NCF – Extended list of Neutral creatures. — Mods: Tribes of the East

Гусь

9/8/2018 1:55 PM UTC

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psatkha

Read the above, but I recommend reading everything slowly and carefully! :smile04:

How much above? There are 121 pages in this thread. Why don't you give a clear and informative answer right away so that a simple dialogue doesn't drag on for weeks?

Added 1 hour 35 minutes ago
I mean, my life isn't infinite, and I'd like to have time to make at least some kind of mod.

In reply to Гусь

psatkha

9/8/2018 3:34 PM UTC

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Goose

How much higher? This topic has 121 pages. Why don't you give a clear answer right away so that a simple dialogue doesn't drag on for weeks?

Added after 1 hour 35 minutes
I mean, my life isn't infinite, and I'd like to have time to make at least some kind of mod.

On the previous page, the message numbers are 1805 and 1811!

The names of the new creatures are not stored in the .exe file – they are all in separate .txt files, and the .xdb file contains links to them!

If you decide to create new creatures, you can experiment with the creatures from my page (link in signature)! :smile13:

С уважением, Psatkha (Псатха)

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Неудачное планирование ведёт к неудаче ...

NCF - мод, добавляющий дополнительных существ в HeroesV 3.1

In reply to Гусь

Уриэль Септим Х

9/8/2018 6:13 PM UTC

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Goose

What program can be used to compare two executable files?

You need to look at this yourself and analyze it.
Based on my experience with Disciples 3, I can say that there might be a few extra lines with unclear 4-digit numbers at the beginning.
I opened them using Visual Studio 2017.

"Астельнаир, мод добавляющий новых существ и многое другое (разработка)"
И пусть Эльрат осветит твой путь

In reply to psatkha

Гусь

9/9/2018 8:36 AM UTC

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psatkha

On the previous page, the message numbers are 1805 and 1811!

The names of new creatures are not stored in the .exe file; they are all in separate .txt files, and the .xdb file contains links to them!

If you decide to create new creatures, you can experiment with the creatures from my page (link in my signature)! :smile13:

By "names," I mean not the in-game names, but the so-called IDs, like CREATURE_PEASANT. I also know that all the names are stored in the types file, but as for spells and skills, their effect is not specified anywhere, i.e., how does the game understand that if there is a HERO_SKILL_OFFENCE skill, it should increase the hero's attack?

Added 1 minute ago

psatkha

Creature names are defined in .txt files, and links to them are in .xdb - in game.exe [you can make changes with any hexadecimal editor, i.e., without decompilation] - the maximum possible number of creature identifiers, which are described in the corresponding .xdb, has simply been increased.

What do you mean by a hexadecimal editor? Give a specific working example, and I'll back off. It shouldn't be that difficult.

Added 5 hours 9 minutes ago

Uriel Septim X

you need to look at it and analyze it yourself
based on my experience with Disciples 3, I can say that there may be several extra lines with unclear 4-digit numbers at the beginning
I opened it with Visual Studio 2017

I installed Visual Studio, but when I run it, it says something about an entry point in the procedure... Does this program have no problems running, or does it require some kind of workaround?

psatkha

9/9/2018 10:53 AM UTC

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@Гусь

Skills and other parameters are stored in the .exe file, and even if you increase their maximum number within the .exe itself, it won't have any effect because the functionality is implemented by the developers not as an .xdb file, but as functions within the .exe.

Version 3.0 was successfully decompiled, or perhaps they used the source code (because without the source code, it’s very difficult to delve into someone else’s code, since reverse engineering is a time-consuming process; or maybe the person who figured out the functionality had a lot of time and, most importantly, was highly motivated) – the result is MMH5.5, however, this version cannot work with scripts added in 3.1!

P.S. I use Free Hex Editor Neo and HxD.

P.P.S. By the way, for version 3.1, the number of IDs for artifacts has been increased, and many new ones have been added - NAF

С уважением, Psatkha (Псатха)

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Неудачное планирование ведёт к неудаче ...

NCF - мод, добавляющий дополнительных существ в HeroesV 3.1

In reply to psatkha

Гусь

9/9/2018 1:31 PM UTC

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psatkha

@Гусь

Skills and other things are stored in the .exe file, and even if you increase their maximum number in the .exe itself, it won't do anything because the functionality is implemented by the developers not as an .xdb, but as functions in the .exe.

Version 3.0 was successfully decompiled, or perhaps they used the source code (because without the source code, it's very difficult to work with someone else's code, since reverse engineering is a very time-consuming activity, or the person who figured out the functionality had a lot of time and, most importantly, was determined) – the result is MMH5.5, however, this version cannot work with scripts added in 3.1!

P.S. I use Free Hex Editor Neo and HxD

P.P.S. By the way, for version 3.1, the number of IDs for artifacts has been increased, and many new ones have been added - NAF

Thank you for the informative answer. But can you add a new town and faction using this method?

In reply to Гусь

Уриэль Септим Х

9/9/2018 1:43 PM UTC

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Goose

I installed Visual Studio, but when I run it, it displays something about an entry point in the procedure... Does this program have no problems running, or does it require some complicated steps?

The program has no problems running; the problem is a lack of components (if the required programming language is not in the components, it will display gibberish).
You can also try copying the executable to a separate folder, right-clicking on it, and selecting "Open with" so that it doesn't pull in unnecessary files (otherwise, it starts opening as a project).

Added 4 minutes later

Goose

Thank you for the informative answer. Can a new city and faction be added in this way?

