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[Indigo_Surprise]

So, I'm aiming to mod in a lizardman race. One of the things I'm wanting to add in is having them be egg layers. I did a bit of brief searching on the wiki (where I thought I had read about this already) and a brief once over search on the forums for egg laying civs and I can't seem to find the answer to this question.

Is it possible to have a playable egg laying race, and if so would they require nest boxes for reproduction, or am I better off just having them give live birth? If there's any sort of egg laying option I'll take it, live birth is firmly in the realm of last resort.

Also to give them tails with graspers on them, would I have to create a new body plan or what would I have to do? Up until now I've mostly just been mucking around in creature files, I haven't even looked at those yet. Raws would be appreciated, but I'm not asking for them specifically, just the steps I'd have to go on to do it.

[Lycaeon]

I recall that they will use nest boxes...all you need to do is to forbid them from using eggs, lest they cook and eat their own eggs. Don't take my word on it however.

Here's a tail with a grasper on it:

[BODY:TAIL_GRASP]
   [BP:TAIL:tail:STP][CONTYPE:LOWERBODY][GRASP][CATEGORY:TAIL]
      [DEFAULT_RELSIZE:100]

You can use it to replace the ordinary TAIL part in the [BODY:...] token.

[Indigo_Surprise]

Now, where would I put that? In with the [BODY_DETAIL section of the creature file?

[Putnam]

That's a body part. It goes in body part files, the body_x files.

[Lycaeon]

Here's the short summary on how creatures are constructed (The tail goes into body_default):

b_detail_plan: Contains shortcuts for the designation of materials and tissues used in a creature, as well as layering for those tissues.

     STANDARD_MATERIALS defines material templates to be attached to the tag (such as HEART or MUSCLE). Material templates are found in material_template_default
     STANDARD_TISSUES defines the tissue for that material, also attached to the tag. Tissues are found in tissue_template_default.
     TISSUE_LAYERS defines the layering of these tissues for each bodypart, with ARG1-5 defined in creature (usually SKIN, FAT, MUSCLE, BONE and CARTILAGE)
         First a bodypart is defined by category (Each bodypart has a category in body_default), then the layers are defined from inward to outward, each with their   
         relative thickness. For example, [BP_LAYERS:BY_CATEGORY:LEG_LOWER:ARG3:3:ARG1:1] defines LEG_LOWER bodyparts as (in to out) bone:3x, skin:1x (This
         being for a modded creature...normal creatures have more layers). ARG can be replaced by the tags mentioned above as appropriate (ex: eye uses the EYE tag)

body_default: Defines bodyparts that will go together to make the creature. They are put together in the creature itself under the BODY tag.

A creature has each of these defined sequentially...for example, an ordinary creature would have:
   [BODY:QUADRUPED:TAIL:2EYES:2EARS:NOSE:2LUNGS:HEART:etc...] Chooses the bodyparts to be used.
   [BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:STANDARD_MATERIALS] (Taken from b_detail_plan) Defines the materials for that creature.
   [BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:STANDARD_TISSUES]    (Taken from b_detail_plan) Defines the tissues for that creature.
   [BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:VERTEBRATE_TISSUE_LAYERS:SKIN:FAT:MUSCLE:BONE:CARTILAGE] (Taken from b_detail_plan, using the tags defined previously)

[Putnam]

I wouldn't recommend putting it in body_default. That's bad modding practice. Put it in a new body file.

[Lycaeon]

A pointer on modding creatures: the wiki has explanations for every set of tags (For example, Body detail plan), and looking through them is recommended for serious modders. Going through the raws and seeing how different parts go together to make a creature is also helpful.

[Putnam]

Yeah, I almost always have a tab open on tokens.

[Indigo_Surprise]

Yeah, I didn't want it to override all tails.

So I'd create a file under the name of body_whateveritisInameit, give the body part a slightly different name than tail, then put that body part name in place of the default TAIL in the creature file?

I've been saving the body tokens for last since I knew it'd be more complicated than the creature and entity tokens.

[Lycaeon]

Pretty much...though placing the bodypart in the body_default file doesn't override all tails. Putting it in a separate file makes sorting out modded portions easier when updating to a new version of DF, etc. A creature's BODY is put together from all the bodyparts that follow, so other creatures (or castes using different BODY sets) are unaffected.

[Putnam]

Nah, bodies are about the simplest part. It's body detail plans that are the hard part.

If you notice, the name of that part is already different, TAIL_GRASP. Instead of TAIL, you will have TAIL_GRASP.

[Indigo_Surprise]

I see, so in the creature file I'd just have to add _GRASP to the body then. Hey, thanks a lot for helping out a junior grade modder, guys. Hopefully one day I'll be a madgod like the rest of you, making creatures that are shearable for gems and lay cotton candy serrated discs.

[Lycaeon]

Good luck! Alot of the fun in modding comes from being able to create any creature you so happen to choose. I also advise looking through some of the more well-known mods on the forums and seeing how they put together their creatures.