[HELP] Mod I've made isn't overwriting /common/ files

[WhapXI]

So I'm making a mod to fix a bug for World Shaper in common/deposits/01_planetary_deposits.txt. My mod is creatively titled World Shaper Fix.

So I have the file in the directory C:\Users\(me)\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris\mod\world_shaper_fix\common\deposits. The only file I have in here is the amended 01_planetary_deposits.txt. A few lines have been added but it's largely the same.

I also have world_shaper_fix.mod in the /mod/ file. It's contents are as follows.

name="World Shaper Fix"
path="mod/world_shaper_fix"
tags={
    "Fixes"
}
supported_version="2.2.1"

Even though my mod shows up in the launcher, the file isn't overwritten. The game's checksum remains the same and the bugs keep occuring. What am I missing?

EDIT THE MOD WORKS NOW
See attached if you're interested.
It's not perfect and there's some kinks I cannot fathom but it works better than vanilla. No deposits are being destroyed upon terraforming to gaia anymore, but for some reason natural spawning gaia worlds are now spawning with these deposits. Not a huge problem but c'est la vie.

 

[RoverStorm]

Step 1: check for typos.
Step 2: check for capitalization.

90% of my issues are those two.

After that, I'm not entirely certain, but I don't usually name the replacing file exactly the same as the original. In your example, I wouldn't call the file "01_planetary_deposits.txt", I'd call it "world_shaper_fix_planetary_deposits.txt". You may not even need to change anything in the texts, since the stuff in the game is all that it looks at. For example, if you were to put a custom building in "common\buildings\custom_building.txt", but call it "planetary_administration" (or whatever the original name for the planetary capital is), then it will still over-ride the planetary capital despite being in a custom file.

The reason you avoid original file names is because Stellaris likes to randomly use the base over the ones in your mods file.

See if that fixes it. I'll still try to help if it doesn't.

 

[WhapXI]

Step 1: check for typos.
Step 2: check for capitalization.

90% of my issues are those two.

Could you clarify where exactly a typo or a captialisation would mess things up? I don't think it's an issue with the code itself because the checksum isn't even changing in game.

I changed the name as you suggested but still no dice, I'm afraid!

Thanks for the help, incidentally.

 

[Weisshun]

Have you named the file "world_shaper_fix_planetary_deposits.txt"? If not, I suggest you try that.

 

[RoverStorm]

Could you clarify where exactly a typo or a captialisation would mess things up?

Sure. First mistake I made while making a mod that changes the function of precincts so AI doesn't spam them.

I accidentally named the "buildings" folder "building".

Won't work, and nothing I changed inside the custom_buildings.txt could fix it.

To clarify, the fact the mod is on the launcher means that you've done everything right to enable it. Don't worry about the .mod or anything-that's for the game to recognize it, which it does. This sounds like something seems incorrect in the files/folders.

Since you are trying to over-write one of the original deposits, I imagine that you have a typo in the variable name. For example, if you are trying to change:

d_hot_springs = {
<stuff about the hot springs deposit>
}

but you spell it like this:

d_hot_spring = {
<stuff about the hot springs deposit>
}

That won't work at all. Sometimes if one part is capitalized, like this:

D_hot_springs = {
<stuff about the hot springs deposit>
}

It also won't work. Also, spaces will ruin it as well, like:

d_hot springs = {
<stuff about the hot springs deposit>
}

However, I should probably clarify how this works a bit. Even though this d_hot_springs is not in the file name it originally comes from (01_planetary_deposits.txt), if it's named EXACTLY as it is in the core files, your custom version should work in any file in the "deposits" folder. Sometimes the game is picky and wants something like the numbers at the start and then a particular prefix (the "_deposits" in this case), but that's rare.

Other than that, I'm not sure how much more help I can provide without knowing precisely what you are attempting to change. Sometimes something just can't be done and you might need to find a round-about way (you cannot use the "job_add" on a species trait to effectively give that species 1 job every so many pops. You CAN make a planet modifier that gives the jobs every so many pops, and have it come from a decision that can only be used if any species you own has a particular trait)

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[WhapXI]

Hope this helps a bit.

It's definitely informative, regardless of how helpful it'll turn out to be! And I do very much appreciate it.

