Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? (Modding)

[Josh]

I have been experimenting with trying to see how much of this game can be modified, I looked into the textures first, to try and solve the Princess/Entertainer complaint, but sadly there doesn’t seem to be a specific file for the Princess, but I will keep looking for a way. Though the good news is I did find a plug-in that will allow me to view these files in Photoshop.



The bad news is I have heard is that there is no converter released for the CEM (The 3D Models) file type, a bunch of empire earth fans tried and failed to get one released apparently.

If anyone has any more information, please share.
Stick this plugin in your Adobe Photoshop plugins folder and then you can open any DDS file.

[Bugsy]

Spongebob Squarepants! :D

I am forced to watch entirely too much children's tv lol

[Son of Moose]

Bugsy:

Spongebob Squarepants!

This is a singularly interesting oath to use!!! :p

[Son of Moose]

Josh:

I would be EXTREMELY INTERESTED to see what you can find and, more importantly, what you can do. :)

Personally (maybe I am not alone in this matter?), I would find "add-ons" far more useful and attractive than "alterative mods" as they would potentially add more to the game. :D

Therefore is it actually possible to ADD new files into the CotN graphics rather than merely substitute currently existing files? :confused:

[Son of Moose]

Sitearm9:

Perhaps other adventurous (and talented) members can let us know what they have discovered and/or managed to do. :)

[Josh]

Yeah Keith did the stars, but thats no different than say, Putting a picture of ourselves on Pharaohs head, as Son of Moose said, its just altering the existing files of the game in some way, not actualy adding anything. We need to figure out where that is located

Though as far as altercations like, adding a building, which adds and item and a family, I dont think we can, simply because we cant make the 3D Models.

I just found something that can load the SST textures, but I havent found too much intresting there, I will give you a link to the heaven's game site I found it on shortly. The program can also apparently load TAI files (unit AI) but I found out notepad can as well :)

From the program EE Studio...

- Cem files : Cem files are the model files of Empire Earth. They cannot be edited for the moment because we need Stainless Steel Studios' 3ds to Cem exporter.

- Dat files : Dat files are used to tell the game which file from the SSA to load when it needs it. Editing these is useless since they can only work if put in the data.ssa. By viewing them I was able to find 3 types of cliff. They are viewed in a hex editor.
- Icons/Cursors(TGA) : Tga files can be viewed in quite a couple of Paint programs. You can use IrfanView to view them.

[dreamsoftwilight]

It would be neat if someone could mod a plaza tile for a grass tile, or remake the bush decoration to something more attractive. :)

[Azeem]

It would be neat if someone could mod a plaza tile for a grass tile, or remake the bush decoration to something more attractive. :)

Or add a bunch of flowers to the garden. ;)

[Josh]

I'm looking into doing both of those, but for some reason what I did isnt showing up in the game...

Hrrmm, I will look at it more tonight, if anyone has any ideas as to why using the Grass_1 texture and renaming a copy of it plaza_c_1 doesnt work I would like to hear it.

[Josh]

:o I think I found out why... I think im going to uninstall the beta now. Stupid Josh. ;)


Alright I figured it out, Expect it tonight, the grass tile mod and the flowerfull bush mod.

The bush one might not look too hot in its first incarnation, but Its just nice to demonstrate that its possible.

What colour flowers do you want in the first bush?

Which decorative tile is your least used?

But now I gotta go to work.

[Maatkaamun]

What colour flowers do you want in the first bush?

Which decorative tile is your least used?

I use all the tiles except the Road. Path and Plain Plaza are my favorites.

Color for flowers? Red or yellow.

[Maatkaamun]

This is a singularly interesting oath to use!!! :p

There's a kids TV program here in the states called "Spongebob Squarepants" about a sponge (?) that lives in the ocean. Part of the themesong says "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants!"

[dreamsoftwilight]

Do different coloured flowers! White, pink, red, and yellow!

I use the plain plaza and the blue and green, and the purple plazas the most.

