Updated tutorials for Dark Avatar?

from GalCiv2 Forums
Hey everyone. I've been reading "A Brief Guide to Modding Galactic Civilization 2: Dread Lords" and it's been somewhat helpful. But that guide is for version 1.2 Dread Lords. I have the latest version of Dark Avatar (what is it, 1.8g now?) and there is a lot of new stuff it seems in the xml files.

Basically all I want to do mod-wise is put the finishing details on custom races. The in-game "create custom race" tool is a good start but stuff like giving the race its own star system, specific race bonuses, etc.

Are there any updated Dark Avatar custom race tutorial/guides out there? Am I just missing them? I'm a modding neophyte for the most and I realize a lot of what the old guides say still holds true, but I like to know I'm doing everything 100%.

Thanks for the help.
modding
3,290 views 2 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I second that, wholeheartedly!
Please, cariElf or someone else "interested" by the challenge at SD... find the time it would take & update the modding guide to DA features (and TA, sooner or later!).

There's always the Forum scanning tricks to find a few details about specific issues (which i HAD to do extensively while designing the X-Worlds mod, btw - just imagine now how much else i will have to do for the other CoSH!) but there's abolutely nothing better than having a complete "finalized" primer (on everything useful) help clearly written up and formatted in a swift PDF or somethin'.

So, again, PLEASE. Counting Woas and just the only me, that's two person who'd make good use of the resource(s). And as TA seems to be the "last" expansion to GC2 for a long while, i believe new & previous Modders will really take a stance in the months ahead.

Make our lives easier while holding our hands and leading us to the paradise of Modding.

- Zyxpsilon.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Oh, and please, add a whole chapter about dxpack/files editing.

I went to SDC and could glimpse at some tiny bits of info on numerous subjects but lemme give you an example on somethin' i've been thinking to provide with X-Worlds;

1) Design a custom Title-screen enhanced and fully interactive for a few bik movies which would need to be selectable upon clicks!

One for each of the following major races, in fact...
X-Com, Magnetic-TFTD, Apocalypsion, S-H-A-D-O (found a terrific FLV on YouTube last week - and it IS quite the ride!), Interceptors (Just the original teaser by Microprose is sooooo f* great.) and Thunderbirds (Five, four... Lift-Offs, rescuing tiny clips from shows, the works).
Smally 320x240 versions, nicely tucked smack middle of a pseudo-galactic drawing where all their systems with all custom planets are linked by lines to the "movie-box".
Click the different logos at the bottom and enjoy around 1:30 minutes/each worth of genuine action. Just for kicks. Some Huge Megabytes are predictable once compiled at even a very low 70000 bik-ratio, but it would certainly set the mood, perfectly.

2) Moving the menu-bar straight to top-left corner side while placing the GC2-DA logo bottom & underneath.

And, that's for one project. Getting the DL/MainWnd (from the bonus mod folder, mini-map is on left-side, layout different, etc) and adapt it to DA features (after all there IS an extra button for spying)... another!

These processes require much more complete programming knowledge of the dxpack(s) format with details on functions and procs, for sure. I will certainly attempt to devise the thing(s) all by myself though, later.

Thus, could be very helpful to modder through a "new guide".

- Zyxpsilon.
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