This article has been approved and can also be read at the University. - Leif Ericson

A little tinkering with a genie editor reveals that AoK is filled with duplicate buildings. There are four barracks, one for each age; two siege workshops, one for each age where you can build them. However, there are twenty town centers and no less than thirty-two units all unhelpfully called 'Gate', making the modding of gates and Town Centers a difficult proposition. This article explains the purposes, relations, and naming conventions of these units and their even more numerous graphic IDs. Armed with this knowledge, you can add new graphic sets more easily, and even create new sets of gates!

There are two ways refer to individual units: by ID number and internal name. Unfortunately, ID numbers are completely arbitrary. You'll find some corresponding units with consecutive IDs, and some hundreds of entries apart. However, internal names are consistent and precise, though somewhat hard to read. The same logic applies to the individual graphic slots, where the names are very similar to internal unit names. This guide will use and explain these compact names such as GTAB3 and RTWC4XD3.


Town Centers


Units

The internal names of the various Town Center units follow this pattern: RTWCxn

Where x is age number


n is a one letter code denoting what part of the Town Center the unit corresponds to. Note that the base TC units are simply RTWCx.

There are five Town Center units for each age. Here are the five Castles age versions for the Middle Eastern buildset, along with the base dark age unit.


To elaborate further:

RTWCx is the main TC unit, where villagers and technologies are purchased. Standing graphics show the shadow and side pillars.
All ages have RTWC1A, RTWC1B, and RTWC1C annex units and RTWC1X as head unit (Dark age variants are always used for annex units, so RTWC3X mostly looks like a dark age TC until you advance)

RTWC (there is no RTWC1) is the unit unhidden in the scenario editor

RTWCxA - Center
All ages have RTWC1X as head unit


RTWCxB - Pillars
All ages have RTWC1X as head unit


RTWCxC - Wings
All ages have RTWC1X as head unit


RTWCxX - Preview: all graphics included with deltas
All ages have RTWC as stack unit

These are the buildings constructed by villagers. Their standing graphics appear when placing a new TC. They also appear in the fog of war.



Graphics

All town center graphic id names have the following format:

RTWCx**b

x denotes age number


b denotes buildset:


In Forgotten (Empires):


** is a two or three character code

Generalizing the age and buildset, the slots correspond to following slp content, with visual examples are from the Middle Eastern Imperial TC:
RTWCxN0b - shadow


RTWCxN1b - blank or miscellaneous prop


RTWCxNNb - Center Structure. Standing graphics for RTWCxA


RTWCxN2b - Left Wing. Contains deltas for right side. Standing graphics for RTWCxC


RTWCxN3b - Front Left Pillars. Contains deltas for right side


RTWCxN4b - Far Left Pillar. Contains deltas for far right pillar, shadow, and prop. The standing graphics for RTWCx


RTWCxCNb - Preview graphics: blank slp with deltas for all other graphics. Standing graphics for RTWCxX


RTWCxD1b - Damage graphic 1: blank slp with numerous flame deltas for 25% damage
RTWCxD2b - Damage graphic 2: blank slp with numerous flame deltas for 50% damage
RTWCxD3b - Damage graphic 3: blank slp with numerous flame deltas for 75% damage
RTWCxGb - Garrison: blank slp with garrison flag delta
RTWCxXD1 - Damage graphics for preview at 25%
RTWCxXD2 - Damage graphics for preview at 50%
RTWCxXD3 - Damage graphics for preview at 75%

As far as I know, no one has felt it worth the time to align snow and flame to new graphics. Copying the graphics from a similarly shaped existing TC is sufficient.

