Sins Forums
i want to tinker with the game info files of all of them but cannot convert them to txt. I have tried every GUI I have found and none of them are working for me. Can some one help me?
OR download my current reference data's for all the versions you want.
harpo
Downloaded them but cannot convert them back to test them. Could someone help me with that?
I guess you didn't try testing the ones you downloaded. Mods can use text or bin. bin loads faster.
I guess you did not read the first post & TXT TO BIN
Did but since I they weren't working in Text I assumed I had done something wrong when converted also...I am a nublet when it comes to programming. Please have patience with my inane questions.
Here is a bit I wrote in another article. We can start you from scratch but let us know what you know and dont know. 
The diplomacy and Entrenchment expansions are basically mods placed in the root directory. The usual root is...
C:\Program Files\Stardock\Sins of a Solar Empire
The game first looks at the original base game files and goes up from there. So if you are playing diplomacy it checks the base game then entrenchment then diplomacy for newer files.
If you enabled multiple mods in diplomacy it checks them from bottom up so the top one will override a lower one.
So lets say you want a new CapitalShip_TechBattleship which is the TEC KOL Capitalship in the new diplomacy mod.
Lets say you have 3 mods enabled in diplomacy all with different versions of the KOL
The game 1st checks the base game (found original KOL, lets say ver1) then entrenchment and diplomacy (no newer KOLs here). Then the lowest enabled mod (found a newer KOL lets say ver2) then the next mod up (found another KOL, lets say ver3) then the top mod (found another KOL lets say ver4.) The game will ues ver4 of the KOL because it overrides all lower mods and base game.
Keep the same folder structure as the game but unlike the game install folder where it has Entrenchment and Diplomacy separate folders your mod will not need this. Lets say you modify files from the "GameInfo" folders from all three games. They will go into 1 GameInfo folder in your NewMod folder.
harpos converted reference files are a great place to start. Get all three sets if your modding for diplomacy. the diplomacy reference files only have what was changed for diplomacy, same for entrenchment. So 1st look for the files you want to modify in diplomacy then entrenchment then org game. Place all the files you modify into 1 mod folder in the folder there from eg GameInfo.
[Tutorials] 3D Modeling, Texturing, Importing & Converting
I am figuring out how to literally modify what is in the game...don't want to create anything new, just yet; only change values and roles if you will. I started with an TEC Orbital Gauss Defense Platform...tried to give it shields. It didn't take. Mod will load, but no change in the Original Sins game...that is where I am right now...keeping it simple i guess.
myfist, as I understand the find file function with the manifest system, the search is
top mod,
then next mod down the mod stack
etc...
then diplomacy,
then entrenchment
and last sins
and the FIRST find of a file is the one used( this is the simpler to program and quicker, by your description it would be complex to program therefore less likely to be used ie starting at the bottom of the stack and keeping track of the last file found) but both descriptions would function the same, just one would be quicker and from what I know about game programming speed is VITAL.
harpo
Thanx for the clarification harpo, yuda man.
From my VERY LIMITED programming experience, I thought going down would overwrite the newer file. After thinking about it your way does make sense.
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