Modding quick questions and answers!

[yesnid]

Hello All,

I am working on a mod to add a decision to go on a quest for a religious relic, I would like there to be an option to have some of your knights join you and then have the outcomes of the quest affect them. How do I select random knights/champions from my court to join me, and how do I persist this set of characters from one event in the chain to the next? And then how do I access this set of characters?

Thank you for your assistance!

 

[Yatol]

i tried making my own religion mod but its seems im lacking something as the religion name doesn't show up

 

[Elaugaufein]

Probably anything that's in the history files is fair game. Same reason you can scope to a specific character with its historical ID.

Seems like dynasty ids are collated in common/dynasties/00_dynasties.txt and also in common/coat_of_arms/coat_of_arms/90_dynasties.txt

And

House aliases in
comon/dynasty_houses/00_dynasty_houses.txt

 

[Chatoustikmou]

Hello All,

I am working on a mod to add a decision to go on a quest for a religious relic, I would like there to be an option to have some of your knights join you and then have the outcomes of the quest affect them. How do I select random knights/champions from my court to join me, and how do I persist this set of characters from one event in the chain to the next? And then how do I access this set of characters?

Thank you for your assistance!

There are a number of iterators that are hardcoded, random_knight, every_knight and ordered_knight are amongst them.

You can save any scope using save_scope_as = custom_name, and then scope:custom_name will work to call that scope anywhere in your unbroken event chain.

You can also store them in a variable list, which come with their own iterators any/random/every/ordered_in_list = { variable = custom_variable_)list }.

You might also consider using an Activity, as they're used for Hunts for example.

 

[Beyond Disbelief]

Seems like dynasty ids are collated in common/dynasties/00_dynasties.txt and also in common/coat_of_arms/coat_of_arms/90_dynasties.txt

And

House aliases in
comon/dynasty_houses/00_dynasty_houses.txt

Yeah I think my method is still best for the precision i need for specific cadet houses. Historical IDs only exists for dynasties but not houses. TY though.

 

[Beyond Disbelief]

Is there a way I can make scripted_effect paramters being optional? In my tests it seems if I omit a parameter the effect fails.

For example, I have a trigger that wants to check for

NOT = {
 has_trait = $t1$
 has_trait = $t2$
 has_trait = $t3$
}

In some cases, i don't need all 3 traits. How do i make $t3$ optional?

 

[Chatoustikmou]

Is there a way I can make scripted_effect paramters being optional? In my tests it seems if I omit a parameter the effect fails.

For example, I have a trigger that wants to check for

NOT = {
has_trait = $t1$
has_trait = $t2$
has_trait = $t3$
}

In some cases, i don't need all 3 traits. How do i make $t3$ optional?

I don't think you can, you might need to make different versions of your trigger depending on the number of arguments.

 

[yesnid]

There are a number of iterators that are hardcoded, random_knight, every_knight and ordered_knight are amongst them.

You can save any scope using save_scope_as = custom_name, and then scope:custom_name will work to call that scope anywhere in your unbroken event chain.

You can also store them in a variable list, which come with their own iterators any/random/every/ordered_in_list = { variable = custom_variable_)list }.

You might also consider using an Activity, as they're used for Hunts for example.

Thank you Chatoustikmou!

Please forgive my ignorance here but what differentiates an "event" from an "activity" ?

Thank you

 

[Chatoustikmou]

Thank you Chatoustikmou!

Please forgive my ignorance here but what differentiates an "event" from an "activity" ?

Thank you

An event is one of the many tools that can execute effects. This tool has 2 specific features:
- an event can display an event window to the player, with text, art and character portraits
- an event can also present several options, allowing the player to react to it (and the AI as well, of course, though the AI can be handled without event altogether.)

There are a lot of events in the game that have hidden = yes: anything handled with thoses could have been handled another way, as they don't use any of those 2 features.

Activities are a tool that have a specific set-up, with an owner, a location, participants, and a custom UI. It also can trigger events for those participants, usually picked at random from a pool, to allow for some diversity when a player encounters the same activity several times during a playthrough. Hunts and Feasts are handled via this system, so you can start from one of those and adapt it to your needs.

In any case, you'll need some way to fire your events. If not an activity, either a decision, a character interaction, or an on_action.

Each of those systems have their own folder, and probably a .info file that explains how to set them up.

 

[Beyond Disbelief]

Has anyone edited Dynasty Legacies before?

I'm just trying to set the AI weights but I realize they use completely different syntax to the usual event/decision modding. Instead of "base" they use "value". Instead of "factor" they use "multiply". Instead of "modifier = { } " they use "if = { limit = {} }" trigger.

Since there's no visibility to AI weights when it comes to dynasty legacies in debug AFAIK this is going to be pain int he butt to test and verify. I don't think scripted_modifiers are working.

 

[Elaugaufein]

Has anyone edited Dynasty Legacies before?

I'm just trying to set the AI weights but I realize they use completely different syntax to the usual event/decision modding. Instead of "base" they use "value". Instead of "factor" they use "multiply". Instead of "modifier = { } " they use "if = { limit = {} }" trigger.

