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Increased Civilian Count and other addtions


Charon

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I would like to add more civilians to all maps. Is there a convinient way to do this without having to change and include all the maps in a mod ? As far as i know there are "spawn points" for everything. If you increase the civilian count beyond the maximum possible spawn locations does it still work properly and places the number of civilians i want ?

What do i have to do to properly increase the civilian count ?

My latest update on map modding was that they need to get integrated into the base game and dont work as a mod. Do they work now ? Does the map overwriting work ? Meaning that the highest priority map gets taken if multiple mods change the same map ? Does map modding work in general with the modloader now and what do i have to do to get it working ?

I would like to add 2 Transporters to the game and need to know what i have to do in order to achieve this. Step by step pls :).

Anything else i might have missed to ask to get the aforementioned tasks done ?

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There is a file - I forget which one - which has variables for the number of civilians on different maps. But I'm not sure if it does anything - I think the specific map values might have priority. So probably, no. But might be worth trying?

Regarding spawn-points: I'm pretty sure having more units spawn than spawn points is not a problem. I'm not sure which but it will either try and reuse them, or it will randomly generate a spawn location somewhere on the map (this usually happens if the spawn location is impassible for some reason). The latter might cause a few issues, but should be ok. Definitely worth a test.

Regarding map modding: all map files are .xmls and should work using the normal mod-merging system. Not sure if you can add extra transports though (last time I was modding, these were hard-coded so you couldn't add more. Did this change some time when I wasn't looking? If it didn't, you won't be able to do it).

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First of all thank you for answering kabill, i appreciate your effort.

That file and line is exactly what i wanted to get named - not look for it :).

Sounds cool but testing is something i can do on my own - i wouldnt ask for it if i want to test that.

Good to hear that the mod system should work - thats exaclty what i wanted to hear but - does it work ?

About transporters: aajs is doing this for some time now. Heres your enlightment.

http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com/forums/showthread.php/13452-New-Dropship/page5

So what i notice is that whatever you ask in this forum you always get the same answer:

"I´ve heard about it, maybe its there, but we dont know if its soft or hardcoded, or if it works, or anything specific for the matter, you just have to test it"

Where are the people who know shit ?

Was the same thing with the researches.xml which Max helped me immensly with, nobody seemed to know anything about a basic file like the researches.xml. In the end i had to find out every single step by my own, motivated by Max.

I´d really like to change that and have a good idea how to do it. I would ask you, kabill, to support me when the time comes, if you want to.

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The main modders of this game are gone. Only Kabill and Max are here from those days and as i expected they forgot what they did some years ago. I forgot many things too. I asked for XCE codders for the command lists we can use to mod the game with every aspect but nobody cared.. Many times i just saw some commands with luck, here and there and shocked about them. I think to know everything you need to read every XCE version change logs.. if they are still here..

Other reason is, the most hardcore mod at old days was XNT which used as much cod variation at a mod, and it was a team work. After that, nobody cared to push to the limits. Kabill made some specific mods and it's it.. Other mods were always replacing/adding/changing game aspect stats.. new weapons, new planes, new buildings or rebalancing them.. Nobody touched to AI (XNT and Max experiments) , enemy units, complex air game mechanics (Circus mods were only examples), UFOs and other things..

Let me be honest.. Even XCE codders made things modable which nobody wanted/used aspects.. this was a poor time losing on unnecessary things. Adding new UFO's and random research codes added because me and some other modders wanted them so badly. So XCE project died with tons of unrepaired/hardcoded things left.

I cried even begged at my topics and special notes, even i wanted to pay to add some easy things like more air weapon types, erasing manufactures, more usable manufacture topics (Kabill saved me here with at least opened the old topics), double weapon vehicles, more ammo type for soldier weapons, repairing airplane armour, repairing ground combat end mission looting, making air weapons with ammo, repairing replace item code and for other countless things which a modder can use them to create much more open minded new mods.. but no..

I am still working on my mod for 1.5 years, thx to Charons unlimited help/support and if somehow i got some of the things i wrote here, i could create nearly a new game..

I am just sad..

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The main modders of this game are gone. Only Kabill and Max are here from those days and as i expected they forgot what they did some years ago. I forgot many things too. I asked for XCE codders for the command lists we can use to mod the game with every aspect but nobody cared.. Many times i just saw some commands with luck, here and there and shocked about them. I think to know everything you need to read every XCE version change logs.. if they are still here..

