How to change unit armor assignments and work around the limits of customparams when modding Beyond All Reason.
BAR modders run into the same wall early. You want a unit to use different armor, so you open customparams and try to define a brand new armor type. The file just ignores it. The reason sits inside armordefs.lua: new armor definitions cannot be created through customparams. Players can only assign units to armor types that already exist in the game.
So if you made flying boats and tried ud.armortype = "vtol", the unit keeps its original heavy boat armor because the armordef assignment lives in a separate processing layer. The fix points to adding entries at a specific line in armordefs.lua where preexisting armor categories get extended.
The practical path is straightforward. Open armordefs.lua and find the section that maps units to existing armor categories. You can add units to an existing category using the unitDef.customparams.armordef field. This means moving three units into the VTOL armor group works fine. Creating a brand new space armor type requires touching the core armordef processing code instead of relying on customparams alone.
The specific code pattern for adding new categories involves clearing the old armordef for a unit name and then inserting a new entry in the armorDefs table. Without that extra step, the engine defaults back to the original armor assignment before customparams get a chance to override it.
Some modders ask about making energy orbs spin or appear on custom units. Those visual effects are handled by a separate gadget/widget system, not by unit definitions. No amount of tweaking in unitdefs.lua will produce an energy orb effect. The render logic lives in a different layer entirely and would require writing a custom gadget to replicate.
gamedata/armordefs.lua — armor type definitions and unit-to-armor mappingunitdefs.lua — individual unit stat files where customparams livecustomparams — the override layer inside each unitdef that feeds into armor assignmentsCatching the broader modding workflow helps fill in the gaps between armor assignments and unit behavior. The Beyond All Reason YouTube channel covers strategy and modding content that connects the dots for newer developers getting started.
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