Patch 2.8 mod compatibility guide

This guide describes the steps to make a mod compatible with patch 2.8.X from patch 2.7.2.

Note that this does not replace the usual step of merging files, in case the mod modifies some vanilla files.

In case of issues, run the latest version of The Validator, and try activating debug launch options, which will now report failed asserts in log files.

New folders

Move \interface\coats_of_arms.txt to \interface\coat_of_arms\coats_of_arms.txt. Blocks for new religions can be moved to their own files, to improve mod compatibility.

For total conversion mods, add replace_path = "dlc_metadata/dlc_characters" to .mod file.

Portraits

• New properties p14/p15/p16 are added, so any custom properties needs to be moved to p18 or later.
• New culture indexes c6 and c7 are added in portraitTypes:

...
"GFX_western_male_beard_behind:p4:h:y"
":p5:c6"
"GFX_western_male_base:p2"
...

...
"GFX_western_male_hair:p1:h:y"
":p5:c7"
"GFX_character_mask:p12:y:o40x45"
...

Decisions

• ai_check_interval is added to decisions and targeted decisions. It determines how seldom the AI checks the decision, in months, and by default is 1 (every month). Value is often 3 either or 12 in vanilla. For instance ai_check_interval = 5 would make it checked every 5th month. Note that ai_will_do is the % chance of taking the decision (1 = 100%, 0.5 = 50%) if available when checked, so if you set the interval 5 times higher, you should also set the ai_will_do 5 times higher.

• Most targeted decision filters (court, home_court, sub_realm, realm, dynasty, society) no longer include the decision taker, unless the _including_me variant of the filter is used.

Localization

Usage of custom localization commands has been rationalized and expanded to other tooltips.

Some workarounds may no longer be needed (for instance [ROOT.xxx] prefix in province modifiers):

my_province_modifier_desc;§YYou will need to know this§!\nInfo: [ROOT.MyCustomLocalizationCommand]

now simply works with:

my_province_modifier_desc;§YYou will need to know this§!\nInfo: [MyCustomLocalizationCommand]

Immortality

Giving an immortal trait to a child now prevents switching to adult portrait on adulthood, and child portrait is kept. Workaround is to remove the immortal trait via an event on the on_adulthood action, and add it back few days after via maintenance event.

There's now an immortal_age history effect, to set the age at which the character became immortal.

Immortal characters being excluded from court pruning now seems hardcoded (even if immortal = yes is removed from is_unimportant_trigger). You'll need some regular manual pruning if using immortal traits for long lived races, to avoid court bloating.

Misc

• allowed_to_target_suzerains = yes/no is removed from CBs
• trait = kinslayer is replaced by is_any_kinslayer_trigger = yes
• religion_group = indian_group is replaced by has_dharmic_religion_trigger = yes
• Traits with cached = yes must have a name that does not conflict with a culture/religion. Otherwise accessing the trait with trait_name = { } will behave as a culture/religion scope instead of character scope.
• can_demand_religious_conversion = no has to be added to unreformed religions (it is no longer an hardcoded behavior of unreformed pagan group)
• uses_bride_price = yes may be added to custom merchant republic governments (it is no longer hardcoded).

Issues

In some mods, baronies under auto-generated counts (i.e. with no holder in history) are independent at game start.^[1]. This is fixed in patch 3.0.

References