descr_mount.txt

This page covers what REX/M2EX changes in descr_mount.txt. Everything not listed here works like vanilla. For model pools (models block), see Mount and animal variation.

elephants

rider limit

riders for class elephant now accepts 1 to 127 (vanilla: 15). Every rider needs its own rider_offset line, so riders 20 means 20 rider_offset lines.

But do not forget: a very high rider count means fewer elephants per unit.

general_offset

Vanilla has no seat for a general or captain on an elephant. If the unit has one, he takes the second rider_offset slot and the crewman who would have sat there is dropped.

The optional general_offset line gives him his own seat instead:

general_offset      <x>, <y>, <z>

• It only works for class elephant.
• It must be placed directly before the riders line. Anywhere else is a parse error.
• The coordinates work the same as rider_offset: x is sideways, y is height and z is forwards/backwards.
• riders still only counts the regular crew. The general is an extra rider on top of that.
• If you leave the line out, nothing changes and the general takes slot 2 like in vanilla. Existing mods don’t need to touch anything.

example

type                war elephant
class               elephant
model               elephant
radius              2.5
...
tusk_z              2.5
tusk_radius         0.75
general_offset      0.0, 1.335, 2.25
riders              3
rider_offset        0.0, 1.635, 1.45
rider_offset        0.0, 1.45, 0.5
rider_offset        0, 1.45, -.25

The first elephant of a general’s or captain’s unit now carries the driver, both crewmen and the general at general_offset, so 4 men in total. The other elephants in the unit carry their usual 3. The same mount without the general_offset line would carry the driver, the general (in slot 2) and one crewman.

how the general is placed

• Slot 1 (the first rider_offset) is always the driver.
• The general goes on the first elephant of the unit, at general_offset.
• Any other officers in the unit are placed the vanilla way, in the rider slots from slot 2 onwards.

wrong placement

These fail to load:

riders              3
general_offset      0.0, 1.335, 2.25    <- must come before riders
rider_offset        0.0, 1.635, 1.45
...

rider_offset        0, 1.45, -.25
general_offset      0.0, 1.335, 2.25    <- must come before riders

what it’s good for

• Howdah commanders: put the general on a raised seat or at the front of the howdah without losing a crewman.
• Big war elephants and towers: together with the higher rider limit you can build towers full of archers with a commander on top.
• Spotting the general: he always sits in the same, distinct spot, so he’s easy to find in battle.

reloading without restart

descr_mount.txt is re-read every time a battle loads, so you can edit it while the game is running and see the changes in the next battle (or by restarting the current one). Mod files are respected, like on normal startup. This works in both REX and M2EX.

what is reloaded

• radius, x_radius, y_radius, height, mass, banner_height, bouyancy_offset, water trail effect
• y_offset (M2EX only)
• all horse settings
• all elephant settings, including riders, rider_offset and general_offset
• all chariot and scorpion cart settings, including LOD models and ranges

what still needs a restart

Like descr_model_battle.txt, existing entries keep their place, so a few changes can’t be picked up:

• new mounts: a new type entry is skipped and an error is written to system.log.txt.
• changed class: the entry is skipped and an error is written to system.log.txt.
• changed model of a horse, camel or elephant: the old model stays in use.

Renaming a type counts as a new mount.

If the file has a parse error, reloading stops at that entry. Entries before it are already updated, entries after it keep their old values. Fix the error and load a battle again.