Totally Clueless

[Hannable]

Okay, I just cannot get a modded mod to work. This seems like it should be simple as pie since I've modded games that were far more complex. But this one .... I'm out of options.

All I'm trying to do is take a race (the Asari) from the Mass Effect mod and add it to the Distant Worlds Extended mod. It ought to be a no-brainer since everything I need to add this race is already included in the Mass Effect mod. I can even see how things like the bias is laid out for the Asari.

Now, from what I understand, all I should have to do is:

a) Copy the Asari race file from Mass Effect folder to Distant World Extended race folder.
b) Copy the race image file from the Mass Effect raceImages folder to the Distant World Extended raceImages folder
c) Change the picture family of the Asari to 38 (Distant World Extended uses up to 37 so 38 is the next slot)
d) Rename the race images to race_38 and race_38a
e) I don't have to do anything with the troopImages since there is already a Troop_38 image in the DWE folder
f) Copy the ship family27 (Asari) to the shipImages folder in the Distant World Extended mod
g) Rename the ship family27 to ship family38
h) Change the ship family in the race file to 38
i) Copy the Asari policy file from Mass Effect to the Policy folder in the Distant Worlds Extended mod
j) Copy the Asari bias line from the Mass Effect bias file and paste it at the bottom of the DWE biases, in this case, line 38 (making sure that there is still an empty line underneath the Asari entry)
k) Copy any character and dialog files for the Asari over to the appropriate folder in the DWE mod

What else is there? Something I'm missing? Because the game always does a CTD while loading.

If it matters I'm running Win 7 64 with a 6 core processor, 8 gigs of RAM and 1 gig of VRAM but I'm guessing it's an issue with the files and folders rather than a hardware issue.

[ehsumrell1]

Hello Hannable;

You didn't mention what version you are running, but usually a CTD at start-up
means a missing or corrupted file. From what I see, if you're running Shadows
I don't see mention of you adding an Asari DesignTemplate file to the DesignTemplate
directory. Just a guess that might be the problem, but more info would be helpful.
[&:]

[Darkspire]

Because the game always does a CTD while loading.

Your best bet is to delete the defaultOptions file in the Distant World app folder. This will unfortunately reset the in game options and settings back to default but will allow DW to just load with the default theme, once loaded try changing to your theme, with a bit of luck it will change the theme, if not then you should have a more in depth problem report.

Darkspire

[Fenrisfil]

ORIGINAL: Hannable

j) Copy the Asari bias line from the Mass Effect bias file and paste it at the bottom of the DWE biases, in this case, line 38 (making sure that there is still an empty line underneath the Asari entry)

I think this is probably your problem. The bias line will be pretty much meaningless when moved into a new mod and if your moving it into a mod with a different number of races it won't have the correct number of coma seperated numbers in the line. Not only that but adding in an extra race will require an additional coma separated value to be added to each line of the bias file.

I recommend copying the most neutral line of the list (or any race similar to the Asari, I don't know the extended mod so can't recommend one)and simply changing the number and race name to match the Asari. Then go down the list and add in a ", 0" to the end of each line (copy and paste it). You will probably want Asari to have 10 or something so they like themselves and you may want to modify other species bias rating, but it's not vital and it may be worth leaving that until after you have tested the mod.

Remember each race you add will require not just their own bias line but an update to every other races bias line.

[Hannable]

ORIGINAL: ehsumrell1

Hello Hannable;

You didn't mention what version you are running, but usually a CTD at start-up
means a missing or corrupted file. From what I see, if you're running Shadows
I don't see mention of you adding an Asari DesignTemplate file to the DesignTemplate
directory. Just a guess that might be the problem, but more info would be helpful.
[&:]

Oops, yeah, I did forget to mention what version I was running ... my bad.

I'm running the latest version of Legends (I can't remember the actual version number).

(I was new to the game and wanted to become familiar with one expansion before buying the next).

