Coding Basics #1 tutorial - C&C: Generals Zero Hour

Hello all! This tutorial was made by request, so enjoy!

I was asked to do a tutorial for Generals Zero Hour modding so I’ll start with the basics and then go up to some more advanced things in other tutorials:

To start off let's take a look at some of the easiest things to code: Weapons and Locomotors as well as some other things.

one of the first things you need to know is that ; marks a comment in the code. for example if you want to explain a bit of code you would do this: ;
this has to be done per line, for example
;comment
comment <-- this is going to crash the game because theres no ; as a first word

another important thing is where the codes are located. you can find them in a file called INIZH.big
use THIS program to extract them to your main ZH directory (it won't overwrite anything unless you have code in the Data\INI folder already) then you can go into the INI folder in the Data folder and edit the code

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weapons coding is incredibly easy to do. Here's an example of a weapon code below:

Weapon MarauderTankGun
PrimaryDamage = 60.0 <-- the amount of damage it does

PrimaryDamageRadius = 5.0 <-- the splash damage, if this was 9999 then anything in that radius would take 60 damage

ScatterRadiusVsInfantry = 10.0 <--When this weapon is used against infantry, it can randomly miss by as much as this distance.
AttackRange = 170.0 <-- the range of the weapon

MinTargetPitch = -15 <--the more advanced code, a unit has to be withing the pitch to be fired on

MaxTargetPitch = 15 <--ditto

DamageType = ARMOR_PIERCING <-- the damage type, in this case it will do more damage to vehicles then infantry

DeathType = NORMAL <-- if a unit is killed what death type should it use? eg. explosive damage type for bombs

WeaponSpeed = 300 <--dist/sec, the higher the number it is the faster the projectile moves.

WeaponRecoil = 10 <-- the amount of recoil, the higher this is the more the unit will move when the weapon is fired

ProjectileObject = MarauderTankShell <-- the projectile fired by the weapon

FireFX = WeaponFX_GenericTankGunNoTracer <-- the tracer's going out the back of the projectile so you know it's there.

VeterancyFireFX = HEROIC WeaponFX_HeroicGenericTankGunNoTracer <-- same as above but used for level 3 veterancy

ProjectileDetonationFX = WeaponFX_GenericTankShellDetonation <-- the particles to use when the projectile hits a target

FireSound = MarauderTankWeapon <-- the sound that's made when it's fired

RadiusDamageAffects = ALLIES ENEMIES NEUTRALS <-- which sides this weapon can damage

DelayBetweenShots = 2000 <--time between shots, in milliseconds

ClipSize = 0 <-- how many shots in a Clip (0 == infinite)

ClipReloadTime = 0 <--how long to reload a Clip, in milliseconds

; note, these only apply to units that aren't the explicit target
; (ie, units that just happen to "get in the way"... projectiles
; always collide with the Designated Target, regardless of these flags
ProjectileCollidesWith = STRUCTURES WALLS

End

some other weapon codes are:

ContinuousFireOne = 6 <--How many shots at the same target constitute "Continuous Fire" the unit fires faster

ContinuousFireTwo = 12 <--How many shots at the same target constitute "Continuous Fire Two" even faster

ContinuousFireCoast = 1000 <-- the unit can fire the long at a unit after that unit has left its range

WeaponBonus = CONTINUOUS_FIRE_MEAN RATE_OF_FIRE 200% <--When the object achieves this state, this weapon gets double the rate of fire.

WeaponBonus = CONTINUOUS_FIRE_FAST RATE_OF_FIRE 300% <-- same as above only 100+ faster

WeaponBonus = PLAYER_UPGRADE DAMAGE 125% <-- an upgrade to damage for example: ChainGun upgrade

AntiAirborneVehicle = No <-\

AntiAirborneInfantry = No <---\

AntiGround = No <-----------------|> These dictate what the unit can fire at

AntiSmallMissile = No <------/

AntiBallisticMissile = No <-----/

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Locomotor coding, like weapon coding, is easy to do. let's take a look at some code:

Locomotor BasicHumanLocomotor
Surfaces = GROUND RUBBLE <-- the surfaces the unit can walk on

Speed = 20 <-- in dist/sec how fast the unit goes/moves

SpeedDamaged = 10 <-- in dist/sec, how fast the unit goes/moves when damaged

TurnRate = 500 <-- in degrees/sec how fast the unit turns

TurnRateDamaged = 500 <-- in degrees/sec how fast the unit turns when damaged

Acceleration = 100 <--in dist/(sec^2) how fast the unit accelerates (step on the gas XD)

AccelerationDamaged = 50 <--in dist/(sec^2) how fast the unit accelerates when damaged

Braking = 100 <--in dist/(sec^2) how fast the unit brakes (stops)

MinTurnSpeed = 0 <-- in dist/sec the minimum turn speed

ZAxisBehavior = NO_Z_MOTIVE_FORCE < whether or not the unit can move on the Z axis (up and down) i'm pretty sure this is for planes only

Appearance = TWO_LEGS <-- how they appear to move

StickToGround = Yes <-- to prevent infantry from flying if they run off a hill, im pretty sure this is for light vehicles only (like the bikes. like the GLA's Combat Cycle)

GroupMovementPriority = MOVES_FRONT <-- Moves in the front of a group, behind small arms, ahead of artillery. where the unit moves in a group

End

for aircraft there are a couple lines added:

Locomotor RaptorJetLocomotor
Surfaces = AIR <-- changed to air

MinSpeed = 60 <-- in dist/sec the minimum airspeed, it must not be reduced below 60 or the game will glitch

Lift = 120 <-- in dist/(sec^2) how fast the unit lifts off

LiftDamaged = 80 <-- in dist/(sec^2) how fast the unit lifts off when damaged

PreferredHeight = 100 <-- the height the aircraft stay at

AllowAirborneMotiveForce = Yes <-- i honestly don't know what this does, keep it at Yes :P

ZAxisBehavior = SURFACE_RELATIVE_HEIGHT <-- the unit will stay at 100 (or whatever the prefferedheight is) when it changes terrain heights

CirclingRadius = 100 <-- the radius in which the unit circles (when idle or guarding)

Appearance = WINGS <-- how it appears to move

PitchInDirectionOfZVelFactor = 1.0 <--how much the pitch according to our z-vel. 0=none, 1=lots (0=default)

PitchStiffness = 0.5 <-- stiffness of the "springs" in the suspension forward & back.

RollStiffness = 0.4 <-- stiffness of the "springs" in the suspension side to side.

PitchDamping = 0.9 <-- How fast it damps. 0=perfect spring, bounces forever. 1=glued to terrain.

RollDamping = 0.8 <-- How fast it damps. 0=perfect spring, bounces forever. 1=glued to terrain.

ForwardVelocityPitchFactor = 0 <-- How much velocity will cause the front to lift/dip.

LateralVelocityRollFactor = 0.2 <-- How much cornering will cause the chassis to roll.

Apply.2DFriction.When.Airborne = Yes <-- the firction applied when the unit is in the air. (i put (dots) for some reason because MOD DB Content:Source-Codes or the sentence suddenly broke. Dont put (dots))

AirborneTargetingHeight = 30 <-- the height the unit will attack targets at

LocomotorWorksWhenDead = Yes <-- when the unit dies it continues moving, it doesn't just stop and fall

End

Jet's also require a taxiing locomotor for moving around the airport, it's basically the same as the ground locomotor

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rank.ini is the file which has the number of generals pints and required EXP to get them.

Rank 1
RankName = INI:RankLevel1 <-- the name of it in the code

SkillPointsNeeded = 0 <-- EXP needed to get this rank. you get EXP by destroying infantry, vehicles and buildings

SciencesGranted = SCIENCE_Rank1 <-- the science rank granted (from Science.ini)

SciencePurchasePointsGranted = 1 <-- the amount of points you get

End

editing this file is useful for testing or cheating. It's also possible to add more ranks but that's more advanced stuff.

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Multiplayer.ini has all the code for ingame colours and money choices. the name of the ini file is misleading in a way. I'm not gonna post the entire ini here but ill post a couple things:

MultiplayerColor Color Red <-- the color

RGBColor = R:255 G:0 B:0 <-- the color (it's in number form bascially R is red, G is green and B is blue. the highest number for them is 255 so Red 255 is the solid red colour. You can make your own color HERE )

RGBNightColor = R:255 G:0 B:0 <-- the color... at night

TooltipName = Color:Red <-- the tooltip name from Generals.str which stores all the text for the game

End

MultiplayerStartingMoneyChoice <-- a money choice

Value = 10000 <-- how much money it is (you can put 9999999+ which is cheating and NOOB move)

Default = Yes <-- when you start the game it'll automatically pick this choice

End

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last but not leat Gamedata.ini this has a few noteable lines of code in, most are used for cheating purposes though.

BuildSpeed = 1.0 <-- how fast you build

MinDistFromEdgeOfMapForBuild = 30.0 <-- buildings may not be constructed this close to a map edge. make this 0 and you can build closer to the edge of the map

SupplyBuildBorder = 20.0 <-- min dist you can put a supply center from a supply source. make this 0 and you can build your supply depot right beside a supply pile.

AllowedHeightVariationForBuilding = 10.0 <-- how "flat" the terrain has to be to be buildable. The higher the number is the more variation. so if it was 9999999 then you could build on the side of a cliff. NOTE you'll need to edit the dozers or workers locomotor so he can walk up cliffs otherwise you won't be able to build on them.

MinLowEnergyProductionSpeed = 0.5 <-- the minimum speed you can build with no energy

MaxLowEnergyProducti <-- the maximum speed you can build with no energy
for the above 2 lines of code: if this is higher than one then you'll build faster with no power than if you had power! so if these were 2 then you'll build 2 times faster without power!

CommandCenterHealRange = 500.0 <-- the range your command ceneter heals your and allied units. the higher this is then the bigger the range.

CommandCenterHealAmount = 0.01 <-- the amount of health it heals, the higher this is the more it heals.

RefundPercent = 50.0% <----\ (below)\|/

SellPercentage = 50% <-|> change these 2 to 100% to get the full amount of money back when you sell a bulding. change them to higher than 100% to get more money back. for example is a building costs 1000 and these numbers are 200% when you sell tht building you'll get 2000 back instead of the regular 500.

UnlookPersistDuration = 5000 <-- How long after you stop looking until the fog grows back, the higher this is the slower the fog grows back. for example if this number was 9999999999999999999999999 then technically the fog wouldn't grow back for the entire match (unless the match was like 5 hours :P)

that's all for my basic tutorial. I'll make an Intermediate one later and then eventually an Advanced one :D i hope this was informative to new modders!

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Edited/Fixed some links/words by: Kenlv

The Original Article: Moddb.com