ACTUAL Guide on how to increase model count in units. Also: How to handle squads.xsls/*.csv
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:35 pm
Hello fellow modders.
After two hours of extreme frustration due to lacking, outdated or plain false information in this forum, I managed to create my own mod increasing model count in units. To save coming generations this trouble, here's a very simple step-by-step guide on how to achieve the same, including a general guide on how to mod the "squads" file(s). This is easiest with Excel (2010+), but I think LibreOffice does the trick as well. I don't think OpenOffice will get you far.
1. Go to "/Documents/My Games/FieldOfGlory2" and create a new folder named "MODS" if it doesn't already exist.
2. Within this folder, create another folder named whatever you want, this will be the name of your mod.
3. Go to the "Data" folder within you Field of Glory II directory and copy "Squads.xlsx".
4. Post the copy in your mod-folder (the one created in step 2).
-- The following section contains extremely useful knowledge for working with "Squads.xlsx" in general. This should also apply to Pike and Shot. --
5. Open your copy of "Squads.xlsx", henceforth referred to as "the .xlsx file". Never touch the original in your game directory ever again. Except when a new update for the game is released, in which case you'll have to recopy it and reapply all previous changes.
6. The column "ManCount" is what determines the amount of models displayed. Make your changes there to your preference.
6.1. The hardcoded maximum is 16, exceeding this will crash the game. Aside from this, only the numbers 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 are originally viable values. If you want to enter other numbers, see this thread (it's very easy):
viewtopic.php?f=492&t=79856&sid=662647e ... 88fb225c7e
6.2. DO NOT sort any columns. Sorting will screw everything up, wildly changing model sizes and probably many other things. If you ever accidentally sort any column in your .xlsx file, quit without saving and start over with your latest changes.
7. When you're done editing the .xlsx file, save it. Then, save it again as a .csv file (CSV (Comma delimited)), named "Squads.csv", henceforth referred to as "the .csv file".
-- This cost me most of my time and nerves to find out --
8. Open the .csv file with Excel or whatever you are using and see if everything looks neat and tidy, sorted into proper rows and columns. If so, you are not done yet ...
If it looks something like this: "Thureophoroi,3,Allies,2,Medium_Foot,Pikes,12,60,25,200,20,42,0,1,10,600,1,0,Thureophoroi,100,0,0,0,1,0,-" everything is in order and you can continue to step 10. Whether or not this will be the case depends on the regional specificity of your Excel version. For. Some. Damn. Reason.
9. Open the .csv file with notepad or notepad++ or whatever. Replace all ";" with "," and save the file. Open it with Excel/equivalent once more and see if it looks all confusing now. If so, go to step 10. If not, start shouting and jumping around your room in anger.
10. Launch Field of Glory II and click the button in the lower left corner displaying the tooltip "Choose global mod set to use". Select your mod and accept.
11. Have fun with your mod.
-- Possible errors and their probable causes --
a) Game crashes when trying to launch a battle and displays a big error window with lots of ";;;;;;;;;;;;" at the end? - You did not properly execute step 9.
b) Game crashes then trying to launch a battle and displays a smaller error window saying something about a value exceeding 16? - You entered a value higher than 16 in ManCount. This happened to me accidentally because I used "find and replace" in Excel to mass edit the values without realising that replacing "8" with "12" and then replacing "1" with "2" will result in all "12"s turning into "22"s. This will likely happen to many others as well.
c) You entered numbers other than 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 into ManCount, but nothing seems to have changed? - You did not read the thread linked in step 6.1. or incorrectly followed the instructions laid out therein.
d) You can launch a battle without a crash, but some models are suddenly huge or something else is very weird? - You used the "sort" function on a column in the .xslx file. See step 6.2
You're welcome.
After two hours of extreme frustration due to lacking, outdated or plain false information in this forum, I managed to create my own mod increasing model count in units. To save coming generations this trouble, here's a very simple step-by-step guide on how to achieve the same, including a general guide on how to mod the "squads" file(s). This is easiest with Excel (2010+), but I think LibreOffice does the trick as well. I don't think OpenOffice will get you far.
1. Go to "/Documents/My Games/FieldOfGlory2" and create a new folder named "MODS" if it doesn't already exist.
2. Within this folder, create another folder named whatever you want, this will be the name of your mod.
3. Go to the "Data" folder within you Field of Glory II directory and copy "Squads.xlsx".
4. Post the copy in your mod-folder (the one created in step 2).
-- The following section contains extremely useful knowledge for working with "Squads.xlsx" in general. This should also apply to Pike and Shot. --
5. Open your copy of "Squads.xlsx", henceforth referred to as "the .xlsx file". Never touch the original in your game directory ever again. Except when a new update for the game is released, in which case you'll have to recopy it and reapply all previous changes.
6. The column "ManCount" is what determines the amount of models displayed. Make your changes there to your preference.
6.1. The hardcoded maximum is 16, exceeding this will crash the game. Aside from this, only the numbers 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 are originally viable values. If you want to enter other numbers, see this thread (it's very easy):
viewtopic.php?f=492&t=79856&sid=662647e ... 88fb225c7e
6.2. DO NOT sort any columns. Sorting will screw everything up, wildly changing model sizes and probably many other things. If you ever accidentally sort any column in your .xlsx file, quit without saving and start over with your latest changes.
7. When you're done editing the .xlsx file, save it. Then, save it again as a .csv file (CSV (Comma delimited)), named "Squads.csv", henceforth referred to as "the .csv file".
-- This cost me most of my time and nerves to find out --
8. Open the .csv file with Excel or whatever you are using and see if everything looks neat and tidy, sorted into proper rows and columns. If so, you are not done yet ...
If it looks something like this: "Thureophoroi,3,Allies,2,Medium_Foot,Pikes,12,60,25,200,20,42,0,1,10,600,1,0,Thureophoroi,100,0,0,0,1,0,-" everything is in order and you can continue to step 10. Whether or not this will be the case depends on the regional specificity of your Excel version. For. Some. Damn. Reason.
9. Open the .csv file with notepad or notepad++ or whatever. Replace all ";" with "," and save the file. Open it with Excel/equivalent once more and see if it looks all confusing now. If so, go to step 10. If not, start shouting and jumping around your room in anger.
10. Launch Field of Glory II and click the button in the lower left corner displaying the tooltip "Choose global mod set to use". Select your mod and accept.
11. Have fun with your mod.
-- Possible errors and their probable causes --
a) Game crashes when trying to launch a battle and displays a big error window with lots of ";;;;;;;;;;;;" at the end? - You did not properly execute step 9.
b) Game crashes then trying to launch a battle and displays a smaller error window saying something about a value exceeding 16? - You entered a value higher than 16 in ManCount. This happened to me accidentally because I used "find and replace" in Excel to mass edit the values without realising that replacing "8" with "12" and then replacing "1" with "2" will result in all "12"s turning into "22"s. This will likely happen to many others as well.
c) You entered numbers other than 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 into ManCount, but nothing seems to have changed? - You did not read the thread linked in step 6.1. or incorrectly followed the instructions laid out therein.
d) You can launch a battle without a crash, but some models are suddenly huge or something else is very weird? - You used the "sort" function on a column in the .xslx file. See step 6.2
You're welcome.