Question on how the engine works.

[Zalioth]

I've just started going through the code and I've got a question.

Lets say I want to add an item. So I go to the folder Program\ITEMS, and there i find several C code files. So I modify the header appropriately and the iniItems.c and the game will take in account the new item? (lets forget about textures, models and texts for now and suppose they are already there). Does the game engine recompile all these files every time you start the game?

Any insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated as I'm trying to get to know the engine so I can start modding. Thanks in advance!

 

[Officerpuppy]

Generally speaking, files that end in "_init" are only loaded once when you start the game. Any changes made to an "_init" file after that, you won't see the changes unless you start a new game.

 

[Zalioth]

So the game does recompile and load these (might it be once at starting the new game or on every save game load) files, right?

Are there any limitations that you've found or you are completely free to add new functions or include your very own libraries? That's what i meant by the engine recompiling all that code. ^^

Thanks for the answer, by the way.

 

[Captain Maggee]

Files with "init.c" require you to start a new game for the changes to be made where as files like quests_reaction.c or dialog dont require a new game, so some the engine loads when needed but others it stores after a game is actually started, these files require you to start a brand new game to see the changes in game

Generally speaking there is nearly a way to do most things (ie direct sail and different period mod in the Build Mod) but these require a lot of skill and time to achieve