I’ll throw this question out to the experienced modders:
Is there an easy way to mod in a single weapon, available to all races, with a new turret sprite, that doesn’t involve editing the individual race turret collections? (That’s the files like turrets_federation.dds and so forth.) I’d like to put in a single, nowhere-near-fair superlaser that I can use on the single-player missions to blow off steam, but I’d prefer to not have to edit a new turret into every single race. I got pretty close (separate install - “cheat” - like the DLCs, with a single turrets_cheat.dds file with just the one turret in it), but the battle screen couldn’t find the turret (the ship kept coming up with white boxes on each turret, and the whole thing was slow and choppy). I put a line in each race’s text file to map the turret, but obviously something is missing.
Just kind of curious. If I can do this as a separate install or such, I thought I might slowly build up a collection of criminally unbalanced modules to be used just for S&G.
Your answer is in the modding 101 pinned topic. viewtopic.php?f=23&t=5220 3rd post down were it explans how to lock custom turrets or to make compatible with xx version.
I appolgise that you have to sift through the various hints, tips and tricks for modding GSB to find the relevent information. Looking at the question i thought i should point ot some of the limitations to the instructions that i wrote.
The very long winded instruction talks about replacing icon = turret to icon = someawesomeimmage.dds so the game will display the correct graphic in the fleetHQ and summary screen without having to modify federation.txt.
So in this case the limitation is this. You can have a nice pretty picture in the ship design screen of your new turret.
However in the game it will look like a standard race turret.
From this - i am thinking that you have a turret sprite that you want to use for the simulation / battle screen part
And that confirms it, the white box is because each of the races did not know where to find this new turret to use in the battle part / simulation screen.
So the above solution will not meet all your requirements.
Based on my current knowledge, i do not think there is a way you can introduce a new turret in the “simulation screen” (where all the fireworks happen) without resorting to editing the race.txt file. Now just because i don’t know how, doesn’t mean it cant be done.
::Update::
Cliff has confirmed that there is no way to override the vanilla files without recoding of GSB
(so in other words the only way to get new turret sprites into a vanilla race is to edit the race file)
However he has said that he is looking at placing this feature in GTB.
So Lonestar after that tinkering - did you manage to work out a way to include new turret sprites into a vanilla race ?
Or do you need to tinker around some more. (i might do the same when i get home)
LOL, Um I have not been able to tinker I am looking for a ship viewer fro homeworld two so i can pull the Fighter and Bomber from it. The ones i got are waaaay too small to use and i need to get them anew.
Ok I did it!! I was a dummy and forgot the first position was ZERO(0) The way to make this happen is to simply make your turret file, Make a new turret mapping file, Add them BOTH into the bitmaps\turret folder, then simply add in this code to each race file at the end of the turret mapping part.
for this example we are going to use test_turret_v1 for the turret shorthand name, hvybeam_laser.dds for the turret dds file and new_turrets.dds for the turret mapping file
Ah. I had edited all the race files with the new line of text, I did put a new turret mapping file (cheat_turrets.dds) in with the others, but the individual turret sprite (turret_hammer.dds) was elsewhere. Perhaps that is why it was off?
I was kind of hoping to have all my “cheat” modules in a separate folder (kind of like a DLC race) to make it easier to remove them if I choose. But if that won’t work, this will be OK. At least not having to edit the race turret mapping files takes most of the rough spots out.