For context, the World Shaper ascension perk is currently broken because terraforming a world to Gaia destroys most of the deposits. As it stands, the only deposits set to spawn naturally on Gaia worlds are the +2 or +3 district ones, which I presume is intended to make them powerful raw resource harvesting worlds. This means that most of the +1 district deposits aren't actually coded in to be able to exist on Gaia worlds. This results in, when terraforming from a standard planet to a Gaia world, most of these +1 deposits disappearing permanently upon completion.

My little changes to 01_planetary_deposits.txt basically just adds is_planet_class = pc_gaia to most deposits' potential and a 0 weight to their modifier to spawn on gaia worlds, so that naturally spawning gaias remain fairly powerful but terraformed gaias don't become worthless. I'm not adding anything new or exciting. Just a few copy and pastes of some code here and there. I even temporarily replaced the basegame's file with my modded version and it worked okay. A couple of kinks that actually ARE on me but it actually worked. When it's in my mod folder and I select it from my mods list, nothing doing at all.

I will definitely have a crack at adding the _deposits in, and keeping the 01_ on. And cross my fingers. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong in how the mod itself is set up, but I really cannot fathom what.

 

[RoverStorm]

Hmm, I have finals today and tomorrow, so I won't be able to verify anything myself, but if this is still a problem on Thursday or later I'll try to make the changes myself to see what the problem is.

You said the checksum isn't changing, but the mod shows up on the launcher, yes? I still think this means there's something wrong with the folder location or name, as it doesn't seem to be picking up your modded deposits text file. If it did, regardless if it changed anything or not, it'd still change the checksum.

C:\Users\(me)\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Stellaris\mod\world_shaper_fix\common\deposits

Double check the spelling on those folders and that they're in the right place. Make sure that "world_shaper_fix" is not capitalized in the world_shaper_fix.mod.

Do you have a descriptor.mod file in the "mod\world_shaper_fix" folder? I really don't think that's the issue, but it might help. If you don't, make a copy of "world_shaper_fix.mod", paste the copy in the "mod\world_shaper_fix" folder and rename it to "descriptor.mod". Might help, even though I think that's just to show a description when you hover over it in the menu.

Good luck, I'll keep watching this thread even though I can't try any changes myself ATM.

 

[WhapXI]

Good luck, I'll keep watching this thread even though I can't try any changes myself ATM.

Best of luck in your exams!

I'm like 90% sure there are no typos and 99% sure there's no unnecessary capitalisation. Pretty much everything I've done is copy and pasting, and I've dabbling in Paradox modding for years (though never for Stellaris), so I'd say I'm pretty up on the coding language, just not how to properly set up the mod to work, specifically for Stellaris.

To be honest, I'm thinking of getting back in to paradox modding in a big way. There's some ideas I think are pretty snazzy that would work pretty swell for 2.2.

 

[Qilue]

This is probably a redundant question and I did hesitate before posting.

Did you enable it in the launcher?

 

[WhapXI]

You know, I've come to the conclusion that something about mods aren't working for me at all. I've downloaded and manually installed another mod, and subscribed on steam to Glavius' AI mod, but my checksum never changes from bbf4. The mods still actually work though.

I need to dive deeper into this.

 

[RoverStorm]

but my checksum never changes from bbf4

Oh it's THIS bug again! I thought they fixed it two expansions ago!

Well hate to say it but you'll need to check your mods functionality manually. That means test them in-game.

 

[WhapXI]

Okay so I've determined that my mod is ACTUALLY loading. I added a little thing to change the agrarian trait to be +14% food and that is actually working. Back to working on getting the mod itself working!

 

[WhapXI]

Hey so I got it working! More or less.

For some reason no matter what happened I couldn't get a new file to overwrite the planetary_deposits file. The only solution, inelegant though it be, is simply to have a full editted copy of the planetary_deposits file, with most deposits left untouched. I was very methodical with checking what exactly worked and what didn't. I've opened stellaris about thirty times tonight.

But, although I haven't tested rigourously, I do actually have the mod (kind of) working. Natural spawning gaia worlds are spawning with the size 1 deposits despite having zero weight, but aside from that, no districts are being destroyed on terraformation.

Success!

 

[Remus_]

2.2.2 is out, and the nothing in the changelog seems to address this. I imagine that, warnings given by the launcher aside, this mod should still function as intended in the new version?

 

[RandomZach]

The checksum displayed in game never changes, ever. It hasn't since at any point, afaik, since the game was released. This behavior is different from the other paradox games and I have no idea why.

If you want to know your exact checksum you either need to read it out of memory using a debugger / 3rd party program or have a friend tell you from the multiplayer screen when you host a game.

