Wulf2k Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I think I'm going to be finished 'playing' the game by this weekend (after impossible, not much left to do) and I think modding will be my next step. Has anybody written up tutorials needed for each of the various types of modding? UPK extraction, modification, INI/EXE editing, file structures, hex editing locations of interest, etc? I'm sure I can piece it all together from the forums here, but if anybody's already compiled the information somewhere it would be silly not to take advantage of it. I'm also interested in trying my hand at creating an automated tool to apply mods, much like the other topic's doing, but don't want to officially throw my hat in the ring until I have a better grasp of the methods. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bokauk Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Here's a quick guide on decompressing the upk files so you can start modifying them. Then at the bottom of that post, there's a link to a tutorial on how to actually edit the upk files. There's lots of useful information scattered around the forum, but those two places should get you started :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulf2k Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingHigh10000000 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 As for ini editing, download Modpatcher, open the .mod file with notepad, and use this guide to figure out what does what. http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/808409-compiled-list-of-defaultgamecoreini-settings-and-their-funtions/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taleden Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 As for ini editing, download Modpatcher, open the .mod file with notepad, and use this guide to figure out what does what. http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/808409-compiled-list-of-defaultgamecoreini-settings-and-their-funtions/ If you make an INI mod and want to distribute it, consider trying xcominipatcher instead: http://xcom.nexusmods.com/mods/51The advantage over modpatcher is that instead of users having to install your entire INI file, which will overwrite any other mods they already had installed, they can just apply the specific INI changes that your mod requires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingHigh10000000 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 As for ini editing, download Modpatcher, open the .mod file with notepad, and use this guide to figure out what does what. http://forums.nexusm...their-funtions/ If you make an INI mod and want to distribute it, consider trying xcominipatcher instead: http://xcom.nexusmods.com/mods/51The advantage over modpatcher is that instead of users having to install your entire INI file, which will overwrite any other mods they already had installed, they can just apply the specific INI changes that your mod requires. Considering that the mod I'm working on is basically a complete rebalance, as are most mods, with almost every edit relying on the other edits to stay balanced, it would be much more user-friendly to use modpatcher in many cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taleden Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 As for ini editing, download Modpatcher, open the .mod file with notepad, and use this guide to figure out what does what. http://forums.nexusm...their-funtions/ If you make an INI mod and want to distribute it, consider trying xcominipatcher instead: http://xcom.nexusmods.com/mods/51The advantage over modpatcher is that instead of users having to install your entire INI file, which will overwrite any other mods they already had installed, they can just apply the specific INI changes that your mod requires. Considering that the mod I'm working on is basically a complete rebalance, as are most mods, with almost every edit relying on the other edits to stay balanced, it would be much more user-friendly to use modpatcher in many cases. On the other hand, I suspect one of the reasons so many mods so far have been "total overhauls" is exactly because there was not yet any way to combine multiple mods. This made authors feel obligated to try tweaking everything at once in a giant total rebalance mod, rather than separating out the tweaks to strategic balance, alien balance, soldier weapon balance, second wave options, etc. Now that it's possible to do that and mix-and-match the elements you want, I see no reason not to break a lot of those "complete rebalance" mods into their component mods, so users can use what they like and aren't forced into all-or-nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingHigh10000000 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 As for ini editing, download Modpatcher, open the .mod file with notepad, and use this guide to figure out what does what. http://forums.nexusm...their-funtions/ If you make an INI mod and want to distribute it, consider trying xcominipatcher instead: http://xcom.nexusmods.com/mods/51The advantage over modpatcher is that instead of users having to install your entire INI file, which will overwrite any other mods they already had installed, they can just apply the specific INI changes that your mod requires. Considering that the mod I'm working on is basically a complete rebalance, as are most mods, with almost every edit relying on the other edits to stay balanced, it would be much more user-friendly to use modpatcher in many cases. On the other hand, I suspect one of the reasons so many mods so far have been "total overhauls" is exactly because there was not yet any way to combine multiple mods. This made authors feel obligated to try tweaking everything at once in a giant total rebalance mod, rather than separating out the tweaks to strategic balance, alien balance, soldier weapon balance, second wave options, etc. Now that it's possible to do that and mix-and-match the elements you want, I see no reason not to break a lot of those "complete rebalance" mods into their component mods, so users can use what they like and aren't forced into all-or-nothing. That's a good point. Mine aims to be a total overhaul because the idea is to get it as close to the original game as possible, while still taking full advantage of the cool new stuff that the remake added, and having a more "modern" feel to the way things work for the organization. Though I will likely separate a few modules and offer them as "standalones" in addition to the big overhaul, since some might enjoy the tweaks I made to the strategic game, but still want the battlescape to be vanilla, or they might just like the way I rebalanced the weapons and armor, and don't want the HP to change or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miked79 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Not sure if this will interest u or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulf2k Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Can't check it out at work, but I'll watch it later. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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