Ask your questions here: I'll be happy to answer them. This is like the question thread, except that it's solely for INI, and the answers will be in tutorials, which are longer. Ask me an INI question. I may start by giving a mini-tutorial.

Also, please specify in your questions if this is for a mod or a mod map.

Thanks to Kester for the sticky!

Q&A

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Wait, so what is this topic about?
This is about modifying BFME2, or at least some aspects.

What do you mean?
Well, basically, this topic is about coding for the game: anything related to that.

Sounds hard...
Well, it is, but once you know what to look for, and how everything's related, it gets easier.

What is ini?
The game keeps its data in files called BIG files. Basically, they compress the data within it. We're looking at the INI.big file, which contains hundreds of files. Every file in that big file ends in INI, which is the format the game uses. There are some files that end in INC, but we won't have to worry about that.
What can ini do?
Well, it can do a lot. It can add new powers to units, cause buildings to spawn specific units, and most of the things used in the game. However, ini is by no means a magical language in which everything is possible.
What's an ini file?
It's an initialization file, to be exact. It tells the game all of the information about a specific object, its modules, etc.


What's an object? And how do I get started?
I'm making tutorials right now. If you ever have a specific question, ask it on this topic. I'll be happy to help.

About Coding

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In the next few weeks or so, I'll be putting up tutorials as people need them, but I'll start with object-oriented programming as it relates to BFME2.

The game's code is basically a collection of objects. Some objects do some things, and some do others. Some are buildings, and some are units. Let's start with Boromir.Object GondorBoromirBasically, all this does is tell the game that there is an object named GondorBoromir. There is nothing special about this object, except that we can call it GondorBoromir.

The following code in the game code tells the game the parameters, or the characteristics of the object. The game's code starts out with putting down the art parameters. The art parameters tell the game how Boromir is supposed to look. This is hard to code for a newbie, so let's skip it for now.

Next, you'll see all sorts of random attributes; here are some important ones:BuildCost
BuildTime
WeaponSet
ArmorSet
VisionRange = VISION_HERO_STANDARD
ShroudClearingRange = SHROUD_CLEAR_HERO
BountyValue = GONDOR_BOROMIR_BOUNTY_VALUE
DisplayName = OBJECT:GondorBoromir
RecruitText = CONTROLBAR:GondorBoromirRecruit
ReviveText= CONTROLBAR:GondorBoromirRevive
Hotkey= CONTROLBAR:GondorBoromirHotkey
CrushableLevel = 2 ;What am I?: 0 = for infantry, 1 = for trees, 2 = general vehicles

CommandSet = BoromirCommandSet
CommandPoints = 50These are very important.
The BuildCost is how much the unit costs.
The BuildTime is how much time (in seconds) that it takes to build him.
WeaponSet is the type of weapon that Boromir uses, and under what conditions.
The armorset is the same, except for armor.
The VisionRange is how far Boromir can "see" units. If it's under attack stance and it has a large vision, it will attack units very far away.

Alex_3737's Tutorials

[This message has been edited by Ancalagon_4554 (edited 06-05-2007 @ 02:08 PM).]