Empire at War.net -> Game FAQ's -> Modding

MULTIPLAYER FAQ | MODDING | SYSTEM SPECS | FoC FAQ |

A Mini tutorial by Bion Lion 54

A) Downloading a mod.

Download a mod. Read the readme. Most of the mods that have been made so far are simple changes to various xml files. Simply create a folder called “XML” in the game directory –“Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Empire at War\GameData\Data.”

Drop the modded xml files into the created “XML” folder (which should be “Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Empire at War\GameData\Data\XML”) and you’re done! Enjoy the mod!

B) Creating a mod. (Keep in mind, this is only for editing the xml files.)

As an example, I will increase the health of “Home One”.
1) Download a program that can extract meg files. The one I use can be found here - http://www.technical-difficulties.com/hacks/eaw/ (The site says its for the demo, but version 1.1 will work with the full game.) Unzip the file.

You will get two programs, megExtractor and megInserter. You will not need megInserter, however. (megInserter actually causes the mods to not work.)

2) Create a new folder somewhere on your hard drive outside the game directory. It doesn’t matter where, just make sure you remember where you created it. I made the folder “EAW files” under “Program Files\LucasArts.” Copy and paste megExtractor into this folder. Now return to “Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Empire at War\GameData\Data” and copy the file “config.meg” and paste it in the same folder where you pasted megExtractor. You should now have a folder with two files in it, megExtractor.exe and config.meg.

3) Run megExtractor and follow its instructions. It will create a new folder called “config.” Open this folder. Since for my example I will be editing Home One, I need to go to the file “DATA%XML%UNIQUEUNITS.” Copy the file and paste it somewhere outside the “config” folder. (You can just leave it in the “config” folder, but this way, you don’t have to extract the files later if you want to edit something else. I like to put it in a new folder that describes the changes. For my example, I would make a folder called “Home One more health” or some thing along those lines.)

4) Right-click “DATA%XML%UNIQUEUNITS” and select “open with notepad.” Four lines down, you will see “<UniqueUnit Name="Accuser_Star_Destroyer">” I like to copy the part “UniqueUnit Name” and use the “Ctrl+F” trick to easily search through the various units. Do this until you come to “<UniqueUnit Name="Home_One">.” Scroll down until you get to “<Tactical_Health>8000</Tactical_Health>” Change the number to whatever you want. You can increase it slightly, say to 8100, or you can make it virtually invincible by increasing it to something like 9999999 or whatever. (You can also decrease it if you want.) Whenever you are done editing whatever you want, click the “X” at the top right corner of the screen to close notepad. When prompted if you want to save the changes, select “yes.” (**NOTE** If you try to save your changes by clicking “save as…” or “Save” from the “File” menu, it will save it as a text document and will not be useable.)

5) Almost Done!!
You will now have a modded version of the file “DATA%XML%UNIQUEUNITS.” Change the file name to “UNIQUEUNITS.” In other words, for the game to read your modded xmls, you have to get rid of “DATA%XML%” from the file name. Either right-click and copy or right-click and cut the file.
If you have not already done so, create the folder “XML” under your game directory. (See Section:A for further details) Right-click and paste the file in the “XML” folder and your DONE!!

I hope this has helped someone!! Thanks for reading!!

Bob Lion54
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