[Bugsy]

There's a kids TV program here in the states called "Spongebob Squarepants" about a sponge (?) that lives in the ocean. Part of the themesong says "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants!"
Yep. And my youngest loves it so much, Santa is bringing him one of the Spongebob televisions now on the market. The hideous thing is bright yellow, with eyes and all. Oy! But, nice and cheap, cause I don't think he should have a big expensive one. Moving the boys into separate rooms is tricky enough as it is. :rolleyes:

[Yahya]

There's a kids TV program here in the states called "Spongebob Squarepants" about a sponge (?) that lives in the ocean. Part of the themesong says "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants!"
And the movie is out this Friday. Been watching the commercials all day. :)

[Josh]

So does anyone get why I named this thread what I did?

[dreamsoftwilight]

I re-read your first post to see if there was a clue, but couldnt find one... so no, I dont know, but Im sure you'll tell us. :p

[Yahya]

@Josh: I would assume that you're planning to mod with Spongebob characters, but I could be grossly mistaken.

[Josh]

Nope! :p

But I assure you It's not because I'm crazy.

Heres a hint: those figures sure do have some intresting critters.

[Bugsy]

So does anyone get why I named this thread what I did?
I knew what you were referencing, but I still haven't figured out how the two combine. I can't match modding files with Spongebob. LOL Unless you're making crabby patties to use instead of bread??

[dreamsoftwilight]

WHAT figures?!?

[Josh]

You folks dissapoint me,

Oh well, some curious mind will get it eventualy. Or maybe an easter egg will be released to make it all make sence.

[dreamsoftwilight]

Perhaps if Josh weren't being so overly, and unecessarily cryptic, we could actually guess what he's being secretive about. :p

[Josh]

Perhaps if Josh weren't being so overly, and unecessarily cryptic, we could actually guess what he's being secretive about. :pHeh, but that wouldnt be any fun!


On an on topic note: Would anyone have any ideas how to open a DAT file? Those seem to have very important sounding names relative to making real changes in the game, not just asthetic ones.

[dreamsoftwilight]

Right click on the dat file and select open-with, and then choose notepad.

[dreamsoftwilight]

He's gonna turn the animals into Spongebob characters!!

[Josh]

Right click on the dat file and select open-with, and then choose notepad.

×#< €? @@ @ÍÌÌ? ? @
×#< €? @@ @ÍÌÌ?ƒ

Is just a lot of gibberish to me, No... I dont think notepad is the proper viewer. or atleast I hope it isnt! or else thats the end of that train of thought. :)

[dreamsoftwilight]

You can also try wordpad, but notepad is generally good enough to edit a dat file. If youre just getting jibberish it might not be editable.

[Josh]

Nope, already tried that as well. oh well. I'm putting up the bush mod as I speak..er..type

[Josh]

Is there much interest for a Cleopatra mod? For the female players out there, I could probably give Pharaoh a female face.



Sure you would still have a princess and no husband... But is there interest?

[dreamsoftwilight]

why not put a male face on the queen? hehehe.

If you could mod the files to say "queen" instead of King (not sure if it does), that would be good too.

When you going to upload the bush mod? I found the decoration files, but Im not sure how to edit them..

[Josh]

Bush mod is up and ready to go, its in a different thread.

See the problem with putting a male face on the queen is that I honestly think the entertainer and the queen are the same files, I havent tested this to be sure, But I havent found any other texture for a queen.

So unless I can find a way to change the fact that the princes' texture is the entertainer's I cant change much.

I can change stuff like "all hail the boy king" but Pharaoh doesnt need to be changed to Queen right?

[dreamsoftwilight]

nah you dont need to change Pharaoh, the queens were called pharaoh when they ruled as kings I think.

[dreamsoftwilight]

Hmm... well I want to play with the doum palm, so Im just wondering which one of those skins it is in that file... I get mip maps that open up when I open the bush file in photoshop

[Josh]

Oops, I saved my bush file wrong then. I will fix that soon.

