Modding information

Iron man · Post by **Iron man** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:47 am

Hi everyone,

Ivn't found any source of information on the forum so far or I vn't looked proprely but does someone know where I can find a guid for mod the sounds on evochron? I mean I changed already the format of different sound but I can't find the name to attribute them for change a specific sound. My apologize if it's a repetition.

Example : I would like change the sound of the missile when I lauch them. How do I need to call the new sound to replace it?

Thx you by advance for your answer.

Post by **Marvin** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 6:45 am

Here are a few threads you can peruse. Make note that some of them suggest starting with the Customizing Kit.

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid171657

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid169222

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid164048

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid163619

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid158844

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid143207

Iron man · Post by **Iron man** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 7:00 am

From post: 175227, Topic: tid=11801, author=Marvin wrote: Here are a few threads you can peruse. Make note that some of them suggest starting with the Customizing Kit.

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid171657

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid169222

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid164048

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid163619

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid158844

http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtop ... #pid143207

Thx Marvin for this fast answer. My apologize as you just mension all what I was looking for are inside the custom kit apparently.

thx again and sorry for the double post.

Post by **Marvin** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:22 pm

No problem. I had to laugh, though, when I saw that the first link had been started by you.

primedragoon · Post by **primedragoon** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:26 pm

Not all the information is in the custom kit, there are some things it doesn't appear to cover. The stations can be modified as well, for instance, but I know not how or what file directory I should be using to get to them.

Heck I'm having enough trouble getting blender to export a readable direct.x file for a starship model. Just get an error when I try to start up the game so far.

primedragoon · Post by **primedragoon** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 6:59 am

I never fixed that problem and I'd still love a pipeline to add custom ship's or ship pieces to the game, it'd be nice to be able to do it beyond the limit of whats already there as well. Pleeeeeaaaaaseeeeee?

Post by **Vice** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 6:22 pm

Some structures are not changeable to reduce exploit risks (ie multiplayer). But for ships and their components, review section 2 of the customizing kit for the filenames. You'll need to save any models you want to use in ascii X format (uncompressed) with normals in a single mesh (no limb/child substructures). The 'frame40-SampleMesh.x' and 'ship2.x' included with the kit provide examples of both a small ship and a large ship file you can use for analysis and comparison (scaling and rotation).

primedragoon · Post by **primedragoon** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 12:58 am

I'll give it another go, but the last time I tried. Well, last several times I tried, I think the game was just crashing at startup when I attempted it. Will blender or 3ds max save directly into an uncompressed ascii X format? Or is there a plug-in I could use to do so? I seem to recall that was the barrier I was running into last time.

That aside, I guess I'll go work on something to slap into Evochron Mercenary for a bit. Elite Dangerous recently lost me due to their incredibly poor implementation of mechanics. x,X

I don't really have a problem with Evochron either, the only real reason I don't play is simply because I don't really like the way the ships look and are textured. (No offense, I know you're not an artist, and they look more than good enough to get the point across.)

Post by **Vice** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 3:22 am

Will blender or 3ds max save directly into an uncompressed ascii X format? Or is there a plug-in I could use to do so?

Not sure on that, I don't use either of those modeling programs. Someone else who does may be able to offer some advice/info on what may be available for them.

I don't really have a problem with Evochron either, the only real reason I don't play is simply because I don't really like the way the ships look and are textured. (No offense, I know you're not an artist, and they look more than good enough to get the point across.)

None taken

You may enjoy the new models in the new Evochron more, quite a bit higher mesh detail level, variety, and new textures.

primedragoon · Post by **primedragoon** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 4:26 am

Oh, am I going to be surprised when I redownload this? I hope so, that sounds nice. Honestly, the game would probably look a lot better if I just went through and did a texture pass on everything. Not sure how to go about that yet, I'll be digging into the toolkit shortly, don't have much else to do. My car battery went dead, no money to go find work, so I'll be selling it and modding while I wait for it to sell.

Post by **Marvin** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:17 am

Blender can export to an .x file but not import. You'll need to check the proper box in Import-Export, Add-Ons, User Preferences to activate the option. Watch a few intro videos on YouTube for step-by-step instructions.

primedragoon · Post by **primedragoon** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:19 am

Yeah I did get it to import at some point, but the exported .x file wasn't working. I couldn't figure that out, and I think I tried with one of the provided models I found in a tutorial before, and that wasn't working for me either. I was very sad. Vice, what program are you using to import/export to .x files for your game? I suppose if the most efficient way is to learn a new program, then that's what it is, but I prey for good shader support. Lol.

Post by **Vice** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 7:04 am

Oh, am I going to be surprised when I redownload this?

Redownload? I'm just referring to the new Evochron game (Legacy, sequel to Mercenary) when it becomes widely available.

For shaders in Mercenary, the game uses its own internal HLSL shaders for ships anyway, so it'll be up to whatever base, normal, specular and emissive maps you decide to use as far as texture/shader details go.

For modeling, I use Metaseq for much of it. I'll sometimes pass it through Lithunwrap or my own program for setting up normals. But you shouldn't need to learn an entirely different program as I think Blender offers a good compatible X export option as Marvin mentions. Probably just a matter of setting parameters.

primedragoon · Post by **primedragoon** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:49 am

Original post is below the edit line, I've come across a useful tool that may well solve my problems. And anyone elses as well, possibly.

http://3doc.i3dconverter.com/

I think the link is fairly self explanatory.

EDIT

Hahaha, everything I wanted to do with Evochron Mercenary, plus a few things I wouldn't be able to do without a great deal more knowledge and access to the source code. Only caveat is I'll have to buy another game, which is something I really cannot afford to do at the moment.

The frustration is tangible.

The ships look good though, I'd be a lot less motivated to put my own work into the game. I still want to completely remodel the cockpit to make it a bit longer and more open though.

[Edited on 1-5-2016 by primedragoon]