DLC
Defining custom skills in geralt_skills.xml is the simplest and best method for iterative work when developing your mod. However, that ease of use comes at a cost in compatibility with other custom skill mods, requiring users to Script Merger the two bundles. With a little bit of extra work, this alternative method will mount your own custom .XML to Witcher 3, removing any potential conflicts with other mods and making it easier for your user base to use.
We will be piggy-backing on KNGRSM's brilliant DLC guide to suit our simplified purposes. Please familiarize yourself with the general concepts from his guide first.
You will create two .XML files, one for the base game and one for New Game+. These .XML files will need to be UTF-16 with BOM and the structure should just follow exactly how CDPR did their geralt_skills.xml.
You will need to define an <ability> tag inside the <abilities> and <definitions> tags. You will also need to define a <skill> tag inside the <definitions>, <skills>, and <custom> tags.
For our purposes, we need to create a .reddlc file with three chunks.
CDLCDefinition
CR4DefinitionsDLCMounter
CR4DefinitionsNGPlusDLCMounter
For this chunk's properties, be sure to expand CDLCDefinition #1 and fill out the following:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| id | ID for your DLC |
| localizedNameKey | W3string for your DLC |
| localziedDescriptionKey | W3string description for your DLC |
| mounters > 0 | CR4DefinitionsDLCMounter #2 |
| mounters > 1 | CR4DefinitionsNGPlusDLCMounter #3 |
| visibleInDLCMenu | True/false if you want to have your DLC listed in the Downloadable Content menu |
| requiredByGameSave | True/false if games saved with your DLC will require the DLC to continue in the future |
In these chunks you will just need to type in the correct file path into definitionXmlFilePath
Congratulations! After mounting our .XMLs, all we need to do now is pack the DLC and copy it to the correct directory as discussed in KNGRSM's guide.
Find an example Mod Editor project for the DLC component of my modReflexes skill here. You can use it as a boilerplate template for your own DLC.