Unpack exe:
Before unpacking,
backup Lang\, equip.all and PolarisSector.exe
The exe will not run in the "full"
mode, as unpacker only. To unpack all, use "PolarisSector.exe -extract
all" command. You can also extract a specific resource or directory.
These are the
configuration files:
BldInfo\ (all
buildings and ground units)
CellInfo\ (these requires in-game editor, as
these are binary files containing info about ship hulls, decks and cells)
Config.a\ (graphics for planets - generator
settings)
Doctrine\ (guidance for AI ship designer)
Lang\ (language files)
StarNames\Stars.sn (star naming)
Container.all
equip.all (properties of all in-game equipment
items), with the 1.06d and DLC, it is a file loading several other files, you
can create your customized items.
Espionage.ini
GroundCombat.ini
missiletrap.ini
PLANTYPE.INI
ShipBody.all (all in-game ships), if you make
many ships from each type between all races, perhaps you see wrong graphics
with blackholes and other things in orbit from the planets. The solution is
create more shiptype and do not add more of a ID_MOD 1 for each type.
ShipType.all
Tech_t.all (all in-game technologies)
Other configurable things require a bit more.
The mod-kit:
It allows to compile
rtq.* files. They are responsible for diplomacy, races, new buildings a
resources, some AI, etc. Also there is a very big API that you can use to
interact with the code.
These files require
compilation - there is a .bat file there that does this. Also there is a
document with description of the events the code throws when it requests some
configurable information.
If you want use the
heroes and destroy planets ability by example, I recomend you edit the files
from my Star Wars mod, some missing lines were added and everything work better
for it.
Cells Editor and game
start options:
PolarisSector.exe -extract all <- extracts all packed
resources, overwrites Beta6 files!
PolarisSector.exe -extract \"path\" <- extracts
one file or directory
PolarisSector.exe -config [locale] <- shows options screen
PolarisSector.exe -start \"path\" <- starts the
saved battle
PolarisSector.exe -design <- starts the cells editor -
there are some controls:
in the hull selections screen:
Shift + num changes races
in the edit design screen:
C - toggles cells editing mode
S - saves the current cells map
O - calculates cells and saves an "overlay"
alpha-channel image of the drawn cells to be applied at the top-view image.
This is for the easy and perfect alignment of the drawn cells and the top-view
image.
H - toggles hidden design state
Ctrl+R - resets cells
Shift+1 - selects normal cell
Shift+Key 0 = Sharatar
Shift+Key 1 = Arians
Shift+Key 2 = Drills
Shift+Key 3 = Gavakens
Shift+Key 4 = Logans
Shift+Key 5 = Magellans
Shift+Key 6 = Humans
Shift+Key 7 = Vagalars
Shift+Key 8 = Urgans
Shift+Key 9 = Lumens
Shift+Key 9 = Pirates
Key A = Pirates
Key B = Bogovans
Shift+2 - selects engine cell
Shift+3 - selects weapon cell
Shift+Click - start placing cells
Delete dot - Ctrl + click. Or hold Ctrl while frame-selecting
to remove.
Ctrl+C copies the cells layout of one deck and Ctrl+V pastes it to another
deck.
If you do not play the DLC, you will not see the Lumens
faction. The default_lum.ds created by the designer can be used as a default.ds
without problems. It will not show the Lum, just it.
When exiting CellsEditor mode, all designs are saved to My
Games/.../CellsEditor/Default.ds, all new cells are saved to My
Games/.../CELLINFO
When you create a new design with the Lumens DLC, the game
will create a default_lum.ds, you must copy it and rename to default.ds. After
it, use both files with your mod. It will be able the designs for the DLC and
the normal game.
CELLINFO - if you leave it in the /My Games/Polaris Sector/ directory,
the game will use it anyway.
CellsEditor - what important there is the default.ds file.
If you want to create some more default designs, they would be saved there.
Then you can copy this file into the /My Games/Polaris Sector/ , then it will
be a master file, or copy directly into the game directory, overwriting the
existing one, then it will be also a backup copy
DESIGNS is the directory where all your custom designs are saved
during usual gaming, no need to save it anywhere, just leave there or delete
Default Pirate designs are used only for the initial Pirate
attack on the Hard game setting. If you do not add them, there just will not be
that initial attack. All other pirate designs are created automatically.
To create a default design, exit the cells editing mode (C
key). These designs will be saved on exit in the cellseditor/ directory.
About the default
designs. Are they neccesary for all the factions?
