The first custom unit (Flammpanzer)

[Kerensky]

Why is it custom? Because you won't get this unit with your default install of the game, sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjLvVjDjaFk

I made this unit, by borrowing and editing some engineer and Panzer IIIL assets.
It has all necessary attributes configured to be a normal unit, including it's own attack animation and sound.

As you can see from the video, the tank is decent at close quarter combat against other tanks but does absolutely terrible against other tanks in open terrain.
3 - 4 prediction against a T34-85 on a city hex, 5 - 0 against a t34-85 on open terrain (lol 2 initiative).
It is successful against infantry in both close quarter combat and open terrain combat.
It is not immune to rugged defense.


Bottom line you have 6 items you need to configure:

1. Need an attack sound file (or reference an existing one)
2. Need an attack animation PNG of the exact same name as #1 (or reference an existing one)
3. Need a BIG UNIT PNG
4. Need a PNG of the unit facing left and right, normal and small.
5. Need to create a line in equipment.pzeqp.
6. Need to create an entry in efx.pzdat.

All of this is a lot easier said than done, especially learning how to properly configure the line in efx.pzdat, but those are the only 6 items you need to create units.



Happy modding!

[TheGrayMouser]

Fantastic news, sounds then like the biggest hurtle in modding will be ones artistic skills in make new unit graphics.

Think of the possibilities, WWI, Franco Prussian War, Fatasy General redux, heck even Star General ( i think I am the sole person who enjoyed that last gasp of the 5 Star Series from SSI)

[VPaulus]

Think of the possibilities, WWI, Franco Prussian War

Congratulations! You just make me bought a new keyboard. I've just drooled all over it.
I begin to imagine Crimea, Napoleonic, etc. But probably you would have to adapt and change some rules. And I don't know if that's possible. But for WWI, it's more easier.

[TheGrayMouser]

Think of the possibilities, WWI, Franco Prussian War

Congratulations! You just make me bought a new keyboard. I've just drooled all over it.
I begin to imagine Crimea, Napoleonic, etc. But probably you would have to adapt and change some rules. And I don't know if that's possible. But for WWI, it's more easier.

Well of course modding an engine base on one period into another is always going to have that round peg into a square hole phenom but PzC seems a lot more felxible than PG/PG2 Peoples General etc etc and look at what was done with those old engines: WW1 ,Napleonic, ACW, modern etc. cant Wait til Monday!

[VPaulus]

WW1 ,Napleonic, ACW, modern etc. cant Wait til Monday!

I knew about WWI, but I didn't know Napoleonic and ACW. I feel I missed something.
I think you're right, this game was made with much more modding in mind, than any PG.

[TheGrayMouser]

Just a few of the links for modding inspirational purposes only (buy this game!)

http://www.peachmountain.com/5star/PG2_NapGen.asp
http://www.pegww2.net/Pages/install.htm

the second one has some nice pics of what the mods look like in game (I believe they are based off peoples general)

If they could do all this with games that were never designed for modding (you needed multiple user made tools including hex editors etc), think of what can be doen with the open text data files in PzC... drool...

[pomakli]

It's really a great idea, thanks for this motivation!

But flame-tank attacking other tanks?

[Kerensky]

It's really a great idea, thanks for this motivation!

But flame-tank attacking other tanks?

How do you mean? You see attacking a T34-85 in open terrain is suicidal (5 - 0 result).
But in the confines of an urban environment, that 50 meter range on the flamethrower isn't so bad when you turn a corner and find your enemy right there.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Think of the possibilities, WWI, Franco Prussian War

Congratulations! You just make me bought a new keyboard. I've just drooled all over it.
I begin to imagine Crimea, Napoleonic, etc. But probably you would have to adapt and change some rules. And I don't know if that's possible. But for WWI, it's more easier.

Just discovered this old thread. Also, you don't need to change any rules to make WWI work (though I edited fortification terrain to make infantry defend it better - though that was in v1.4, long after the mod had been proven to work!)

Also it seems no-one ever thought of the Mongol campaigns!

- BNC

[Delta66]

Hi,

I have made some custom units for a mod I'm working on.

The problem I have is how to "link the bigunits picture to the actual unit?
On the purchase menu , my new unit stats display correctly, with the correct game icon, but the BIGUNIT picture in the topright stay blank!!

I have put a 240 x165 image in the bigunit directory, but I can't find a way to link it properly.

[Delta66]

I think I get it,

The big unit file name should be exactly the same as the icon name, with underscore instead of space in both cases.
I used the unit name instead of the icon name!

[Mark50]

Yes, the cards (both the "units" battle card and the "bigunits" info card) are loaded by association with the name from the efx.pzdat file. It needs to be exactly the same text (without spaces obviously).

[Delta66]

Can someone recommend a good way to adjust the values in the efx.pzdat file to a newly created units. More specifically the offset values for the anims to match the position of the gun in my new icons.

I'm using Gimp, Blender, and Paint for my graphics needs. But I haven't found a convenient way to adjust the attacks anims to my newly created icons. I'm looking for a tools to load the attack anims, so I can adjust the anims positions manually and take note of the offset values.

[RoyalBlue]

How well is the CPU at being able to use modded units?

[captainjack]

Hi RoyalBlue,
In short, the AI is just as good and bad with new units as existing ones.

The AI isn't all that smart. Movement is largely based on scripting. It seems to base its combat decisions on likely combat odds and prestige cost and tries to pick the target where it causes you the biggest cost. It also acts in a defined order of unit types which explains why it tends to do artillery last, which kind of wastes the suppression effects and helps if you want to set traps for it. The AI also can't load up landing craft and aircraft, only move and unload them. Having said that, in most cases it is no better or worse handling modded units than existing ones.

So your new Panzer 35t will be used just as well as the standard panzer 38t.

For switchable units, the AI appears to have some concept of when to switch between AA/AT mode with its Soviet 85mms, and for the allied 25pounders switching between AT and Artillery (and when I'm playing Allied Corps it does a good job with my modded Panzergrenadiers switching to artillery mode, which catches me out far too often).

But I think that's about the limit of its abilities, and I have a suspicion that it can't manage units that have more than two options (eg an 88 that does AA, AT and artillery will probably never switch). Since I haven't yet used 3-way switching I'm not 100% on that one.

[ThvN]

I have noticed that the AI doesn't seem to be able to use switchable air units; I haven't tried this for sea units yet, but AI air units seem stuck in the mode that there are put on the map.

I'm getting a vague impression that the AI thinks it can switch it but doesn't actually do it, like when it places a switchable fighter without ground attack over a ground target when the switch would allow ground attacks. Vice versa, a fighter-bomber that switches between active and passive [14] air attack acts like it can attack air units, it flies next to them and does nothing. Really strange.