If you need any other information don't hesitate to ask - I'm going to try a few more things and see what happens. I'm fairly experienced at modding games (been doing it for 13 years now) which is why I find being stymied by this game somewhat perplexing given that it's mostly just text files and a few .png images. Should be a snap. [&:]

[Hannable]

ORIGINAL: Fenrisfil

ORIGINAL: Hannable

j) Copy the Asari bias line from the Mass Effect bias file and paste it at the bottom of the DWE biases, in this case, line 38 (making sure that there is still an empty line underneath the Asari entry)

I think this is probably your problem. The bias line will be pretty much meaningless when moved into a new mod and if your moving it into a mod with a different number of races it won't have the correct number of coma seperated numbers in the line. Not only that but adding in an extra race will require an additional coma separated value to be added to each line of the bias file.

I recommend copying the most neutral line of the list (or any race similar to the Asari, I don't know the extended mod so can't recommend one)and simply changing the number and race name to match the Asari. Then go down the list and add in a ", 0" to the end of each line (copy and paste it). You will probably want Asari to have 10 or something so they like themselves and you may want to modify other species bias rating, but it's not vital and it may be worth leaving that until after you have tested the mod.

Remember each race you add will require not just their own bias line but an update to every other races bias line.

Hello, Fenrisful,

I am pretty certain I have this part covered - or at least I thought I did. The Distant Worlds Extended mod simply adds the new races at the end of the biases for the stock races and didn't mess with the order of the stock races. The Mass Effect mod has the biases toward the stock races already filled out and in the same order. Therefore, it would seem I could copy the entire bias line for the Asari and add it to the end of the bias list for Distant Worlds Extended. The biases the Asari have for the stock races (the row) would be correct. I just fill out the end of the row with zeros for the extra DWE races.

After that, I created a new column, numbering it 38 (the same number as the line number of the Asari row). I added commas to all of the numbers in the last column, then inputted my own numbers for the bias the stock and DWE races had for the Asari. Like you suggested, I left the numbers zeros for now though if I can get this working, I'm going to go back and adjust them.

I'm reasonably certain the syntax is correct - commas in the right places, spaces in the right places. I can't see any difference in format between what I added and what was already there.

So yeah, I'm boggled.

[Darkspire]

So yeah, I'm boggled.

This is a post I made for Legends for adding a race, it deals with all aspects of creating a basic theme, try it and then go back to your theme and you should be able to spot what went wrong.

Full thread this is from is here

Darkspire

First thing backup your broken mod folder, the one your posting about here, and put it somewhere safe. Delete it from the 'Customization' folder, you can restore and fix it when you have a better grasp of how things work.
Have a look in the 'Customization' folder and you will find a folder labeled 'Distant Worlds Original'
That has the absolute bare minimum of what you need to make a working mod. Its a very common mistake to throw everything you want into a folder in 10 minutes and then load DW and find that it doesn't work, copy the 'Distant Worlds Original' folder, rename it to your mod's name and take it from there. Replace one race, learn the structure of that mod folder regarding where race names are used,

biases.txt
Policy/YourNewRace.txt
races/YourNewRace.txt

I would suggest taking a race you are familiar with, one you have played the game with, and start with copying that races file in the races folder and renaming it to your new races name. Make a backup of that file once you have renamed it and then edit that file to your liking using the 'Distant Worlds Legends - Modding Guide.pdf' as a guide to what all the various sections are, as your just starting to learn the modding process don't over complicate things, leave the original race ship choice and only make small changes to the race file so you can remember what you have altered in case things go wonky. Once that is done do the same for a policy file, choose the same race as you did in the races folder, rename it to your races name, make a backup and edit the new race policy file. Now onto the last one and it is easily the worst of the three, the biases text file, this is what causes most mods to malfunction, only experience and time will help with this one, I suggest make a backup of the file, open it for editing and copy the line that has the race you selected in the race / policy folder and copy that, move to the bottom of the file, one line below Mechanoid (*note that there is a blank line below Mechanoid, make sure you put that blank line back once you have finished) now paste your line and renumber that line to 22 and change the race name to YourNewRace, make sure that there is a blank line below it (see previous * comment) and save the file. As tjhkkr pointed out, you have to be very careful when you change any of the text in the previously mentioned files, worst one is the biases.txt. Always ensure to use Notepad or Textpad to make sure that when the file is saved it is compatible with DW. Make a new folder in your mod folder and name it 'raceImages' you will then need to put your race image in that folder, race_22.png and race_22a.png. Now make another new folder in you mod folder and call it 'troopImages' copy one of the DW troop images and paste it in there and rename it Troop_22.png.