Since there's no visibility to AI weights when it comes to dynasty legacies in debug AFAIK this is going to be pain int he butt to test and verify. I don't think scripted_modifiers are working.

The Northern Lords legacies are weighted to be much more likely selected by Dynasty Heads of North Germanic Group Cultures so you can see the syntax there:

    ai_chance = {
        value = 11
        if = {
            limit = {
                has_culture_group = culture_group:north_germanic_group
            }
            multiply = 10
        }
        if = {
            limit = {
                can_start_new_legacy_track_trigger = no
            }
            multiply = 0
        }
    }

The rest seems to be a consequence of the AI seeming to be hardcoded to finish the most advanced track if there are any unfinished tracks , so it only needs to pick from all available 1st legacy perks when it has no trees in progress or only completed trees.

 

[Chatoustikmou]

I'm just trying to set the AI weights but I realize they use completely different syntax to the usual event/decision modding. Instead of "base" they use "value". Instead of "factor" they use "multiply". Instead of "modifier = { } " they use "if = { limit = {} }" trigger.

That syntax is script math, same that is used in script_values, so there are a lot of examples there as well. Operations are listed in the order listed inside of a block.

You can use add, subtract, multiply, divide, min, max, clamp.

Since there's no visibility to AI weights when it comes to dynasty legacies in debug AFAIK this is going to be pain int he butt to test and verify. I don't think scripted_modifiers are working.

That's where debug_log comes in handy. By letting the game run for a while, and then checking in your debug.log how many times you find the different things you printed in there, you can check how many times the AI chose a given option.

Either there's an on_action that you can use for that, to print X everytime any ruler legible to your perk takes any perk, and Y anytime they take your perk,

or you can use a yearly_global_pulse on_action to check for every dynasty, how many have that perk, and see how thay evolves over time.

 

[Beyond Disbelief]

Can someone help me understand the logical difference between NOT = { list of 3 things } and NOR = { list of the same 3 things } ? Doesn't in both cases the script checks to make sure none of the 3 things are true?

 

[Chatoustikmou]

Can someone help me understand the logical difference between NOT = { list of 3 things } and NOR = { list of the same 3 things } ? Doesn't in both cases the script checks to make sure none of the 3 things are true?

They're exactly the same.

 

[Harald B]

Is there some flag I can set to prevent the engine from deleting my historical character? I want to add a character who died before the start date and never held a title or council position, but nevertheless has some significance to lore and can be mentioned in events. But in testing they just get deleted after the first month.

If I have a child in scope, can I determine if they have a guardian and if so scope to that guardian? Can I also figure out if the guardian was asked to convert culture or religion?

If I have a character in scope, can I determine if they are engaged in an activity and if so get the scope for that activity?

 

[Beyond Disbelief]

Well, I made a mistake. X_ancestor also only iterates through living ancestors. Sorry about that.

What you can do, is store killed characters in a variable list on the house itself, using the on_death on_action.

on_death = { on_actions = { on_killed }} # Fire a custom on_action, to avoid using the effect block of vanilla on_actions, which would override the vanilla version and cause problems

on_killed = {
   trigger = { exists = scope:killer }
   effect = {
      house = {
         add_to_variable_list = {
            name = killed_house_members
            target = ROOT
         }
         every_in_list = {
            variable = killed_house_members
            limit = { killer = { is_alive = no }}
            PREV = {
               remove_list_variable = {
                  name = killed_house_members
                  target = PREV
            }
         }
      }
   }
}

The 2nd part, with every_in_list, cleans up the variable list by taking away characters from it if their killer isn't alive anymore, to avoid savegame bloat as time goes on.

Then whenever you want to pick a random house member that's been killed, and whose killer is still alive, you just scope to the house, and use random_in_list.

So i'm trying to take your suggestion here and build it into a list, but I want to create a UI for it on the Dynasty House page to be able to call upon and display this list.

I managed to locate the kill list button from the character's page and duplicate it to where I'd like it on the Dynasty House Page.

I'm a little at a loss as to how to call up that specific list of dead family members to avenge.

As far as I can tell, teh relevant vanilla code for the regular code list is"

                                button_kill_list = {
                                    onclick = "[ToggleGameViewData( 'kill_list', Character.GetID  )]"
                                    size = { 25 25 }
                                    parentanchor = center
                                    
                                    modify_texture = {
                                        texture = "gfx/interface/icons/focuses/hud_icon_mask.dds"
                                        blend_mode = alphamultiply
                                    }
                                }

I'm not sure how [ToggleGameViewData( 'kill_list', Character.GetID )] is parsed and I'm not able to find the event/effect that creates/adds to the original list to make reference of. I assume "kill_list" in this case would correspond to "killed_family_members" in your example, but how does "Character.GetID" work? Can i just use "Character.House.GetID"? How does it know which character/house to scope to? Why doesn't it use scoping syntax that's used elsewhere in modding?

