Is there a guide for xml editing?

[Nykara]

What it says in the title. I am very scared of messing it up if I edit those files but I really want to get rid of the super zombie hordes and dog packs from my easy game. Is there a step by step guide on how to do this?

[Surmene]

The day 6 dog horde is real easy to tinker. I think it's in the entitygroups xml. Go to where it is and replace it with whatever you want. I have mine to act like a usual wandering horde.

[TombViper]

1. Get a good text editor, preferably one that supports syntax highlighting for XML files. I recommend notepad++.
   
2. Open windows explorer and navigate to the folder containing the 7DTD XML config files (...\SteamApps\common\7 Days To Die\Data\Config).
   
3. Make a backup copy of the XML files contained within, before you start editing.
   
4. Open the file spawning.xml in your text editor. You may want to use the opportunity to associate .xml file extensions with your text editor, so they are always opened with it.
   
5. Search for "RoamingHordeSpawnDay" or scroll down to this line of text:
   

   <entityspawner name="RoamingHordeSpawnDay" dynamic="true" wrapMode="wrap">

6. Now scroll down further to the subsection for day 6, it should look like this:
   

   		<day value="6">
   		  <property name="EntityGroupName"    value="ZombieDogGroup" />
   		  <property name="Time"               value="Any" />
   		  <property name="DelayBetweenSpawns" value="1" />
   		  <property name="TotalAlive"         value="10" />
   		  <property name="TotalPerWave"       value="10,20" />
   		</day>
   

   This is the roaming horde during the daytime of day 6. As you can see, it contains the dog pack.
   
7. To replace the day 6 dog pack with a regular zombie mob like on the other days, edit the section as follows:
   

   		<day value="6">
   		  <property name="EntityGroupName"    value="ZombiesAll" />
   		  <property name="Time"               value="Any" />
   		  <property name="DelayBetweenSpawns" value="1" />
   		  <property name="TotalAlive"         value="15" />
   		  <property name="TotalPerWave"       value="20,30" />
   		</day>
   

8. Save the file and enjoy.

[Nykara]

What about the night seven nasty zombie pack?

[boneys26]

The 7th night feral pack is in the same file spawning.xml starts at line 506 in notepad++

[Voilodion]

Another option, if you just want to gimp dogs generally, is to go into EntityClasses.xml, find "<entity_class name="zombiedog" extends="zombie04">", and change ApproachSpeed, NightApproachSpeed, and PanicSpeed to values lower than 1.6. Experiment with the numbers until they're at a speed that you can deal with while still keeping things interesting.

This might have some odd effects on their running animation; I don't know if their leg movements are tied to this speed value.

Back up your files, as mentioned above, before making any changes, so you can restore if you do mess things up.

[Red Eagle LXIX]

You can also just verify integrity of game cache if you mess something up and it will only download what is needed (xml files in this case) that are changed/not matched.

[LokitheWeaver]

I just use the basic Windows Notepad for "minor" edits. It does not hold your hand, very much, so it is easy to make a typo or forget a piece of minor syntax. But I just created some 42 recipes for all common and rare skill books to create a "Skill Tree Simulator". I may have been lucky, but had very few errors to deal with (forgot to removed an couple of unused lines from my "master recipe" for one book and accidentally placed two components in the same grid slot for sledgehammer and exploding bolts. The later two recipes still worked, but did not require all the intended components, until I edit it.)

I also use notepad to modify the loot tables, so certain zombie types actually have a chance to have different loot (frozen hunters carry guns / ammo vs. junk; cheerleaders have goldenrod tea and blueberries - because Dr. Oz said it was good for them; etc.)

Same basic principles, as above. I always copy the original file to a safe location, before I start editing. If I screw up radically, it is easy to revert to the original file. (important if you don't have internet access)

[Tito Shivan]

Originally posted by LokitheWeaver:

I always copy the original file to a safe location, before I start editing. If I screw up radically, it is easy to revert to the original file. (important if you don't have internet access)

As an alternative, i do keep all the original XML files compressed on a .ZIP file.
That way i don't have a mess of 'recipes(2)-copy-original-working.XML' files around and keep the originals handy without having to verify the caché.

[LokitheWeaver]

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:

Originally posted by LokitheWeaver:

I always copy the original file to a safe location, before I start editing. If I screw up radically, it is easy to revert to the original file. (important if you don't have internet access)

As an alternative, i do keep all the original XML files compressed on a .ZIP file.
That way i don't have a mess of 'recipes(2)-copy-original-working.XML' files around and keep the originals handy without having to verify the caché.

I actually keep copies of each version of the "config" files (or have for the last several versions) in a file folder that reflects the version. Useful for referencing changes as well as a back-up to my current game.

Did not think about compressing the files, since I have a fair amount of space on my hard drive. But it sounds like a good system.

[LeftPaw]

Anyone know what to change to slow down my food intake?

[Nykara]

I am still a bit scared to do it myself but my hubby is a game programmer so I might get him to play with it for me lol

[Devolta]

I found this on the 7DTD forum last night. It's a RWG Mixer file that is heavily commented to show what the various rulesets are.

Be aware, this is just a guide and is not intended to be used as-is (threw up errors last night) - but overall it's very helpful and educational on familiarizing yourself with the rulesets.

http://pastebin.com/sXBjkE2n

Enjoy.

[TombViper]

Originally posted by Ishka:

I am still a bit scared to do it myself but my hubby is a game programmer so I might get him to play with it for me lol

Nothing to be afraid of. As long as you keep a backup of the files you are modifying, you are all good. And if all goes wrong, you can still click on "validate game cache" in Steam, to reset all files back to their original state. Just take your time to look over the XML and you will get a feeling for what the different pieces are doing.

[Tito Shivan]

Originally posted by SouthLane:

Anyone know what to change to slow down my food intake?

You can try make your food more nutritive.
You can look at items.xml for the following lines on a food item:

            <property name="Gain_food" value="15" />
            <property name="Gain_water" value="15" />