Generally, not. As
far as I understand, the game should not crash without them - one would just
not be getting them on the beginning.
Another story is the Tutorial - you would need
to either have the Tutorial designs, or disable or modify it.
But if you create
them, you should use this "polarissector.exe -design initial" because
not all technologies are present in the begining with all the races. The game
will crash if you make designs for the begining, not hidden designs, which they
add technologies which they were not researched yet.
Questions and answers:
How can I create a mod
path?
In Remember.cfg file,
after Locale variable, it is possible to insert the line like this:
CurrentModPath "mod_path/"
This will mean the game will first be looking
for the resources in the "mod_path/" subdirectory of the game directory.
So instead of overwriting files, you can put all the modified files there.
Each race has a ID.
Where can I know it?
They are in const.a
file:
def const raceSha = 0
def const raceEry = 1
def const raceDrill = 2
def const raceGava = 3
def const raceLog = 4
def const raceMag = 5
def const raceHum = 6
def const raceVag = 7
def const raceUrg = 8
def const racePirates = 9
def const raceBogovans = 10
def const raceCount = 11
I can create a render
rotating a model and I am dividing it at frames. My unique point would
be.......do I need 320 png files per model? can they be 360? or less? For a
complete rotation, I have 429 images.......perhaps deleting some of them.....
You need 64 * Extra
number of files, when Extra is any number more than 0. This is set in .idx file
that described a ship image.
Usually it's 320 for a big ship and 64 for a
small ship.
What program do you use
for save them? I have seen how they are more compressed than my files. I made
them with photoshop but perhaps you have made them with paintshop or other
unknow program for me.
Check this - https://pngmini.com
There are actually many versions, including ones for the batch processing. It
will compress 4 times or more.
Tinypng is a
alternative online program where you can compress png files, it is good with
fighter images and top views https://tinypng.com/
Have you a default size
at pixels for the turrets from 6x6, 5x5, 4x4 and 3x3?
Size in pixels is 20x
size in points. So 4x4 turret translates into 80x80 pixels image.
How can I add a unit from
the same type?
You must use the
ID_MOD option in the ShipBody.all
[SHIP_BODY]
Type Drednought
Race Bogovans
ID_MOD 1
What is the maximun
number from ID_MOD?
It can be up to
32768, but clearly big enough to fit any reasonable number of variants.
if you make many
ships from each type between all races, perhaps you see wrong graphics with
blackholes and other things in orbit from the planets. The solution is create
more shiptype and do not add more of a ID_MOD 1 for each type.
Where is the Ion gun weapon in the equip.all?
"Ion gun"
is just a name a Player can see in the game, while the tech codename is
"SCWBST" - you should search for this, and the equip is marked as
[WEAPON] "Blaster". This "Blaster" name is not used, all
names are taken from the "SCWBST" technology.
So, for this item you
can see
CODE: SELECT ALL
CWReg
HalfX 8 // - half Width
HalfY 8 // - half Length
Components_Info
OffY 10 // - how far the shoot starts from the turret
point
RepeatAnimation 2
Sound "D/01_BLASTER" Speed 0.75 // sound :)
Sound "D/02_BLASTER" Speed 0.75 // another sound
variant
Sound "D/03_BLASTER" Speed 0.75
Color RGB 0 255 0 // color
EllipseRad 0.3 // how elliptical it is, 1.0 means round
MaxAgeSize 4.0 // how much it growth while maturing
GlowSizeMult 0.25 // the amount of glow around a shoot
What is the maximun
number of decks?
Currently Max decks
number is 5.
Can I rename the CELLINFO
files?
Yes and I recomend
you create cell files with new names for your new units. Do not use the
original names or perhaps one day reinstalling the game, you will lose them.
What is the maximun
number of turrets?
Note there is also a
limit for turrets - currently it's 50. Note the biggest turret spot (6x6) can
also hold 4 smallest turrets (3x3), so if you place 13 biggest spots, players
can run over turrets limit. I can increase these numbers for sure, but only if
it makes sense.
Are there positions for
the starship weapons? the fire shots are fired from the same positions from
weapons added in the ship designer?
Yes, fire positions
are calculated by the points in the designer. Some controlling parameters are
defined in ship body.all
How do you open the
idx?
.idx is a plain text
file, you can use notepad or any similar tool. There is some syntax in it.
What are the best turn sizes?
The best sizes are
1024x768, 683x512, 512x384 and such.
Testing in game, the
model way down in the window.