Other reason is, the most hardcore mod at old days was XNT which used as much cod variation at a mod, and it was a team work. After that, nobody cared to push to the limits. Kabill made some specific mods and it's it.. Other mods were always replacing/adding/changing game aspect stats.. new weapons, new planes, new buildings or rebalancing them.. Nobody touched to AI (XNT and Max experiments) , enemy units, complex air game mechanics (Circus mods were only examples), UFOs and other things..

Let me be honest.. Even XCE codders made things modable which nobody wanted/used aspects.. this was a poor time losing on unnecessary things. Adding new UFO's and random research codes added because me and some other modders wanted them so badly. So XCE project died with tons of unrepaired/hardcoded things left.

I cried even begged at my topics and special notes, even i wanted to pay to add some easy things like more air weapon types, erasing manufactures, more usable manufacture topics (Kabill saved me here with at least opened the old topics), double weapon vehicles, more ammo type for soldier weapons, repairing airplane armour, repairing ground combat end mission looting, making air weapons with ammo, repairing replace item code and for other countless things which a modder can use them to create much more open minded new mods.. but no..

I am still working on my mod for 1.5 years, thx to Charons unlimited help/support and if somehow i got some of the things i wrote here, i could create nearly a new game..

I am just sad..

You have my total appreciation guys. Unfortunatly I don't know anything about codes and similar stuff, so I can't be helpful, I'm sorry.

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That file and line is exactly what i wanted to get named - not look for it :).

Sorry, was not at my home computer at the time. If I remember I will look later for you.

So what i notice is that whatever you ask in this forum you always get the same answer:

"I´ve heard about it, maybe its there, but we dont know if its soft or hardcoded, or if it works, or anything specific for the matter, you just have to test it"

Where are the people who know shit ?

As Drages has said - most of us are gone. And those of us who are left haven't really been modding in a while and have forgotten things. There's probably a time when I could have given you an answer to your question off the top of my head but it's been a year and a half since I was seriously involved in modding and a lot of the knowledge I'd acquired just isn't there any more.

I'm sorry about that - it's a shame for sure - but I'm not going to apologise for it. I gave you the best answers I could given the time and resources available. It may not be what you wanted but criticising me and others for not doing something we have no obligation to do is really quite unreasonable. So please, don't.

I´d really like to change that and have a good idea how to do it. I would ask you, kabill, to support me when the time comes, if you want to.

In principle I'm not adverse to it, depending on what you need exactly and how much time, energy and enthusiasm I have.

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Sorry, was not at my home computer at the time. If I remember I will look later for you.

As Drages has said - most of us are gone. And those of us who are left haven't really been modding in a while and have forgotten things. There's probably a time when I could have given you an answer to your question off the top of my head but it's been a year and a half since I was seriously involved in modding and a lot of the knowledge I'd acquired just isn't there any more.

I'm sorry about that - it's a shame for sure - but I'm not going to apologise for it. I gave you the best answers I could given the time and resources available. It may not be what you wanted but criticising me and others for not doing something we have no obligation to do is really quite unreasonable. So please, don't.

In principle I'm not adverse to it, depending on what you need exactly and how much time, energy and enthusiasm I have.

Dont take it personally. Was never meant to be. As you might have seen i carefully chose my words with

1. Thanking you in advance that you did your best job possible and that i appreciate what you are doing - in case you missed it here it is again - Thank you for your time and that you want to help me.

2. Not critising anybody or directing criticism at anybody, but addressing the problem that im facing.

3. Stressing that Max helped me immensly when i tried to figure things out.

So no apologizes needed

Looks like work to me, especially for someone who hasnt been into modding for a few years but here it is the behemoth - BEHOLD- Lets get this done

And how do you do this multiquoting thing ?

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2 hours ago, Charon said:

are you looking for this file: missiontypeprops_gc.xml, kabill ?

I have some idea and tried to increase local forces.

But changing in this file do not affect on gameplay because every map have individual presets.

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Going to take some questions from another thread here.

Drages is asking about aiprops.xml:

Quote

There is Recklessness="0" Tactical="0" Grenade="0" Situational="0" PreferredRange="Medium" and i never saw those at any other place. Can i use them at enemy AI too? what is tactical and Situational?

