Question... Is their a tutorial on getting started with modding? I am not new to development... 43 year old developer that has moded many games in tbe past, but new to PA. Is the game ready for modding? I see many mods out there, like the pa stats mod (i like) but want to try my hand at it. Any places to share source? Or get started with basic template? B8
Well most molding is quite simple, it's mainly just editing java script files Calles .jsons. May I ask what you're aiming to do? PA has to different kind of mods. Client, which are mainly ui alterations and such, and server which span across many different things from balance mods to total conversions.
Many modders use this github group to share their code: https://github.com/pamods But yeah then it depends on what you want to do. A rough overview of PA modding would be: - The UI is a webkit based browser, so HTML5 with javascript. It's quite powerful obviously if you want to change how it looks, but mostly the API to interact with the game is limited, as the API is only build exactly for the functions the default UI needs, with a few exceptions, but don't expect a big API just meant for modders. It's a fun environment if you are into inventing hacks to make the impossible possible by merging together the existing APIs in unintended ways ^^ - server side stuff. Here everything "data" is defined in json files. So you can i.e. rebalance the game by modifing jsons, add new units, etc. Server side scripting is possible in a very limited extend, but only by directly modifing the server, there are no hooks at all. Also the API is very limited for gameplay scripting I think. At least not much obvious stuff.
Well, as developer I like to automate things... ha! That REALLY is an understatement! To start I would not mind building a MOD just for myself that tracks my opponents, gives me some HEADS UP on them... much like Poker stats, "THISGuy Losses Against 5, Wins 2: Notes Air snipes" I sort of use a hybrid of PA stats and notepaper to do this now but not everyone is in PA stats and I still have to write a lot. I would love it if this was more automated for me so I could gauge my opponents (I play a lot of FFA) before game. Yes I know I am over thinking things... I am a developer what can I say! But eventually I want to do a Single Player Campaign. I have done so for many other games and enjoy the process. As I understand it right now you cannot make a world with prebuilt structures and Ai scripted to do what you want? If that is true I will have to wait until that is available but I can at least “dive in” and start getting familiar with the process. Beyond that I do not like to flesh out what I want out of a MOD too much… I learned a long time ago that publicly declaring your intentions can bite you in the arse. I like to work in silent making a prototype that I feel captures something useful and then releasing it on to the world.
You can do a world with prebuild structures with a server script. There is a "create unit there" call that works, so you can "prebuild" structures and cheat in units if you need them somewhere. AI... I don't know what is possible or not there.
You can take the code for the Notes mod as a start, but instead of notes you'd have to modify it to grab stuff from PA Stats somehow.
I would say this just became minimally possible. You would need like every type of mod all work at once to do it. Basically, you would need galactic war likely. Or not possibly. With galactic war, you could make different techs, and different AIs for the AI enemy to use depending on their tech. Also, startup vid and progression. Either way, the next thing is a prebuilt planet list for GW or to load up in general. Then, you can either let the AI build from scratch, or have a client mod using the spawn in function spawn a prebuilt cookie cutter base with some wicked intellegent skills to avoid obstacles when placing structures. Or a temporary flying infinite resources instant builder that despawns after 30 seconds so it can build a base instantly. Then, you can add some sort of UI keys for scripting. Technically, this also makes a Tutorial possible. especially if you can make a custom UI show white frames for 5 minutes to show a person a cookiecutter base and give a list of instructions and make AI spawn to check if the player is doing correct else the AI kills him and restarts tutorial. It is, as Colin said, a lot of "hacking multiple mods together to do something new". For server mods alone, as far as editing playable units and what units do, start here: https://forums.uberent.com/threads/hlp-commander-model-as-a-unit-model.65990/
Here are two threads from devs discussing modding system. client: - Beta Mod Changes server: - Coming up soon... Server Mods! Community documentation - PA Modding Reference Guides, Applications & Tools - How to be a good citizen in JavaScript - [GUIDE] Getting your mod on PAMM - Documenting the AI API requests - PA Client API Requests - PA Server API Requests Mod ideas Hopefully this is helpful. edit: add PAMM guide