To fix this, use post_shift parameter in ShipBody.all, you can try
making it zero or negative, like -0.05. You need to adjust the
"post_shift" value for the ship in ShipBody.all. Make it 0 or less
and the image will go up.
Scale parameters.
You should also use
parameters from shipbody.all - there you can set, for example, game_resolution or game_size parameters to set the size it should
appear in the game. For example, if you make 512x384 image but set game_size
2048, it will appear huge, by scaling other ships down.
How I set the different
parts for the starship. How do you set a zone only for weapons or engines?
First, you need to
set the TopView images for each deck (they are usually in Ships/Top/
directory), but then you need to use the cells editor.
ShipType.all
It sets all the
possible classes. But there is no need for every race to use all these classes.
Where are the files
from the mod-kit in the game?
They are compiled by
the included .bat file - five files are produced - rtq.cht, rtq.rht, rtq.pht,
rtq.gen, rtq.lng. First files are in the game directory, fifth is in the
Lang/Eng/.
Where are the planet
models? the 3D models from the close view. Have they textures?
Planets are
procedurally generated, but textures may help. Look at config.a/presets.ini.
Nebulae and star
backgrounds?
SC/1024/clouds.ini -
combines the background.
How I would add a Super
Star Destroyer?
Actually, you set the
real ship size with it and the game then uses the available images to draw,
adjusting the scale. Smaller images are used for the performance, as most of
times ships are scaled down and there is no need to use huge amount of memory
for these big images.
Where are the weapon
graphics?
Items images are in
the Items/ directory, effects are programmable by setting the parameters in the
equip.all file.
Where are the weapon data?
Equip.all file. Note
there are different parameters for the same weapon for each ship super-class.
Images from races?
Either replace
current ones - Images/races/
or replace in .a files - r_sha.a, for example,
for Sharatars.
Ground and space units?
Space units take
images from the ship rotation if not set specifically (like for containers).
Ground units are very easy.
The research tree?
tech_t.all
For example, to make a basic shield available
from the beginning, search for "SCSHYD" and remove parents. Names to
codes table (to understand what code to look for) is available in
Lang/Eng/tech_t.lng file.
Shield names?
Lang/Eng/tech_t.lng.
Descriptions?
Descriptions are
mostly in Lang/Eng/ files. In the compiled files there are the sources, the
compiler if necessary takes values from there and creates language tables.
A way for create some
as the Death Star. Can I make a space unit a lot bigger and powerful than the
others? of course, it can not be invincible.?
Depends on scale,
actually. Right now the maximum battle field size is about 48x36 KM, so taking
in mind the size of a DS is 160KM, it's not possible to fit it inside the
battle field. Currently the biggest ship in-game is about 2KM in length. Also,
take in mind weapon ranges, that are generally no more than 4KM. So, to make
something as big as DS in-game one should either scale down significantly other
ships, or make a DS smaller or make it a complete different entity, appearing
only at a Global Map level, not in a combat.
A way for destroy
totally a planet. Can I suggest a special bombardement option? with a explosion
effect in the galactic map and next perhaps a replace from a planet by
asteroids.
Look for
UFStarMakeNova API call in .a files
This does not destroy individual planet, but
makes the whole star system bang, clearing all it's planets as a side-effect.
If you need to destroy a single planet, it can be done easily, but need a new
API entry if a visual effect is needed.
When you start a
campaign, you can choose the amount of races but you can not choose exactly
what races. If the player could choose between the different races their enemy,
it would be more fun. Other option can be play against the same race than you
choose as your own race.
It's possible if not
using a generated map, but a pre-generated scenario. There you can just set
what races are playable and what races are present.
What happen if I use
other size for the models?
Generally, nothing.
But you should remember that different sizes significantly hurt in-game memory optimisation.
How can I start a test
battle?
There are easier ways
to start a battle. First, set the "save battle info" switch to on,
the game will then save the battle into the "BattleInfo" directory.
Then rename this directory to something (like Test) and then you can directly
start this battle if you write the AutoRunBattlePath
"Test" as the first
line in Remember.cfg file.
How can I create a
pre-generated scenary?
When you start a new
game, a scenario is being generated and placed into /My Games/Polaris
Sector/Scenario/Gen/ folder. You can take it from there, alter as you wish (for
example, give it a name, image, etc) and copy it into the Game directory
Scenario/ folder.
Also you can take a saved game and do the same
with its galaxy.scn file, but need to decrypt it first. Basically, a pre-generated scenario is
the stripped down saved game file...
How I could make a
campaign with two factions only?
