Modding SW3?

[Seige911]

I am also new to modding, think from this thread I have figured out how to add ships and items but how do you add skills? Right now wanting to give hero a few more engineering skills (give premade ones not create them) and give Ternie the skill that allows you to use alien and precurser tech. Any examples would be nice.

Thanks.

[Goblin Wizard]

Path ..\Data\Scripts\Include\PilotProperties.script
example:

F_Weapon_HC = 	{30,{"Gunnery_1"},{"F_Weapon_Laser","F_Weapon_AC"}},

F_Weapon_HC => perk name
30 => skill points cost
{"Gunnery_1"} => requirements
{"F_Weapon_Laser","F_Weapon_AC"} => alternative choice. If you choose F_Weapon_HC perk then F_Weapon_Laser and F_Weapon_AC will be unavailable.

Any changes to this file take effect only before you get this pilot. If you want to change your hero you need to start a new game.

If you want to change during a game you have to put line like below into proper quest script.

pilot_Hero:SetPerk("F_Weapon_HC");

[Seige911]

Thanks Goblin,

It works but does not work. I am able to modify *most* of the skills cost (Moding the gunner tree), a few seem resistant (expert tactician, and hard to kill). Additionally, it appears that I am unable to add any further skills to the tree.

Essentially I copied the two additional system skills from the systems path and appended them after the System_2 skill. When I start a new game they do not show. Figure I will use Hero as a test case before I start trying to add Skills to Lastochka.. I mean Terni.

Few other unrelated questions:

If I want to create my own system and populate it with beserkers, aliens or precursor ships and frigates (to make getting their stuff easier) how would I go about this?

If I want to remove items from the black market (so that only top tier items are available how do I do this? How would I add a completely new item? What about adding precurser turrets and guns?

If I want to create a new ship (using the mesh of another), how what script files do I need to modify? How would I switch the missile slots to heavy cannons and add additional system slots?

If I want to remove all the go here and die conditions how would I do that? (that way after I get the final mothership I still can fly around and do stuff without going through the wrong portal and going boom!)

Thanks

[Goblin Wizard]

Ufff, a lot of questions here.

Originally Posted by Seige911

Thanks Goblin,

It works but does not work. I am able to modify *most* of the skills cost (Moding the gunner tree), a few seem resistant (expert tactician, and hard to kill). Additionally, it appears that I am unable to add any further skills to the tree.

Essentially I copied the two additional system skills from the systems path and appended them after the System_2 skill. When I start a new game they do not show. Figure I will use Hero as a test case before I start trying to add Skills to Lastochka.. I mean Terni.

Skills don't show automatically. You have to add them to GUI.
..\Data\Game\Pilots.xml - check mapping_name then
..\Data\TEXTURE\Interface\Pilot\PerkTree - two files here. Eg. Lastochka_perk.dds - background image, Lastochka_perk.ini - coordinates for perks on the image.

Originally Posted by Seige911

If I want to create my own system and populate it with beserkers, aliens or precursor ships and frigates (to make getting their stuff easier) how would I go about this?

Probably the easiest way is to add them in the location script. Check how it's done in ..\Data\Scripts\Locations. You have to analyze functions like Flight, NewFlight, NewBerserkFlight and similar (generally with a word "flight").

Originally Posted by Seige911

If I want to remove all the go here and die conditions how would I do that? (that way after I get the final mothership I still can fly around and do stuff without going through the wrong portal and going boom!)

These conditions are done by many different triggers. Just check the quest scripts for the word "trigger".

Your other questions was already explained in this forum so use search. If you want detailed information read two manuals below. The second is in german but is rather self-explaining. If not, google translate is there for you

StarWolves-LUA_Manual_v1 English.zip

StarWolves2ModdingHandbuch.zip

The German Modding Handbuch is quite useful with regards to creating the alien and precursor flights you want but not much else (the icon change section is self-explanatory, doesn't need a manual). There's plenty of berserks in the Border systems imho, but you can add them to your custom systems if you wish. It's not just flights, don't forget the portals connecting it with other systems

For ship stuff look at Carcasses.xml and ShipDescriptions.xml. Adding stuff to trade is likely in IniTradeSystem.xml.

Edit:
On an unrelated note, was just digging through the perkDispatcher script since there were a few things bugging me. Turns out I was right, the values and descriptions don't match. Meh.

