Why Mods on the Mac and IPad should have been easy.

[dalfrede]

There are only two small things missing that would have mode it easy to play PzC mods on the Mac.

1) Have the save games folder "~/Documents/myGames/PanzerCorps/Save"
It is “~/Library/Containers/com.slitherine.osx.panzercorps/Data/Library/Application Support/com.slitherine.osx.panzercorps/GameDocuments/My Games/Panzer Corps/Save“.

Where “~/Library/" is a hidden folder.

2) A search PATH for "~/Documents/myGames/PanzerCorps/MODS".
This takes take ONE line of code!!!!!

Admittedly there issues of preventing DLC content into Mods folder, but the PC version has dealt with that already.

To show the PATH concept already exits for the Mac Port.
Look at the Inf and StugIIIA.

Screen Shot UpDwnDir.jpg (141.89 KiB) Viewed 1262 times

Screen Shot UpDwnMac.jpg (158.05 KiB) Viewed 1262 times

Note: The directory tree should be for 'GC 40' not 'GC 41', I had to copy the files to the GC 40' directory to make it work.
The first search path starts in the folder with the opened campaign.pzdat file.
I will discuss the IPad later.

[dalfrede]

From elsewhere on this forum:

Re: IOS versions?
Post by Tarrak » Sat Dec 28, 2013 10:59 am
As far i know t is impossible to create mods for the iOS version of the game as Apple doesn't allow you to install anything on your devices except via their own shop. So unless you Jailbreak your device there is no way you can apply the mods to your game.

This is why Amazon did not write a Kindle App for the IPad that would allow you download purchased books and read them on your IPad. . .

But wait there is a Kindle App, you can download books from Amazon and you can read them on your IPad.

Apple does allow FILE access for apps. Would 'Pages' or 'Numbers' make any sense if you couldn't upload and download your own files?

What you can't do it download a directory to an IPad, which is what mods require. But if you placed the directory in a wrapper and added an appropriate extension you could.

So the file 'BattlefieldEurope.pzm' could be loaded onto your IPad and used as for mods.
Note PanzerCorps.App is a wrapper with a directory tree underneath, not a file.

I have not jailbroken my IPad, so I don't know the internal directory structure. But I have looked a the directory structure for PzC for both Mac and PC and I assume they are similar.
Since the Mac version appears to be a port of the IPad I assume they use the same files.

PanzerCorps.App [Mac Port] includes all the DLCs. When you autherize one, it addes the DLCx.DAT file, it does not download the DLC.
As shown above the DLCs have the 'PATH' hooks for mods. If it looked for a Mod folder it could use them.

The game should have a 'Mod Screen' that changes the 'PATH' variable to enable and disable the mods. This is basically what GME does. This would allow all the ports to use the mods.

All the ports do not need an editor to use mods

Someone would have to write an app create wrappers for mod directories, maybe part of editor.

Why I writing this up? Do I expect these changes to made? No.

But PzC2 has not hit Beta yet, and there this screed might have an affect.