot when you begin directly with everything.

When you finish off the smaller parts, you can assemble them into a complete mod.

 

[Rotnroller89]

Thanks for the advice Jezze. That is acctually probably how I was going to work on it. Figured that would be the easiest and most productive. I just like having goals and things that I can also work if say I am getting fustrated with part x and need to step away for a few days I can start part Y. I may start with either the factions or the map not sure which.

 

[Jezze]

I know, I tried to do everything and learn everything at the same time. Took me a really long time before I actually knew anything about something. You can better learn in steps then try to grasp everything at once.

 

[Rotnroller89]

Have any tips or tricks that may help a beginner with modding M & B? I've seen several different tools around multiple for different things all have good reviews from the looks so not really sure which to try.

 

[Ikaguia]

Notepad++ and module system manager, they are both great programs and you can use both together.

 

[Grunar]

Start here http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/board,171.0.html

 

[Rotnroller89]

Thanks for that link Grunar. I'll be checking out those programs when I get back to my house.

I'm probably going to start by playing with the factions and changing them around. And play with making new factions. I do have an outline of my first faction as basicly an overhauled version of the Nords/Vikkings.

This may be a silly question but I haven't seen a tutorial or Guide that shows how to make a module itself. If someone could supply a link that be fantastic. I would like to make a test module so I don't screw any other ones up.

 

[Ikaguia]

Start here http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/board,171.0.html

part 1 should do for that

 

[Rotnroller89]

Thanks for all the links and locations for things everyone really helpful. Sorry if it kinda made me seem a bit lazy  . With the limited time I have had to look its been a bit over whelming to see all the different aspects and help threads out there. As I finish bits and pieces and get familiar I will post stuff up and look for testers at some point.

So keep an eye out. I may name this project at some point.

Also this is just an is this possible question. I noticed in the Warsword mod that the creator had made vendors that he placed in the taverns that sold faction specific gear. Now my question is could it be possible to add a restriction to said vendor such as a lord and your reputation? More specificly could I code it that Vendor X won't sell to player if his standing with faction X is not = xxxx or higher. If so great I'm looking to do something along that lines with my factions with faction specific item such as mounts, weapons, armor etc etc.

 

[Rotnroller89]

Ok so how does one get the module system to read notepad ++ the current guide says I have to use python.

 

[Caba`drin]

Ok so how does one get the module system to read notepad ++ the current guide says I have to use python.

You'll need Python to compile it, but you can open and edit .py files in Notepad++ without a problem. Right click on them "Edit With Notepad++", or open them from within Notepad++

Do keep "how-to" type questions to "The Forge" as much as possible though. And then for short things, use the stickied Q&A thread for a best response.

 

[Rotnroller89]

Ok so how does one get the module system to read notepad ++ the current guide says I have to use python.

You'll need Python to compile it, but you can open and edit .py files in Notepad++ without a problem. Right click on them "Edit With Notepad++", or open them from within Notepad++

Do keep "how-to" type questions to "The Forge" as much as possible though. And then for short things, use the stickied Q&A thread for a best response.

Thanks sorry.

 

[Rotnroller89]

Ok so I like to bundle things together in groupings when I work on stuff as I mentioned before. Now that I have the module system working correctly through a work around I shall start pieceing this together as I learn the ropes and become adept at modding M&B.

Phase One contains the following features edited/added

- Player / Companion Experince gain
- Increased Skill Cap
- Player / NPC Party population Cap increase
- Intro Character Creation Dialouge change
- Base Stats Increase

Additional

- Story Boarding New Factions for when production reachs faction editing/addition
- Story Board an overall story
- Basic Sketch of Map Ideas
- Going to play with battle Sizer Mod and seek permission for use.

 

[Rotnroller89]

So that first step was fairly easy. It was alot simpler to change the party sizes that I first imagined. Went with my initial insticnt and it worked out. Along with editing the renforcement scripts for the NPC characters.

This may sound odd but I don't think I'm going to increase the recruitment of troops from villages for the player. However, I may increase mercenaries recruitment.

Thoughts feedback on that?