First create a
galaxy you want. Start the game. Then, go to the Scenario/gen/ directory, there
will be the "export.scn" file - this is the generated scenario file.
You can edit it, removing all the races you do not need. Then copy this file
into the Scenario/ folder. It will appear in the game.
Why the face from the
starship is at other direction?
The rotation is not uniform. You can see, it starts
rotating slowly, at the frame 79, when it must be faced straight to the right,
it still looks like 30 degrees down. Then it quickly gain the speed, frame 159
being correct - full up, then frame 239 is gone too far, then slowing down
again.
In my animations the
rotation is uniform - frame 79 (1/4 of 320) is directly right, frame 239 (3/4
of 320) is directly left.
What is the value
game_center 320 240 , what is it? clearly it is not the center from the human
corvette.
It is old info, it is
not used anymore.
How increase the scale
from the top ship images?
The possible solution
is to remove "BIG" modifier after the image name. This will scale the
image two times.
What is the difference
between this line with BIG and without the BIG. Is there a exact value in the
change of the scale?
Well, it should scale
exactly two times. But if necessary I can add a numeric parameter to the BIG
value, to set the necessary scale.
What is the maximun size
for the top images?
It's better to stick
to 2048 max as this size is guaranteed to work on any hardware. But if
necessary, I guess 4096 should also work.
What is the smaller item
size?
There are no items
smaller than 4 points in width or height, so adding very narrow (2 dots) areas has
not sense.
About the lasers, I
want replace the proyectile by the same style than the ion guns.
That's not possible,
they are of completely different type. It's easy to rename "ion guns"
into turbo-lasers and give them possibility to destroy torpedoes.
If I place my damaged
ships at a planet with a shipyard, are they repaired?
Yes, but the planet
should produce nothing at that time - it can either produce things or repair
ships.
If the Ion guns are in
the equip.all, where are the laser gun? is there some special code for edit the
proyectile?
Lasers are also
there. With lasers only the colour can be regulated.
There are 9 music files
named Amb1...9, I suppose that each of them is for one race. Is it correct?
No, these are just
random ambient tracks. Music for races is in the Ogg/Race/ directory
It must be ogg files,
no?
Yes, it must be ogg
file.
If you want to add more music, look for the AmbientTracks and BattleTracks
settings in the Remember.cfg file. You should copy additional tracks to
Ogg/amb/ or Ogg/bat/ and give them a number like "amb10.ogg". Then
they will be taken in the random order.
There is a support
for custom action for fleets - you can add an equipment that can make some
action, add an icon that appears next to the fleet view panel, and add a custom
code as a reaction to this code. This mechanics can be used for a seamless
Death Star planet destruction integration.
I suppose how I can
make a special shield item for fighters. One thing smaller as the nuclear
reactor. Can it be possible? give me a yes or no.
Sure. Just reduce the
top view image of a shield to the same 100x100 size as for the reactor.
Can I write the code at
the *.all files at different position? by example, I would like write all the
ships edited/added after the last line from the file. It would help me to
recognize the changes made by me.
Yes, no problem.
How the game calculate
how many population is neccesary for one starship? I was thinking if I can make
a starship which it needs more population.
Starships do not need
population... You can try set a population resource as a required part for
building some, but I'd better not do this...
If I make text changes,
should I edit the Russian lines? I believe that the answer is yes.
If you are going to
have a Russian version of the mod, then yes. Otherwise, no need.
What will be the
minimun PC requeriments for the game? I would not be surprised if it runs in a
tablet with the lower amount of planets.
Yes, they are quite
low... Except for a big amount of disk space.
What must I edit if I
want rename a weapon? and if do I want rename a researched item?
Lang/Eng/tech_t.lng
file - search the item to rename by the science ID there.
If I remove a item, the
small turret 3x3 from assault shuttles. Can it be a problem?
There should be no
problem. However you'd better also remove one deck then and remove the
"HasTurretOnTopDeck" link from the ShipBody.all entry of the talk
shuttle.
The creation from top
views and cells do not take too many time. But I have not made the fighters
with holes because they look better without them. About balance, depending from
the faction, the Rebels by example have a smaller dreadnought (a Bulkwark MKII)
and it has less weapons than a SSD but it can load more equipment. I believe
how things like these will give the correct balance to the factions.
Yes, you are right.
Remember also setting too many weapon slots on a top deck is not a good idea,
because this makes a Player to have no choice but to place everything on top.
