basic modding questions

[cmdrquan]

apologies fer soundin' lik a n00b,

what changes to the game don't require a new game/reinititializing and what do?

e.g. if i change the stats of an item (in inititem.c or whatever) what must i do to get those changes to reflect in my game? or changing a dialog file? or changing an item image in your inventory by editing the apropriate image file in the resorces directory...

i guess i'm just unclear on the differences between those 3 actions, i.e. pressing 'i', starting a new game, or continuing an existing game.


also, does reinitializing have any side effects? like, i recall reading something that reinit resets relations. that is, if france was hostile to me before, after reinit they're neutral.

i would really appreciate any insight.

thanks,
Quan

 

[Black Bart]

Someone(IncredibleHat i think?) said the initialise function was 'evil' - so where i used to press it often, i leave it alone now, just in case............but its all 'magic' as far as i'm concerend so i'll leave a 'magician' to come and give you proper help and advice <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

 

[IncredibleHat]

I consider the "I" key very evil. I never press it, as honestly, looking at the code it initiates, I would better just restart a new game than second guess that the reinitialization action didn't screw with something it shouldn't.

=)

If you're modding, my best advice is 'start a new game' to test things out.

If you are just changing a graphic file, NO new game is required, nor reinit. Its just a graphic.

Changing item stats, you should really start a new game. Much like if you are going to ADD in any new items, weapons, ships, characters.

When in doubt, start a new game.

Pressing "I" is evil =) hehehe.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I never noticed any odd effects with the initialization. Could you please explain what kind of bad effects it has?

The idea is that you should be able to use new ships and items in a savegame by pressing . The same goes for new characters.

If you make changes to dialog files, that does not require a new game at all. If you change a character's dialog file, you need to do a reinit. Changes to interface and LAi files require you to reload the game, but you don't need to start a new game.

 

[IncredibleHat]

Bad effects? Hehehe... I dont know! It's just that 'programmers vibe' i get when looking at it. Having the game act like a new game in the middle of a playing game, just sounds all voodoo to me <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

 

[cmdrquan]

thanks pieter, that's what i was looking for. and hat's scepticism is noted <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

now that i know what it's supposed to do, i'll see if i notice anything weird in it.

 

[Petros]

<!--quoteo(post=169444:date=Oct 31 2006, 03:11 PM:name=Cmdr Quan)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cmdr Quan @ Oct 31 2006, 03:11 PM) [snapback]169444[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->

e.g. if i change the stats of an item (in inititem.c or whatever) what must i do to get those changes to reflect in my game? ...
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In this case, for items in your inventory, or ships you own, the change does not take place after re-initializing.
You have to sell them, and after re-initializing, find or buy new ones.