XCOM EU Shiv gaining xp/promotions

[Radryl]

So, I am planning to make a run on long war, but I also intended to slap a few other mods and during the time I was checking for some interesting ones I noticed a huge lack of mods related to Shiv. I am not sure if there are many people interested on those little guys, but I really like their design, especially the non-hover version.

Either way, I was hoping someone here could come up with a mod for them to gain xp, gain levels and abilities like a normal soldier. My experience with modding is near zero, so I am not sure how I can do it myself, but if someone is willing to guide instead of coming up with it, I can give it a shot too. Please, if you have any idea of how to make this possible, let me know!

[Radryl]

I made some changes here, but apparently they aren't doing much. As the keyword for editing Shiv seems to be "Tank", here is what I did.

First I changed the properties of Shiv to gain Xp.

 

Properties[1]=eCP_Hardened, Properties[2]=eCP_CanGainXP, Properties[3]=eCP_None, Properties[4]=eCP_None, Properties[5]=eCP_None

Then I tried to come up with some kind of skill tree for it, changing the "soldier" part to "tank" instead, to see if it was going to work or not.

 

TankStatProgression=(eClass=eSC_Shiv, eRank=eRank_Squaddie, iHP=1, iAim=2, iWill=0, iDefense=0, iMobility=0 )
TankStatProgression=(eClass=eSC_Shiv, eRank=eRank_Corporal, iHP=0, iAim=2, iWill=0, iDefense=3, iMobility=0 )
TankStatProgression=(eClass=eSC_Shiv, eRank=eRank_Sergeant, iHP=1, iAim=2, iWill=0, iDefense=1, iMobility=0 )
TankStatProgression=(eClass=eSC_Shiv, eRank=eRank_Lieutenant,iHP=0, iAim=1, iWill=2, iDefense=0, iMobility=0 )
TankStatProgression=(eClass=eSC_Shiv, eRank=eRank_Captain, iHP=1, iAim=2, iWill=0, iDefense=2, iMobility=0 )
TankStatProgression=(eClass=eSC_Shiv, eRank=eRank_Major, iHP=1, iAim=4, iWill=0, iDefense=0, iMobility=0 )
SoldierStatProgression=(eClass=eSC_Shiv, eRank=eRank_Colonel, iHP=1, iAim=2, iWill=2, iDefense=0, iMobility=0 )

; Tank XP Levels (Rookie, Squaddie, Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel)
m_iTankXPLevels=0
m_iTankXPLevels=90
m_iTankXPLevels=480
m_iTankXPLevels=700
m_iTankXPLevels=925
m_iTankXPLevels=1380
m_iTankXPLevels=1840
m_iTankXPLevels=2550

 

The stat progression and the skill-tree based on someone who was trying to check with perks worked or not on Shiv.

 

TankPerkTrees=(TankType=eSC_Shiv, Squaddie=ePerk_RunAndGun, Corporal1=ePerk_Aggression, Corporal2=ePerk_TacticalSense, Sergeant1=ePerk_CloseAndPersonal, Sergeant2=ePerk_LightningReflexes, Lieutenant1=ePerk_RapidFire, Lieutenant2=ePerk_Flush, Captain1=ePerk_BringEmOn, Captain2=ePerk_CloseCombatSpecialist, Major=ePerk_BulletSwarm, Colonel1=ePerk_KillerInstinct, Colonel2=ePerk_Resilience)

But after testing it out, I don't have access to the abilities of the Shiv yet, so there is obviously some stuff wrong, if not a lot. So if someone could help me, I would appreciate it, and if there is a thread talking about how to edit Shiv's loadout, please send me towards it. I am trying to give it access to small items/large for a different approach. Such as a grenade launcher to keep them effective in combat even during late game. And being able to edit their loadout-Such as swapping between each chassis as if they were an armor.

Edited September 30, 2016 by Radryl

[dubiousintent]

Not much in the wiki (couple of mod article outlines by Amineri without any details). Search the "Mod Talk" forum using keywords "r&d shiv". The thread "Loadout questions" includes some notes she made on how weapons are loaded out.

 

You may need to look into how Long War handles "experience" for aircraft. The thing with LW is that they often had to create their own functions in order to do some (most) things or get around the "native function black boxes" that can't even be examined.

