Thats not the easiest task for a beginner, but its possible.
The skins of ships are stored in files with the ending .mat (material).
There is a tool called utf-edit. You can get it from the download section here. It will allow you to browse the internal structure of the .mat files (also .cmp and .3db) and export the skin of a ship.
However, in FL, they didnt make a skin for a single ship, but a whole shipline each uses the same skin file.
So all ships from the same shipline will get the same new skin if you do this.
(There is also a way to edit only a single ship, but you would need to clone it and thats a harder task).

So, what you can do is this:
browse FL's DATA\SHIPS directory and look for the .mat file of teh ships that you want to edit. They are usually in the directories of the "houses" (Liberty, Bretonia, ...).
Now open the file with utf-edit.
browse to the material section and hit export. you you will get a dds file (readable with photoshop).
Now you can edit the skin as you like and once you think its cool, import it to the file again (with utf-edit).

It would be best to create a small mod for this before you start to mess up the game files. (copy the .mat to a new mod folder in FLMM)
I hope this wasnt too complicated. Good luck!

Fjord


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Infinity TC Mod Leading Developer

Thanks for the help!

Whoa.

Stop right there. Don't move.......you are about to step on a land mine.

Here is the proper way to change or re-tint existing freelancer mat files:

1. Use the UTF editor to open EVERY mat file that is called in shiparch for EVERY SHIP. I mean EVERY ONE. Take screenshots of these in the UTF editor and keep scrolling the UTF Editor window down as you do until you can put together a composite of each MAT File so you can print it out and look at the whole thing at once

2. Make a list of each material file that is found in more than one mat file. This will be a VERY LONG LIST. These files are very inscestuous.

3. if you change a texture in one of the FL MAT Files and that texture is used in other FL MAT files, you must insert the changed file in all MAT Files in which it is used.

4. if you do not do this, your ships will change color when they jump from one system to the next and then dock and undock. If you put two affected ships for sale at the same base, when you click on the sales window, you will see both ships with your mat file whether they call the same mat file or not. You ship may launch with the color you intended or it may not take on that color until it jumps, docks, and undocks.

Rematting the standard Freelancer ships is a real pain.


Judge Glock36
Chief Magistrate, District of Insomnia
Asylum 51

tnx Glock for the correction, you are right with that

i think with a find-in-files on materialname you can also get all the mats that need to be edited for a single ship.
you have to search and edit all materials of a ship.

Fjord

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Infinity TC Mod Leading Developer

Okay, maybe its just easier to make my own ship.
Thx Glock!