Load DW and change the theme to your new mod /theme, it should work unless I've missed something which is nothing unusual as I'm blonde and large, there are much more talented folk on here than me at this sort of thing, but that should be the bare basics to get a mod /theme working. Once you know its working backup the whole mod / theme folder and name it mod_ver_00, that way you have a base to work from, if things go wonky, and they will, you can just delete the broken mod /theme folder and drop the most recent backup into the 'Customization' folder. Just remember to edit, test and if it works backup the folder and increase the revision number, mod_ver_01, mod_ver_02, mod_ver_03 etc.
Make a cup of tea and read the 'Distant Worlds Legends - Modding Guide.pdf', page 5 has the full breakdown of the mod folder structure. With the guide open download Igards Star Trek Mod or Haree78's Distant Worlds Extended mod and have a look at the way they have put things together, reference the modding guide and just get a feel for what does what and what goes where, hence the term Reverse Engineer. Once you can alter the theme with confidence go back to your original Mod that did not work, the one your posting about here, restore it in the 'Customization' folder and you should have a facepalm moment as to why it would not work.

[Hannable]

Holy crap, I think I finally got it to work. I'm not even sure what I fixed except that I copied a bias line from one of the stock races and added another column for the new race and it worked for some reason. Not even sure why except perhaps there was a syntax error somewhere that I was making by adding biases manually.

[Darkspire]

ORIGINAL: Hannable

Holy crap, I think I finally got it to work. I'm not even sure what I fixed except that I copied a bias line from one of the stock races and added another column for the new race and it worked for some reason. Not even sure why except perhaps there was a syntax error somewhere that I was making by adding biases manually.

Funny you should mention that, having read it through my step by step is missing that point, so many kudos for figuring that one out on your own energy collectors [:)]

Edit:
Now onto the last one and it is easily the worst of the three, the biases text file, this is what causes most mods to malfunction, only experience and time will help with this one, I suggest make a backup of the file, open it for editing and copy the line that has the race you selected in the race / policy folder and copy that, move to the bottom of the file, one line below Mechanoid (*note that there is a blank line below Mechanoid, make sure you put that blank line back once you have finished) now paste your line and renumber that line to 22 and change the race name to YourNewRace, make sure that there is a blank line below it.
Now for the tricky bit, if you look above Ketarov you will see numbers going from 0 to 21, add a comma after 21 and a space then 22.

'#, Name, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

Note, there is no comma after 22 (see above). This now needs to be repeated for each race line, so that each line has 23 entries (0-22), always remember that the number you enter has no comma after it.

0, Ketarov, 10, 10, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 5, 5, 0, 0, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 10, 0, 0, -10
1, Atuuk, 10, 10, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 5, 5, 0, 0, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 10, 0, 0, -10

Now repeat all the way down for all the races including your new race

22, YourNewRace, 0, 0,-10,-10, 10, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,-10, 0, 0, 10,-10, 10, 0,-10, 0, -10

This will then give you the correct entries needed to finish the biases file. It is also worth mentioning that depending which galaxy your from and how many eyes you have that it is very useful to very carefully tidy the lines in the file with spaces so that the numbers all line up under the numbers above Ketarov, you will then have a proper grid and be able to see any numbers you may have missed.

Darkspire