A Mod Concept - Ancestral Knowledge (info needed)

[Netm]

Hi guys,

 

I'm new to modding, although I have some programming background, not much as I'm now in sales, but some to understand and edit readable code and scripts. I've taken a look at the modding files and documentation but I cannot figure out:

• How to do questlines and change their status?
• How to change something that is already in the game (say, the player character) to something else (skills, traits, weapons, siege engines available)? (not to max the char or cheat, it's part of the mod idea below).
• How to change state of the map (cities, buildings, populations, construction etc. values), add and remove buildings from cities and castles and change the map layout overall during the gameplay of a mod or is such a thing even possible?

 

I've already figured out that much that I could do just by some programming language and the way I understand the mod logic works. I could add different states of the world and the characters in it to different subfolders in the Modules folder, everything would be named the same on file level, only the root folder is indexed like 1,2,3 etc. (or names for that matter). Then you'd add a script to switch this folder when something happens in the game or certain game time has passed after the last event. I'm wondering if this structure will work?

 

The idea of the mod (spoilers)

 

Ok, so it would start by there appearing a city on the map or just a scene location which would be immediately noticed (welcome text?) and easy to find. Upon going there, you'll get a typical gather quest of 6 pieces from different NPC's around the map, it's a key to another place in the center of the map. I should edit these characters (or include a mod that allows for it for all NPC's) to be subject to bribing and either a big amount of quests or endless. You should reach some level of relation with them before they are willing to part with their piece of the key.

 

Once you get the key, go to the city or scene location which it unlocks, you'll get exposed to the ancestral knowledge. The idea is pretty widely circulated in sci-fi tv series, at least the SG series that I'm a big fan of. The lore being that there once was an ancient race who were like humans, evolved and invented crazy stuff and later on moved to another plane of existence or just left with space ships. The effect of this would be similar to char edit cheat, all intelligence to the max, your siege engines become inventions from the future like a midrange tactical nuclear warhead with IR targeting and you can build missile silos and launch nuclear attacks on cities or parties. I think most of this could be done without extra graphics just using current siege engines and enhancing their attributes and using a caravan or a party as a missile. I'm not sure how to reflect the effects or where to get the textures of a bombarded city, though. Anyways, would require at least additional buildings in cities. The missiles would only be controlled from a command center, and they would be ridiculously expensive, so you couldn't just sit there and nuke'em all without cheats. Effectively, this would make you win every siege.

 

As a measure of balance in the Universe, your knowledge would have a spillover effect of creating a certain evil guy named Francóis who becomes the leader of 3 biggest factions on the map combining them into one evil religious fundamentalist faction poised on destroying all heresy. EDIT: Or just spawn a faction in the middle of the map with a huge army and let them roam. Or give a set of cities from the native mod from some corner of the map. That would essentially make it an invasion mod. Francóis would have a crossbow that reloads instantly, kills anyone up to 300 meters and shoots instant bolts, as well as a scythe that kills up to 10 meters with a single blow. He has everything except intelligence skills maxed which are comfortably a bit above the "complete idiot"-level. He would have a group of minions to work as governors and lords for his army. He cannot die. This would effectively mean he cannot lose a battle, except a siege, if you shoot him from the orbit with a satellite weapon. Even then he spawns back, though.

 

The next stage in the process would be after a few weeks in game time, that the superpowers start to go haywire. The interstellar fighter jet malfunctions and opens a hyperspace window in the middle of a city, which tears it apart killing every character and noble in it and leaving only smoldering ruins. Or for the dark side, Francóis gets a blackout and randomly kills 30% of all people, npc's included, in the settlement or army he is currently in. Both chars would age significantly during this phase since the unnatural abilities are consuming the body faster. This would go on for another couple of weeks after which a cutscene or a screen recorded video would appear in a form of a dream.

 

You have to travel to the center city with only one companion. Francóis will attempt to do the same with his partner (for the sake of not antagonizing the French anymore) Svetlana. You can't attack each other anymore but the evil fart of the universe bandit groups around the city will try to kill you both. You will have to survive with your and your partner's skills and Francóis and Svetlana alike are unbeatable but randomly killing each other or themselves.

 

Once one of you reaches the city, the other one who didn't, dies along with their spouse. The one who survives, gets a few nice extra perks and world goes on with the evil faction still there, but if you won, without Francóis and his minions, if you lost, your child will have to deal with them. Obviously, not as unbeatable, but something between an incarnation of anti-god and a human. Could be killed somehow for sure.

 

Next versions:

 

Stages of the world as "after blackout" scenes, burdened by nuclear radiation and too fast advancement to things the people of that age understand nothing about. Basically blackout periods when the player starts to show signs of instability, then wakes up in a world that is burning, Francóis is still after you, everyone you know are dead etc. And you get the final quest which returns things to normal or seminormal. You'd still need the partner to finish the quest, though. Oh well...

 

As I see it, there could be as many stages and map variations as there is energy to do and with whatever modifications to the world (new technologies, new evil religious powers and buildings for the opposing side). Player haywire skills could be modified accordingly.

 

 

Any ideas if these kinds of transitions are supported? I would like to try to do this with as little graphical changes as possible to keep it lightweight. I'm not sure if I ultimately have the skills, so I decided to throw it out here if one of you who definitely has, thinks it's a cool idea.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Netm

[Netm]

Hi guys,

 

Judging from all the requests here, there are more askers than there are doers. I checked the modding quick start guide and yea, if you're fluent in C# this could probably be done. Why isn't there a scenario-based editor with map support for volcanoes, urban things and definitely options to add more buildings to the cities that are getting maxed quite early on? You could add questlines, items, NPCs, locations, scenes, siege equipment, situations, notes, edit character and city properties or the map on the go because of a questline event... And so on.

 

So, sorry guys, would be happy to contribute and I'm trying to find a way if there would be possibility to pay centrally through Vortex to all modders whose mods I've used... Vortex should know it, at least from the times after Skyrim. I love some of the mods here and some of the ideas, the dark reality is that most of the mods I've tried, don't even work with the most recent game enough for the game to start. Now I'm in a situation in the game where I needed to strip some mods due to their errors but I cannot wait in a settlement, nor can I leave and start moving, or it crashes. The report doesn't say which mod it is and it is frustrating. I'll start another thread on that.

 

But yea, I'll be modding in this game when you have a graphical modder tool.