I Need Help With Modding the Graphics of Stronghold Crusader!

[orosz2009 2]

Hi everyone! I'm working on a project where I want to modify the graphics of Stronghold Crusader. My goal is to create an entirely new themed game using the existing game's framework, where I’ll redesign everything from buildings and units to the main menu and in-game text. However, I’ve run into some issues with the tools I've tried, and I’m looking for suggestions on what programs I could use and if there are any specialized tools for this.

Programs I’ve tried:

• Dragon Unpacker
  I used this tool to unpack GM1 files, but it didn’t work as expected. I couldn’t access all the textures I needed, and the tool didn’t fully support the files I was trying to modify.

• MultiEx Commander
  This is another program I tried that supports different file formats. It helped a little with managing some files, but it wasn’t effective for working with Stronghold Crusader's files, so I couldn’t get the results I was looking for.

What do I need?

I need programs that:

• Can unpack and modify GM1 files.

• Help with editing textures (such as buildings, units, icons).

• Are user-friendly and well-documented.

• Are specifically designed for Stronghold Crusader modding.

What do you recommend?

If you know of any programs or tools that can help with this, please share! Any tips, useful links, or tools that could assist with Stronghold Crusader graphic modifications would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Asophix 45]

Hello,

Sadly I'm not too familiar with Crusader modding myself technically, but I can recommend you the GM1Konverter application which can be used to view contents of .gm1 files. The README.md should be a good starting point to familiarize yourself.

Older Stronghold games (up until Legends) prove to be relatively unfriendly to mod, as most data is hardcoded in the executables or arbitrarily made up data files, so one is forced to pour lots of time looking at a Ghidra decompiler or Cheat Engine.

Hope I could help!

[orosz2009 2]

Thank you, I’ll try what you suggested. By the way, if you know who made the "Russian Story" mod or how it was created, that would be great, as graphical changes were made to the elements, the menu, and the game itself.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2024 by orosz2009

[Asophix 45]

The guy was considerably active on the UCP Git discussion until a year ago, or so. Here's their GitHub profile, may be worth a shot to contact: https://github.com/Russianstory.

I didn't look much for official sites or releases, nonetheless I suppose googling can grant you your answer. 🙂

[orosz2009 2]

thank you very much for your help

[Lord_Chris 251]

@ Krarilotus may be able to advise from the Stronghold Crusader UCP on the modding front.

Edited December 1, 2024 by Lord_Chris