RTWCx2N5b - Right Wing


RTWCx2N6b - Front Right Pillars


RTWCx2N7b - Far Right Pillar


RTWCx2Sb - Snow: blank slp with several snow deltas
RTWCx2XSb - Preview Snow: blank slp with several snow deltas



Gates


Units

The internal names for gates have this format: GTnmx

where n denotes orientation


Somewhat less abstractly, notice how the third letter changes with orientation in this screenshot:


x = 2, stone gate
x = 3, fortified gate

m denotes what part of gate the unit corresponds to


m = A, closed gate
Standing graphics: GTnAxNNb
Possesses two annexed GTnC2 gateposts
Transform unit = GTnB2
Head unit = GTnX2

Note: The stone variants of these units are the ones unhidden in the editor


m = B, open gate
Standing graphics: GTnBxNNb
Possesses two annexed GTnC2 gateposts
Transform unit = GTnA2
Head unit = GTnX2


m = C, gatepost
Standing graphics: GTACxN1b (Note that n is always A)
Head unit = GTnX2


m = X, Preview: all graphics included with deltas
Standing graphics: GTnXxNNb
Construction graphics: GTnXxCNb (Other unit have construction graphics, but not gate specific ones)
Seen when placing and constructing a gate
GTAXx is the unit that actually appears in the builder menu, but all are enabled by techs. The automatic orientation seems to be hardcoded.

These units vanish completely once construction completes.


All options exist independently, resulting in 32 total gate units

Sea Gates are SGnm (Palisade Gates PGTnm in FE/AoF)
There is not an upgraded variant to worry about, but otherwise the same conventions are followed.

If you copy these units and adjust the annex, head, and transform units accordingly, new gates can be created.

Finally, an aside for modders struggling with the 900 unit limit: every orientation has its own gatepost, (GTnCx) but you can reuse the same one for all for types. (I.e., set annex units to GTAC2 for all stone/fortified gate units) Gates are placed in scenarios as closed gate units, so this change doesn't break old scenarios. Though you will need to remove several effects in the Fortified wall technology to properly use the units you've freed up.


Graphics

Gate Graphics are typically formatted as GTmnx**b

where n denotes orientation

x = 2, stone gate
x = 3, fortified gate

m denotes what part of gate the graphic corresponds to

Generally, these five characters will be the name of the gate unit that uses the graphic.

b is a letter referring to buildset:


In Forgotten:


** varies considerably. Using Southwest-Northeast Middle Eastern stone Gates as a visual example,


GTnAxN0b - Shadow for closed gate center


GTnAxN1b - Slot for animations. Closed gates have none, and it is therefore unused

GTnAxNNb - Graphics for closed gate center
Includes deltas for shadows and dummy animation slot


GTnBxN0b - Shadow for open gate center


GTnBxN1b - Slot for animations. Open gates have none, so this slot is unused

GTnBxNNb - Graphics for open gate center
Includes deltas for shadows and dummy animation slot


GTnCxN0b - Shadow for gatepost


GTnCxNNb - Graphics for gatepost
Includes deltas for shadows and dummy animation slot (Except GTAC2NNb, which has none)
Since GTACxN1b is used as the standing graphic, these deltas are irrelevant


GTACxN1b - Blank slp with deltas for flag, shadow and tower graphics
n=A is special. Other n values are just flags.
This graphic is used by all gatepost units

GTACxN1G - Animated flag graphics. Used by GTACxN1b

GTnCxN1b - For n = B, C, D. Static flag graphics used by GTnX2NNb (Preview). GTAX2NNb uses GTACxN1G instead.

GTnCxC0b - Shadows for the three stages of construction


GTnCxCNb - Graphics for the three stages of construction. Includes deltas for shadows


GTnX2NNb - Preview graphics: blank slp with deltas for all other graphics

GTmnxSb - Snow graphics. Blank slps and no deltas mean that gates do not change appearance on snow. Nevertheless, processing power is still used to superimpose these graphics on gates in snowy terrain.

GTmnxD1 - Set of delta flame graphics that appear at 25% damage

GTmnxD2 - Set of delta flame graphics that appear at 50% damage

GTmnxD3 - Set of delta flame graphics that appear at 75% damage

[This message has been edited by Vardamir (edited 08-08-2017 @ 07:39 PM).]