27 replies to this topic

[Goldtouch]

Showcase from some of my work and for sharing interesting findings.

 

 

Resized the worldbuilder(bfme 1), which improves the usability.

 

Bigger workspace within the script editor (comments are now below the script block)

 

A extra touch: changelog and version indicator.

 

The object parameter

 

Also I removed the inital screen that asks to accept the license agreament, WB loads immediately.

Edited by THORONGlL, 30 July 2013 - 09:28 PM.

[Goldtouch]

A few quick tips for worldbuilder:

1 - Extract all of the games audio from the .BIG files into the relevant directories in the BFME directory - usually this is the 'Audio' folder inside the 'Data' folder. Its important to get the directory structure correct - the 'Preview Sound' function will now work when you are trying to find the right sound to use within scripts.

2. The Space Bar is the hotkey for scrolling around the map which I find comes in handy when theres plenty of menus up.

[Goldtouch]

How to let an beacon automatically remove itself over a period of time.
 
This was introduced in 1.05, since there was a lot of interest here's is how to do it: 
 

1. In civilianprop.ini (edit the Object MultiplayerBeacon)
2. get rid of this line Body = ImmortalBody ModuleTag_03
3. add the following and you are done.

Body = ActiveBody ModuleTag_04
  MaxHealth              = 2000                    
  MaxHealthDamaged  = 2000
End
 
Behavior = LifetimeUpdate ModuleTag_LifetimeUpdate
  MinLifetime  = 8000
  MaxLifetime  = 8000
End

  Geometry = CYLINDER

  GeometryIsSmall = Yes

  GeometryMajorRadius = 2.4

  GeometryHeight = 13
End

Edited by THORONGlL, 30 July 2013 - 06:28 PM.

[Irenë Hawnetyne]

Hey, about the WB thing, you couldn't make the Object Properties box resizeable, could you?

[Phil]

Awesome! How did you do it?

[Goldtouch]

Hey, about the WB thing, you couldn't make the Object Properties box resizeable, could you?

That is possible but what did you had in mind? 
Was it so that you could get it out of the way a bit...
( I can also add scrollbars to it   )

Edited by THORONGlL, 30 July 2013 - 09:48 PM.

[forshire]

Gj thor!

[Irenë Hawnetyne]

Yeah, that's perfect if you put scrollbars on! I WANT THIS SO MUCH.

[Elric]

Agreed! WB would be much improved! Well done.

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

Interesting stuff.

Is it only the windows you can edit or can you edit some of it's inbuilt functions?

The ability to include all my mod's factions into the "add skirmish players" would be a godsend.

[Goldtouch]

How to let people play your mods over Gameranger
 
The game reads the .big files alphabetically (ascending:  A-Z)
What's also important to note is that the use of underscore ( _ ) simply make sure it gets read before any letter because its a symbol.
 
Any similar files that get read after that, gets ignored therefore its important to make sure your mod gets to be read as the first.

Final conclusion :
Make sure your mod's .big file starts with an underscore i.e. ___ModName.big
Let your installer put your mod inside the bfme folder 
( C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games\The Battle for Middle-earth (tm)\ )

Extra note: 
If you have a newer version of your mod you could simply keep the same name. 
You could also number your versions i.e. ___Modname2.big ___Modname1.big the game seem to read it then in a descending order.

Source: This is the same method I use to make the patches work and how EA did it to make their patches work.

Edited by THORONGlL, 31 July 2013 - 03:10 PM.

[Goldtouch]

A "hack" guide that might speed up your workflow

Stop!: Make a duplication of INI.big (backup)
 

Open "ini.big" itself in Microsoft's Wordpad

• it enables you to do a quick search  ( Ctrl + F ) through all the ini's
• you can edit certain value's but be careful not to screw up the layout of the files 'too much'.

Extra tip: you could make a mod out of ini.big by simply renaming it to __ModName.big (Underscores are important 'Look at my previous post' )

Edited by THORONGlL, 04 September 2013 - 07:31 AM.

[Phil]

The problem with that method and the reason why we don't use it is that this only allows one mod at a time to be "installed". The -mod shortcut version is just so much cleaner in that it keeps game and mod cleanly separated.

[Goldtouch]

Keep in mind with a possible server that would do but since we have gameranger its the only way.

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

-mod has it's limits because the .big format doesn't like big files (ironic huh?) which is why I separated LWR into like 5 of them.

For the rare mods that go over 1.5g the underscore method is better and also allows you to patch a mod much easier than you could for -mod.

[Ridder Geel]

Have you tried -mod with a folder that contains .big files? (no idea if it works or not ) (would be extremely awesome if it worked )

Edited by Ridder Geel, 05 September 2013 - 10:27 AM.

[Echo]

The problem with Gameranger is that it runs the original .exe. I suppose the only way to play a mod via Gameranger (aside from the way Thor described) is to contact Gameranger's staff/admin and ask them to add the .exe of your mod to the list, but that is unlikely to happen. :/

[MattTheLegoman]

It would have worked in the past with Online. :

[Goldtouch]

 Middle_Earth_Cartology.zip   660.45KB   65 downloads

I did not make this, but this is a very handy cartology tool of 'Middle earth' ideal for making bfme maps !
A must have in the toolbox of a mapper..

 

Edited by THORONGlL, 19 September 2013 - 07:44 PM.

[Irenë Hawnetyne]

Wouldn't really call it a 'must have', to be honest.