Trying to mod three things but I don't know what files to edit. (YOSE campaign)

[Joepk0201]

I used the SoD Tools to extract the game's files but I don't know what files I have to change to get the effects I'd like.

I'm trying to lower the amount of zombies that spawn, the amount of time it takes for a mission opportunity to disappear, the size of safe zones and if possible the amount of time it takes for temporary safe zones to disappear.

I've found two zombies.xml files in gametokens with density, e.g., Residential.Density but I don't know if they're the ones I want to change and which of the two files I need to change. I found a few missions.xml files that had OpportunityTimeout in them but I don't know which xml file I need to change and if I can change all OpportunityTimeout variables or if some of them need to be unchanged.

I haven't found anything for the size of safe zones or the amount of time it takes for temporary safe zones to disappear so far.

[qmjs]

When you say campaign mode, I'm going to assume you are talking about story mode. Breakdown is similar but uses a different set of files.

Zombie spawn density 
Look in rtsevents for   <Event Id="Event.Activated">
You will find these lines:
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="20" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Zombies.Density.Agricultural" PauseWhenOffline="" />
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="30" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Zombies.Density.Commercial" PauseWhenOffline="" />
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="30" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Zombies.Density.Industrial" PauseWhenOffline="" />
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="20" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Zombies.Density.Park" PauseWhenOffline="" />
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="30" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Zombies.Density.Residential" PauseWhenOffline="" />
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="14" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Zombies.Density.Wilderness" PauseWhenOffline="" />
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="3" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Zombies.Density.Interior" PauseWhenOffline="" />

Output amount is the number you are looking for. There is a separate action under the event that has the values for nighttime.
Reducing the OutputAmount number will reduce the zombies in that type of spawn area.

Safe zone radius
Look in facilities.xml for the watchtower, under <Action ActionFlags="Subaction" ActionId="Bonus_RangeBoost" 
                <RTSStat_Add DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="20" OutputDuration="1h" OutputId="Home.Defense.Range" PauseWhenOffline="" />

OutputAmount is the range, OutputDurstion ids how long it stays up.
Note that there is an entry for each variant of the watchtower, so you will need to change multiple lines.

For outposts, look in rtsevents.xml,   <Event Id="fsEvent.UpdateOutpostRadius">
The safe zone when traps are not set is here:
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="40" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Home.Defense.BaseFacilityRange" PauseWhenOffline="" />
And the increase when traps are set is here:
          <RTSStat_Set DurationCancellable="" OutputAmount="80" OutputDuration="" OutputId="Home.Defense.BaseFacilityRange" PauseWhenOffline="" />

Mission timeout
These are handled in missions.xml, and you must change these carefully... changing all of them will mess things up considerably.
The entries are in     <MissionFramework under OpportunityTimeout="1800"

I was going to point to some older posts with additional useful information, but I think this is probably all you need to consider:

Class 3 is story mode, 3.1 is Breakdown, 3.2 is Lifeline.

Extract the files.

edit xml

use xml2bmd to convert the xml back to bmd

place in the same folder path in the actual game directory, with two exceptions:

breakdown is extracted to sandbox directory. when putting files back in game, the initial game\sandbox levels are removed.

(example: Game\sandbox\game\libs\class3.1 becomes Game\libs\class3.1)

lifeline is similar, extracted to the beltway directory. 

That is it. Uncompressed xml won't be read in most cases, so if there is a bmd in the extracted, it needs to be bmd in the actual game files.

[Joepk0201]

Sorry that I'm only responding two days later but I've been testing the mods to see if they work well but as far as I can tell my mods are working perfectly so thanks for the help.

 

If I wanted to modify these settings a bit further I'll probably need to start a new game right?

 

Edit: Another question. I just started the game again and a neighbouring enclave collapsed because one of the characters died and another disappeared. That seemed pretty random because there was nothing to threaten them nearby. I saw a variable called 'PauseWhenOffline' in rtsevent.xml, can I edit that to true to stop those events from happening or would that break parts of the game?

Edited September 16 by Joepk0201
I had a new question and don't think it's necessary to make a new comment.

[qmjs]

No, that won't affect it. The PauseWhenOffline is essentially used is a few events to prevent it from calculating resource loss for every day that passes when not playing. At one time early in the game's history, not playing for a few days would entirely decimate your base.

The enclaves have a wide variety of randomness, and the overall danger level on the map affects them, not necessarily what is nearby. Some are scipted to be around for only a short time... any named "Desperate" will disband quite quickly if you don't assist them.

 

[Joepk0201]

Okay, thanks for the info.

Is there a way of checking the danger level on the map? I clear every horde and infestation I come across but every time I start the game again every random survivor enclave disappears again even though I helped them with all their missions.

In zombies.xml what variables would I need to change under the subgroups infestation and horde to decrease the amount of them that spawn or increase the amount of time it takes to spawn new ones?

I'm guessing that the density subgroup concerns the amount of zombies allowed per cell/location.

Edited September 18 by Joepk0201

[qmjs]

I assumed you were playing story mode, but please clarify if that is correct or not.

Many of the enclaves in story mode are intentionally short lived, either related to a specific mission. There are a few you can recruit if you get to them fast enough, but mostly you will get new recruits from the radio calls.

Most infestations come from hordes. If you select a horde on the map, it will show you where it is going... either headed towards your base, or a location where it will become an infestation. Keep in mind that infestations that you haven't seen (in other areas of the map that you haven't explored, or areas that you haven't been near in some time), affect the numbers as well.

All of those timers are reset upon loading into a game, so most of them won't have any real effects upon what you are looking for. Once loaded into the game, increasing the respawndelay numbers will slow them down, as well as the spreadtimer and maxambient (number of hordes that can be on the map).

 

 

 

 

[Joepk0201]

I am playing story mode, I should've clarified that earlier.

Alright, so there's no reason to modify anything related to enclaves in that case?

The amount of infestations can probably be fixed by just increasing the amount of outposts I have then I guess.

I'm guessing that increasing the 'RespawnDelayMax' and decreasing 'RespawnDelayDecayInterval' will reduce the amount of hordes that can reasonably be on the map while I'm playing?

[qmjs]

I would assume so, although I haven't ever changed those directly.

 

Modifying enclaves in story mode could be problematic, as the enclaves control the story missions. 

 

Effective outpost use is critical to success or failure in many ways. For example, if you leave a resource in an outpost, you can later destroy it to build something else, but because the resource is there you can go back and make it an outpost again. I frequently use this to switch between medicine and fuel outposts. 

On the other hand, if there is an outpost that you know you will only use temporarily, calling for runners and then picking up the resource will effectively double what you get, as the runner will "find" an extra rucksack when they arrive.