[dreamsoftwilight]

I can still see the corrections you did on the bush, its just all the other sprite skins are in the file too...

It gives me the option to show all the mipmaps or not. and I chose yes.

[Josh]

I think mipmaps in this file's case are unnesesary and increase the file size, The original file is much smaller and doesnt prompt you for mipmaps. The (official) files that require mipmaps are the blank (missing?) ones, or the water effects. I'm still trying to get saving those files right, There are so many options, and a bunch of them are latin to me.

This was my first stab at the queen and there is a lot of work to do, but hey its a start... (her shirt is on backwards and upside down!) and too bad the queen has such a protuding jaw line :eek: I will keep updating you the further I get on this one.

[dreamsoftwilight]

well when I open say the palm tree file, I get a blank square. What program are you opening and editing these files with?

[Josh]

Yeah, apparently that blank square isnt really the palm tree file, I still dont get those black blocks, they dont seem to serve any purpose that I can tell

If you want to edit the palm trees you just need to mess with the leaves on the same file as the bush mod, what I do is make a big bright primary colour line on each type of leaf, and then I know which leaf goes to which plant. then I revert to a good save of the plants and start editing.

Im just using Photoshop CS

[dreamsoftwilight]

Ok heres a question, why does your file have all those small medium large and tiny variations in the file, and the one in my original folder ha just large looking skins?

[Josh]

Oh hey, Crap, that just shows how little I know about that saving program. Thanks for telling me.


My more recent files are all better than that... Ooops, I should probably take that file down untill I put up a better version, and any modification you do should be done to the virgin file, so you dont get handicapped by my screwups.

Its too late to put up a good bush mod, tommorow I will get around to fixing that.


Untill then, my headway on the queen! Her shirt is on right, her skirt is just a little crooked ;)

[dreamsoftwilight]

So I went expiramenting in that terrain file, and I found out where everything is used, except the odd coloured ground files like the bricks and rocks and the bes figurine... most I was finding the tree branches and stuff.

So here's what I found...

The thing with the pink line is delete-able weeds.

The one with the green line is used on the Plain Palms and more delete-able weeds.

The item with the white line is the branches of the Fancy Palm and the Doum Palm.

The one with the orange dots is yet more weeds.

The branch like thing with the orange line, is I think the over-harvested remains of either (or both) the Myrrh Tree, or the Acacia Tree.

The large frond at the bottom left with the blue line, I found only on the wild Palm Tree with the white trunk.

And, the yellow-weed bunch with the three red lines is just a bunch of brown-yellow nile weeds.

Finally, the item with the yellow line, I couldnt find...

Oh, and Josh, your bush mod shows up in the wild growing bush weeds as well.

I figured out why your terrain file has those mini icons in it, its for the zoomed out versions of say the ground weeds and the palm fronds and stuff. I only did it on the largest, because I was just expiramenting...

[dreamsoftwilight]

On further thought, I think the item with the yellow line is the Date Palm tree...

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

Excellent work!! :D Wow .... this is really complex. :eek:

[FieryDove]

Nope! :p

But I assure you It's not because I'm crazy.

Heres a hint: those figures sure do have some intresting critters.

You are adding jellyfish to the game? :eek: Squirrels? Wormy? Gary the snail? :confused: :D

[Yahya]

Josh, that is really well done, even for a first try.

If you hone it, it will be just perfect!

[Josh]

I got a file the exact same size as the original without the smaller versions of the same file


Change the Save Format to "Interpolated Alpha"

Change Mip Maps to: "No Mip Maps"

Save.

[dreamsoftwilight]

Umm... I think you want the mip maps... like I said, those are your zoomed in and zoomed out trees and weeds and stuff Im pretty sure. :)

And thanks Son of Moose.

[Josh]

But if you look at the original unmodified bushes there are no Mip maps nor the tiny versions of the same file, also our file size was 2 to 3 times larger than the original

Saving this way gets an identicle file size, it will look exactly the same as the original (no small versions) and wont prompt for mip maps, just like the original.