While when slots are mostly broadside, he needs to carefully select, how to use
his deficit top slots. Then interesting idea is to have a non-symmetrical
designs, like placing all big weapon slot at one broadside.
Can I create a specific
weapon from one faction? my idea was if I can make a red laser or from other
color only for one faction. By example, the Empire can fire green turbolaser
(probably the heavy Ion gun renamed) and the Rebels, a red turbolaser.
Sure. New weapon
means new technology. Just make this technology a race-specific one.
Can I add a technology
only for one single race?
Yes, you can add a
race-specific technology but it's a bit tricky. First you need to add a hidden
technology, like those that regulates production (look to the end of tech_t.
All file), then make this tech a parent for all race-specific techs. Then grant
that hidden tech to a race in diplomacy files.
*At Tech_t.all
[TECHNOLOGY] "RACIAL_ENABLER"
Hidden
Info "RACIAL_ENABLER_NAME"
Parents
"BLOCKER" 7
[11:34:17] Vladimir
Ufnarovsky: [TECHNOLOGY] "RACE_SPECIFIC_LASER"
Info "RACE_SPECIFIC_LASER_NAME"
Parents
"RACIAL_ENABLER" 0
*place call UFGrantTechnology(raceEry,
"RACIAL_ENABLER") into player.a, phrase SetPlayerRacialBonuses()
How can I add
customized ground units and buildings?
See
BldInfo/Marines.ini and GroundCombat.ini as an example
Is there a time change
feature?
Look at rtq.a, search
some like this.
call
UFSetGameTimeScale(3 * 24 * 60) // minutes per tick
call UFSetGameStartYearAndTime(2030, 2269) // start year and start tick
call UFSetFullDateStringFormat(Yes, Yes, Yes, No, No, No)
call UFSetShortDateStringFormat(Yes, Yes, No, No, No, Yes)
call UFSetFullDurationStringFormat(Yes, Yes, Yes, No, No)
call UFSetShortDurationStringFormat(Yes, Yes, No, No, No)
call UFSetAltShortDurationStringFormat(No, Yes, No, No, No)
Remember, the *.a
files are part from the files which they must be compiled after be edited.
What do you do after
the compilation from the *.a files?
You need to replace
rtq.cht, rtq.gen, rtq.pht and rtq.rth files. And probably rtq.lng if you change
texts.
In the shipbody file,
what is the size value?
It is nothing, a
un-used feature.
I have changed the
resolution from a unit and now the proyectiles are fired out the model or in
bad positions.
If you change size
values, you need to re-generate cells - enter cells editor and re-save cells
for this body - this will re-generate fire positions. You do not need reset and
create again the cells. Just save again with the key S.
What are the
requeriments for the videos from by example the folder OGG\Video\Drill ? any
special resolution? are they loops?
Yes, they must be
looped and 1024x1024 in size. If there are just no videos, the game will use
the default .png (Images/Races/Big/). You can edit the *.a files from races for
force the game to load the default png files or change the names and folders
from videos.
Is there anything as a
planetary shield? the shield can force to the enemy to realize a ground attack.
Space defence
buildings, they lower success rate of bombing quite a lot. BldInfo/Spacedefence.ini
Property bpDefends
Parm 0.000000
Parm 25.00000 <- this sets the percentage of defence
But if you make this higher I would also suggest increasing the consumption
that is set here:
Consumes Gravitonium 0.010000
Consumes Reidium 0.010000
My space units are very
dark and I see them badly in the space, any solution?
To make them better
visible, you can switch health bars constantly on by AlwaysDrawHealthbar
setting. Other solution can be edit the backgrounds or create them with more
brightness.
Are all the types of ship
neccesary for a race?
No.
Can I add a new type of
ship?
You can also add new
types at ShipType.all , but if you want AI to use them, you need also modify
Doctrines/ files that contain guidelines for AI design.
One very important
tip. The type in ShipType.all have a hidden number id, if you add one new type,
it must be added after the previous type. Take it at consideration, specially
if you added previously other type with new units and cells because clearly
some data will be saved in the cells.
Can I make a Assult_Shuttle
with hyperdrive capabilities?
Yes, but you need
then to move it into "medium ship" class instead of "small
ship". Make it like Corvette but just much smaller.
How can I change the
amount of Assault Gunboats in a hangar?
hangarUse 10.
Can I add a normal ship
graphics for fighter type? without the 64 images file?
Yes.
Can I rename the names of
each type of ship?
Yes, these are values
in ShipType.all, but better to change also in ShipType.lng. By default the
russian file is the basic file and it has some of the lines.
