the easiest way i know of to edit starting money:

i'm sure there's an easier way:
Data\Missions\M01a\m01a.ini

[Mission
mission_title=1
mission_offer=1
reward=2000
npc_ship_file=missions\m01a\npcships.ini

just change the reward. this is the first mission you deal with, which is amazingly easy, considering. as a result, you get a huge reward, buy a fun ship, and get to kickin' the butt.

hi eveyone, I've made some discoveries regarding ships stats and editing, as folows: there are some hidden hardpoints on the folowing ships, which are included in the CMP files but not activated by the game:

Piranha - 1 rear turret
Barracuda - 1 rear turret
Centurion - 1 rear turret
Stilleto - 1 Turret, fires forward as well

these can be activated in the shiparch.ini by placing the folowing lines:
after this line: hp_type = hp_countermeasure_dropper, HpCM01
hp_type = hp_turret_special_4, HpTurret01
hp_type = hp_turret_special_3, HpTurret01
hp_type = hp_turret_special_2, HpTurret01
hp_type = hp_turret_special_1, HpTurret01
and before the torpedo hardpoint.
this activates a level 4 turret on the fighters above.
Also i've found new hardpoints on the very heavy fighters:
1 forward gun on Hammerhead
1 forward gun on Anubis
2 forward guns on Sabre
and none on Titan...
The beauty of it comes now: it is posible to alter the CMP files, but ONLY with a hex editor(like the Hackman Hex Editor), and change, for example the torpedo hardpoint to a turret hardpoint.
Until a unpacker for this files is programmed, this is the best option.
And it works! I've jus tried it on the Kusari Dragon, a fighter that was screaming for a turret and I got one...of course with the loss of the Torpedo HP.
But since I don't use torpedoes very often, I prefer a turret instead. it can't fire bacwards however, I have to work on that...

On the other side, someone said he got a Nomad turret and when mounted it was not visible on his ship. It's true, and here is how u can make it appear:
first of all u must enable it to be lootable...or even buyable from a base...i made it buyable on Osiris.
Then these lines have to be added to weaponequip.ini:

DA_archetype=equipment\models\weapons\li_smlturret.cmp
material_library=equipment\models\li_equip.mat
replacing the old ones...this will make it similar to any mounted turret.

As for the nomad guns, this is easier...these are declared in the weaponequip.ini and in weapongood.ini. all u have to do is add the folowing lines to market_misc.ini, in the st01_01, st01_02 and st02_01 bases:

MarketGood=special_nomad_gun01, 10, 0, 10, 10, 0, 1
MarketGood=special_nomad_gun02, 16, 0, 10, 10, 0, 1
MarketGood=special_nomad_gun03, 16, 0, 10, 10, 0, 1
MarketGood=nomad_turret01_mark01, 16, 0, 10, 10, 0, 1

and they will be buyable at the Osiris. I did also alter their energy consumption in weapon_equip.ini, as folows:

Gun
nickname=special_nomad_gun01
ids_name=263532
ids_info=264532
DA_archetype=equipment\models\weapons\co_proton_cooker.cmp
material_library=equipment\models\ge_equip.mat
HP_child=HPConnect
hit_pts=6752
explosion_resistance=1
debris_type=debris_normal
parent_impulse=20
child_impulse=80
volume=0
mass=10
hp_gun_type=hp_gun_special_8
damage_per_fire=0
power_usage=37
refire_delay=0.25
muzzle_velocity=699.3
use_animation=Sc_fire
toughness=25.4
flash_particle_name=no_gun01_rank01_flash
flash_radius=15
light_anim=l_gun01_flash
projectile_archetype=special_nomad_gun01_ammo
separation_explosion=sever_debris
auto_turret=false
turn_rate=90
lootable=true
LODranges=0, 20, 60, 100

ond to the other 2 as well, changing the power usage to a more realistic value...
Thay have very cool visual and audio efects too..nice )

Michael, please could you specify the two additional hardpoints on the sabre you are referring to. Do you need to alter the .cmp file to activate them? And if so, how do you alter the .cmp file? Is this Hackmann Hex Editor all you need for?
And where are these two hardpoints on the ship itself? I for myself never could mount those two "hardpoints" under the wings. They look like all other hardpoints but I never could mount anything on them.

