new to modding

from Sins Forums

as the tittle says im new to the modding stuff. i have read thru countless post and some of the tutorials, although most of it is like a foriegn language, that being said. I'm trying to start out simple by trying to modify the tech cap ship. just wanted to change the starting armor and shields. I downloaded the file to convert the entity files. i copied the tech cap battleship into the entity folder and converted to text and changed the starting values of the armor and shields and saved the file. converted back and then copied back to the gameinfo folder and replaced the old file. I loaded up the game and picked the tec rebels and built a cap ship but nothing seemed to have changed. i played the game for a bit and it didnt dump or crash, so not really sure if i did it correctly or not. I am playing rebellion 1.82

modding
7,153 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

First things first, please tell me you did not replace the file in the original GameInfo folder. The entire point of Sins mod system is that you do not have to change the default game files. That way if something goes wrong, you can always just disable the mod, rather than reinstall the whole game.

If you are using a mod you made in the mod folder, and you enabled this mod from the options tab of the main menu, what is your checksum? If the checksum is zero, then the game is not finding your changed file, probably because your folders are mispelled (it must be GameInfo, not gameinfo) or you have an extra folder somewhere.

For new modders, it might be easier to just download the reference (already converted) files. This would eliminate any conversion issues.

Also, you do not actually need to convert your modded files back into binary. Sins can run the game files in either text (readable) or binary format; it is just more efficient to run binary. It is not really worth it to convert back to binary unless you plan on making a real mod to release to other people.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

I did not replace the original file, i used mod in my mod folder. the check sum is 76579228. I also modified a corvette by increasing the armor, which worked when i loaded the game but the file is specific to the rebel corvette. where as the tec cap ship is not. why that woulld make a difference im not sure. My goal is to actually create and build my own style of ships but i am far from that at this point. Guess i could go buy modding for dummies.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

What was name of the specific file you changed?

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

CorvetteTechRebel is the name of the file i changed which worked, CAPITALSHIP_TECHBATTLESHIP is the name of the other file that i attempted to change but it did not work. I don't know enough to link the actual file with the change. i guess i could copy it in text and then paste it but its a simple change of just adding a higher start value to the ships shields and armor

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting snowdog, reply 4


August 2, 2015 2:34:34 PM from  Sins of a Solar Empire Forums
CorvetteTechRebel is the name of the file i changed which worked, CAPITALSHIP_TECHBATTLESHIP is the name of the other file that i attempted to change but it did not work. I don't know enough to link the actual file with the change. i guess i could copy it in text and then paste it but its a simple change of just adding a higher start value to the ships shields and armor

Use this for whole files, or just paste the section that you changed here.

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

i changed the maxhullpoints, everything else is the same.

basePrice
credits 5000.000000
metal 800.000000
crystal 450.000000
slotCount 100.000000
BuildTime 75.000000
MaxHullPoints
StartValue 6000.000000
ValueIncreasePerLevel 144.000000
MaxShieldPoints
StartValue 1500.000000
ValueIncreasePerLevel 162.000000

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting snowdog, reply 6

i changed the maxhullpoints, everything else is the same.

basePrice
credits 5000.000000
metal 800.000000
crystal 450.000000
slotCount 100.000000
BuildTime 75.000000
MaxHullPoints
StartValue 6000.000000
ValueIncreasePerLevel 144.000000
MaxShieldPoints
StartValue 1500.000000
ValueIncreasePerLevel 162.000000

Uh, it looks like you changed the cost as well. Capitalships typically cost 3000 credits. But it looks like it should work.

You are aware the TECH_BATTLESHIP is the Kol Battleship, right?

Try moving the corvette file, so that only the TECH_BATTLESHIP file remains. The checksum you're getting might be coming from that file, and it is not reading the battleship file for some reason.

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

finally got it to work, sorta. built a cap ship that has mor armor and shields but a few mins later it dumped. im using the E4X mod, also a couple of the mini mods. research, ship limit increase and no super weapon mods...............fixed it