What is POWER_CONS
-1.4e+05?
This means -140000.
Max Output power from a
engine. Is the value named Output in items.all?
Yes, you are correct.
The value can be any reasonable number, but it's better to keep it within
several millions limit.
What is the Range and
AdjustedRange in a weapon from items.all? what are the max values for them?
Range is the value
used for internal computations of the weapon efficiency, AdjustedRange is the
real range. In the ideal live these two would be the same. But having two
values allows you to regulate the AI behaviour - how they construct their ships
and how they evaluate a danger from other ships.
- What are these values
from shipbody.all? what are their max values?
CODE: SELECT ALL
own_weight 0.000000
hullMult 1.000000
weightMult 1.000000
own_hull 6400
own_weight - if you
want to have a weight that adds on top of a regular weight from armour and components.
hullMult - a multiplier to the armour damage cap
weightMult - a multiplier to the armour weight
own_hull - a "no armour" multiplier
How can I add a new type
of unit without a cells file in the beginging?
There is a small
problem which it will be fixed in the future (I do not know if it will be in
the final version). The problem here is there is no default
EV_DeathStarI.cli/EV_DeathStarI.clr files and no Super_weapon body for race 0
(Sharatars).
Either copy any
.cli/.clr files from the CELLINFO/ directory as a
EV_DeathStarI.cli/EV_DeathStarI.clr, or make first Super_weapon a Sharatar
body. Then launch the game once and you can make it back Human body - it will
create a default EV_DeathStarI.cli/EV_DeathStarI.clr set.
Max Output power from a engine.
Is the value named Output in items.all?
Yes. The value can be
any reasonable number, but it's better to keep it within several millions
limit.
What is the Range and
AdjustedRange in a weapon from items.all? what are the max values for them?
Range is the value
used for internal computations of the weapon efficiency, AdjustedRange is the
real range. In the ideal live these two would be the same. But having two
values allows you to regulate the AI behaviour - how they construct their ships
and how they evaluate a danger from other ships.
What are these values
from shipbody.all? what are their max values?
own_weight 0.000000
hullMult 1.000000
weightMult 1.000000
own_hull 6400
own_weight - if you
want to have a weight that adds on top of a regular weight from armour and
components.
hullMult - a multiplier to the armour damage cap
weightMult - a multiplier to the armour weight
own_hull - a "no armour" multiplier
What is this POWER_CONS
-1.4e+05? perhaps -14000 + ?
No, this means
-140000.
Is there any limit with
the position from the tech in the Tech_t.all file?
No, there is no
actual limits.
How can I edit the names
from stars and planets? the stars.lng from eng folder is empty and I tried
editing the russian file but I did not see any change.
You need to edit
directly in StarNames/Stars.sn file. Planet names are created as StarName +
Number, but they can be given names via .a files -via
call UFSetPlanetName(PlanetHandle, NewName)
If you can, can you tell
me why are there files with only a END written in them?
Those file do not
need a translation in English, they use raw names from appropriate config
files. Other languages use translation.
Can I disable the
tutorial option from the game menu?
You cannot remove the
option, but you can easily make it non-functional. Just look for the
StartTutorial() phrase in tutorial.a and place the exit command in the
beginning of it.
Can I add 325 entries to
this part from the race .a files? If I can add all the list from SW planets
here. Probably it would be the best.
phrase AddColonyNames()
this.ColonyNames add next /*idx:2379*/L"Dantooine"
this.ColonyNames add next /*idx:2380*/L"Yavin IV"
this.ColonyNames add next /*idx:2381*/L"MonCalamari"
end phrase
Sure you can. But
note, this AddColonyNames() phrase is a race-specific, so every race has it's
own set of names.
What about the planet
textures?
They are completely
procedurally generated... Have a look at Config.a/* files...
Are there a file named
config or it is divided between several of .a files?
No, there is a
directory in the Pack file named Config.a, there are two .ini files in it...
What is the file
imgsize.ht from mygames\Polaris Sector\ folder?
It's a generated file
with cashed image sizes. If you remove it, first game loading will take longer,
as well as first opening of a science or designer screen. After exiting the
game, it will be re-generated.
what must I delete from
the SCENARIO file if I want two races only?
Allowed &&
HomeworldFor
If I add a gaia planet in
the homeworld system, always there are pirates in orbit.
Yes, this is done on
the game start-up in .a files.
What must I edit if I
want reduce the speed from a upgrade? from my point of view, it is a dead end
because perhaps the time for the upgrade is given by the stuff added in the
ship.