Oh and what im doing is doing all my work in the photoshop format with layers, so I can edit it, then I save that as a PSD then I "save as" a flattened DDS file to test it. So I can always come back to my layered original.

[dreamsoftwilight]

Hmmm you have a point. Ive never been able to figure out layers...

[sitearm]

I just hafta' laff... Omigod the power of language...

Please keep goin'... may I add to your request list a princess graphic after the queen is done? :D

But if you look at the original unmodified bushes there are no Mip maps... then I save that as a PSD then I "save as" a flattened DDS... So I can always come back to my layered original.

[dreamsoftwilight]

hehehe

So, I went in and renamed a couple of those blank black files, to see if I could replace the hedge with another doum palm tree (with pink flowers).

The black files named "sha" are, I believe shadow files.If you use a filter on it, like "trace edges" you might find a silouhette of the tree or decoration (just a guess). So if my guess is correct, you have to rename these files too... to actually change decorations around, you have to find the actual 3d models for the items... which might have the extension 3ds... and for that type of file you need the gmax program which will allow you to view 3ds Max files. :D

...I'm such a nerd...

[dreamsoftwilight]

I just hafta' laff... Omigod the power of language...

Please keep goin'... may I add to your request list a princess graphic after the queen is done? :D

Im not sure what was so funny about your highlighted parts...

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

I think that all the highly technical jargon (most of which I do actually understand) can be rather confusing to someone who is not totally au fait with the discipline. :o

Each scientific discipline has certainly managed to build up its own individual vocabulary which would often seem like elaborate gibberish to the outsider ... :eek:

[sitearm]

Oops... no offense intended... apologies... :o

Im not sure what was so funny about your highlighted parts...

[dreamsoftwilight]

Oops... no offense intended... apologies... :o

Im not offended, I was just wondering what you found funny, I want to laugh too. *hugs*

Son of Moose: What highly technical jargon? It think the most "technical" terms I used was 3ds and 3ds MAX which is a common 3D model program. It's absurdly expensive, but theres a freeware version (which is kind of limited) called Gmax, that can model and stuff...

If you look at my description of terrain texture graphic, I had no idea what to call the individual graphics in the picture!

As for talking obscure... au fait? I know it's French, but how many people on here actually read French? :p

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

Originally Posted by Josh
But if you look at the original unmodified bushes there are no Mip maps... then I save that as a PSD then I "save as" a flattened DDS... So I can always come back to my layered original.

I think that this might have been the original post (although I am not absolutely sure) ... :o

Some of it is indeed foreign to me ... but then I am certainly no technical expert. :o Please, however, continue with your MOST VALUABLE work which (if successful) will add greatly to the value of CotN. :D

[dreamsoftwilight]

Son of Moose, that was Josh's post you just qouted, not mine. :p

but...

PSD is the native Photo Shop file format.

DDS (Direct Draw Surface) is the file format for the CotN graphics, the textures.

TGA, that is the Targa format for the graphics such as the sky, moon, and stars, not sure what Targa is though.

Dat, is a data file, contains a bunch of references and stuff... usually you can read this stuff in a notepad, but TM seems to have some other program which turns the dat file into jibberish.

Mip Maps, I have no idea what they are, except that they seem to be graphics files of some sort...

[sitearm]

DreamsofTwilight: First, I am tekky (confesses) in my own areas. I highly respect and appreciate expertise in any field. It makes me laugh bubble giggle go giddy with joy to hear experts' dialogue. It especially tickles when I hear a barrage of terms I don't know. Even tho' I don't know the terms I can feel the expertise hence my joy. I feel expertise in the exchange between you and Josh and I feel the energy it generates. It's clearly feeding fun useful modding stuff * doesn't have words * going on. Just wanted to share my joy and like SoM please keep going... will "stifle" but still read and enjoy...

