Editing/expanding namelists for default countries

[Cofias]

So there are several good mods out already that add pretty much every relevant country in the world and large, decently accurate namelists to go with these custom nationalities. However, the default namelists in the game are atrocious in comparison; typically short and inaccurate. I wanted to copy the name lists for the excellent "Enhanced name list" (http://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/505/?) mod for XCOM EW/Long War, but I can't figure out how to get it working. I tried to simply edit the arrays in XComGame.int in the localization/int folder, but that did not appear to work. What I tried was to leave only a single entry in the USA last names array, and then check if that was the only last name that appeared for new US soldiers. Is there something I'm missing? The analogous task would have been trivial in the case of modding EU/EW.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Cofias

[DaggaRoosta]

I'm working on a mod that will do something similar, but you can get the Enhanced Name List names into the game fairly easily in one of two ways:

 

1) Go into the Steam game directory's Localization/INT folder (if you play in English) and open the XComGame.int file. Any edits you make directly to the file will make it into the game.

 

2) If you want to make a Modbuddy mod, at present you can only add items via the Localization/XComGame.int file (such as that found in the Default Mod setup). Many tutorials claim you can edit INT file contents like INI files but that's just not true. the +/- operator simply doesn't work. You CAN add new lines however, which for your purposes should be fine. Just remember, you don't need the plus sign.

 

For example, there are 54 male American first names in the game [0-53]. Putting this in your mod will do nothing:

 

[XGCharacterGenerator]

m_arrAmMFirstNames[0]="Bork"

m_arrAmMFirstNames[1]="Bork"

m_arrAmMFirstNames[2]="Bork"

m_arrAmMFirstNames[3]="Bork"

 

And this also does nothing:

 

[XGCharacterGenerator]

+m_arrAmMFirstNames[54]="Bork"

+m_arrAmMFirstNames[55]="Bork"

+m_arrAmMFirstNames[56]="Bork"

+m_arrAmMFirstNames[57]="Bork"

 

But putting these in will add them to the game:

 

[XGCharacterGenerator]

m_arrAmMFirstNames[54]="Bork"

m_arrAmMFirstNames[55]="Bork"

m_arrAmMFirstNames[56]="Bork"

m_arrAmMFirstNames[57]="Bork"

[Cofias]

Thanks for your detailed reply!

 

So using the first method, can I remove or replace existing names or only add more entries, like in method 2?

 

I'd love to see the results of your efforts if you are working on something similar. Are you planning to release your mod any time soon?