rxnnxs wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2023 6:22 pm
in general would a ship editor come in handy
in theory they could even use the "ship designer" screen. edit it a bit, add more functions to it and use that as a base for a mod ship editor.
like buttons to load a shiphull, load ship model file, set what race design the modules should be (i.e. human weapon models/teekan weapon models).
i.e. modders could load up their mod ship model then (i.e. star wars/star trek/whatever and edit modules then)
then you could edit all the "numbers" on the right side of the ship designer... like recources, hull size, max size, build cost, maintenance...
maybe a button where you can place the new ship to a tech (opens the tech tree and you can click "add to this" (i.e. add to destroyer tech").
and on the left you have the normal "module bays" listed but also a button to "add new bay" and set its size and what type it is and weapon arc... and if its external you get a 3d place that you can move around xyz axis and rotate to place "on the model". (i.e. in the pic up there with the missile launcher you could move that weapon slot closer to the ship model. that wouldnt fix the missing back side of the rocket model though... that is more for blender or whatever program is used to make them 3d models... where there needs to be added a "backside" to it)
and stuff like the blinking lights and their position could also be added on the model in such an editor...
maybe you could even load modules/weapons in the editor... i.e. if you load that missile launcher you get its model in the 3d screen... and you have a dropdown to select what race set you want... and can edit all the weapon values in the right menu then... like damage and speed and all them numbers.
you could even load stuff that dont have a 3d model like armor or mining engines and edit them module numbers in that editor then.
and then "export" changes to a file and add that file to a mod folder and then them files replace the vanilla data or gets added to the vanilla stuff.
well its probably easier said then done to create such an "actual editor" for such stuff.
but yea "some" way to edit ship stuff would be nice.. even if its all weird over a text file where you have no idea what weapon position X.40 y.-20 z.50 is actually on the model and would have to change the numbers and then check ingame where the hell that weapon slot is then XD and such.
well hopefully someday we get something "mod tool" related.
thinking about it.. that whole ship editor idea using the ingame ship designer + additional functions... could actually be a button in the main menu (mod editor? ship editor?) then that opens up the editor. (probably easier if its from ingame if it uses a modified ingame ship designer than making a whole new program from scratch for that... then again this would mostly work well for vanilla assets... but who knows.. maybe modders can load in their startrek ship models or so if they got the right "files" to be read in the editor... probably needs some "scaling" buttons too then.)
actually... maybe such an "ingame editor" could even edit everything...
from creating a new playable race... then editing their name, avaiable goverments special bonuses... (i.e. on the right you wouldnt load a ship file then to edit, but create a new goverment and you could click a button "add bonus" and pick "ship construction speed" and then change it to +50% or so and edit all that)
or you load up the tech tree and then get the tech tree screen and can edit tech links... edit what is in where... move positions of tech around.
i.e. you could make a new "high tech escorts" tech... add it in the tech tree after the patrol/heavy escort tech... then link it to that one so its researched after that one... set research cost of the new tech... then add "advanced patrol escort and advanced heavy escort" ship files to that tech.
and before you loaded the vanilla patrol escort and then edited it... added 100 size... changed some module bays... and stuff... than saved it as "advanced heavy escort file" and could use that then to load for your new tech.
and then save the new ships and techtree as "modfile" that you can load as a mod.