Missile skills damage:
- Base, Missiles_Rockets, Missiles_2, Missiles_3, Missiles_4, Missiles_5, Elite, Lone Wolf (huh wtf):
base = 0.95
Missiles_Rockets += 0.05 = 100% (i.e. the stated damage)
Missiles_2 += 0.05 = 105%
Missiles_3 += 0.1 = 115%
Missiles_4 += 0.15 = 130%
Missiles_5 += 0.15 = 145%
Elite += 0.2 = +20%
Lone Wolf += 0.1 = +10%

However, descriptions (from m_perks.loc) tell a different story:
Missiles_2 = 5% (correct)
Missiles_3 = 25% (incorrect, script shows it is 15%)
Missiles_4 = 50% (incorrect, script shows it is 30%)
Missiles_5 = 45% (ironically correct, presumably bonus is lower to compensate for anti-jamming bonus - except script proves this is false)
Elite = 25% (incorrect, script shows it is +20%).
Lone Wolf = 0% (incorrect, script gives 10% bonus even though description says no bonus)

Not a huge deal since missile damage is quite overpowered already (hello massive blast damage) but I'd just like to point out that the values are described wrong.

Another gotcha: if you design a new skill tree and skip the lower skills and jump straight to the higher skills, e.g. base then straight to Missiles_4, and not giving Missiles_2 and Missiles_3, you get different values:

• Missile_4 gives 30% damage bonus due to: base (0.95) + (Missiles_Rockets, 0.05) + (Missiles_2, 0.05) + (Missiles_3, 0.1) + (Missiles_4, 0.15)
  = 0.95 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.1 + 0.15
  = 130% modifier (aka 100% @ full base damage + 30% bonus)
• But skipping the low level skills only gives you: base (0.95) + (Missiles_Rockets, 0.05) + (Missiles_4, 0.15)
  = 0.95 + 0.05 + 0.15
  = 115% modifier (aka 100% @ full base damage + 15% bonus)

How to fix this is simple, edit the script to give a straight assignment to the modifier value (amplifier = xx) instead of an increment bonus (amplifier += xx). Do this for the "chained" skills, i.e. Missiles_2 to Missiles_5. Elite is fine as an incremental bonus - it makes sense, a missile-specialist Elite pilot will still be better with missiles compared to a piloting-specialist Elite pilot. Note that you should do checks that give assignment modifiers first before checks for increments, e.g. check for Missiles_3 first before checking for Elite. Otherwise the increment from Elite would be overridden by the assignment from Missiles_3.

Haven't exactly decided how I should fix this but I'm in favour of a more linear percentage increase, e.g. Missiles_2 to Missiles_5 each granting an additional +15% increase. So I'd simply hardcode them as 115%, 130%, 145%, 160%. Yeah, it means pilots with Missiles_5 for example will have no use of Missiles_2 since the higher value overrides it (assignment instead of increment) but that's how the skill tree works anyway: a pilot can't get Missiles_5 without Missiles_2.

And if you rearrange the trees to give some pilots the higher skills while skipping the lower skills, a straight-up assignment works better anyway as the calculation I showed above shows - i.e. any pilot who has Missiles_4 will be guaranteed to get a 30% bonus instead of losing 15% due to skipping Missiles_2 and Missiles_3. That way you don't need to clutter the skill trees with the previous skills.

-
I think the anti-ECM bonuses are similarly screwed up, and I need to take a look at the unguided missiles ("rockets") as well.

[Szpaku]

Can someone tell me how i can add turrets and docking bay to stone arrow or something else?

[Hohenlohe]

Hello dear fellows, after some decent tries playing SW3 I opted to do a small modification to the Tug, the Mastiff and the Astarta like improving hitpoints, shields, speed, sensors and cargo space.
That was easily done and accepted ingame, but as I tried to implement additional slots for turrets and systems I got some problems. In the database of the Astarta by right-clicking on the Image there were the additional slots shown, but not in the usual GUi interface picture.
So I need some decent help and advice.

So can me anybody explain with simple and clear instructions how I should change the related file data entries to make any changes appearing during the game. I need that if possible for the Astarta only. I want to give the Astarta 8 system slots, 8 turret slots,2 gk slots, 1 or 2 gk turret slots.
If this is to much for the GUI I would reduce it to 6 system and 6 turret slots.
I would be very happy if someone has the time and fun to help me with his good advice. But he should explain it in simple English because I am not a native English speaker I am a German,sry for any inconveniance.

Thx

Hohenlohe