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[gimli]

also in the scenario editor you will be able to use any picture for POIs...which means POIs is restricted to a modders imagination and I am more than sure the actual game when done will have plenty of POI variety

Yeah, I know that we can create new PoIs of course, but I mentioned special PoIs, not "settlement type" PoIs. Example: A shrine which blesses the visiting heroes or armies, temples and graveyeards which could spawn various things like treasures, hostile creatures [undeads mostly], etc. etc. So stuff like that. Also, we cannot mod in stuff like that, if it's not coded in the engine.

Their are a variety of non-settlement POIs, but the idea is to represent the geographic region less so than the unique buildings that populate it.  However, we will be getting some unique imagery for wondrous locations - but as dennislp3 said you can mod in anything you'd like.  The POI image is arbitrary, the type can be set to unique, and then you would place your uniquely created building/modifier in the POI itself - the POI itself is generally a 'holder' which the AI interprets.  We didn't want to restrict a POI to a specific function because letting them be combined within a POI leads to "interesting emergent behavior" which is our favorite buzzword. 

In addition we are supporting offsets to show structures and highlights near the base POI - right now I only use this for Docks and Cathedrals but we expect to expand on this if their is sufficient real estate, and at the very least will be including mines and lumber yards to represent resource production.

Thanks for the input!
Just to make it clear: Example: I want a unique PoI which spawns treasures [gold, armors, weapons for the heroes etc.] or hostile creatures with a 1% chance / turn. Is it possible to mod this in? Also, what kind of modifiers can we "play around" with? Is there a list for this, or it can't be revealed yet?

[KingDinosaurGames]

Part of the problems is that the game handles these things differently from most games, which is why we have such a wide variety of possibilities.  The idea of a "spawned monster" for instance doesn't really exist, instead you have a "Monster" modifier on the POI that grows in intensity.  So you may have an "Orc Tribe" in a village POI, lowering stability and sometimes lowering population - as it gets stronger (over time) it morphs into a more dangerous form, if it reaches its highest tier it will be greatly damaging the local village as well as possibly spawning an Orc Army.  All this time it is "posting" a quest with relevant threat that nearby heroes can pick up on, or the local AI may send an army to go crush them and wipe them out - a larger orc modifier is easier for an army to find and destroy while a smaller one is easier for heroes to handle.  Also, an agent can perform challenges based on the modifiers, for instance this orc tribe may let them recruit an Orc Minion or perhaps encourage them to migrate elsewhere.

If you wanted to make a modifier that spawns 1% an army of orcs that would be relatively simple, or if it had a ticking percentage to damage local POIs or perform a similar action that would also be simple. 

Their is a large list of possible modifiers, but we haven't posted a full list yet.

[gimli]

Sounds great, and thanks for this informative reply! Hm....a devlog about advanced modding [which includes some examples with regard to adding modifiers] would be good to have later on.
Oh boy, the summer can't come soon enough to get our hands on this game. 

[wer6]

How expansive can modding and mapping be? can players, for example change the art style?

[KingDinosaurGames]

How expansive can modding and mapping be? can players, for example change the art style?

About the only thing you can't mod easily is the GUI - which is all unity prefabs, I've compensated for that where possible (by creating dynamic resizing and basing everything off of grids so that you can create new types) but it would still be a pain to, for instance, create a new window or completely change the layout of one. 

If you watch the most recent dev video you'll see how the terrain is painted - it just takes a 200x200 texture and pastes it over an alpha mask.  By swapping those images up you can create a completely different map style (like seeing the Cartographic vs Realistic style in the map) - swap out the mountains/forests/coasts and you'll have en entirely different map.  Of course, if you change the aesthetic too much (make it very dark for instance) you may then have to modify the POIs to stand out better from the map - and further artistic work may be needed to complete the overhaul in a satisfactory way.

You'll be able to find all of the raw pngs in the folder structure, and duplicate to create overrides or alternate map packs.  We package up the separate sprites at runtime into atlases for performance reasons but defer the process to make modding as easy as possible.

As far as modding outside of the map - you can create a global mod, scenario mods, and specific rulesets that can be applied to all scenarios.  Everything is built to roll together seamlessly.  You can use the in-game engine, code custom callouts in a .NET 3.5 framework, or modify the JSON files directly.

[Scoops Novel]

Hey, message me when the game is released and i'll update the thread title per your whims.

[Lapoleon]

How expansive can modding and mapping be? can players, for example change the art style?

As far as mapstyles go it's quite easy. I created the following in about 15 minutes, with some random textures I found on the internet.

[ChairmanPoo]

I kickstarted this and am anxiously awaiting for it.

[HellHound01]

If you want more information on something, just shoot your answer out and I'll go into more detail than what I initially have here.

Thanks for the answers!

Really all I'm interested in knowing at this point is how much of an effect the different race/culture/government/leader combos have on a nations foreign policy.

[wer6]

 Is it possible to just replace everything with a modern style and have it be a Sentient AI instead of a Demon lord?

[KingDinosaurGames]

Is it possible to just replace everything with a modern style and have it be a Sentient AI instead of a Demon lord?

I would not recommend trying to undertake such a massive modding project.

[wer6]

But is it... Pooossiible?

[StupidElves]

I should think yes. It would just be a new map with a different look, and you'd need to make an old one from scratch. A lot of work, but doable.

[wer6]

Hmm, How easy is it to mod in new ability's and such? because to me all it would take would be a re-sprite of all the things, change music, change some ability's around and instead of hero's you get Hacker's and instead of Foodmills and such you'd probably get internet streams.

[Bohandas]

When does this hit Steam?