Starting Out
After discussions with a few wizards, I have come to learn a few things:
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Custom Builds are extremely prone to failing if you commit to too many patches.
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Regular buildfiles are superior to the “Easy Buildfile Template” in every way
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Some FEB patches are unlikely to work out of the box from FEB
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Some patches within the SkillSystemMaster are archaic
Ideally, custom builds are favorable if you want to add minimal things to your base game. However, commiting to large swaths of patches and other things will generally make it much more buggier than it needs to be. I do not recommend this method if you want to add a bunch of new mechanics.
Contro’s Buildfile Tutorial leans on the Easy Buildfile Template, which as I’ve remarked, is inferior to standard files in every single way. However, the same basic functions apply, to which I strongly urge you to still utilize it to get a basic foundation of how to navigate.
For the sake of simplicity, we will be using the SkillSystem-Master for all entries.
Basics
I strongly recommend Notepad ++ or something similar to help with this process.
Make sure you create a folder with “Definitions” for each type of asset, and create a master installer for your definitions to be linked with the main buildfile event.
For example:
#define IronSword 0x1
#define SteelSword 0x2
#define SilverSword 0x3
etc…
Much like FEBuilder, you can expand tables in buildfiles as well.
The same rules apply; 255 entries for Items and Classes. Portraits can go beyond 255 though.
I recommend reading into Clendo’s Expansion Tutorial before continuing. As I’ve already said as well, reading through Contro’s tutorial is vital for a basic foundation.