Thanks for your help!

Edited by - Jack on 17-03-2003 18:31:47

Yeah, on the Sabre it's got to be those 2 underwing mounts.

Also, there's an easier way to change what goes on each mount. The syntax you see is:

hp_type = [weapon type, [location1, [location2...

so if you wanted say...all turrets on the Sabre, you change all the stuff in the shiparch.ini to:

hp_type = weapon_turret_special_10, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpCM01, etc...

I may have the names themselves wrong, but that's how the syntax works. Just make sure to not duplicate locations, as that will sometimes crash the game. Some of the locations also have clipping issues, like the HpPilot01 location.
For a real suprise, mount turrets on the HpEngine01 and HpEngine02 locations. They appear right inside the engine cowling, (yes the engines still work) and fire backwards. They're impossible to even see unless you're firing them.

DarkJackal

DarkJackal, could you please tell me the identifier for those two hardpoints under the wings so I can adress/mount them too.

I got just those:

HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06, HpWeapon07, HpWeapon08, HpShield01, HpThruster01, HpMine01, HpCM01, HpTorpedo01, HpEngine01, HpEngine02, HpCloak01, HpTractor_Source, HpBayDoor01, HpBayDoor02, HpDocklight01, HpDocklight02,
HpTurret01

Thanks!

well .. like always .. there's a little prob i encountered by making really big ships aviable .. like the kusari battleship..
if you try to leave a planet .. the ship's actually in the planet .. that means .. in it's atmosphere .. so it'll be destroyed before you can do anything ..
any way to handle this little prob? would be grat if someone knows .. cause i also 've seen many battleships working without this litte .. prob

maybe someone could also give a link to an utf --> ASCII decompressor? or tell a little roddy how to pick a look into a *.cmp ?

would be nice

Rod

Edited by - Rodxxx on 17-03-2003 21:21:01

for Jack and the others: the two hardpoints on the Sabre are already there, but they canot be used because they are not activated in shiparch.ini.
To do it u must replace the folowing lines, on the Sabre(bw_elite2) section:

hp_type=hp_gun_special_7, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04
hp_type=hp_gun_special_6, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06
hp_type=hp_gun_special_5, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06
hp_type=hp_gun_special_4, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06
hp_type=hp_gun_special_3, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06
hp_type=hp_gun_special_2, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06
hp_type=hp_gun_special_1, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06

with this:

hp_type = hp_gun_special_7, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04
hp_type = hp_gun_special_6, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06, HpWeapon07, HpWeapon08
hp_type = hp_gun_special_5, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06, HpWeapon07, HpWeapon08
hp_type = hp_gun_special_4, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06, HpWeapon07, HpWeapon08
hp_type = hp_gun_special_3, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06, HpWeapon07, HpWeapon08
hp_type = hp_gun_special_2, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06, HpWeapon07, HpWeapon08
hp_type = hp_gun_special_1, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03, HpWeapon04, HpWeapon05, HpWeapon06, HpWeapon07, HpWeapon08

this declares two more weapons to the Sabre's configuration( HpWeapon07, HpWeapon08), and therefore activates those 2 hidden hardpoints. The same principle aplies to Anubis and Hammerhead, but only one hardpoint can be activated because only one exists in the CMP file...got it?

For example, a HPTurret01 hardpoint exists on the Piranha and Barracuda(and other fighters), but they are not declared in the shiparch.ini, so they can never be used unless u declare them, adding these lines:

hp_type = hp_turret_special_4, HpTurret01
hp_type = hp_turret_special_3, HpTurret01
hp_type = hp_turret_special_2, HpTurret01
hp_type = hp_turret_special_1, HpTurret01

this activates a Class 4 turret HP on the respective fighter. and there are more ships to have these hidden HP's...I will let u dsicover them.