Yes, it's calculated
as a fraction of a new production cost by the changed components.
If I can remove a faction
from the creation game screen, what must I make? imagine if I want make a mod
where there is only two factions. Because for me, now, the unique option would
duplicating these two factions between the others.
in the racial .a file
comment out the line
Attribute PlayableRace = Yes
What are these
multipliers?
StdBuildMultiplier 10
StdSupportMultiplier 0.015
StdBuildMultiplier -
the multiplier for the required resources to build
StdSupportMultiplier - the multiplier for the required resources to maintain
Is there a way for reduce
the maintenance from starships? I am wrong or perhaps it is set by a % from the
materials neccesary for to build the unit.
Yes, it's a % from
materials, multiplied by the StdSupportMultiplier...
How many time does it
reduce each shipyard the creation from a unit? is there a formula for calculate
this?
Each shipyard
produced Production and Orbital production, so the formula to calculate is to
divide the required prod. and orb.prod. of a design to the values produced by
shipyards.
If I add more different
units to them. Do they go to use them? I do not say from units from different
type to the defaults. Just several type of fighters and corvettes. I have tried
but I do not see them with nothing new.
Yes, they will use
them, but they should be written in their doctrines... And maybe modify a
little pirates.a
What about the default
pirate designs?
These designs are
used on the Hard difficulty for the scripted initial attacks, nothing more.
Other pirate attacks use usual generated designs that should not be designed in
the designer.
Can I rename this files? DB17.15
27.03.2016.ds Including in info.txt.
Sure. Also, info.txt
is more about information, the games searches for .ds files
About planets. What are
exactly one by one these values?
CODE: SELECT ALL
[Temperate]
GradientSteps=9
GradientDirection=1
Palette1=0,220,200,180
Palette2=5,179,160,120
Palette3=15,153,143,92
Palette4=25,115,128,77
Palette5=49,42,102,41
Palette6=50,69,108,118
Palette7=51,17,82,112
Palette8=55,9,62,92
Palette9=100,2,43,68
These is the
colouring scheme. Note, there are 9 Palette entries (the number defined by
GradientSteps).
For each palette entry, first number indicated the "hight" of the
terrain it indicated, 50 being the "sea level", 0 - highest
mountains, 100 - deepest ocean. Other heights are interpolated between given
values.
How can I edit the color
from fighter thrusters?
You need to edit the
engine color, look for the ExhaustColor parameter.
Is it possible to add in
new research / what it affects and what it takes to get it? I would like to
look at making planet research better, e.g. expanding number of planet slots,
unlocking different types of buildings.
Adding a new research
is quite simple. Just add a new entry to the tech_t.all, giving it a new
science ID. One also needs to define the parents of the research, this defines
how to get it.
I would like to redo by a
mod the planets. And ideally I want to recreate this planet classification:
Is it possible? What are the constraints to know regarding the addition of
planets?
Yes, it is totally
possible. You just make a type for them and tune planet visualiser parameters
to make it look like you want.
Look at plantype.ini and config.a/ directory (latter - in a pack, so need to
extract it first).
Regarding the galaxy
generation at start and the AI , is it something to know or the AI doesn't
really care about the planet type name?
AI does not really
care. But there are guidelines on where to generate these planets, how often,
which can be a homeworld, etc.
Apparently there is a
kind of "starting set" of planets for the game generation, is it
modificable without crashing the game at some stage or impairing the AI?
Yes, it is totally
modificable, AI is made to adopt to the available set.
I have a small question
about the meaning of very good, normal, very bad parameters in the plantype.ini
CODE: SELECT ALL
PLANET
Normal "Heavy" "Heavy_name"
PLANET
VeryGood "Gaia" "Gaia_name"
PLANET
VeryBad "Exhausted2" "Exhausted2_name"
What it means ? I do not see what it impacts.
Actually, nothing.
It's obsolete.
On antoher side, still
for curiosity, I can't open the .raw files in the MAPS folder (doesn't seem to
the .raw used in digital cameras). I suppose they are the height maps for the
planets.
These are pure bitmap
files, three of four bytes per pixel and no header.
Do somebody have an idea
of what it is? And how to open them.
Just textures. Height
maps are generated - can be configured with config.a/ files.
I'm playing on 900 stars
and each has 3 planets, is there a way to randomise number of planets to say
2-9 per star? I noticed you can change / add planets to a system manually.
Currently the hardcoded maximum is 6 planets per star.