Hope this helps clarify? :o

P.S. Thank you for the clear info on file extensions... I relate to .tga because it's familiar from being the first mod...

P.P.S. * hugs back *


PSD is the native Photo Shop file format.

DDS (Direct Draw Surface) is the file format for the CotN graphics, the textures.

TGA, that is the Targa format for the graphics such as the sky, moon, and stars, not sure what Targa is though.

Dat, is a data file, contains a bunch of references and stuff... usually you can read this stuff in a notepad, but TM seems to have some other program which turns the dat file into jibberish.

Mip Maps, I have no idea what they are, except that they seem to be graphics files of some sort...

[dreamsoftwilight]

Alright, Im happy youre happy then! hehe. :D

Back to the modding...

Ive been looking through Google to see, if there is a CEM* model viewer out there, and I cant find one... there doesnt even seem to be a plugin for Gmax.

* CEM is the file format for models from Empire Earth.

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

Sorry I was away for a while ...

Yes ... many thanks for the explanations. :D

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!! :D

[dreamsoftwilight]

In the absence of a viewer that can load CEM files, I did the only thing I could, I switched files around and then loaded the game.

in the data/graphics/spirtes/models/ folder I found this out; the following are not the decorative trees, unless otherwise noted:

Palm_Tree_Fat is a tall skinny Palm Tree.

Palm_Tree_B_Two is a double palm tree, both are tall and skinny, but one has a brown trunk, the other, white.

Palm_Tree_B is a palm tree with a straight trunk.

Palm_Tree_A is a fancy palm tree, with what looks like unripe coconuts; it's also the tree that uses the item in the Terrain Textures file that I had marked with a yellow line (I think).

Tree_Short is a small tree, I think it's the Acacia, but I had loaded a texture mod too, so it messed up the way the tree looked. :D

The screenie below is what I got when I replaced the Hedge with the Doum Palm, and the Bush with the Tree_Short files, and then coloured and edited (cut out the hedge texture) the Terrain Texture.dds file. hehe :D

[sitearm]

Kewl! * *

...

[Son of Moose]

Looks a bit like a Lollipop tree!! :p

[dreamsoftwilight]

Looks a bit like a Lollipop tree!! :p

Yeah it does! lol... now I think I will play with the plazas.. hehe

I loaded all the terrain textures in Photoshop to see what they look like, and if these aren't Photographs, then the Devs did EXTREMELY good jobs of rendering them because the look like the real thing and not computer generated images!

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

now I think I will play with the plazas

Perhaps you might be able to convert them into gardens or the like. ;)

[dreamsoftwilight]

Dreamsoftwilight:



Perhaps you might be able to convert them into gardens or the like. ;)

No Id have to be able to model the CEM files, and I dont know how to model, and I Dont have the program that loads CEM files... so the most I can do is switch, and change the colours.

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

New colour schemes would also be great!! :) I seem to remember reading a post requesting this.

[dreamsoftwilight]

God I love Photoshop! hehe.

So here's the result of me altering the Plaza_B1.dds file... it's pink and black! And, out of amusement I put stars on one of the grass tiles... :D

So, if you have any requests for colour alterations on the plazas Ill be happy to do them, but dont ask for different patterns, Id just end up messing up the nifty mosiac effect they have already! :)

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

That's great!! :D

Now --- the $64 000-00 question:

Will you (maybe with some help from Josh or whoever) eventually be able to ADD this new creation to CotN? ;) (I seem to remember you saying earlier that there might be some problems doing this). :(

[dreamsoftwilight]

You mean, actually add a NEW plaza rather than just switching them?? *meep*
I know enough about programming that that would take some major modding/hacking... you'd have to know where and how they have the menu items set up, where the references for the plazas are, and if there is any dependancies linked to the plaza... so you dont have the plaza ending up on top of a priests house or something...

