The best advice on modelling new bases is to first go and learn how to model ships, the process is exactly the same in regards to CMP, MAT and SUR (important if you don't want your bases disappearing when the very centre of it is off screen) files and there is a lot of tutorials here regarding ship modelling. The only difference between bases and ships is the hardpoints used and the scale of the base (as naturally bases should be larger than ships for the most part).

Once you have that cracked that and want to introduce it into the game, I suggest looking at the way the original bases were added into the game. You will find the archetype is set up in DATA\SOLARS\SOLARARCH.INI and the Loadout is defined in DATA\SOLARS\LOADOUT.INI while the actual placement of the base in game once those two bits are defined will be in your respective system file (for example, the New York system is DATA\UNIVERSE\SYSTEMS\LI01\LI01.INI). To know what hardpoints you need, look at the bases DA has already included in Freelancer, but the barest minimum will be HpDockMountA, HpDockPointA01, HpDockPointA02 (and if you want to set up your own camera angles for docking and undocking, they are HpDockCamA and HpLaunchCamA).

I hope that gives you the information you need to start looking into building your own bases.

Freeworlds Mod Developer
Author of Modular Station

'There is no Good nor Evil in the universe, just perceptions and circumstances.'

Well the thing is that I have loads of Ships and Stations all ready for texture mapping and introducing. My husband has made em in 3D MAx, Gmax and milkshape. I´ve followed many of these tutorials of how to mapp the textures and how to ini/cmp/sur edit them tho it seems as they still dont want to work. It dont seem to exist a complete guide that actually have all features in a comprehensive manor. Theres loads of tutorials about how to do that and that however all differ and all is just confusing. Im used to ini editing and cant see how following the instructions in these tutorials can differ in so many ways. Some of the tutorials I have followed is these.

-- ** Tutorial ** - Texturing models in milkshape
-- ** Tutorial ** - Making a new ship from scratch
-- ** Tutorial ** - Drizzt4.0's FL Ship Creating Tutorial
-- **Tutorial** UVW-mapping for beginners
-http://www.newtek.com/products/lightwave/tutorials/uvmapping/uvmapping/
-- Things you need before you attempt modding. (Ships)
-- Tutorial- How to Skin

This might be me but either Im dense or the tutorials are incomplete. I have followed each of these to the dot except for having my own ships/textures that is and still nothing seem to work. Im getting pretty frustrated and will still try these again but seriously there must be a more complete and more comprehensive and understandable tutorial for thos that dont get these things. Cause I cant see what Im doing wrong.

Thank u for any info provided
Nilla

Well I have managed to get the ships up and working due to using another program then Milkshape to do the HP´s. I dont get why Milkshape Hardpoints kept messing up. Anyway now one ship is in and more to come but still the bases dont want to. I have gotten them to be imported through the explorer and the mod starts up perfectly tho when I go to the station its just not there. The small waypoint square and so on is there pointing at something totally invisible. I dont get it. Its there but still not. So confused.

Nilla