Blogs - Antonis9

Hello everyone!

This is the second part of my modding tutorial. In this part, I will give specific instructions on how to add items, faces, hairs and how to replace any Native resource you find unsuitable for your mod.

So, first of all, you will need to find an OSP relevant to your needs. There are many places that are "warehouses" for free resources. I will list some of the with their links:

-Taleworlds Forums: Forums.taleworlds.com
-MbRepository(a bit outdated, but I still find it extremely useful) : Mbrepository.com
-The Nexus: Nexusmods.com?
There are there different pages for Vanilla M&B, Warband and With Fire and Sword.

Also, if you know russian(or you can manage with Google translation), there is the RusMnB site which has the work of some very talented poeple: Rusmnb.ru

Okay, now you have an Item pack, let's see its contents. Most -if not all- OSPs come with 2 folders. Resource and Textures. So, let's put them in-game. You will need two tools(porgrams for that). OpenBRF and an Item Editor(I use Morgh's M&B Editor and that's what I will use in the tutorial. These are both free and available in the sites I mentioned earlier. OpenBRF enables you to see the .grf files(the 3d model) and the Editor let's you put any item you want in the game.
Step by Step guide for item Implementation:

1)Copy the contents of the Resource Folder into the Resource folder of your module(MyMod).
2)Copy the contents of the Textures Folder into the Textures folder of your Module(they are a bunch of .dds files).
3)Open your module.ini and close to the end of the file(I put it after load_mod_resource = town_houses_e ) add this line load_mod resource = ...After the equalizer(leaving a space!) you will write the name of the .brf file you copied inside the Resource folder. EXAMPLE: You downloaded some swords, and the .brf file is named crusaderswords.brf. You add this line "load_mod_resource = crusaderswords(the .brf is the file suffix and will not be written, of course).
4)Now, the items resources can be read, but the items themselves are not into the game yet. To do that, open your Editor and find a relevant item to use a template. Click Add Item and in your upper right, you will see a box where the item mesh goes. Open the .brf resource and select the model of the desired item(a sword, for instance). The right click-rename(or F2, the Rename keyboard shortcut) and copy the name of the mesh. And the copy it to the box I mentioned and click Update mesh. Now, you need to write the itm_ name the Name of the item and in the box where it says plural, you write the same thing, not Swords, but Sword, for example. Then, you can edit the item's price, weight, damage, speed, armor value etc. Also, you can change its flags(abilities) if you want, to make it sound wooden or metallic, change scabbard position etc. Also, don't forget that if you have a sword, the have two meshes, one for the blade on for the scabbard, so make it accordingly.
5)Click Add Item and then Save Changes(create back-ups first!) and you are done.

Now, when you are making a mod, it is understandable that you will not need every Native Item and in fact, most of the times you won't need anything but the horses, Trade Goods and things like that. So, instead of adding a tone of items along with the native ones, here's what you can do: Edit the Native items. Let's show that by an example: You are making a mod about Rome and you plan to make the Nordic Native faction into Roman Empire. Nords use Nordic Helmets, Byrnies(and others) and Nordic swords. So, do that: Instead of making new items, find these, for example Nordic Sword and then replace the mesh with a Gladius Model you have. Of course, editing its properties is necessary(the damage and the length, for example). Click Update item and Save changes. From now on, all the units who use the Nordic sword will have a gladius! That way, you will greatly speed your work, as you will have all your nordic units use your desired items, from the beginning.

ATTENTION!!! Don not edit Heraldic Items OR use them as templates for non-Heraldic items. If you do, all sorts of texture problems will ensue. That goes for the Heraldic Mail Armors and all the shields. To use a shield as a template, always use the wooden, nordic, steel or Norman Kite shields!

So, that's about all things related to items. Now, how to implement new hair:
1)As you did for the items, you copy the Textures in the Textures folder(if they come with new textures) and the resouce in the respective folder.
2)Add the line in the module.ini, using after the equaliser the name of the .brf(e.g. load_mod_resource = amazinghairsYO).
3) Now, open the .brf, and click rename and copy the name of the hair you will use.
4)Open the skins.txt file(where all things related to face, hair and beard lie) and find the place where are the hair. ATTENTION!!! There is a different place for male and female hair! The male are close to the start of the file(you will see some line named man_hair 1, man_hair_t etc.). Go to the end of that line, leave 2 spaces from the last hair and paste the hair mesh's name you copied. VERY IMPORTANT: Don't forget to add as many hairs you added to the number thaat exists before the hairs. For men I think it's 20, so if you added 3 more hair, replace the 20 with 23. For female it's 7 and you just need to find the woman_hair entries(close to the bottom of the file). Easy as that!
The same proccess can be done for beards! As for new faces, all the face packs that exist, come with installation instructions, so your covered, as well.

Finally, OSPs are free and as the name suggests, Open for usage, but please, give credits to the original maker of the OSP. It is appreciated!
For any questions, clarifications or anything else, leave a comment and ask me or contact me, I always answer!

Thank you!

Hello ladies and gentlemen!

I decided to take advantage of the blog feature, in order to make a series of tutorials on how to make a complete Mount and Blade: WARBAND mod. Everything will be explained and everything will be analyzed to the maximum. So, here is a list of contents, which I will upload in due time.