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

Mmmm ... yes, I certainly now see the great (and potentially prohibitive) problem involved in actually trying to ADD these new tiles to the game files. :eek:

As every object has its own individual characteristics and is functionally linked to several other ingame objects, this could indeed become a logistical nighmare. :(

[dreamsoftwilight]

Dreamsoftwilight:

Mmmm ... yes, I certainly now see the great (and potentially prohibitive) problem involved in actually trying to ADD these new tiles to the game files. :eek:

As every object has its own individual characteristics and is functionally linked to several other ingame objects, this could indeed become a logistical nighmare. :(

Hopefully, anyone who reads this will have a new-found respect for the programmers who give themselves carpal tunnel for a living! ;) I used to know how to program in Binary, so I know how much of a nightmare it can be.

Like I said before though, if you have a colour scheme for the plazas you would like me to do, I'll be happy to do it. :)

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

I must admit that there have been several times recently when I have wished that I had some programming knowledge. :o Therefore I MOST DEFINITELY have great respect for all programmers. :)

It will be interesting to see what tile colour combinations various members may request. :cool:

[Josh]

Wow so much happened while I was in green bay... where to start.


So what's the answer to the *)$& riddle?! Is there a pic yet to go with it?


* wants reward for (trying to) keep up with all these hackin'n'modding posts *


(To continue being cryptic) Yes, there is a pic to go with it.




So, I went in and renamed a couple of those blank black files, to see if I could replace the hedge with another doum palm tree (with pink flowers).


The black files named "sha" are, I believe shadow files.If you use a filter on it, like "trace edges" you might find a silouhette of the tree or decoration (just a guess). So if my guess is correct, you have to rename these files too... to actually change decorations around, you have to find the actual 3d models for the items... which might have the extension 3ds... and for that type of file you need the gmax program which will allow you to view 3ds Max files.

...I'm such a nerd...


Cool news about the shadow files! I really didn’t know that, also changing the models to find out what they are is quite nifty.

But yeah as you said later the problem is stainless steel studios or whatever company owns the empire earth engine would need to make a converter for .3ds files to .CEM and it doesn’t exist, (for consumer use) and apparently the engine makers didn’t want to let it go when empire earth was released.


Our only hope would be that with a little persuasion from TM they might release some modder tools, but A. we don’t know how much TM appreciates us mucking about with their creation, and B. Stainless studios didn’t release it before, probably doesn’t care now either... Though I don’t see why they wouldn’t, modding is fun, and they probably won’t be selling their engine again, look at what bad reviews the game engine got (first time I ever saw an engine get reviews over a game)

As far as adding new items to the game, yes the problem is we need to find out where all the menu items are stored, and where the pointers telling the game to reference what texture and what 3D model are.

I decompiled the cotn.exe and well I was over my head, but other than that I didn’t see much I could do with it pertaining to the modding we were hoping to do, I really think a lot of the stuff is in those cryptic DAT files we can’t view.


That’s my next goal, figure out how to view the dat files! (After I make the queen and whatnot)

The only info I can find out about .dat files is "They are generic files used by a wide variety of programs" Grr, and according to the EE Studio Modmaker they are of no importance, which I don’t believe. I wonder if anyone from TM would throw us a bone? Maybe? oh well…

But I'm going on vacation, So I don’t know how much COTN is in my future.


Oh well, for just a few days progress we have figured out a lot and have texture modding down pat (almost ;) )

[dreamsoftwilight]

I was wondering too what TM will think when they read this post - assuming they do - but if they dont like it, Im positive they will let us know. ;)

It would be cool if TM gave us a CEM viewer, it would save a HUGE bunch of time over switching files and restarting the game over and over lol.

Modding tools would be neat as well.

[Josh]

or maybe a code or setting which would add an optional menu addition refering to 10 or so user created items, referencing blank texture files, which we could make.

That would be great, then we wouldnt need to futz with finding out how to add new textures to the game and the menu.

And we would be able to have all the original tiles, the new grass texture, the alternate plaza tiles and most importantly ...

DIAGONAL ROADS! (Purely asthetic and painstaking work to be sure, but three tiles would make a one square of diagonal road going one direction, three more would go the other. For the asthetic nuts among us.

