Modding BtS features into Warlords

[Colon™]

BtS broadly isn't working out for me while Warlords is. However, there are certain aspects to BtS I want to keep using. Foremostly, I want to transplant the "no tech brokering" from the custom game menu. It's basically the only reason why I tried out BtS in the first place. I'd also like BtS' map scripts in Warlord (particularly "hemispheres") and transplant certain civilizations such as Babylonia (though I suppose that won't be too hard).

Is it feasible?

[wodan11]

Can't say whether it's feasible or not, but my general thoughts are good luck trying to put the chicken back into the egg.

Wodan

[snoopy369]

Map scripts should be easy to adapt to warlords, I can't imagine what you'd have to change - I don't know if they exposed new variables to python for them, but I suspect they might work as-is. Perhaps ask Sirian if you can find him, I think he's the map script guru.

NTB is harder, you'd have to do it in c++ I think (it's possible python could manage it, but it would be kludgy).

Civilizations would be simple to transplant, move their art and put all of the necessary XML into place; there's probably one or two things i'm overlooking but it's basically just as that. Follow the 'create a new civ' tutorial (there are several on this site and CFC) and just do all the things it tells you, but with the BtS civ

[Solver]

Bsarsgard wrote Hemispheres, so he may be the right person to ask. I think the map script might work as-is in Warlords, or with minimum adaptation otherwise.

Doing no tech brokering is very easy in the SDK, it's basically a few extra lines of code. Though you'd also need to move the AI logic, which is a bit more complex. You can't, though, mod the Custom Game option menu so you'd need to find another way.

[Colon™]

Would it be possible to make no tech brokering the default rule?

[Locutus]

All map scripts should normally work on all versions of the game, just drop them into your vanilla or Warlords PublicMaps folder and you can load them just fine. In fact, I'd recommend that for anyone who still plays vanilla or Warlords alongside BtS: it's trivial to do and gives yourself more options. If one of the scripts for some unlikely reason doesn't work you'll find out soon enough

The main menu is all hard-coded, you can't mess with that even from the SDK. You can write NTB into the C++ if you want to apply it to ALL games, but you can't have it show as an option at start-up. I guess you could do a pop-up in turn 1 of the game and en/disable it from Python, but that's a bit kludgy. Not trivial unless you're an experienced coder (downright impossible if you can't code at all).

Civs as snoopy says is just a matter of finding the right XML and Assets and converting those to Warlords -- it's more than just copy-pasting as there are some changes in the XML structure and some buildings/units/effects in BtS that aren't in Warlords, but on the whole it's not overly complex.

[Colon™]

NTW(horing) doesn't need to show as an option in the custom game menu. I'd be happy if it could be the standard rule in Warlords.

[Locutus]

Then it's easy, assuming you are/have someone who can code it

[Colon™]

I don't think I can code it. Can't you do it?

[Locutus]

If you upgrade our forums to vB3.7 for me I might consider it

[Colon™]

What do I need to learn to code it?

[Colon™]

The person who's willing to code it gets to choose my avatar.

[snoopy369]

You need to learn C++, basically ... and you don't necessarily need to know it very well, you're mostly just making small changes, so mostly you just need to know how to read C++ code.

[joncnunn]

More specifically, you'll have to learn how to read the Firaxis conventions of C++ code. The ease of this depends in large part in how well the codebase was designed.

Originally posted by snoopy369
You need to learn C++, basically ... and you don't necessarily need to know it very well, you're mostly just making small changes, so mostly you just need to know how to read C++ code.

[snoopy369]

It's not particularly difficult c-code to read, in that I only peripherally know C++ but can generally follow the code fine (though I do program in a non-c-style language for a living, fwiw).

[Willem]

Originally posted by Solver
Bsarsgard wrote Hemispheres, so he may be the right person to ask. I think the map script might work as-is in Warlords, or with minimum adaptation otherwise.

The map scripts definitely work in Warlords, I've tried it. Aside from the new scripts, BtS is using the files from Warlords in order to create the maps. It doesn't even have it's own CvMapGeneratorUtil.py file, which is what mainly determines how a map is generated.

[Theben]

Originally posted by Colon™
The person who's willing to code it gets to choose my avatar.

You should offer a month's supply of chocolates.

[Lucan]

I also would very much like to see some mixing of the two packs. I'm still on vanilla, but I'll be getting the expansions next week. I'm really digging the idea of vassalage in Warlords, and I'm rather excited about the new units in BTS. I'm going to have a hell of a time deciding which one to play first...

[Virulent]

Originally posted by Lucan
I also would very much like to see some mixing of the two packs. I'm still on vanilla, but I'll be getting the expansions next week. I'm really digging the idea of vassalage in Warlords, and I'm rather excited about the new units in BTS. I'm going to have a hell of a time deciding which one to play first...

BtS includes all of the Warlords features such as Vassalage, great generals, unique buildings, etc. The only thing that isn't included is the Warlords scenarios.

There is no reason to get Warlords if you are planning to get BtS.

[Lucan]

BtS includes all of the Warlords features such as Vassalage, great generals, unique buildings, etc. The only thing that isn't included is the Warlords scenarios.

Oh, it does? Sweeeeeet! I was under the impression that it didn't. However, I will still be getting both for one reason and one reason only - it's cheaper to get the box set with the original game and both expansions than one expansion by itself. In fact, the box set is cheaper than the game was when I bought it on the day it came out.

If I do find BTS cheaper, I'll just get that. But I think if I do, it'll only be very slightly cheaper than the box set.

Thanks for the info!