RoN Script Maker is a modding tool for use with Rise of Nations that edits scripts in an intuitive interface. Scripts created by this program can then be used in Quick Battles and Multiplayer games.
Features
- Support for Rise of Nations (vanilla), Thrones and Patriots, and Extended Edition
- Disabling of any unit, building, or technology
- Researching of any unit, building, or technology at game start
- Editing of unit and building stats like health, attack, and speed
- Changing various game options like plunder and attrition
- Interchangeable script snippets (“scrippets”) that add new gameplay elements such as smashing units with tanks, generals that heal nearby units, and capturing artillery
- Game paths can be found automatically or set manually.
- Scripts can be saved, loaded, and organized in various ways.
- Option to run RoN on exit
Screenshots
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- 2.0 Unit Editor
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- 2.0 Scrippets
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- 1.0 Game Settings
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- Big Head Scrippet
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- Tank Smashing Scrippet
Downloads
2.19K
1.31K
Also available from RoN Heaven
Installation
The script maker comes packaged in an installer for your convenience. If you have a version prior to 2.0 installed, you may install 2.0 into the same directory and it will be able to load any scripts created by previous versions.
Changelog
2.0.2 – 11/17/17
-fixed Extended Edition not being recognized because of the executable name changing
2.0.1 – 4/26/15
-fixed saving scripts for vanilla RoN not working
-fixed switching game modes leaving the previous script selected
-fixed scripts not being put in their own directory for vanilla RoN
-fixed scrippets using float instead of real for vanilla ron
-fixed scrippets not requiring T&P when they should
2.0 – 10/31/14
-added UAC awareness and Windows Vista/7 support
-added a new scrippet called Big Head
-merged and edited all documentation into CHM format
-added a button to refresh the script list
-added a new button to run (or switch to) the currently selected game
-added loading of old script save formats
-added a new context-based help system
-added a new program icon
-moved message log to new dialog
-added context menus to unit, building, tech, and scrippet lists to allow toggling multiple items simultaneously
-adding basic formatting support for script and scrippet descriptions
-added script descriptions
-improved window resizing
-improved scrippet option editing
-added “new script” button to replace default scripts
-added ability to resize script list
-changed scrippet extensions from scp to xml
-changed script save format from INI to XML, improving readability and efficiency
-improved type list edit highlighting
-added sorting and filtering to all type lists
-all type data is loaded from game XML files now
-separated unit, building, and tech lists
-merged type disabling, researching, and stats into same list
-replaced msxml library with .Net XML library
-turned script function buttons into toolbar
-moved options and about tabs to menus
-moved game mode selector to menu
-added manual game path options
-added Extended Edition game path determination
-improved automatic game path determination
-upgraded project from VB6 to .Net 3.5
-updated config library to latest version
1.0.49:
-fixed the url to ronh download. however, at the time, it is the old version still.
-did extensive tweaking to the top gun script.
-fixed classical age for the preq trick being ancient age, which didn’t work. doh.
1.0 – 10/3/2005:
-updated tabstops.
-updated included saves.
-updated scrippet documentation.
-added internet checking for updates and option to check automatically.
-statusbar pops up on click to show last 25 messages.
-removed functions that weren’t needed anymore.
-added help messages for new elements.
-added scrippet options editor.
-added routine to parse the code for scrippet option variable tags: <<VarName>>
-added saving/loading of scrippet options to internal save file and scrippet xml file.
-added internal store for holding scrippet options.
-fixed updowns for objectstat editing not using the default values.
-added set_preq() trick. sets prerequisites for researched techs and upgrades to a lowlevel library tech that is preresearched.
-fixed Continental Marines type; was listed just as Marines.
-if the game mode is T&P, then research and tech loops use num_players() instead of 8 as the max number of players. may save a little load time.
-objectstat and research lists are checked for disabled types. if a type is disabled, it is shown in red.
-added some new context-menu functions for the type, research, and objectstat lists to cross-reference the same type on other lists.
-updated the Types.csv to reflect research list additions.
-added colors to types and research lists to prevent confusing the two.
-added research tab and list. user can select techs and upgrades to be preresearched.
-fixed a crash when minimizing.
