8 replies to this topic

[Moreartillery]

An Introduction to modding Dawn of War

So your interested in modding dawn of war but you don't know where to begin. Fear not, this thread is a list of tutorials to help you get started. And this forum is filled with experienced modders who can answer any questions you may have.

 

Tools and programs we use

The CD (not steam) version of dark crusade. Some mod tools require dow installed in this exact location C:\Program Files (x86)\THQ\Dawn of War - Dark Crusade

Corsix mod studio is compatible with winter assault and soulstorm but the other mod tools are not.

Corsix Mod Studio: used for changing unit stats, abilitys, and creating a new mod. Also used as a launcher for the audio editor, object editor, FX editor, and mission editor.

Attribute Editor: made obsolete by corsix mod studio

Audio Editor: converts AIF and WAV files to DoW’s .fda format. Read the Audio Editor tutorial here

File Format Editor: another way to edit 3d models without 3ds max. tutorial pending. Thread here

FX Editor: modifys fx files and shows how they’ll look ingame. You can also modify the fx files with notepad++ if you’re good with code. Read the fx tutorial here

IBBoards Texture Tool: the best way to convert large numbers of texture files

Mission Editor: edits both campaign and multiplayer maps. Read the mission editor tutorial here

Advanced Map Editor: additional features for map editing. Tutorial pending. Thread here

3ds Max 2008: used for animations and modeling. Read the 3ds max tutorial here

Object Editor: tells the game when to use each animation, and adds sounds and fx to the model. Read my Object editor tutorial here

Gimp 2 or Photoshop: https://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Sage thumbs: allows windows explorer to preview .tga and .dds files. https://sourceforge....cts/sagethumbs/

Notepad++: For AI and scar coding. SCAR (short for Scripting At Relic) is a variation of lua used for dow’s ingame cinematics and winconditons. https://notepad-plus....org/downloads/

 

To get started all you need is corsix, download it here

You can install corsix anywhere but always run it as an administrator or it won’t be able to save in the dow folder. If you already ignored this advice and want to find your files look in C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\THQ\Dawn of War - Dark Crusade\your_mod

 

For all other mod tools, download here
 

Although the relic forums are gone many threads have been preserved by the internet archive

https://web.archive.org/web/20080911140008/http://forums.relicnews.com/forumdisplay.php?f=231

https://web.archive.org/web/20071016043946/http://www.ageofsquat.com/

http://dow.finaldeath.co.uk/rdnwiki/www.relic.com/rdn/wiki/ModTools%26v=cg4.html

How to edit a texture https://web.archive.org/web/20160807081454/http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?199854-How-to-Edit-a-texture

Making a model team colorable: https://web.archive....e-army-painter)

Creating Custom Sky Textures: https://web.archive.org/web/20140916040551/http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?211604-Tutorial-Creating-Custom-Sky-Textures

How to make turrets aim correctly: https://forums.revor...-aim-correctly/

How to fix color bleeding with ffe: https://forums.revor...-format-editor/

 

Here is an older, somewhat outdated 3ds max tutorial, that some people might find useful: link

Edited by Moreartillery, 30 May 2024 - 06:01 AM.

[Yuri_Kenobi]

Do you know if anyone ever wrote a guide for FreeUI / taskbar-modding?

[Gambit]

Well, for FreeUI, I kinda take care of the SCaR, and bother Miros the Taskbar part, brother Yuri_Kenobi.

Do you need to create a profile for a specific race?

[Yuri_Kenobi]

I'm mainly trying to understand the system at the moment, and I'm quite the noob at this so it may be a tall order. At the most basic level I have a hard time understanding the relationship between the taskbar.lua, FreeUI.scar and gamescreen.screen files. I don't understand which information (strings and such) is shared between the three documents and how.

 

I also had one very specific question (not really related to Free UI). Is it possible for other races to use the Dark Eldar soul abilites UI for their own abilities? I'm guessing it isn't as I haven't seen that in any other mods.

 

This thread might not be the place for these questions, I apologize if I've gone off topic here.

Edited by Yuri_Kenobi, 20 August 2021 - 04:46 PM.

[Gambit]

Well, in short, each visible part of the screen is defined as a "buttons" with its specific function and stats. Its dimensions and specifics defined in the gamescreen file

Then, all these are grouped, utilized and GUI-ed in the taskbar file.

This is where the the GUI coding ends,

 

THEN, these are enabled/disabled at will with the SCaR script (that checks which race in in play, and ONs/OFFs the appropriate buttons for that specific race).

[Yuri_Kenobi]

Thanks, that clears it up a bit!

Any thoughts about my second question?

 

I also had one very specific question (not really related to Free UI). Is it possible for other races to use the Dark Eldar soul abilites UI for their own abilities? I'm guessing it isn't as I haven't seen that in any other mods.

Edited by Yuri_Kenobi, 21 August 2021 - 09:31 AM.

[Gambit]

Well... Difficult...

I think the Dark Eldar trick for global abilities cannot be used.

I am not the proper guy to answer for sure thou (this is why I avoided answering, above).

 

BUT, I have created tons of alternatives for the races we want such tricks.

All of them, have a common factor: A dummy entity that is spawned at the beginning of the game, and holds those abilities. Not dissimilar to the Dark Eldar method (the HQ holds the abilities there).

SCaR can of course replicate that as well, but I have not coded something like that, thus far.

 

To go even further, the Tyranids mod already have that, and in a REALLY advanced menu.

And in the (unreleased) Alien Hunters, there is an Orbital Center, where things are even more complex! The code alone is a MONSTER, but I am glad I have finished it

 

Bottomline: IT CAN be done, but it is tricky.

[Bhasvader]

How does one get the CD version of dawn of war dark crusade if they have the steam version?