Mod W.I.P. and things I've picked up along the way

Hey guys,

Been lurking around here for a couple days now, scoping out the forums and checking out the current releases etc. I have to say one of the first things that struck me about this game is the similiarity to one of my all time favorites (Space Empires V) with out all that pesky empire management. When I saw how easy it was to mod, things only got better! So anyways without further ado, let me get on to my points.

First of all, huge thanks to Blckknght for the module <-> csv converter, which you can find HERE. Super useful! Although in its current state it often gives me permission denied errors because of the way it picks which folder to write to. Blckknght, you may want to change the ‘moduletools’ folder name - at least for me it often ends up being the target of a failed csv->module conversion if its in the modules directory when I run csvtomodules.pyw. Anyways, kudos on coming up with it!

Second, here are a few tips for mod troubleshooting. You need to have a ship design in GSB folder in my docs, or leave the tutorial ones put. Otherwise the game will crash when you start the ship designer even if it loads ok otherwise. Most of the module-related errors I get stem from the default ship components which are still in use by the ai armies. Though the error will often tell you which module you are lacking, I’ve found a “simpler way” for now. By leaving most of the original components intact and changing the restriction to a race which does not exist (in this case I used “none”), you can keep the old modules from being displayed while leaving them available to the opponents. Sure, you should probably rework the opposition ships at some point but its a nice quick fix.

Apparently using the targetting laser texture for weapons doesn’t work too well, it sure would be good for lasers. Investigating currently.

In the turrets bitmap folder, before you get into individual race styles, there is an image with all the turrets in order. I’m attaching a labelled version to this post, I find it quite useful for quick reference when I want a new turret without looking through all the pics. Federation seems to have the most, including two unused rocket turrets. I’ll include those too since I’ve made the individual .dds files but be warned I haven’t tried them out yet so not sure if they are functioning correctly.

Finally, on to my mod WIP. At this point I am focussed on developing and balancing a new series of weapons. There will be multiple ranks available of each type (2 ranks for fighters, 3 frigate, 5 cruiser), with varying degrees of efficiency. Some weapons have a noticeable increase one rank then much slower growth in the following ranks to indicate that the technology is fully developed and just being optimised in more expensive models. There will be 5 primary beam type weapons:
[]Anti-proton beams are good at penetrating shields and have good range.[/]
[]Meson tunnelers have very high armor penetration but shorter range and crap shield penetration.[/]
[]H.E.A.T. is a repurposed mining laser which is very powerful but short ranged.[/]
[]Lasers represent a somewhat antiquated system, so they are cheap but not very powerful. Good fire rate, excellent fighter defense option.[/]
[]Phased array beams have a combination of high damage and decent range, with slow refire.[/]

Of course these all come in various flavors and ranks. Still going to have blaster-type weapons, etc, within these categories.
Missiles will be available in several models, broken down primarily in LR, MR, and SR models. Expect the new rocket turret to make an appearance in short range models, boasting high speed and fire rate but horrendous turn speed and range.

Each race gets several unique modules and weapons. Highlights include an emp fighter defense for the feds, organic armor (which may self repair if i can get it to work) for the alliance, hardened shields for the empire, and new smaller camo modules for the rebels.

Like I mentioned, this is still a WIP. I’m going to upload the first rough set of weapons here. Suggestions and advice are taken kindly as long as that’s how they are given. Hope you enjoy what I have so far.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

  • CT

PS. Currently this stuff just overwrites your modules folder. I strongly recommend keeping a virgin back up of your modules folder in case something breaks horribly. Also I am using and thoroughly enjoying Almarin’s ship scale mod. It may be a little unbalanced but hey, what in life isn’t?!
modules.rar (118 KB)
federation.rar (38.8 KB)

Why thank you for complimenting my work. (just wait till you see my NEW mod coming out)