-removed victory/defeat messages cause they never worked anyways. moved plunder and autopeasant to the toggles tab and removed game settings tab. renamed toggles tag to game settings. phew.
-added option to edit scrippets in new scrippet builder or notepad.
-added option to save app position, size, and state on exit.
-updated scrippets and added code to take advantage of code parsing capabilities.
-cleaned up error formatting. added version number to error log output.
-finished coding support app for easily making XML scrippets.
-recoded entire scrippet implementation to use pure xml. scrippets have an entirely new format based on the change to xml and will need to be updated.
-new command buttons in scrippet tab to edit the selected scrippet in notepad and open code parsing options.
-automatic column adjustments to lists option.
-maximizing and resizing above default size now works.
-performance impact rating (PIR) added to scrippets.
-max craft added to object stat editing. this is only usable by particular units–generals, aircraft, scouts, etc.
-code for scrippet dynamicsaver won’t be compiled if there’s no scrippets that use it being compiled.
-object stat editor will always open on double-click now. double-click doesn’t toggle enabling the edited object stats unless it is disabled.
-RSM won’t ask to run ron or run ron automatically if it’s already running.
-added some error checking when finding ron path in registry.
0.9.29:
-added debug mode for scrippets: displays special debug messages during script runtime if this option is enabled. updated development documentation to reflect changes.
-fixed the loaded script status and selection after saving as a new script.
0.9.27 – 1/17/05:
-fixed a little annoyance when setting up the script list after a save causing the loaded script to be unselected.
-fixed a bug where the object stats in the RSM save file were not cleared before saving again. this caused changes to be appended and unremovable.
-email links in the about tab now get my current email address from s–l.com. should still open your default email app (tested with outlook), but also leaves a blank browser window open (tested with ie).
0.9 – 12/25/04:
-new installer for “full release version”. it includes all the redistributable elements that RSM needs. it also has the nifty installshield interface and makes shortcuts and (gasp!) uninstallation possible.
-did some finishing touches: help messages, tab stops, and changed all string references of RON to RoN.
-added a view button next to load that will attempt to open the bhs file in notepad.
-adding the about tab stuff with release version info and a crap-load of links to mail, download, view included texts, and even IM Snake.
-compiling of objects stats implemented (test compiles within RoN successful).
-more bugs ironed out of stats editor. added reset to defaults command.
-saving and loading of object stats finally implemented.
-options to remove comments from scrippets when compiling and to run ron on exit.
-prompt to run ron on exit window added.
-removed some old includes code that was floating around from v0.8.
-updown buttons in the object stats editor now automatically increase/decrease when held down for 500ms. also recoded the way the editor loads values.
-buildingrules.xml also loads to be edited in the object stats. can edit everything but speed (obviously).
-added help messages for new elements. disabled a paranoid help system fix from last release.
-fixed all the tabstops.
-popup menu for various functions added on right-click of the object stat list. also added a simple way to switch between the same unit on the types and object stat list.
-changes to the tabs. added RSM Options and About tabs. some tabs give focus to their listbox on click.
-object stats editor coded with percent and value fields and updowns.
-progress shown while loading the list setups (after the app initializes and when changing game modes). load time was getting long with the addition of XML reading the unitrules.
-did a debug on WinME. no errors found once MSXML 4.0 was installed.
-XML reader added with MSXML DOM for getting unit stats from unitrules.xml. initially uses MSXML 4.0, may change to 1.0 for compatibility.
0.8.16 – 11/08/04:
-added auto peasant time to game settings
-more changes to the help message system. now it doesn’t display when the main window loses focus. less CPU usage in some circumstances.
-changes to the types list. consolidated the two lists for ron and t&p into one list; added ages (in case one wants to put a cap on end age?); and fixed some issues with subgroups.
0.8 – 9/24/04:
-errorlog.txt created for keeping log of all errors.
-gui changed around again because the script directory text boxes weren’t needed anymore. tabstrip and script list are now taller.
-reading of registry to find out if ron and rontp are installed and to where. overriding these is possible via editing of ronscript.ini.
-removed code module for “browse for folder” dialog, because it isn’t needed anymore.
-compiler will remove any comments or commented lines in scrippets.
-compiler will skip empty tags in scrippets.
-removed includes because they weren’t worth using.
-changes to the help display; less CPU usage now.