I first realised this when I was fighting against a Barracuda and it fired at me from behind...then i scanned its cargo and saw it had a turret...wich was not supossed to be there!

It's no need to edit the CMP file for that...only the shiparch.ini

If u wanna edit the CMP file u can change some hardpoints(like the HPTurret01, or HPengine01 and HPEngine02) with a hex editor...because this file is in binary format and cannot be saved with notepad or other normal editor.
Any Hex editor works...not just the Hackman, that was just what i had on my hand.

I don't know the two underwing points either. And there's 2 sets that people see too...the 2 points on the bottom of the ship are HpWeapon07 and 08. But the 2 points underneath the actual wings aren't even named in the .cmp file. I've tried every single point listed, including the Dp (whatever that stands for), and all I really managed to do was crash the game a lot. I think we're stuck on that until someone finally figures out how to actually read the entire file.

DarkJackal

I've been looking at how you guys mod things/stats on ships and last night tried some things myself, as I was really annoyed when the game 'forced' me to leave my Clydesdale behind because I could no longer upgrade it.

Anyway most of my modifications worked fine. It's pretty funny what you can do with the stuff too. But when I tried to add a Torpedo as described in these forums I ran into a problem it seems.

When I state :

hp_type = hp_torpedo_special_1, HpMine01
hp_type = hp_torpedo_special_2, HpMine01

The ships Hp's say ''Torpedo/Disruptor" or something. However freeing up the hp doesn't enable me to mount anything like a torpedo or a cruise disruptor. In a post from here someone didn't use HpMine but HpWeapon, I tried that too, but still no luck.

Modifying HpMine01 in the cmp file to HpTorpedo01 made my ship dissapear, also a lot of fun...

What is it that I am doing wrong?

Oh and has it been figured out yet how to display the right values? My stats ingame state say 2200 armor, whereas I doubled it...

Thanks

To change the infocards for the ship (planets and stuff too) it's in one of the .dll files. There's several posts around about it, I've just left it alone.
As for why it doesn't work, I don't know. Make sure to check for typos and errors. I've never tried it with torps, but I have replaced every mount on the Sabre with a turret once, and it did work. I've hit an error though sometimes if I call the same hardpoint in 2 locations, so make sure you didn't duplicate HpMine01 somewhere else.

DarkJackal

Yeah I saw you post on that, so I know it's possible.

So now I suppose that with duplicates you mean that when I say:

hp_type = hp_mine_dropper, HpMine01

and then the next lines

hp_type = hp_torpedo_special_1, HpMine01
hp_type = hp_torpedo_special_2, HpMine01

it clashes because a mine dropper is something completely different from a torpedo and therefore I should remove the first line about the mine_dropper.

What you meant was that you can only put one type (mine, torpedo, turret, gun, etc) on one hardpoint, and that you can't make a hardpoint to suit everything...

thank, that makes sense...

i edited my shiparch.ini file adjusting hp of freighters, and nothing happened. i adjusted the shields fine in the equip file, but y rnt my changes carrying over for the ship arch file? i want to add this to my server, can anyone help me pleae?


The infinite reaches of space are my home. And you'r trespassing.

I've been playing around with modding stats , shields , armor and such and I'm happy to say that the specs are active on the ships. What I did notice is that the changes I've made to equipment show up in the vendor with the listed changes , however the changes that I made directly to the ships themselves (Armor , strength,etc) do not show up as changed in the shipdealer listing. What I am thinking is that somewhere in the files is a description for each type of ship and no matter what you change on the ship itself it still will not show up with the changes at the vendor. So , where are those elusive files that hold the ship descriptions so I can change them to what the stats are now? Any Ideas as where to look? Or am I missing something?

How can I make the lvl 10 elite or champion shields available for purchase, on planet malta for example?

where are bases ST01-01 ST01-02 and ST02-01

thanks heaps