Afghans in Rise of Nations

Regards to all fellow forumers.
The subject certainly sounds interesting, and the answer to it is yes you can add your own nations name and ablities to both Rise of Nations and Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots.

Here is how you could do so, just follow carefully the steps and in case of any question I am always here.

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Note: You�ll need a word processor to open and edit the files. I used NotePad and at all time don�t forget to create backups of the files being modified.

First, get an idea of what nation you want to make. You cannot create nation powers in the game, but you can make slight changes to existing ones, usually changes in numbers of things. Then, go back up these files:

• Rise of Nations\data\rules.xml
• Rise of Nations\data\help.xml
• Rise of Nations\tribes\(nation you will replace).xml

The tribe�s folder contains xml files for each nation; you�ll need a copy of the nation you want to modify. Now, you can either modify the files that are in the Rise of Nations directory, or you can modify the files that you copied. I like to set up a folder on my desktop with the copied files and then modify them from there.

Now, our first step is the tribes file. Let�s take the Afghan mod I made a while back as an example. The Afghan replaces the Maya, so I took the maya.xml out of the tribe�s folder.

Here it is:

<!-- LOCALIZATION: LEADER and CITY elements; also, name attribute -->

<TRIBE name="Maya">

  <LEADERS>

    <LEADER>Pacal</LEADER>

    <LEADER>Chac Balam</LEADER>

    <LEADER>Chiam</LEADER>

    <LEADER>Ahmok</LEADER>

    <LEADER>Vakaki</LEADER>

    <LEADER>Nachancan</LEADER>

  </LEADERS>

  <CITIES>

    <CITY>Mayapan</CITY>

    <CITY>Tikal</CITY>

    <CITY>Chichen Itza</CITY>

    <CITY>Dzibilchaltun</CITY>

    <CITY>Yaxha</CITY>

    <CITY>Acanceh</CITY>

    <CITY>Champoton</CITY>

    <CITY>Altun Ha</CITY>

    <CITY>Ichpaatun</CITY>

    <CITY>Ixkun</CITY>

    <CITY>Lamanai</CITY>

    <CITY>Copan</CITY>

    <CITY>Tzimin Kax</CITY>

    <CITY>Xpuhil</CITY>

    <CITY>Yaxuna</CITY>

    <CITY>Uxmal</CITY>

    <CITY>Tipu</CITY>

    <CITY>Ucanal</CITY>

    <CITY>Becan</CITY>

    <CITY>Kaminaljuyu</CITY>

    <CITY>Xicalango</CITY>

    <CITY>Xcocha</CITY>

    <CITY>Dzibilnocac</CITY>

    <CITY>Chutixtiox</CITY>

    <CITY>Uaxactun</CITY>

    <CITY>Tayasal</CITY>

    <CITY>Zaculeu</CITY>

    <CITY>Iximche</CITY>

    <CITY>Acalan</CITY>

    <CITY>Tulum</CITY>

  </CITIES>

  <UNIT_CONTINENT>2 American</UNIT_CONTINENT>

  <BUILD_CONTINENT>4 American</BUILD_CONTINENT>

  <BACKUP_BUILD_CONTINENT>4 American</BACKUP_BUILD_CONTINENT>

</TRIBE>

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It is simple really. Change the name to what you want, change the leader names, and change the city names. You do not have to have as many leaders and cities as the original file does, or you can have less, just make sure to delete the extra <LEADERS></LEADERS> and <CITY></CITY> if you decide to have less. Important things here, are <UNIT_CONITNENT> and <BUILD_CONTINENT>.
These decide what the art set for the units and buildings of the nation will be. There are several categories:

<UNIT_CONTINENT>
0 European
1 Arab
2 American
3 Asian

<BUILD_CONTINENT>
0 Med
1 Neuro
2 Asian
3 Korean
4 American
5 Turk

Here is what the file looked like after I modified it:

<!-- LOCALIZATION: LEADER and CITY elements; also, name attribute -->
<TRIBE name="Afghan">
  <LEADERS>
    <LEADER>Ahmad Shah Abdali</LEADER>
    <LEADER>Mirwais Khan Hotak</LEADER>
    <LEADER>Mahmood Ghaznavi</LEADER>
    <LEADER>Ghazi Amanullah Khan</LEADER>
    <LEADER>Nur Mohammad Taraki</LEADER>
    <LEADER>Mullah Mohammad Omer</LEADER>
  </LEADERS>
  <CITIES>
    <CITY>Kabul</CITY>
    <CITY>Kandahar</CITY>
    <CITY>Herat</CITY>
    <CITY>Mazar-e-Shareif</CITY>
    <CITY>Helmand</CITY>
    <CITY>Bamyan</CITY>
    <CITY>Badakhshan</CITY>
    <CITY>Qalat</CITY>
    <CITY>Khyber</CITY>
    <CITY>Peshawar</CITY>
    <CITY>Panjsher</CITY>
    <CITY>Asfahan</CITY>
    <CITY>Quetta</CITY>
    <CITY>Nooristan</CITY>
    <CITY>Orozgan</CITY>
    <CITY>Paktiya</CITY>
    <CITY>Khost</CITY>
    <CITY>Jalalabad</CITY>
    <CITY>Maidan Wardak</CITY>
    <CITY>Samangan</CITY>
    <CITY>Lugar</CITY>
    <CITY>Laghman</CITY>
    <CITY>Paktika</CITY>
    <CITY>Ghoor</CITY>
    <CITY>Balkh</CITY>
  </CITIES>
  <UNIT_CONTINENT>3 Asian</UNIT_CONTINENT>
  <BUILD_CONTINENT>5 Turk</BUILD_CONTINENT>
  <BACKUP_BUILD_CONTINENT>5 Turk</BACKUP_BUILD_CONTINENT>
</TRIBE>

************************************************************ ***********

Next, we will work with the rules.xml. This is the important part, because it is where you modify nation powers. Look for a part in the rules.xml that looks like this:

    <AZTEC_PLUNDER value="100%"/>
    <AZTEC_FREE_MILITARY value="1"/>
    <MAYA_GARRISON_ARROWS value="1"/>
    <MAYA_BUILDING_TIMBER value="20% reduction"/>
    <MAYA_BUILDING_HP value="20% bonus"/>
    <MAYA_BUILDING_SPEED value="20% bonus"/>
    <INCA_WEALTH_CAP value="33% bonus"/>
    <INCA_WEALTH_PER_MINER value="10"/>

This is what all the nation powers do. Any power that a nation has in-game can be changed. There are also some un-used powers. Putting values into them sometimes gets them to work, but not always and remember don�t add any extra power or it will crush. Here is how I modified the powers to be:

    <AZTEC_PLUNDER value="100%"/>
    <AZTEC_FREE_MILITARY value="1"/>
    <MAYA_GARRISON_ARROWS value="1"/>
    <MAYA_BUILDING_TIMBER value="2000% reduction"/>
    <MAYA_BUILDING_HP value="2000% bonus"/>
    <MAYA_BUILDING_SPEED value="2000% bonus"/>
    <INCA_WEALTH_CAP value="33% bonus"/>
    <INCA_WEALTH_PER_MINER value="10"/>

Now on to the last step, editing the help.xml. While this will not change anything in the gameplay, it is necessary to do so that players know what you have changed. Open up the help.xml, and then find an entry that looks like this:

<ENTRY name="TRIBE1">

   <STRING>{The Maya have the Power of Architecture.}

     <BULLET/>Cities, Towers, Forts, etc. fire extra arrows/bullets--                           including Cities without garrisons.

     <BULLET/>Buildings $NUMBER2% tougher and all non-Wonders are $NUMBER3%                  faster to build.

      <BULLET/>Buildings cost $NUMBER0% less Timber (except Wonders and                       military buildings).

   </STRING>

</ENTRY>

This is the help text that discribes the nation. �� places bullets that separate the different nation powers. Delete powers you are no longer using, and change the text for ones you have changed. Something like �$NUMBER1%� looks up the value in the rules.xml, so if you change a 10% discount to 30%, you don�t have to change anything in the help text, it will change for you. Here is what mine looked like after I fixed it:

<ENTRY name="TRIBE1">

   <STRING>{ The Afghans have the Power of Patriotism and Fight.}

     <BULLET/>Cities, Towers, Forts, etc. fire extra arrows/bullets--                           including Cities without garrisons.

     <BULLET/>Buildings $NUMBER2% tougher and all non-Wonders are $NUMBER3%                  faster to build.

      <BULLET/>Buildings cost $NUMBER0% less Timber (except Wonders and                       military buildings).

      <BULLET/>Afghans could be invaded but never ruled.

   </STRING>

</ENTRY>

So once you�ve done all that� you�re done! Replace the original files with the modified ones to use the mod, and replace those with backed-up files to go back to the regular game.