 

-Dubious-

[Radryl]

Not much in the wiki (couple of mod article outlines by Amineri without any details). Search the "Mod Talk" forum using keywords "r&d shiv". The thread "Loadout questions" includes some notes she made on how weapons are loaded out.

 

You may need to look into how Long War handles "experience" for aircraft. The thing with LW is that they often had to create their own functions in order to do some (most) things or get around the "native function black boxes" that can't even be examined.

 

-Dubious-

Yeahh. The "problem" with that thread is that she focused her modding on LW, and LW works in a different way compared to the vanilla game. So I am not sure if I understood the loadout changes she made there, especially because it isn't explained step by step as she is doing it for herself instead of being some kind of guide.

[dubiousintent]

LW works in a different way because they couldn't get the vanilla game to allow them to do so many things. What "simple things" they wanted to implement in LW is what drove their explorations. The "black box" native functions were what forced them to write their alternatives. So, if a line of investigation seems to vere off into LW territory, it's because they couldn't figure out how to do it in vanilla.

 

LW is as complex as it is out of shear self-defense.

 

-Dubious-

[Radryl]

But LW changes a LOT of different things, I am not completely sure if changing loadout is something impossible in the vanilla version, especially because I do see tools made to expand slots on armors that already exist. So the main "issue" here would be finding a way so you can choose which "armor" and weapon the shiv is going to wear and be able to equip stuff on the free slots. I might try to use her hex to unlock the loadout button.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Radryl

[dubiousintent]

A "shiv" is not just another type of soldier, like a MEC, or different armor. As pointed out in the wiki article "Item Loadouts":

 

The enumeration of ELocation defines the various Loadout Locations used as attachment points for objects is defined within the mesh object.

 

The attachment points are defined in the mesh, and the mesh for the "shiv" is not the same as for a soldier. I'm not saying what you want to do is impossible; just that because you want to think of them as similar does not mean that the game engine does as well. In fact it's pretty obvious that the game thinks of shivs differently.

 

There are three "shiv" mods on the Nexus for EU/EW. One uses TexMod for texture replacement, one (Recon Shivs) alters the research tree progression to allow some additional types, and one (My Shiv is special) opens the "customization" tab so you can change their name. None of that is related to what you are attempting, but perhaps examining what they do ("Recon Shiv" in particular) may lend some insight.

 

-Dubious-

[Radryl]

Chances are I might need to come up with a hex to unlock Shiv's loadout. That is what they did on LW, as show on this thread, they changed the hex code. https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/944441-shiv-loadout-in-barracks/ Sadly I can't use that as a base, so I will need to do the whole process of looking for the part related to Shiv's loadout using UE explorer.

[Dethraker]

What Dubious is trying to say is that the SHIV works completely separate from the soldier systems. There's no "unlocking" their loadout, you have to write new code in order to give the SHIVs progression in the same way soldiers progress through the game. It doesn't currently exist in the code. In other words no amount of INI edits will give the SHIV progression.

 

The variables you used in your examples don't exist in the code so the game will completely ignore them since there's nothing initiating a search for them. What you're looking for isn't a simple tweak to unlock something, it's going to be the creation of a completely new system, which takes a level of programming knowledge. I'm not sure where your level of knowledge lies so it may be do-able for you, but I just wanted to share that it's not a simple change. It took the Long War team years to make their changes, and lots of help from more than just the "core" members. It was a project from dozens of modders all working together.

 

PS: I agree that SHIVs are lacking in a way, but I don't agree with a level up system personally. Something a friend and I are working on is an "extra" Skyranger seat that is SHIV specific so that you can always bring a SHIV on a mission after getting the appropriate Skyranger upgrade from the foundry.

[Radryl]

I know what he said, and that is why I said I probably will need to come up with a hex code(A new code) like they did on LW to unlock Shiv's loadout. That code I posted was -before- I was aware about the hard-coding. And LW involved a lot of different changes, not just one and it really doesn't hurt trying to figure it out.

And well, that's your personal opinion, really, and I do respect it. I just really do like Shivs, and I am willing to at least try to do some hex editing to make the changes I am looking for. I doubt this is a process that is going to take just a few days, but I am going to see if it is possible.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Radryl