These don't do anything that I can see. They may have been using during development instead of the current Aggressive/Defensive/etc. scripts in aiprops.

Charon asks:

Quote

Picking you up on your offer do you know how the <MissionType name="Common">, <FriendlyAI> and <Ticker> in missiontypeprops_gc.xml work and how they behave and in what ways i can change them ? 

The MissionType is also useless. No other values are supported so it cannot really be used for anything, though it has to be there and the mission just won't load if the field is missing. The FriendlyAI is just a container for the Ticker tags, which I think are fairly clear. They just specify the weapons for local forces on the map, this is the mechanic by which they eventually get lasers in the game.

 

 <FriendlyAI>
          <Ticker value="750">
           <Weapon percent="70" name="weapon.pistol" />
            <Weapon percent="30" name="weapon.shotgun" />
          </Ticker>
          <Ticker value="inf">
            <Weapon percent="75" name="weapon.laserrifle" />
            <Weapon percent="25" name="weapon.scatterlaser" />
          </Ticker>
        </FriendlyAI>

So while the ticker is below 750, there's a 70%/30% chance of Pistols/Shotguns for the locals, after 750 and for the rest of the game it's 75% for laser rifles and 25% for a scatter laser.

By the way...

Quote

Let me be honest.. Even XCE codders made things modable which nobody wanted/used aspects.. this was a poor time losing on unnecessary things. Adding new UFO's and random research codes added because me and some other modders wanted them so badly. So XCE project died with tons of unrepaired/hardcoded things left.

This is why there's less desire to post. I admire the dedication of long-term modding and understand the frustration, but it's ridiculous to say X:CE has been doing things that nobody wanted. Pretty much the entirety of X:CE consists of things that the X:CE people specifically wanted to do, and most of the rest were feature requests. And no, it hasn't removed all the hardcoded elements, will not, and hasn't tried to. Ultimately, there are only so many things that you can expose to modding.

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On 20.7.2016 at 8:35 AM, Solver said:

So while the ticker is below 750, there's a 70%/30% chance of Pistols/Shotguns for the locals, after 750 and for the rest of the game it's 75% for laser rifles and 25% for a scatter laser.

Wait, so this means that the <Ticker> sets the weapons UNTIL that ATP ? I thought it to be the other way around, they start to have those weapons at this point with an degrading chance to value="inf".

Good to know.

So chances dont degrade in any way  and are always absolute ?

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Yes, it's until that value. Makes sense given how the game works - you could see armed local forces on your first ground mission, when the ticker is low, but you'll never see laser-armed locals at the start of the game. And no, it's not consistent with some other files :)

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I´m currently modding my xenonauts to increase the number of local forces - i imagine the xenonauts as an elite force that reinforces the local forces - i also see them as having nearly unlimited conventional resources.

 

Already done:

- increased local forces on all maps from 2x to 5x normal.

- reduced number of unarmed civilians to 0 in all maps except terror missions.

- reduced the price of conventional aircraft to a tenth of normal, and reduced the price of the first tank to a fifth of normal.

- increased all alien research costs to 5x to 10x normal and reduced the number of scientist per lab to half. 

- reduced price of "conventional" base facilities to a fifth of normal while increasing advanced/alien to 2x to 5x normal.

- increased the cost to create new bases is now 3x normal.

- reduced the constant ticker speed to a fifth of normal - increases from alien activity remain the same.

- increased the time for laser weaponry for local forces to 2x normal.

 

Still to do:

- Add more variety to the types of local forces in each map (add cops in farm terrain to help the farmers, soldiers to help the cops in industrial areas, etc.)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
22 minutes ago, Solver said:

Charon, when you say you'd like to add more civilians to all maps, how do you imagine it? Like a setting somewhere that says all maps get 5 more civilians than normal?

He wanted to have an option to rise spawn the civilian number at all missions. He edited all files to get what he wanted.. so from long way.

There is a logical problem about a global rise becasue of the tilesets. Because there won't be much more people at farms or arctic maps more then industrial zones. 

If there will be a code to rise the civil number all together, it should be tile based.

Shortly as you said solver but tileset related and for terror missions. Many people in maps make it much more alive.. at first turn who hear all the screams and firefight of army and police. Even we think to add civils tanks :)

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