New to mods? Start here, Introduction to Dominions 3 mods

[Sombre]

Frequently Asked Questions


Q: What are mods anyway?

A: Mods, or modifications, are files created by fans of Dominions 3 which can be loaded to change some aspects of the game. They might provide alternate graphics, add new nations, units or spells to the game or simply change/remove things that were already in the game.

Q: So what exactly can mods change?

A: It's important to understand that in the Dominions community, mods make use a specific set of commands provided by the developers of the game, Illwinter. These commands are document in the Modding Manual. You can find a copy of the Modding Manual in the 'docs' subfolder of the folder where you installed Dominions 3. The Modding Manual essentially covers everything that can be done with mod commands so if it isn't in there, it can't realistically be done.

Generally speaking, mods can make changes to the sites, spells, units and nations of the game, with only a handful of commands to change the 'rules' of the game, like how much extra gold you get from order scales. Some graphical elements of the interface can be changed, but this is beyond the scope of the mods files that Dominions 3 was designed to load.

Q: How do I install a mod?

A: It's very simple. All you need is the .dm file and any graphical files that .dm requires, placed in the right location in your Dominions 3 folder. There should be a 'mods' subfolder of the folder where you installed Dominions 3. If not though, you will need to create it. This is where the .dm file lives. The .dm file may then refer to graphics either in this folder, or in specified subfolders.

Let's take the famous Conceptual Balance Mod as an example.

When you open up the zip file containing the mod, you'll see that it contains the following:

cb1.84.dm (the most important file, containing all the commands or 'code' that makes up the mod)
cbcomplete.tga (a graphic used by the mod)
CBM_Sprites (a folder full of graphics used by the mod)
Worthy_Heroes (a folder full of graphics used by the mod)
diversity (a folder full of graphics used by the mod)

To correctly install Conceptual Balance Mod 1.84 you need to put the .dm, the .tga and each of the folders in your 'mods' subfolder. You should not take the graphics out of the subfolders - many unzipping applications have a 'retain directory structure' feature which you want to use. Once you've unzipped everything you should see the .dm, the .tga and each of the subfolders in your 'mods' subfolder.


Q: Now that I've installed a mod, how do I use it?

A: Again, very simple. Dominions 3 loads any enabled mods when you first create a game and thereafter, whenever you load that game, it will automatically load the correct mods. So to make a new game using cbm1.84, you need to enable the mod, then make the new game.

To enable a mod, in the main menu of Dominions 3, go to 'Preferences' then 'Mod Preferences'. Here you will see a list of the mods you have installed which you can enable or disable. By default, Dominions will have enabled/disabled any mods which were on/off for the game you played most recently. Once you've done this, you can go back to the main menu and create your game. You can see which mods you have currently enabled in the top right hand corner of the screen, indicated by the 'banner' graphic of each mod.

However in some cases, mods which you've installed will not have a 'banner' graphic. The only way you can tell if these are enabled before making a new game is to go back to the mod preferences screen and check.


Q: How do I know which mods are running in a game?

A: Within a game, go to the menu in the top right hand corner and select 'Options' then 'view active mods'.


Q: How do I know what a mod does?

A: Well, assuming you haven't found enough information in either the thread where you downloaded the mod or any documentation provided in the zip file, your best bet is to have a look in the .dm file, using the Modding Manual as your guide. Fortunately .dm files are essentially just a renamed .txt file, so you can view them in any application that can view a txt file. Most commonly this is Notepad. Everything the mod does can be found within this .dm.

[Sombre]

If anyone has any further ideas for this FAQ, please just post them up here and I'll include them.

It's not finished yet, but I thought I'd get something in place for now to help new players.

[Maerlande]

A link to a good free unzipper would be good. I prefer 7zip.7zip link

It has great features like remembering your common unzip paths.

[Maerlande]

I was thinking about the "what can mods change" part. That's where folks commenting on mods are weakest.

So let's see if I can list what you can and can't do in detail.

Things you can mod:

1) Spells
2) Items
3) Units
4) Gear including base gear
5) Pretenders.

Things you can not mod
1) Base mechanics like the DRN (Dominions random number) and the hit mechanics or the AI especially in combat.
2) The user interface.
3) Forts, temples, dominion spread.

For the specific areas, there are critical things you can and can not mod.

Spells
Can mod
1) The casting paths. You can add a second path or remove a second path. And you can make a D1 spell be a D2 spell for example. I believe you can also change the paths completely.
2) Gem use. You can add or remove the requirements for using gems. This is basically a function of the fatigue cost if I understand correctly. Every 100 fatigue needs one gem.
3) The range, power (damage etc), and magic resistance requirements.
4) The descriptions and the flavour text.
5) With some tricky modding you can have one spell have dual effects. For example you can have a spell have a minor effect followed by a major. This has been used by some folks to spoof the casting AI to stop spamming shit spells.
6) You can make a spell autocast at start of battle.
7) You can change the research requirements of a spell. I also think you can move a spell from one school to another.

Can not mod
1) You can not create new spell effects. You are limited to the spells effects already in the game. This means you can not make new global spells particularly. So it's not possible to make a spell that say, makes the enemy drop equipment. Not possible.
2) You can not have 3 paths to a spell. And you can't make a spell cost 2 types of gems. Spells that use gems always use the primary path (the first path).

Items
Can mod
1) You can create new basic items with all new stats such as attack, protection, etc.
2)You can change the forging paths with the result that you change the cost of forged items.

Can not mod
1) You can not make new forged items. And you can not remove existing forged items. This is why in CBM 1.6 + clams of pearls were not removed. They were simply moved to construction 8 to make them unique.
2) You can not change the basic effects of forged items. So you can not make new gem generators or stop the bane blade from doing decay. Although interestingly, you can add secondary effects like the reanimate on bane blades in CBM 1.84.
3) You can not adjust the cost of an item except by changing the forging paths. The costs per level of path are fixed. IE: and E1 item will always cost 5 gems base cost.

I'm stopping here for tonight. I have to think about how to develop the next sections.

[Deathjester]

Not sure what thread this would fit best in, but I wanted to give you all a tip:

Use Dropbox

It's excellent for:
-sharing files over several computers
-storing files online
-hosting for example preview pictures and files for download
-having access to said files on an Iphone- or Android-mobile.

Point number 3 above is obviously the most relevant for this forum. It's an elegant solution that works very well.

[llamabeast]

I am also happy to give people a llamaserver ftp account if they have good mods to host.