New player questions: Campaign Modding

from Elemental Forums

Just bought this game, played through the first chapter then a few custom games. every time felt like the same game on different terrain. So I figure the funnest part must be the modding. I read through the modding guides 1 and 2 and browsed over the tips on the rest of them below that.

 

So I found out after reading all the stuff how to create a new campaign, and make intro movies with the .bik video format and items and heroes and icons for custom artwork and what not. Im still confused on how to direct a story in the campaign, I see from the first campaign the xml file has npcs that show up and talk, I dont see how they placed blocks on the map to prevent players from going to far ahead of the story or when preciesly to spawn a group of specific units just that the units are outlined in the xml file but not actually given a command to spawn during certain timelines events.... I just dont see anywhere how thats happening with the MaincCampaign.xml file and obviously would all be huge parts  of helping drive a story or hold it back. 

 

For example if I wanted to do lets say.....

 

Hero passes through a specific tile on the map that on the first time only it triggers a unit to spawn directly behind him gets a free attack against the hero and then initiates a combat sequence that you cant escape from.

Or a different example...

Villain of the campaign has just been beaten, spawn a new copy of the villain that starts at 1 hp to represent that the villain wasnt slain just basically beaten to crap. a short dialog ensues and of course we will go with the cliche that the villain isnt beaten at all and powers up with full hp and reveals his true power, blah blah blah. so we wipe the villain with 1 hp off the map put a new villain on the map with full hp and better stats.

 

For the second oen i know obviously Id need 3 different unit's laid out in xml for this one character, one unit that has its normal stats the next that has like a 1 in con and then the last being the powered up version. The question basicvally is how do I take away and add units at my whim and exactly when and where i want them?

 

For the most part i understand this all, I just need a little help to get me in the right direction.

 

 

 

 

3,477 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I was wondering the same...I looked through that file, and was wondering the same thing. I haven't gone through it yet, but maybe they are set in the xml for the map?

 

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

After looking through it, it DOES have the trigger points in War Of Magic.xml (the map you play in the campaign). Scroll down after about 12000 lines or so. There are also triggers in there to specify certain tiles to be impassable. Looks like a bitch to program though. For instance:

<BlockedTile>76,6,0</BlockedTile>

Thats pretty obvious. Then, the trigger points:

<GameTriggerWorldTile InternalName="EndChapter1">
  <TriggerID>3</TriggerID>
  <PlayerID>0</PlayerID>
  <HasTriggerFired>0</HasTriggerFired>
  <Active>1</Active>
  <TriggerResultOpenCampaignBook InternalName="OpenCampaignBookResult">
   <BookTitle>Chapter II</BookTitle>
   <EntryTitle>The Queen of New Pariden</EntryTitle>
   <Text>As he crosses into New Pariden, the sight of familiar landmarks lifts Relias's spirits, and gladdens his heart.

He is pleased to be home. He is pleased, too, to see how much the kingdom has grown in his absence; proof of Procipinee's great power, her ability to heal the land, surrounds him.

His long journey at last near its end, Relias proceeds towards the capital city and a long-overdue meeting with the most powerful channeler in the known world...</Text>
   <Image>Gfx\backgrounds\BG23_Blue.png</Image>
  </TriggerResultOpenCampaignBook>
  <TriggerResultEndCampaignChapter InternalName="EndCampaignChapterResult">
   <NextChapter>Chapter II: The Queen of New Pariden</NextChapter>
   <GameSaveName>End of Chapter I</GameSaveName>
  </TriggerResultEndCampaignChapter>
 </GameTriggerWorldTile>

and they also need this as well:

<TriggerTile>13,37,25,0</TriggerTile>

I was just grabbing random snippets from the file. I havent researched it enough yet. Now...how to tie all this together seems quite the bitch. I'm hoping there's some easier way of doing it. Maybe have the blocked tiles and trigger tiles as an option in the map editor?

 

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Well there is the trigger tool in the map editor. You could use that. :D

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Hahah doh! I never saw it. Then again, I wasn't looking for it.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

i havent even starting with the map editor yet. But it looks like that warofmagic.xml is on the right path for what I was looking for! 

 

 

As I understand it Id have to make up the map then with the xml file generated after saving it start adding in triggers for everything. I saw on another extremely valuable post earlier how to do multi parted quests (https://forums.elementalgame.com/393755)
which is a HUGE help. 

 

Now its time to write down for myself quick templates on how to do everything and categorize it. Also I need to go look at all the artwork available to use and I havent actually read anything on this but is it possible to import our own models and what format would be using, 3dmax or maya?.  Im sure that whats in the game already would be enough to get a basic campaign going so this isnt a huge deal i guess.