Encounter and Population Modding

Owned by C. Brian Bucklew
Last updated: May 08, 2019 by chaos
2 min read

There are two primary population systems in Caves of Qud, the legacy EncounterTables.xml system, and the ZoneTemplates.xml+PopulationTables.xml system. EncounterTables is older and we prefer to use zone templates + population tables these days, but much of the game is still populated via EncounterTables.xml.

Like ObjectTables, EncounterTables.xml supports Load="Merge" in the object root tag. This will append entries to that particular table instead of overwriting.

PopulationTables currently have limited support for modding, but many zone template encounters draw objects from dynamically created population tables. Check out the following tags in ObjectBlueprints.xml to see them in use: DynamicObjectsTable, ExcludeFromDynamicEncounters. Some dynamic population tables are created based on the base type of the object, so new objects will begin appearing immediately in areas generated with dynamic population tables unless they are tagged with ExcludeFromDynamicEncounters.

The unaffiliated cave systems are the only areas currently heavily populated with the template+population system.

Extending Encounter Tables

You may add new entries to existing encounter tables by including EncounterTables.xml in your mod, using an existing table name and setting the Load="Merge" property on the encountertable tag.

Adding "My New Ammo" to the "Ammo 1" built-in encounter table
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<encountertables>
  <encountertable Name="Ammo 1" Load="Merge">
    <objects>
      <object Chance="100" Number="3d6" Blueprint="My New Ammo"></object>
    </objects>
  </encountertable>
</encountertables>

Adding and Replacing Population Tables

You may add new population tables and replace existing ones by including PopulationTables.xml in your mod.

Adding "MyMods_SmallGunAssortment" population table
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<populations>
  <population Name="MyMods_SmallGunAssortment">
    <group Style="pickeach">
      <object Blueprint="Borderlands Revolver" Number="1-3"></object>
      <object Blueprint="Semi-Automatic Pistol" Number="0-2"></object>
      <object Blueprint="Chain Pistol" Number="0-1"></object>
    </group>
  </population>
</populations>


Additional Info

Here's a thread on Steam where I discuss using encounter and population tables: http://steamcommunity.com/app/333640/discussions/3/358415738194955181/