- A Tutorial On Modding Hardpoints -
open a ship's cmp file with
utf editor. in the left panel there will be a "+" sign next to a "\" sign. click this, and you will get more "folders" (dunno what they are really called) with "+" signs next to them. some of these have folders labeled "hardpoints" in them.
in THAT folder, there will be either "fixed", "revolute", or both of them. "fixed" means its not moving anywhere
and "revolute" means it can turn like a turret. there is likely to be more than 1 "hardpoints" folder in the cmp file, just in different folders, so make sure you check all folders for them.
when you open euther a "fixed" or "revolute" folder, you will be shown a couple of names, sometimes a whole bunch of them. each of these is a hardpoint. go thru the entire cmp file and each of its subfolders and find as many of these as you can, and copy their names into notepad or write them down.
each hardpoint can hold ANYTHING. it doesnt matter what its name is. the way you specify what it can hold (and you have to do this) is to go into shiparch.ini and add the hardpoints there. here is an example of the gun mounts for a patriot:
hp_type = hp_gun_special_3, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04
this says:
hardpoint type(hp_type) is(=) class 3 gun hardpoint(hp_gun_special_3), and it can be mounted at "HpWeapon01", "HpWeapon02", "HpWeapon03", or "HpWeapon04".
but i found some OTHER mounts when i looked in my cmp file. for example, there are the hardpoints "RunningLight01" and "RunningLight02". these are usually decorative lights for the patriot, but i have decided that i am going for gunpower, not asthetics (niceties). so i am going to change that gun line to include these lights, like this:
hp_type = hp_gun_special_3, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04
, RunningLight01, Running Light02
now when i go and buy the patriot, i will have 6 gun points, not 4. but there IS 1 little problem...those running lights already have something mounted to them (namely, lights) - that means that i will NOT be able to use the slots because they will already be in use. they cant be sold (without messing around with the code more than its worth), and trying to unmount them will crash the game (i tried). so now we have to make it so that you dont buy those lights when you buy the ship.
go into goods.ini and find your ship's package (example: lf_package). you will see these lines:
addon = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight01, 1
addon = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight02, 1
this basically means "Attach SlowSmallBlue to mounts HpRunninglight01 and HpRunningLight02 on purchace". you can think of it as a marketing trick, "Buy the Patriot and get free lights already installed and ready to use!". i dont know what the "1" at the end is for, but as long as you have it on there at the end there shouldnt be any probs.
naturally, if you delete these 2 lines, you dont get the free lights any more, but you DO get 2 hardpoints that are no longer in use...this means when you buy the patriot you can mount more useful items, like GUNS, in those 2 slots.
so thats how you add 2 gun points to your patriot, if you do this same thing again with different hardpoints it will sork the same way...if the hardpoint is not listed in "goods.ini" then that means there will be nothing installed in it when you buy the ship, so you can just mod "shiparch.ini" to tell that those 2 hard points are now gun slots.
likewise, you can add more of other things too, not just guns. for example, you could have this:
hp_type = hp_mine_dropper, HpWeapon01
, HpWeapon02
that would give you 2 seperate minedropper slots, you would press "9" for one and "0" for the other (or 5 and 6, or whatever), they wouldnt both activate at the same time. you can add guns/turrets/shield gens/whatever to ANY hardpoint, even the engines or the cockpit - the gun might look really stupid, and possibly be only completely buried within your ship so that you cant see it at all, but it will still fire like a normal gun and the shots you fire from it will go thru your ship without damaging it. it will most likely looks really stupid tho
.
you can add shields, torpedo bays, mines, countermeausres, turrets, thrusters, prob some other stuff too but thats all i can think of right now. in theory, you CAN add "HpCockpit" to your list of turrets and also to your list of guns, and that space will be able to hold either one...IN THEORY. i have never tried this myself but i dont see y it wouldnt work, someone should reply and tell me if they have ever gotten it to work.
end of tutorial
Edited by - admiral_tolwyn on 04-04-2003 21:16:37
Fri Apr 04, 2003 6:13 pm