To influence the automatic generation, you can play with PlanType.ini file.
Events / exploration
options. Is there a way to make more events happen? Even on expored planets /
stars?
Yes, but mostly via
rtq. files.
TUTORIALS:
Making a fighter guide:
-First I have a 3Dmax 9 scene made for the old game SW Empire
at War because it looks good and it has a export tool with a animations option.
-Now I need a rotation animation with 64 frames. I use a
previously made animation from other object. Look the keys from the animation
in the positions 15 and 47, they are very important.
-I made a group from all the fighter mesh and I linked them
to the box. Now I have the fighter making the 360º rotation.
-I export it to alo, the SW Empire at War format.
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1WqEaBD
-Now with the alo file, I can open it with the aloviewer, a
old tool from SW Empire at War game. I can play the rotation animation from the
fighter in the correct position and zoom. I record it with a Avermedia external
capture hardware but you can record it with many other programs or hardware. It
is not a very important matter.
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1PdHhgS
-The next step is with the video from the animation recorded,
divide it at png images from each frame. I used the RAD Video tools, you can
find them here http://www.radgametools.com/bnkdown.htm
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1ZJMNN2
-Now, you will see all the frames from the video divided at
png image files. You must select the 64 frames which you want. I use some
additional bat and excell files for it.
*One bat for create a list from the choosen
png.
*I edit the list with
macromedia dreamweaver because this program uses tabulations and I can make a
tabulation from the name files showed in the list.
*Next I can copy the
list of files and paste it at a excell file where I can divide thanks to the
tabulation the name from the png files choosen.
*After it, I copy
this list of files at one old msdos command for copy the files and paste them
with a different name. I recomend you watch the video.
-Probably this part of the process be more strange for some
of you. However, I do not know how more I can show you it and it is not very
difficult.
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1V4S9vM
-The next part is the
easier. It can be made with the psd added by me named Guia_Modelos_cazas2.psd http://1drv.ms/23cc0is and my bunch actions for photoshop http://1drv.ms/23cc1Dd
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1JfjIBW
At few seconds, you
can get the four files neccesary for the fighter. After it, you can use it for
a new in game fighter. I recomend you check the questions and answers section
where you can find how compress the png files a bit more.
Making a starship guide:
-It is similar to the creation from a Fighter.
-First I have a 3Dmax 9 scene made for the old game SW Empire
at War because it looks good and it has a export tool with a animations option.
-Now I need a rotation animation with 320 frames. I use a
previously made animation from other object. Look the keys from the animation
in the positions 79 and 239, they are very important.
-I made a group from all the starship mesh and I linked them
to the box. Now I have the model making the 360º rotation.
-I export it to alo, the SW Empire at War format.
-Now with the alo file, I can open it with the aloviewer, a
old tool from SW Empire at War game. I can play the rotation animation from the
fighter in the correct position and zoom. I record it with a Avermedia external
capture hardware but you can record it with many other programs or hardware. It
is not a very important matter.
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1TGENbM
-The next step is with the video from the animation recorded,
divide it at png images from each frame. I used the RAD Video tools, you can
find them here. http://www.radgametools.com/bnkdown.htm
I have not recorded the complete extract from the png files
because it is a bit long. But clearly you must extract all them and next select
the correct 320 from the complete 360º rotation. I save them with a special
name because it helps me to work with them later.
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1LeRVC9
-Now, you will see all the frames from the video divided at
png image files. You must select the 320 frames which you want. I use some
additional bat and excell files for it.
*One bat for create a list from the choosen
png.
*I edit the list with
macromedia dreamweaver because this program uses tabulations and I can make a
tabulation from the name files showed in the list.
*Next I can copy the
list of files and paste it at a excell file where I can divide thanks to the
tabulation the name from the png files choosen.
*After it, I copy
this list of files at one old msdos command for copy the files and paste them
with a different name. I recomend you watch the video.
-Probably this part of the process be more strange for some
of you. However, I do not know how more I can show you it and it is not very
difficult.
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1R3JKoV
-The next part is the
easier. With photoshop presets you must convert the extracted and selected png
images for the game. I start creating the a 512x384 png image from the model,
bigger starships as battleships can require a 1024x768 image in the begining.
At few seconds, you
can get the four files neccesary for the starship and you can add it to the
game. If you take a look, I use a free png plugin named super png, it will
compress the png a lot more and easily. I told in the begining from the
document about it.
Video links-à http://1drv.ms/1TACGEZ
LAST UPDATE FROM 8 Abril
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