Beyond the user manual, any good "guides" to modding?

[PeterRobbins]

I want to potentially produce a modern warfare mod using this overall editor. I can of course go into the existing mods around this forum and pick them apart a bit, and of course read the manual, but anything else, specific to making my own nationalities and making my own unit graphics?

[Elessar2]

You mentioned custom countries and counters, but for working with the actual editor:

https://forums.matrixgames.com/viewtopic.php?t=393937

Note I haven't added anything about scripting; you'll have to rely on the manual for the bare bones there.

[Nginear]

I want to potentially produce a modern warfare mod using this overall editor. I can of course go into the existing mods around this forum and pick them apart a bit, and of course read the manual, but anything else, specific to making my own nationalities and making my own unit graphics?

Run away lol. Just kidding...but seriously I wouldn't start a major revamping unless you are in it for the long haul. I've made two mods...probably hundreds of hours between both. There are two major components for designing a mod - the map and units/mechanics. Both are just as time consuming as the other.
I don't want to discourage you but adding units is easy, increasing bonuses from tech is easy, but building an entirely new world is a major project. The editor allows a lot of creativity, but it is not an unlimited editor like Hearts of Iron 4. A lot of game mechanics and unit behaviors are hard-coded. It can be frustrating later to find out, after hours of experimenting, that what you want to do cannot be done because a mechanic is hard-coded.

That disclaimer aside,

First, decide which version of SC you want to use. For example, mines and trenches are only available in WWI. Ports work differently in WaW vs Pacific (WaW ports give 10 or 12 supply, Pacific starts at 8). Don't have CW, so not sure about unique mechanics there. Mods do not port cleanly from version to version if you decide to switch later. Also take into account how active that SC forum is. Europe seems to receive the most attention from all the versions. Currently, I have the only publicly available mod in Pacific, but WaW and Europe have many in various states of development.

The editor has a lot of unwritten, and sometimes not obvious, connections in it. For example, certain tech slots are linked to affect all naval ships and you can add changes, but you cannot take away the default change. This sometimes forces you to redesign a plan that you had, or drop a plan altogether.

Scripting is a whole different animal in itself. As with coding in general, little mistakes can be very frustrating to find. Certain TYPE scripts do not play well with other scripts, and don't behave the way you would expect them to (I'm looking at you TYPE=2 scripts ).

As far as unit graphics, I have no experience in that area! I know how to add pictures for scripts and the loading background but that's it. Unfortunate Son makes custom unit counters and does a good job.


Anyhow, I have found that I enjoy designing games. I have no idea how many people have actually played or downloaded my Pacific mod, I wish I did, but I enjoy it nonetheless. WHEN you run into issues feel free to reach out to us or even the developers. Bill is very responsive and helpful. But sometimes you just have to accept the fact that SC is not making anybody rich and was developed a long time ago, so many things simply will not or cannot be changed.

Happy modding!