EL - City Question

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:33 am

Hello all,
I'm new to the forums and had really gotten into Evochron when I heard it was moddable (but thankfully, in a fair way

).
I have just created my first planet (I even figured out how to add my own texture map [quickly finding out it was in the customization kit's ReadMe afterwards

]) and I had a question.

Now, I don't know how many of you still play EL what with Mercenary being out and all, but, is it possible to specify the positions of each individual city on a given planet? (as opposed to setting them all at the same latitude)

Thanks in advance.

Capt_Caveman · Post by **Capt_Caveman** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:45 pm

I believe that information is entered into the universedata.dat file.
open it with notepad and look at the location format for examples

i dont think you use lat and lon, i believe you specify sx,sy,sz/x,y,z coordinates

[Edited on 4-7-2011 by capt_cronic]

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 7:14 pm

Hello SilentWolf, Welcome to the forum and the Sims. Have fun.

Post by **Marvin** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:37 pm

The latitude for cities is set in Legends ... it's one of the changes Vice made when developing Mercenary.

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:10 pm

From post: 105261, Topic: tid=7469, author=capt_cronic wrote:I believe that information is entered into the universedata.dat file.
open it with notepad and look at the location format for examples

i dont think you use lat and lon, i believe you specify sx,sy,sz/x,y,z coordinates
[Edited on 4-7-2011 by capt_cronic]

Yes, that much I was able to figure out, but I think that the 'elevation' (y-axis from what I've gathered) applies to all cities. (which, it turns is out, is perfectly workable, since I now have a city on every major continent

)

Best part is, my greatest fear (massive performance hit) seems to be nonexistant with this mod. I'd love to post a screenshot, but I can't seem to upload any images that don't violate the size limit while still retaining any bit of quality.

...oh well...

From post: 105263, Topic: tid=7469, author=thetiebers wrote:Hello SilentWolf, Welcome to the forum and the Sims. Have fun.

Thank you, I plan to!

---

Oh, one (okay, two) last thing(s).
1. Do the planets rotate? (not that it REALLY matters, but that'd be cool to see my world in all phases)
2. Is it possible to scale planets at all?
(alright, I lied)
3. Is it possible to name a moon? (ie. some kind of 'MoonName=x' line)

Thanks, and sorry if I get annoying with all the questions.

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:12 pm

From post: 105277, Topic: tid=7469, author=Marvin wrote:The latitude for cities is set in Legends ... it's one of the changes Vice made when developing Mercenary.

Yeah, I noticed that after looking at other planets in the Sapphire system. Thanks Marvin.

Post by **Marvin** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 1:47 am

From post: 105283, Topic: tid=7469, author=SilentWolf wrote:1. Do the planets rotate? (not that it REALLY matters, but that'd be cool to see my world in all phases)

Nope. Neither do they rotate in Mercenary. Too many planets. And it would cause all kinds of complications in MP.

2. Is it possible to scale planets at all?

Not in Legends. Planets are scaled in Mercenary ... but Vice held back the ability to build a custom universe in Mercenary because of the advantage it would give modders when playing MP.

3. Is it possible to name a moon? (ie. some kind of 'MoonName=x' line)

No. But if you manage to add a different texture to moons, you'd have yourself a new way to create smaller planets. Of course, you couldn't put cities on them that would allow for docking ... but you could (and can) place beacons on moons to give the feeling of cities. And you can even add messages (text, audio or graphic) to your beacons.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 3:16 am

Hi SilentWolf, welcome to the game and forum....

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 7:22 am

Nope. Neither do they rotate in Mercenary. Too many planets. And it would cause all kinds of complications in MP.

Oh, well I expected as much, and it's probably for the best, considering my system has enough trouble running EL at max settings. (sits real nice at 'Medium' though, until I get into combat [which is fine for me, since I'm more of a miner/courier anyhow

{man, I LOVE that about this game!

}]).

Not in Legends. Planets are scaled in Mercenary ... but Vice held back the ability to build a custom universe in Mercenary because of the advantage it would give modders when playing MP.

Aw, oh well, there's still tons of variety among the planets so far, it's all very impressive. (and I've only seen maybe two or three systems so far)

No. But if you manage to add a different texture to moons, you'd have yourself a new way to create smaller planets. Of course, you couldn't put cities on them that would allow for docking ... but you could (and can) place beacons on moons to give the feeling of cities. And you can even add messages (text, audio or graphic) to your beacons.

Ooh, the textures I can create, but what's this you say about the beacons? I am very intrigued.

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 7:29 am

From post: 105297, Topic: tid=7469, author=Maarschalk wrote:Hi SilentWolf, welcome to the game and forum....

Thank you, I love that this community is so friendly.

Post by **Marvin** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 6:55 pm

From post: 105311, Topic: tid=7469, author=SilentWolf wrote:...what's this you say about the beacons? I am very intrigued.