[Josh]

I'm replying to you in the general modding thread, to keep the bush one related to the bush.

just a question:

Is this even legal? Not that i'm complaining. I love the grass tile and i love hte flower bush. but is it legal?

Then again i should answer my own questions because games like Zoo tycoon allows you to get into the ini file. I believe and change certain things. Like money amounts. and getting free stuff.

i'm thinking wont the TM guys get miffed at this? I dont want anyone to get into any trouble

shellUmmm, I think it’s in the gray area, in the sense that its generally tolerated. I don’t know, a word from TM on this matter? ...I think I’m going to write one of them and ask...
though from the Planet Nile interview it seemed like a good indicator of where they stand on the matter




Q: Are there any modification capabilities for people or structures either in the editor or planned for release in the future?

A: The editor does not have any functions available to change what people and buildings look like, but we have not made it impossible for fans to customize individual textures and meshes. During the beta test, one of the testers added more stars to the night sky for themselves.

[Son of Moose]

Josh:

Some developments while I was sleeping ... :)

Keep up the good work while you can :D .... and indeed see whether you can contact Jeff Fiske (or whoever) concerning the ability to mod the game and ESPECIALLY the potential to ADD items to it. :D

As previously stated ELSEWHERE, I feel that it would be a good idea for fans to submit ALL their mods to TM for official improvement and possible inclusion in an officially endorsed downloads section. :) Hopefully, in this way, thre would be some form of quality control wrt mods undertaken which would protect BOTH TM's good name (and hard work) as well as the unwary fan. :D

[Son of Moose]

Shellybell29:

I don't know whether this modding is actually illegal in the strictest sense of the word. :o

There would otherwise be a HUGE amount of illegality occurring at a vast host of Rise of Nations, Age of Mytholody and C and C: Generals forums. In addition, one would have to consider ALL of The Sims, SimCity4 and Zoo Tycoon mods and add-ons as well --- however Maxis and Blue Fang have generally openly supported such fan-based initiatives. :D

It would be great if TM could do likewise .... however my caveat regarding quality control still stands. :o A couple of really bad mods would certainly have the capacity to effectively "downgrade" the game as well as even "crash" it!! :eek:

[Josh]

Well I think an important thing people need to know is to use our mods at their own risk, while most mods can be easily rolled back, the worst case scenario is reinstalling the game. And the most important thing to remember above all, is not to blame TM for any problems arising from our foolish mistakes.



Though while the green road "mod" is pretty much legal, as I’m just instructing you how to rename a file which you legally have right to use with your game purchase, (note: you don’t own the file) In the bush mod I posted a game file made by TM owned by them, which is technically enabling the piracy of 1/2800th of the game.



Of course all such things are just stretches of copywrite law and should for all intents and purposes be considered fair use.



oh yeah, and I'm sure the EULA has something to say about reverse engineering and whatnot a game, but I don’t think that has ever held up anywhere. Like for some games I think the EULA says they own all modifications users make for that game, which doesn’t make any sense at all…



As far as your other note about TM approving mods as official downloads I think that’s a bad idea, they don’t need to support our creations and people's complaints about applying them, we can handle it ourselves. I just don’t want to hear someone complaining about something I did to the developers!



In conclusion the much of the EULA is complete garbage and modding resides in a grey area, and is generally condoned by game developers. I don’t think we have to worry so much.

[dreamsoftwilight]

Though while the green road "mod" is pretty much legal, as I’m just instructing you how to rename a file which you legally have right to use with your game purchase, (note: you don’t own the file) In the bush mod I posted a game file made by TM owned by them, which is technically enabling the piracy of 1/2800th of the game.

Technically yes, technically no. It's a hair splitting issue. On the one hand uploading a file like that is sort of enabling piracy, but you could also split hairs and say so is uploading screenshots since that is something produced by the game engine.

