Magic 2014 Deck pack 1 unlock question

[martyr]

Hello, firstly I want to apologize if this is in the wrong section, secondly iv'e looked all over and didnt seem to find the answer to my question so im asking here. Is it possible to unlock the deck pack 1 decks without buying it from steam? I was under the impression it was so I edited the xml's with the 213580 steam id, always_available="true" was already there, but when I load up the game the 2 new decks do not show up in the deck manager.

[RiiakShiNal]

You also have to either change the content_pack or change the AppId associated with that content pack.

[martyr]

I was looking at that and thought I had to change it but had no idea what to. It's default value is 2, the expansion decks have a value of 1 and the default decks have a value of 0, so I assumed that it was just going up and that the next deck pack would have a value of 3

[RiiakShiNal]

It is quite likely that if there is another deck pack that it will have a content pack of 3. But the content pack is locked to an AppId (0 is locked to 213850, 1 is locked to 215850 and so on). When modders make custom content packs (to get around the content pack 0 crash) we lock them to AppId 213850 which the user should already have if they have the game. If you don't have the AppId associated with a content pack then you can't use content from that content pack (regardless of what steam_id_1 or steam_id_2 are set to in the decks). So to unlock decks you need to either adjust the AppId of the content pack or adjust the content_pack in the deck xml to one you actually have. Unlocking cards for a deck is done by changing steam_id_1 (and steam_id_2 if you want the deck foiled) in the deck xmls.

[martyr]

Ah ok thank you very much for the explanation with it I was able to understand and change the content appid and the decks are now showing up.

Edit: This has lead to a new problem, normally when I edit files I am unable to play online because of the 'player has corrupt files' so until I verify cache integrity and load up the game I am unable to do so. This time though (first time I never bought a DLC)when I do this it downloads the file again and I am missing the decks. Is there a way to trick it that im missing? or did i maybe put the wrong number in content_pack? (I ended up going with 'content_pack=1'

Edit2: Been looking for this content pack so I can change this appid in it like you said but I am unable to find it, looked in a bunch of WAD files with no luck.

[RiiakShiNal]

You don't want to actually edit the game files (as this can lead to problems). When you want to edit a deck you unpack the files you want to edit and after editing them you pack the edited files into a new mod to override the original files. This way you haven't changed any of the game files and if you want to undo the changes then you simply remove the override mod.

Typically, the content pack is defined in one of the wad headers (usually one that starts with DATA_DLC_. Custom content packs can even be defined and used so you are not limited to those defined by the game. For example you can define content pack 1234 and lock it to AppId 213850 by adding this block into a wad header (either in @header.xml or HEADER.XML depending on whether you are looking at an unpacked wad or a Directory set up to act as a wad):

Code: Select all

   <CONTENTPACK UID="1234">
      <PD_SECTION>
         <APP_ID ID="213850" />
      </PD_SECTION>
      <CONTENTFLAGS>
         <AVATAR_CONTENT />
         <DECK_CONTENT />
         <GLOSSARY_CONTENT />
         <UNLOCK_CONTENT />
      </CONTENTFLAGS>
   </CONTENTPACK>

[martyr]

RiiakShiNal I just seem to get this working properly, i'm pretty new to this coding and editing files so im trying my best sorry for the 100 questions. After reading what you wrote I went into Data_DLC_0002 and in the @header inputed the code you provided. I also went into DATA_DECKS_F14_PACK1 and in that changed the @header by added the code you provided so its in 2 places now. Also while in DATA_DECKS_F14_PACK1 I went into decks and the deck xml I changed the content_pack=0 to content_pack=1234. Upon trying to join a game I get the message 'Cannot join current session due to content missing' and 2 option buttons 'purchase content' and 'back'. The previous way I had it I could join and create online games but they couldn't start so im not sure if this is a step forward or backwards.

Again sorry for all the questions as im a noob at this and just trying to get this to work online.

[RiiakShiNal]

You can't get this to work online. Mods only work online if all players in a match have the exact same wads. If you change a wad then your opponents won't have the same wads thus you can't participate in an online match.

I told you how to unlock the decks and how modders manage content packs (you only want the content pack enabling XML once per content pack or it will duplicate decks in game, besides that XML only works in wads that start with DATA_DLC_). These tricks work fine for single player or if you and one or more friends all have exactly the same wads.

If you want to play the deck pack online with random people then you have to buy the deck pack there is no way around that.

[martyr]

Ohhh I miss understood, I assumed it was different then moded decks people make becaise it is an official deck pack and everyone would have it so it would possible to do.

Well thank you very much for helping me get them enabled for single player at the very least.