Post by MissyHissy on Jan 27, 2022 11:00:53 GMT
When you start creating careers, it's often tempting to dive straight in to create a career with book files, uniforms, events and opportunities, to make it the best it can be. There's nothing wrong with doing this; in fact, that's why I wrote the Mega Tutorial!
However, it's advisable to start with a scaled back, or bare-bones, version of your career. This means a career that has none of the above features. It has easy to add these features in later so this mini tutorial will teach you how to do just that! It's actually a very easy process and not anywhere near as hard and you might be expecting! So grab a coffee and read on!
First of all, deleting the files you don't need from the BLANK file is a very sensible start. So make sure you remove the Opportunities, CareerEvents and Books files. Then go into the XML file for the DLL and remove those fields from the file. That way, the code isn't trying to read files that aren't there.
Alternatively, you can use the bare-bones BLANK file which is also included in my Beginner tutorial.
Do the same for the example UnhashedKey and Language strings. Once again, it prevents the game from reading code that isn't there and allows you to trim it down to the lines of code you actually need.
"Will it mean it'll be harder for me to add them back down the road?" ~ No, it won't. You simple add it in, bit by bit. It depends mostly on where to start and I'll give some pointers: go for the easiest first. The first updates I did for each of my careers was add in retirements and downtown hours for many of the careers. I add them as staples now but they're the easiest additions to make.
The process of adding opportunities is the one that requires the most work because of the new additions. The first thing to do is add the fields back into the dll XML file. Then recreate the CareerEvents and Opportunities files (Books if you need them). A more detailed tutorial for adding Opportunities can be found HERE.
As far as connecting the code, the only bit that needs connecting is that dll XML file. Everything else is fairly standalone and can be added with ease at any time, so don't feel they need to be done in any particular order, nor do they need to be added before releasing the career.
The one aspect of this which may seem a little tedious is if you receive language translations before you add some of the advanced features. If you receive a translation and later add some opportunities, it will take a bit of time to add each string into already translated strings. I recommend, if you have a lot of translations, taking your time and doing this bit-by-bit as it can be time consuming.
In a nutshell, the process is actually pretty straightforward because the additions, for the most part, don't interfere with the vanilla code. Uniforms can be slotted easily into the code with minimal effort (unless you're creating custom outfits, but even they slot into the code easily). For details on adding Uniforms, there's a detailed tutorial HERE.
Journals/Books require the addition of the Books file. The code itself fits easily into either Metrics (for journals) or Opportunities (for opportunity books). The tutorial can be found HERE.
Events/Opportunities require the addition of the CareerEvents and Opportunities files.
Once again, as long as they're added to the dll XML file, you'll be absolutely fine 👍
If you have any trouble with the process of maintaining and updating your careers after release, please feel free to ask away!
However, it's advisable to start with a scaled back, or bare-bones, version of your career. This means a career that has none of the above features. It has easy to add these features in later so this mini tutorial will teach you how to do just that! It's actually a very easy process and not anywhere near as hard and you might be expecting! So grab a coffee and read on!
First of all, deleting the files you don't need from the BLANK file is a very sensible start. So make sure you remove the Opportunities, CareerEvents and Books files. Then go into the XML file for the DLL and remove those fields from the file. That way, the code isn't trying to read files that aren't there.
Alternatively, you can use the bare-bones BLANK file which is also included in my Beginner tutorial.
Do the same for the example UnhashedKey and Language strings. Once again, it prevents the game from reading code that isn't there and allows you to trim it down to the lines of code you actually need.
"Will it mean it'll be harder for me to add them back down the road?" ~ No, it won't. You simple add it in, bit by bit. It depends mostly on where to start and I'll give some pointers: go for the easiest first. The first updates I did for each of my careers was add in retirements and downtown hours for many of the careers. I add them as staples now but they're the easiest additions to make.
The process of adding opportunities is the one that requires the most work because of the new additions. The first thing to do is add the fields back into the dll XML file. Then recreate the CareerEvents and Opportunities files (Books if you need them). A more detailed tutorial for adding Opportunities can be found HERE.
As far as connecting the code, the only bit that needs connecting is that dll XML file. Everything else is fairly standalone and can be added with ease at any time, so don't feel they need to be done in any particular order, nor do they need to be added before releasing the career.
The one aspect of this which may seem a little tedious is if you receive language translations before you add some of the advanced features. If you receive a translation and later add some opportunities, it will take a bit of time to add each string into already translated strings. I recommend, if you have a lot of translations, taking your time and doing this bit-by-bit as it can be time consuming.
In a nutshell, the process is actually pretty straightforward because the additions, for the most part, don't interfere with the vanilla code. Uniforms can be slotted easily into the code with minimal effort (unless you're creating custom outfits, but even they slot into the code easily). For details on adding Uniforms, there's a detailed tutorial HERE.
Journals/Books require the addition of the Books file. The code itself fits easily into either Metrics (for journals) or Opportunities (for opportunity books). The tutorial can be found HERE.
Events/Opportunities require the addition of the CareerEvents and Opportunities files.
Once again, as long as they're added to the dll XML file, you'll be absolutely fine 👍
If you have any trouble with the process of maintaining and updating your careers after release, please feel free to ask away!