 

[Elaugaufein]

Is there some flag I can set to prevent the engine from deleting my historical character? I want to add a character who died before the start date and never held a title or council position, but nevertheless has some significance to lore and can be mentioned in events. But in testing they just get deleted after the first month.

You can use the make_unprunable effect to prevent a character getting removed after death (note that it also prevents anyone related to them being removed so try and minimize living relatives)

If I have a child in scope, can I determine if they have a guardian and if so scope to that guardian? Can I also figure out if the guardian was asked to convert culture or religion?

You should be able to use the guardian by using the any_relation / every_relation trigger limited to type guardian in the child's scope and there's relation_flags for convert_culture and convert_faith

(secondary_recipient here is a potential ward)

I haven't actually worked out how to pull out the guardian but this is a code snippet that checks if a guardian that is currently converting culture exists for secondary_recipient which is a potential ward

scope:secondary_recipient = {
    any_relation = {
        type = guardian
        has_relation_flag = {
            target = scope:secondary_recipient
            relation = ward
            flag = convert_culture
        }
    }
}

And this adds every crush to a list

            every_relation = {
                type = crush
                limit = {
                    playdate_potential_guest_check_trigger = yes
                }
                add_to_temporary_list = potential_guests    
            }

So you can probably replace the add_to_tempory_list with s a save_scope_as since a ward can only have one guardian.

If I have a character in scope, can I determine if they are engaged in an activity and if so get the scope for that activity?

You can is_in_an_activity to check if someone is in an activity but I think you'd have to then iterate over the activities and check which one they were the owner of / participate in.

 

[Chatoustikmou]

If I have a child in scope, can I determine if they have a guardian and if so scope to that guardian? Can I also figure out if the guardian was asked to convert culture or religion?

The trigger would be any_relation = { type = guardian }

To scope to the guardian, since there can be only one, you can use random_relation = { limit = { type = guardian }

If I have a character in scope, can I determine if they are engaged in an activity and if so get the scope for that activity?

Trigger : in_activity_type = X

 

[Beyond Disbelief]

I've been bashing my head at interface modding for a while now and I'm really stumped and don't understand how it works.

So right now I thought I followed the wiki to the letter and did the following:

Spoiler: 1) I created a UI button that is visible, clickable, exactly where I want it in the game with the following code:

button_kill_list = {

onclick = "[ExecuteConsoleCommand('gui.createwidget gui/house_trad_vendetta_list.gui vendetta_list')]"
size = { 30 30 }
parentanchor = center

modify_texture = {
texture = "gfx/interface/icons/focuses/hud_icon_mask.dds"
blend_mode = alphamultiply
}
}

Spoiler: 2) I created a new gui file for the new window I'm creating, but no window is created

window = {
    name = "vendetta_list"
    parentanchor = center
    layer = middle
    size = { 100 100 }
    using = Window_Background

    dynamicgridbox = {
        datamodel = "[DynastyHouse.GetList('killed_house_members')]"

        item = {
            flowcontainer = {
                datacontext = "[DynastyHouse]"

                portrait_head_small = {}

                text_single = {
                    text = "[Character.GetNameNoTooltip]"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

I tried both the wiki's sample code verbatim and with my own changes, no window is ever opened. I'm less concerned with whether or not the variable list is loading correctly and more concerned with the fact I can't open a danged window to even get started. What am I not understanding from the wiki?

 

[Chatoustikmou]

I've been bashing my head at interface modding for a while now and I'm really stumped and don't understand how it works.

So right now I thought I followed the wiki to the letter and did the following:

Spoiler: 1) I created a UI button that is visible, clickable, exactly where I want it in the game with the following code:

button_kill_list = {

onclick = "[ExecuteConsoleCommand('gui.createwidget gui/house_trad_vendetta_list.gui vendetta_list')]"
size = { 30 30 }
parentanchor = center

modify_texture = {
texture = "gfx/interface/icons/focuses/hud_icon_mask.dds"
blend_mode = alphamultiply
}
}

Spoiler: 2) I created a new gui file for the new window I'm creating, but no window is created

window = {
    name = "vendetta_list"
    parentanchor = center
    layer = middle
    size = { 100 100 }
    using = Window_Background

    dynamicgridbox = {
        datamodel = "[DynastyHouse.GetList('killed_house_members')]"

        item = {
            flowcontainer = {
                datacontext = "[DynastyHouse]"

                portrait_head_small = {}

                text_single = {
                    text = "[Character.GetNameNoTooltip]"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

I tried both the wiki's sample code verbatim and with my own changes, no window is ever opened. I'm less concerned with whether or not the variable list is loading correctly and more concerned with the fact I can't open a danged window to even get started. What am I not understanding from the wiki?

GUI can be tough, but very satisfying when you pull it off, keep it up, you'll get there eventually =)

Creating brand new windows isn't a simple thing, but it should get easier in 1.5 when scripted widgets are introduced.

For the time being, it might be easier to cheat, for example by using an event window, in which you use a custom widget.

You might also consider joining the Mod Co-op discord, there are more knowledgeable people there, and discord is more appropriate to the kind of back and forth GUI assistance usually requires.