On the other hand, no its not enabling piracy. While it might be a plaza tile, or a bush skin, and will do the same thing as the one that comes with the game, it is not THE original terrain skin, or plaza tile dds files... its a whole new/modifed variant of the file.


I think I need to lay off the crime dramas on tv. lol

I dont think TM should have to deal with the public with regards to our mods. Its a use at your own risk thing. Most of the stuff we make can easily be fixed, since its just replacing tiles, IF the person is smart enough to back up the files first... its the engine/exe hacks that are the ones that cause the problems.

[dreamsoftwilight]

Alright, I went at it again... this time I fiddled with the animal skins. They are much easier to figure out since the critters are all identified by their skins... croc, hippo, cow, cat, monkey and crane/heron/ibis. The donkey (I think) and the gazlle are in the animals1 file, and the fish, which looks like a salmon, is in a separate file as well.

I still think TM didnt make these animal skins, they just went out and photographed the animals, lol.

So here's the results of me goofing around...

The way Im going craxy with teh star brush pattern makes me think of Dr Suess lol.

The cat, I coloured black, blue, and two shades of the gray to see what the different parts of the skin end up.

Star-bellied-sneech Hippos! hehe.

The cows are branded with a maple leaf now! haha.

[Son of Moose]

Dreamsoftwilight:

Very interesting!!! :D

[They seem a bit reminescent of the blue panthers and the like that some Zoo Tycoon fans created for download :cool: ].

[dreamsoftwilight]

hehe Thanks!

Now if I could just get a Dev to pop in here and leave a comment... :D

[Josh]

Heh, The Wubulous World of The Nile.

Yeah I did simmilar things just to figure out what changes what, I made most of the charecters with big coloured numbers on them just to figure out what went where.

[dreamsoftwilight]

Well, I was hoping that the star brush wouldnt show up as actual stars when the game loaded, but you can still make them out as stars instead of flowers... I was trying for the meadow look from Pharaoh. hehe

But I did notice that the gras tiles 1, 3 and 4 all form up into a checker-board pattern, with grass tile 2 in the middle of the bunch... that was an unintentional finding though. hehe

Next time I get around to fiddling with the grass tiles I'll try just a regular dot, or the star brush at size 1 or 2 instead of 3. :)

[Josh]

When i need to paint dots I usualy use the maple leaf or the normal round dot on a very small size

Then I go into brushes and play with all the new settings to get random values

I turn on shape dynamics, and toy with the jitter settings

I turn on scattering, and play with those settings

In Other Dynamics i turn on the opacity jitter.

That gives it a great random effect without having to do any work myself! :D

In other news, I got enough of the female pharaoh mod done that I figured I should put it up before i left.

[Mekthep Isetnofret]

Hi Im New Here
But i gotta say dds converter is a nice plugin for adobe i use it also to moddify rome:total war (and i use 3dmax 2 create CAS FILES (3d skeletons)
the tga files in children of the nile are skins you can edit them in adobe photoshop i created my own pharao with black robe :)

its kinda cool i was thinking more people are in 2 skinning and modding making for this game cause im thinking of creating new statues for the game of the gods cause i really mis apophis and so :)

but the game is great im also just checking around with modifications 2 the chair of the pharao and to change the seat where is is sitting on with a carpet something like that

greetings

Lek 'tol

[Deadman Forever]

\Children of the Nile\data\Graphics\figures\textures\Animals.DDS
:rolleyes:

[Josh]

Deadman Forever gets a cookie! :D

I am surprised it went unsolved for so long.

[Avernus]

Id like to see someone come up with a better texture for the soldier tents. Aside from that I would like to do a touch up on the merchant ship and get rid of the checkered flag and just texture over it with the regular wood grain texture already used on the ship. I don't have photoshop though so perhaps if your looking for something to skin :)

[Azeem]

You can probably use GIMP, a free graphics editing program with similar capabilities to Photoshop. :) I think it has a plug-in that enables it to convert and edit DDS files.

I have Photoshop myself, but I don't know how to use it! :p