If you just want to know if your checksum is different then you can go to the multiplayer screen and scan for games. If none of the games listed with "same version" box checked have the official checksum (or, more likely, there are no games) then your checksum has changed. Another option is to go to the new game screen in single player and see if achievements are enabled when you turn on Ironman. Both these tests should be run with no other mods that change the checksum.

 

[SteelCrow]

2.2.2 is out, and the nothing in the changelog seems to address this. I imagine that, warnings given by the launcher aside, this mod should still function as intended in the new version?

Yeah, this mod should still work. The biggest reason warnings show up is because WhapXI left supported_version as " 2.2.1 " rather than " 2.2.* "

Which may actually be a good thing, due to this note:

* Fixed some Planetary Features getting deleted when terraforming to Gaia World

 

[RoverStorm]

The biggest reason warnings show up is because WhapXI left supported_version as " 2.2.1 " rather than " 2.2.* "

They broke that I think. My mods are listed as "2.2.*" and they give a warning on 2.2.0, 2.2.1 and 2.2.2. Been happening for me since 2.0, actually.

 

[NeedPants]

Hiya, I downloaded your fix, playing 2.2.2 and I noticed a few features still got deleted, albeit just a handful, most function fine atm. I dove into your file and noticed you fixed the problem by adding gaia exeptions to every +1 feature. There were a few +1 features where the gaia exeption was not added, and they consquently still get deleted. Also there was an error in the very first feature in the file, the exeption was added but one line of code prevents it from actually working. Then there were a few instances where the game needs to make a choice between several options and it only works when adding the line "OR = {" which seems to allow the game to actually choose.

Now note Im not a modder, I have no idea about the deeper workings of modding so this may look a little amateur, but it works perfectly now in my game. Some of the things I changed may not be necessary, but just to be certain I changed them to be consistent overall.

Changelog:
-Bring "category = deposit_cat_energy" to line 33 (basically this line is currently AFTER the line that states the resource should be swapped with another on terraforming, it needs to be BEFORE this part instead:
"use_weights_for_terraforming_swap_types = yes
should_swap_deposit_on_terraforming = yes
terraforming_swap_types = {
d_hot_springs"
-Line 46 add "OR = {" and close bracket line 49
-Line 604 add "OR = {" and close bracket line 607
-Line 606 add "is_planet_class = pc_gaia"
-Line 616 add "modifier = {
factor = 0
is_planet_class = pc_gaia
}"
-Line 752 add "OR = {" and close bracket line 755
-Line 754 add "is_planet_class = pc_gaia"
-Line 764 add "modifier = {
factor = 0
is_planet_class = pc_gaia
}"
-Line 793 add "OR = {" and close bracket line 796
-Line 795 add "is_planet_class = pc_gaia"
-Line 805 add "modifier = {
factor = 0
is_planet_class = pc_gaia
}"
-Line 1333 (both original and fix) says NOR (should be OR?).

NOTE: Since I added several lines, initially the lines described above wont exactly match the location, but if you start from the top changing, the lines will match up due to several new ones being added.

Hope I could help, the changes above did fix every little issue I had in my game.

EDIT: Oh yes, dont delete the ORIGINAL FILE coz when you generate a new universe for a new game, use the OLD file so the naturally spawning GAIA worlds are loaded with +2 and +3 features. Then replace the original file with the modded one again and voila, terraforming works.

 

[SteelCrow]

-Line 1333 (both original and fix) says NOR (should be OR?).

This line needs to stay "NOR" because Crystal Forests and Crystal Reefs are mutually exclusive. Crystal Reefs can appear on pc_ocean, pc_nuked, or pc_gaia. Crystal Forests can't but can appear on everything else. To that end, the "terraforming_swap_types" under "d_crystal_reef" needs to be fixed to "d_crystal_forest" so that they will swap back and forth and not just stay Reefs.

That's what I found. Thanks for taking a look at this. I haven't actually tried this fix, because I downloaded Planetary Diversity (which has its own problems deleting features) and I entered the 2.2.3 beta. The beta adds a category called "### Gaia Swaps" that should allow Gaia worlds to swap those +1 features into the three new ones listed there.

 

[NeedPants]

Ah! Tnx for explaining. Its starting to make more and more sense.

As for the fix: In my current game Ive been turning every planet gaia that I can and so far no more deleted features. The mod seems to be fully functional, until 2.2.3 is released of course.