Noob Modder Needs Help

By Seth_Dracovitch on October 15, 2008 7:28:37 PM from

Seth_Dracov...

Join Date 10/2008

I'm fairly new at modding and so far I get where everything is going but I do have a number of questions that i would love answers to. My only request is for everyone to please be very detailed, I can never understand simple vague instructions. On to the questions!

1. How do I add a new race into the game? What folder, what line (if possible), and what needs to be typed/changed so it'll show up in game.

2. Where do I put all the information on the race so my custom ships, buildings etc, will show up in the new race in game, also what exactly do I put there to activate it.

Chances are I'll have more at a later date. If you have any tips on how how make the process easier, I'd like to know them, thx in advance.

1) Putting in a new race is as simple as making a new playerName.entity file. For example, you can make a copy of playerTech.entity, and it will show up as selectable in-game. Quite easy

2) Inside the player entity file is the race's entire build list and research list. It's pretty self explanatory, there's a section for frigate factory, capital ship factory, buildings, and then a long list of research topics. Just add more stuff to these lists (and increase the object counter for each one) and it'll show up in-game. Until 1.1 is released, there's a max of 5 capital ships.

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Another thing I'm also looking for...wanna buff a few things in SOASE! Time to go screw around with files then..!!

PS..which entity file is for Defense platforms and ships..cus he ones I open to have any info on hall points etc..and thats what I wanna buff..but Ill try playerTech.entity first !

Damn im confused in what im saying...well better shut up for now then!

Thanks Annatar!!!! And OP

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Try PlanetModule .entity files.

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I have a further question, if it does not hijack this thread (it may benefit the OP). How does one add custom music and define which race will use which music file and when? To elaborate, I already found the list of MusicThemes entrys in the player entity files, but when I alter them, the music will still sometimes play files outside of my specific selections. So, how does the music system in Sins work exactly, because I know it is possible as the Advent never have the same music as the TEC, unless it is battle music which is often shared. How do I control what music is shared and which is exclusive to any given race? Thanks!

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Ok next question. Under what file ad folder do I add the new race name to make it show up in game? Cuz simply making a new race.entity file doesn't wind it all up...

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Each entity file links to English.str for names/descriptions. For races it's:

raceNameStringID "IDS_PLAYERRACENAME_TECH"

For other entities it's also a pretty obvious line. If you open English.str and search for that ID, you'll see its "value" as TEC. You just add your own StringInfo tag with an ID and Value and then you can use that tag in the entity files.

Make sure to update the string count at the top of the file when you add new StringInfos.

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Quoting Planet_Sucker,

reply 4

The music system is "mood" based, it tries to kick in based on what's going on in-game. Check out SoudMusic.sounddata (can still open in Notepad). I haven't messed much with music, but it's between that file and player entities as far as I'm aware.

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My turn for a question!!! What program do I open with an entity file...I tried Microsoft Word Office 2007, office pad and even notepad and on all 3 I get either, giberish, or highly confusing symbols

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Download the mod pack from the site's Downloads section, the Reference Data folder there contains the entities in text. The stock game's are in binary to speed up loading so they'll show the gibberish.

Also, avoid using Office and try to stick with Notepad. Sins is quite picky with how the files are formatted, and MSWord sometimes sticks its own formatting in there which may or may not screw something up. Stick with Notepad if you can, since it's a straight up plain text editor

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Ok my turn again, this time with info so I know what goes where.

I created my new race, based them off the Advent, edited the capital ship files to hold my two test capital ships (the rest being the normal Advent ships), turned "isPsi" to FALSE. Added the Name string ID into the string engish folder for the name of the race, I also did it for the two capital ships. For the CAp ships I went into their files and made sure that the name and description string matched the proper ID's. I even made sure that I upped the string count by 5 (two per cap ship and one for the race name). I go into the game and the new race doesn't show. Is there a file I need to edit to make the fourth race show up?

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No, as long as it has "isSelectable TRUE" it should show up. I'm not sure if the file name itself is a requirement, I never tried naming it anything other than playerxxxx.entity.

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Hmmm do you think I need to change it from a txt file to an entity file?

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Of course, it needs to have the .entity extention.

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*scratches head* Ok now I know something is wrong. It's all .entity files but now my custom maps from GalaxyForge won't show either, and they're in the proper galaxy folder... so for whatever reason my mod (even when activated) isn't working and my GF maps aren't showing up... could it have something to do with 1.096 beta?

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I know that the music system is based on the entries in the soundMusic.sounddata file and I assertained that the trigger for most of the music is based on "mood" by the numbers under each entry. But what I don't understand is how the game controls which race gets which music. I have never heard Advent music when playing as the TEC, for example, and vice versa. But some music is common to all races, such as the more generic battle music. What I don't get is that the seemingly obvious system of having one list the music files in the race entity file, AS THEY ARE IN FACT, to make them exclusive to that race, does not in fact seem to work at all. It is as if the game ignors the race entity file and uses something else. Basically, I have 6 races that all need custom music that is unique to each, but I don't know how.

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Quoting Seth_Dracovitch,

reply 14

Quite possibly. The mod data we have is for 1.05, it shouldn't work for 1.096 though it's odd that a race wouldn't show up. For the map, make sure it has a browseName set (you can open it with notepad too) and you may also need to change versionNumber to 2 if just the browseName doesn't make it show. We haven't gotten concrete confirmation as to what works to make custom maps show up in beta (and I don't play custom).

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Ok well I suppose I'll just wait for the 1.1 mod tools then.

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http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/327543

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