Module howto: hints for a total newbie?

[Altefcat]

Hello to all the ToME community,

First I'd like to say that I've discovered T4 some days ago, and I'm definitively hooked! I am used to play with graphical tiles since the old days of ZangBandTk, and I'd like to change ToME4 tiles to have David Gervais and Crawl tiles:

• change existing tiles by new ones
• add tiles to items or monsters that do not have it
• change the player tile according to his equipment

Where should I look first to get used to modding ToME, is there a guide or something? I am a total newbie at this, so please be kind and speak slowly!

[Zonk]

http://te4.org/wiki/t4modules-module-howto-guides
should be useful.

As for what you're doing - it's quite easy, I'm doing something similar(but not quite): Adapting some Gervais and Crawl tiles for my module. I might even send you some if you don't want to extract them yourself using GIMP - in ToME, every tile is its own image file.

[Altefcat]

Thank you for your link; that's interesting, but I was more looking for a global presentation of how modules work, interact with the engine and the media data. For instance, if I want to customize the main ToME module, do I need to tweek the existing module, or can I build my own module and load it afterward?

I have found ref to png files in some lua files, such as game\modules\tome\data\general\npcs\ant.lua; so I guess all is hardcoded in the lua code. But I can't find where the player tile is set...

Is there a way to change the default font used? I have found some settings in C:\Documents and Settings\username\T-Engine\4.0\settings, maybe there?

As for what you're doing - it's quite easy, I'm doing something similar(but not quite): Adapting some Gervais and Crawl tiles for my module. I might even send you some if you don't want to extract them yourself using GIMP - in ToME, every tile is its own image file.

Are you removing the background of each tile so that it's transparent? I'm interested! Maybe we could coordinate our efforts and set some common repository?

[Zonk]

Thank you for your link; that's interesting, but I was more looking for a global presentation of how modules work, interact with the engine and the media data. For instance, if I want to customize the main ToME module, do I need to tweek the existing module, or can I build my own module and load it afterward?

There are two example modules (in your /modules)folder.
They're basically the same, except one is realtime.

I have found ref to png files in some lua files, such as game\modules\tome\data\general\npcs\ant.lua; so I guess all is hardcoded in the lua code. But I can't find where the player tile is set...

You just set the the 'image'variable for the player(as you would with any other actor, such as objects or grids).
You can do that in descriptors.lua to start.
For example, putting 'image=player.png' in the copy field for the base descriptor would make the player use the 'player.png' tile in the /gfx/ folder

Is there a way to change the default font used? I have found some settings in C:\Documents and Settings\username\T-Engine\4.0\settings, maybe there?

Not sure about fonts.

Are you removing the background of each tile so that it's transparent? I'm interested! Maybe we could coordinate our efforts and set some common repository?

Yep. It's quite easy really.
I don't have much experience with repositories, but I'd be happy to help, and provide the tiles I've already extracted for some of which I made different versions as I think they'd fit 'better' in my module.

change the player tile according to his equipment

As for this - I love the way Crawl handles this, it's pretty fun(you can build your player tile in game), although probably hard to implement here(but certianly not impossible).
A compromise I considered was allowing the player to select ANY of many premade pics by using a menu.


Also: you might want to visit the chat channel, we talk about modding fairly often.

[Altefcat]

Thanks for your replies. I have made a little Python script to convert every DGervais tiles with a transparent background.

There are many choices among those tiles, but I'd like to tweak them to support Tome4 materials: iron, steel, dwarven steel, stralite, voratun. Are there colors already associated with these materials ?

You can find different tries that I made with two hand axes. What do you think?

[Altefcat]

the last ones...

[Altefcat]

some tests with darker tones

[Altefcat]

After some thinking I think I will go with this ones:

• iron: rusted red
• steel: base tile
• dwarven steel: blueish from base tile
• stralite: darken gray
• voratun: darken blueish

[Altefcat]

Finally I came with this:

• iron: rusted red
• steel: base tile
• dwarven steel: darken gray
• stralite: golden
• voratun: blueish from base tile

In that way the tiles are more different one from another.

All the basic tiles for objects are done (around 165 tiles); I have started changing artifacts, but there are still a lot to do.

Here is a zip for those who want to have a look. The content of the zip file must be extracted to the game\modules\tome folder:

http://www.elderlore.com/wp-content/plu ... d.php?id=3

[marchewka]

http://te4.org/wiki/t4modules-module-howto-guides
should be useful.

->

"Access denied
You are not authorized to access this page. "

How could I get access to this guide?

[yufra]

Good catch marchewka, the wiki changed software and these pages don't seem to have made it. I'll try tracking down someone who knows about this stuff...

[darkgod]

Fixed the wiki page

[marchewka]

Mmm, plenty of food, so yummy.

Now, before I even start with those guides, 2 quick questions:

- if i have a character started in a module, and then i made changes to the module, will the change be visible to the character, or do i need to make a new one?
- if i make changes to the TOME module, will it break compatibility with the online character profile?

[yufra]

- if i have a character started in a module, and then i made changes to the module, will the change be visible to the character, or do i need to make a new one?

Should be fine, but you may get frustrated running down a bug that turns out to come from this. Better safe than sorry so create a new character if it isn't too much trouble.

- if i make changes to the TOME module, will it break compatibility with the online character profile?

Definitely.

[marchewka]

Also - for the purpose of debugging and stuff, is there some kind of a wiz-mode embedded?