1.Getting Started(general info, useful things to mind, banner creation and makings of a music pack
2. Items, OSPs, eliminating Native references and more.
3. Simple (Re)Texturing, new Graphics, new Interface(cursor, crosshaits etc.) and Sounds, new Fonts and Scenes.
4. Scripts, Codes, Dialogs and the Basics of the Module System in very simple words.
5. Troop making, Kings, Lords etc.
6. FIne-tuning your mod, last details that can make the simplest of mods to shine.

So, that's the basic outline of the tutorial and more or less the mod making proccess. Now, a couple of things that need to be said before the party starts. During the course of the tutorial, a lot of links will be posted, with works of brilliant people. Most of it is OSP, but credit them. Also, I am not claiming that I am the most talented modder ever(far from it) or that this tutorial will teach you how to work miracles. I wll give you ideas, suggestions and instructions, but you will have to use creativity, logic and most importantly spend time!

Without further ado, let's start....

So, first of all you will need a PC, the Game(of course!), common logic, basic Computer skills and some image editing skills(not compulsory) and a notebook. That is a very important thing, because otherwise you won't be able to remember your ideas, the course of the work or things you should work on etc. Now, when making a mod, it is very wise to always keep BACK-UPS, of everything you do, so if you screw sth, it is easy to fix it. So, Back-ups, Back-ups, Back-ups!!! Lastly, I will use mostly Free programs(although I use Photoshop, for example, I will say things about the free Gimp).

Starting from the most important things:
1)Have a mod idea clear in your head, not just vague thoughts.
2)Go to your game's directory and you will see a folder named Modules. There you will make your mod. Open it and you will find a "Native folder". That's the Native module you play. For now, before talking on how to use more advanced mods as a basis(such as Diplomacy or others) we will use that as our basis. So, make a folder named after your mod(let's call it MyMod for convenience now) and copy all the contents of your Native folders inside it. I will explain what each thing is and does.

MyMod contents
-Data: A folder where your data goes, font.data, floral kinds etc. We won't need to worry about that folder for now.
-Languages: the various languages of the mod. I work on the default English.
-Music:Where you will put your music files, I will teach you how to make a music pack later on this part of the tutorial.
-Resouce: Where your .brf files go, we will analyze this later, on the items and other resources tutorial.
-SceneObjects: The mod's scenes. We won't need that for now.
-Sounds: The sounds of the mod. Again, we will analyze this later, on the sounds tutorial.
Textures: Possible the most important folder of your mod, where you put all the Textures. Now remember that Mount and Blade Warband only reads .dds(diect draw surface) textures, so it would be best tohave a program that can convert you textures to .dds. I have a Photoshop plugin, but you can use the free GIMP 2 and Paint.net programs.
- Now, there are about 35 .txt files and a bmp file named "main" and an .ini file named "Module". We will analyze every .txt to its appropriate time. The main.bmp is the image that it is displayed when you select you mod from the Game Launcher, so you can easily edit that and put a proper image of your choice and making there. As for the module.ini, the most important file, watch it carefully. Now, what you will do(for now) with it: Open it and use Ctrl+F(search function, use that a lot) to find a line called scan_module_textures = 0. If it is 0 after the equalizer, replace it with 1(scan_module_textures = 1). Below it, there is a similar line, but instead of textures, it reads sounds. Do the same thing and -just to be on the certain- add another line below it: scan_module_music = 1. These lines enable the module to read the textures you make, the sounds and the music, respectively. That is more or less the basis of any mod procedure in Warband.

Now, to make new banners, I won't go into full detail, as there is a better and detailed tutorial, which I also follow: Indiedb.com

It's exquisite and will help you greatly. You can make from the most easy to the most complex banners with it and some basic image editing skills. It's very clear, but if there is a something you need, ask me!

Now, how to make music for your mod. That is equally easy, fun and important. So, here goes:

Music files for "Warband" are stored in the "Music" subfolder of the main directory and are encoded in the Ogg Vorbis file format. You can replace the default music files with your own by converting your music files to the Ogg Vorbis file format. So, go to the main Game directory and you will see a folder named Music. Copy it inside your module. Then, download a program called Goldwave -it has endless trial. ;)
You can replace the default music files with your own by converting your music files to the Ogg Vorbis file formaEach music file is linked to a specific condition in "Warband" and you may need to replace several music files with your own to cover one specific condition, such as combat or shopping.
1)Launch GoldWave and click the "Open" option under the "File" menu. Navigate the "Open Sound" to the folder with the music file you wish to use with "Warband" and double-click the music file. GoldWave will open the music file and display the audio data in the main GoldWave window.
2)Click the "Save As" option under the "File" menu. Navigate the "Save Sound As" to your "Warband" directory, located in "C:\Program Files\Mount&Blade Warband." Steam versions of "Warband" are located in "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\mountblade warband."
3)Double-click the "Music" folder in your main "Mount & Blade: Warband" directory to enter the folder. Click the "Save as type" drop-down menu and select the "Ogg" file format. Double-click on a "Mount & Blade: Warband" music file to overwrite, then click the "Yes" button in the "Confirm Save As" window. Your music file will overwrite the stock music file and will play in "Warband" when triggered.

Example: Say you want to replace the song that plays in tournaments with the one of your choice(let's say, for example's sake, you want to play the Friar Jacques tune). You find the track in the Music folder, which is called arena_1, and you go through the procedure mentioned earlier. Easy, no? Of course, first make sure you own the songs you want to put into the game. Also, there are websites with free music tracks that can be useful.

So, that was part one of the tutorial, with some basic things you need to do. As the tutorial progresses, we will see more complex features.

Thank you,
Anthony