You're right, this has been covered before in a tutorial which has sadly disappeared so i'll give you a rundown on how to do this.

If you're using original planets to resize then do the following, goto SOLARARCH.ini and create a new entry for your planet like this using this particular planet as an example. I've made this one have a size of 15000,

[Solar
nickname = planet_watbluislcld_15000
ids_name = 60203
ids_info = 60204
type = PLANET
DA_archetype = solar\planets\planet_watbluislcld\planet_watbluislcld_15000.sph
material_library = solar\planets\planet_watbluislcld.txm
material_library = solar\planets\detailmaps\detailmap_ocean.txm
material_library = solar\planets\detailmaps\detailmap_ground01.txm
material_library = solar\planets\atmosphere.txm
material_library = solar\planets\planet_watbluislcld\planet_watbluislcld.mat
mass = 1000000
solar_radius = 15000
shape_name = NNM_SM_MEDIUM_FOREST_MOON

Three lines to worry about are,

nickname = planet_watbluislcld_15000 <-------- i name my resized planet with the new size

DA_archetype = solar\planets\planet_watbluislcld\planet_watbluislcld_15000.sph

I'll get onto this in a second but you need a new sph file

solar_radius = 15000 <----- change to new planet size

Back to the sph file. Locate this in the relevant planet folder which in this case is DATA\SOLAR\PLANETS\PLANET_WATBLUISLCLD. In there you will find the original planet_watbluislcld_4000.sph file. Just make a copy of this and rename it to the new planet size. Then open this file up with the UTF editor and find the RADIUS entry. Click on that and edit it as a float array. You will see 2 numbers, change the top one to the new radius of your planet, in this case 15000 and save it.

All you need to do then is add the new planet into your system but remember to change the death zone size as well, specially if you're using FLExplorer as it won't do the new death zone size so you need to amend it. Think that's it

Thanks for you help.

how big are planets normally just to get a size, and where is the texture for the dyson sphere? (thinking BIG)

SO SAYS TEH HAPZORZ!!!

Planet sizes vary from 100 to 4000. The dyson sphere is not actually a planet but a starsphere background located here,

data\solar\starsphere\starsphere_St03b.cmp

Using this as your system background will give the illusion that you are actually inside the Dyson sphere. So adding this entry to your system ini file will reproduce this,

[Background
nebulae = solar\starsphere\starsphere_St03b.cmp

Edited by - Gibbon on 2/8/2007 9:43:15 AM

*blink* so is it not possible too set up a base on a planet?

Only if you place a planet or base in the dyson sphere, then you could dock at it. Remember the sphere is a system sized background giving the illusion you are inside it.

no...i mean the outside, where you can actually fly along it.

SO SAYS TEH HAPZORZ!!!

lol, there is no inside, its a sphere, the other side would just all be rock =D, all docking of the dyson sphere would be on the inside.

www.mod.pff-clan.us

Openlancer

i am so confused... mission whatever, last one, you go through the alien gate to the system with the planet and that giant wall... that is a background? how can you fly across it? and how do you make the zones that if you fly into it you get transported elsewhere like when the sheild goes down in the nomad lair.

SO SAYS TEH HAPZORZ!!!

The Dyson Sphere (the outside) that you see when you enter the system is a large flat plane that has a couple of dents in it for the trench and entrance. When you destroy the shield generaters and enter the Sphere you are jumping from one system INI to another, the inside is a starsphere that has 3 textures randomly tile mapped several dozen times on the surface, the whole jump between systems is controlled in the M13.ini.

**shuffles of with a new headache**

1: so the plane is just like any object- if so, what is it called? 2: can that be done in regular fl.

SO SAYS TEH HAPZORZ!!!

In theory you could make a gigantic planet with no deathzone, then put a base on its surface. You could make the base look like a city, and be dockable. Just look at the warriors of the sky mod, they made several isles with dockable cities on them.