To add a new city, there are two ways:
1) find the source code
2) modify an existing one by trial and error, but for a new city, you will need:
a) new IDs for creatures, models, and so on
b) the models, creatures, and so on (but this is not a problem)
c) everything listed above must be in the format used by default in the game (there is a small loophole here: if you are going to modify the executable, you can create a module that will read other formats. This will be a big boost for Modding, but I don't know what the situation is regarding copyright and other things (maybe it's legal because it's considered a mod, or maybe not because the executable has been copied and modified))

"Астельнаир, мод добавляющий новых существ и многое другое (разработка)"
И пусть Эльрат осветит твой путь

In reply to Гусь

fktifzobr@mail.ru

9/9/2018 1:58 PM UTC

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Goose

Thank you for the informative answer. Would it be possible to add a new town and faction in this way?

Adding a faction won't work; the game already has a neutral faction, and for them to function properly, their castle needs a building plan, and even if it existed, the buildings probably wouldn't function (like the Mage Guild and Orcs - you can add them to the building plan, but the spells won't appear). All special building properties are defined in the executable file.

Мои мини-моды

Мод RTF

Мои NCF существа

In reply to fktifzobr@mail.ru

Уриэль Септим Х

9/9/2018 3:09 PM UTC

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fktifzobr@mail.ru

It won't be possible to add a new faction; the game already has a neutral faction, and for it to function properly, its castle lacks a building plan. Even if there were a plan, the buildings would likely not function (like the Mage Guild and Orc buildings – they can be added to the building plan, but the spells won't appear). All special building properties are defined in the executable file.

Well, the Mage Guild can be replaced with other buildings, and the magic schools can be replaced with new abilities, like battle cries and other things.
But if the neutral faction is implemented like any other, then all the neutral creatures will have to be distributed among different races, like the mummies in the Necropolis (in the original game, they are listed there, which is why Markel could recruit them into his army).

"Астельнаир, мод добавляющий новых существ и многое другое (разработка)"
И пусть Эльрат осветит твой путь

In reply to Уриэль Септим Х

Гусь

9/10/2018 2:31 AM UTC

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Uriel Septim X

Well, the guild of mages can be replaced with other buildings, and magic schools can be replaced with new abilities, like battle cries and so on.
But if the neutral faction is implemented like any other, then all the neutrals will have to be divided into different races, like the mummies in Necropolis (in the original, they are listed there, which is why Markel could recruit them into his army).

I meant to give the faction a new name, not to torture the neutrals. (for example, RACE_SANCTUARY). I tried to create Sanctuary before, using RACE_SPECIAL and TOWN_SPECIAL, I went through every file, added it everywhere I needed to, but I got stuck on the files in the UI - there, for the settings in the main menu, you need to write not only the faction IDs, but also unique names for the lines under these factions, like faction_stronghold. Naturally, I didn't have them. So I thought, would it work to add them through the exe. And at the same time, I wanted to add a bunch of new abilities, spells, artifacts, and give Sanctuary a racial ability. Is this possible?

AstralLein

9/10/2018 7:08 AM UTC

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Well, as you can see, no one has done this yet. NCF and NAF add IDs for artifacts and creatures, but only Heroes 5.5 went further than that, and even there, there are no new towns or new skills with perks. Therefore, it's not possible.

Карты для героев 5

"Плата за любовь"
"Путь некроманта"
"Темные грани"
"Рок Гримхейма"

In reply to Гусь

psatkha

9/10/2018 11:05 AM UTC

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Goose

That's what I was thinking, whether it's possible to add them through the .exe file.

In theory, it's possible... but you need to be a GURU in reverse engineering, because without the source code, it's very difficult to add additional functions!

As an example, if you find the closed and open beta versions of Heroes of Might and Magic V (not to be confused with the alpha), you'll see that all skills and perks were defined by explicitly referencing the .xdb file – for example, now the spell "Plague" is essentially defined through a pseudonym like "SPELL_PLAGUE," but before, it was something like "\GameMechanics\spell_plague.xdb."

I'm saying all this because if you find a reverse engineering guru or learn it yourself, there's a chance to find the original addresses of the functions and then find them in version 3.1. Then, you can add an additional library to the .exe file; I forgot what it's called!

С уважением, Psatkha (Псатха)

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Неудачное планирование ведёт к неудаче ...

NCF - мод, добавляющий дополнительных существ в HeroesV 3.1

In reply to psatkha

Гусь

9/10/2018 12:09 PM UTC

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psatkha

In theory, it's possible... but you need to be a GURU in reverse engineering, because without the source code, it's very difficult to add extra features!

For example, if you find the closed and open beta versions of the 5th installment (not to be confused with the alpha), you'll see that all skills and perks were defined by explicitly referencing the .xdb file. For instance, now the "Plague" spell is essentially defined through an alias like "SPELL_PLAGUE," but before, it was something like "\GameMechanics\spell_plague.xdb."

My point is, if you find a reverse engineering guru or learn how to do it yourself, there's a chance you can find the original function addresses and then find them in version 3.1. Then, you can add an extra library to the .exe file; I forgot what it's called!

Well, I won't live long enough to become a GURU. I figured it would be easier to create a new game from scratch than to modify what already exists. So, I guess I'll have to abandon my idea.

Added 5 minutes later
Another question for those who create models. I've noticed that, despite your high level of proficiency with the editors and the ability to import external models into the game, you still use the "primitive" method of attaching pieces through effects. Wouldn't it be easier to do this:
1) Take a model from the game that should be the "base" and extract it into a 3D editor (even with the help of 3D Ripper DX).
2) In Maya, attach everything you need to this model to achieve 100% similarity with the character.
3) Import the entire model into the game, bind it to the skeleton of the "base" model, and then you won't have to struggle with effects – everything will work automatically.
Is this possible?