0.7 – 8/18/04:
-changed gui around some. script list is now wider and types list is included in the tabstrip. no more funky resize button.
-saved scripts and scrippets now have their own subdirectories.
-initial scrippet support for compiling, loading available, and saving/loading from native save files
-statusbar for displaying info, help, and warning messages. also shows loaded script and version.
-error checking setup throughout the compile process to display any errors that occur as warning messages without the program crashing.
-help messages added on mouseover.
-info messages added on end of processing with time it took to process.
-included new scrippets: interrogation and artillery capture
-included scrippet documentation for developers
0.6 – 8/06/04
Friend, two questions.
Can i edit some of the units in a mod im using for the extended edition?
why when i open the program, the option to choose extended edition is disabled (grey, can not click on it).
thank you.
Well, to your first question, if you’re creating a mod and not just a scenario, you probably want to mod the XML files and not use script (the XML would let you control more anyways). There’s official documentation on how to create a proper mod that you can google.
And secondly, the option to use Extended Edition mode depends on whether or not the script maker can find your EE directory. If it’s not finding the path via the registry, you can manually set the path in the config file or the menu option “Setup Game Paths”.
I understand how to make the scripts and use them in quick battle, but how do I get it to run on a scenario? Am I missing a line of code at the beginning to trigger the script on scenario load or is there something else I need to do? Thanks for your hard work.
Ummm… I think the map has to have a script with the same base filename in the same directory to execute.
I’m not able to find any valid Setup Game Path for the setup of either script makers. What should I rename my exe file to get the program to recognize my game?
I have also verified that I have the files, MSCOMCTL.OCX, STDOLE2.TLB and msxml4.dll. I have also tried to manually override the file paths and nothing has worked.
What version of the game are you using?
I have tried both 1.10 and 1.20. Does it matter which one I use?
I meant is it original, thrones and patriots, or extended edition?
Extended edition
Hey, i got a problem with the path for the Extended Edition. It says that the path chosen is not valid. I tried reinstalling everything, made sure i got MSCOMCTL.OCX, STDOLE2.TLB and msxml4.dll, editing the paths in the .ini directly but nothing seems to work. I used the progrom before, but i think it was the 2.0.0 version and it worked. https://i.imgur.com/aA1s9US.jpg
Thanks for the heads up, friend. Looks like they changed the executable filename in a recent update for some reason and that messed up the script maker. I’ll put out a fix soon.
Awesome, thanks for the quick fix!
I had my game path on rise of nations but it says not valid do you know a valid game path
On RoN, is there any way to disable techs ,buildings, or units for only one nation?
There is a way to do that in the script, but the feature is not in the Script Maker because it isn’t fair. IIRC in RoN’s scripting most things are disabled per player. So it should be possible to loop through all players and within that loop check if a player matches a certain condition (their player number, whether or not they’re human or AI, their nation) and disable techs, buildings, or units if the condition matches.
I changed the paths in the ini file to C:\Program Files (x86)\Rise of Nations where the executable is located and the error log gives me “1.0.47F: Retail version of Rise of Nations not installed! Please install before using this program.” I also get a run-time error ‘429’: ActiveX component can’t create object dialog message and clicking okay closes the app.Thanks for the quick response.
Also, I don’t know if it will help but the executables in the original game are rise and thrones.exe while the executables for the Extended Edition are named rise and patriots.exe.
RoN Script Maker also requires the following libraries. If any are missing, they would give an error such as that. These should be installed with the full version installer, though. But just in case they weren’t, you can find copies for download online. The files go in your Windows system directory usually. For 64-bit Windows 7, it’s “C:\Windows\SysWOW64”.
MSCOMCTL.OCX (most likely culprit)
STDOLE2.TLB
msxml4.dll
I used the the full installer. The only file missing was msxml4.dll and it didn’t fix the crash.
Please update it so it will recognize Rise of Nations Extended Edition. It crashes on startup for the re-release.
Yes, I figured there might be problems with the new release of RoN. However, I have no interest in buying it right now. But if someone else wants to gift it to my Steam account, I will make sure to add support for the new version of RoN (and Windows 7 if necessary).
Actually, you might try manually setting the RoN path using ronscript.ini. Instructions are in the FAQ.