While playing around with the universedata file, I added beacons to the corners of some cities. It took a lot of trial and error to get the beacons to sit up straight (as my mother would say). You can change the size of the beacons, add rotating messages (for example: "City Hall"), and pop-up graphics for when the player gets close to a beacon.

Here's a long shot screenie of a modded city:

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 3:49 am

From post: 105347, Topic: tid=7469, author=Marvin wrote: While playing around with the universedata file, I added beacons to the corners of some cities. It took a lot of trial and error to get the beacons to sit up straight (as my mother would say). You can change the size of the beacons, add rotating messages (for example: "City Hall"), and pop-up graphics for when the player gets close to a beacon.

VERY cool! What would I add to the universedata file to create them (and to alter scaling, text, text color?, and orientation)?

Post by **Marvin** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 6:37 am

I think the following code is what I used to create that city ...

-Planet
PlanetName=Gaia
PlanetSecX=1026
PlanetSecY=-3446
PlanetSecZ=-3473
PlanetPosX=5000
PlanetPosY=0
PlanetPosZ=5000
PlanetText=1000
PlanetClds=1
PlanetHaze=1
PlanetStat=0
PlanetEcon=28
PlanetETyp=4
PlanetCity=4
PlanetDock=80
PlanetRing=0
PlanetWeat=0
PlanetTerr=4
PlanetPlnt=2
PlanetWatr=1
-EndPlanet

-Scenery Object 1
SceneryObjectSecX=1026
SceneryObjectSecY=-3446
SceneryObjectSecZ=-3473
SceneryObjectPosX=6667
SceneryObjectPosY=1076
SceneryObjectPosZ=5372
SceneryObjectType=scenery4.x
SceneryObjectScal=5
SceneryObjectColl=30
SceneryObjectShap=1.4
SceneryObjectTran=0
SceneryObjectRefl=1
SceneryObjectText=648
SceneryObjectLght=15
SceneryObjectRotX=105
SceneryObjectRotY=120
SceneryObjectRotZ=0
SceneryObjectBeac=messages\\message3.jpg
SceneryBannerPosX=0
SceneryBannerPosY=0
SceneryBannerPosZ=300
SceneryBannerScaX=4000
SceneryBannerScaY=14000
SceneryBannerScaZ=4000
SceneryBannerScrl=0.002
SceneryBannerText=[7]TREVIZE CITY HALL TREVIZE CITY HALL
-EndSceneryObject

-Scenery Object 2
SceneryObjectSecX=1026
SceneryObjectSecY=-3446
SceneryObjectSecZ=-3473
SceneryObjectPosX=6740
SceneryObjectPosY=936
SceneryObjectPosZ=5351
SceneryObjectType=scenery4.x
SceneryObjectScal=5
SceneryObjectColl=30
SceneryObjectShap=1.4
SceneryObjectTran=0
SceneryObjectRefl=1
SceneryObjectText=648
SceneryObjectLght=15
SceneryObjectRotX=105
SceneryObjectRotY=120
SceneryObjectRotZ=0
SceneryObjectBeac=messages\\message6.jpg
SceneryBannerPosX=0
SceneryBannerPosY=0
SceneryBannerPosZ=300
SceneryBannerScaX=4000
SceneryBannerScaY=14000
SceneryBannerScaZ=4000
SceneryBannerScrl=0.002
SceneryBannerText=[7]Trevize City Ministry of Commerce
SceneryObjectReqr=3
-EndSceneryObject

-Scenery Object 3
SceneryObjectSecX=1026
SceneryObjectSecY=-3446
SceneryObjectSecZ=-3473
SceneryObjectPosX=6688
SceneryObjectPosY=1067
SceneryObjectPosZ=5213
SceneryObjectType=scenery4.x
SceneryObjectScal=5
SceneryObjectColl=30
SceneryObjectShap=1.4
SceneryObjectTran=0
SceneryObjectRefl=1
SceneryObjectText=648
SceneryObjectLght=15
SceneryObjectRotX=105
SceneryObjectRotY=120
SceneryObjectRotZ=0
SceneryObjectBeac=messages\\message4.jpg
SceneryBannerPosX=0
SceneryBannerPosY=0
SceneryBannerPosZ=300
SceneryBannerScaX=4000
SceneryBannerScaY=14000
SceneryBannerScaZ=4000
SceneryBannerScrl=0.002
SceneryBannerText=[7]Trevize City Department of Space Navigation
-EndSceneryObject

Keep in mind that, if you decide to move the planet to another sector, you must change all the sector coordinates to match.

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:58 am

Cool, I can actually look at that and understand it

(plus, it bolstered my abilities a good couple of points.)

Hey, I don't mean to be a pest, but assuming I could ever convince my computer to pucker up and let me run EM, would I see any 'modability' components having been removed? I think I read somewhere on here that EM removed the ability to add certain objects to the game, or am I mistaken?

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:22 am

Yes, there is no modable universedata.txt file in EM.....

:(

[Edited on 4-10-2011 by Maarschalk]

Post by **Marvin** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:59 am

Vice changed his mind about including instructions for modding the Mercenary universe. It might happen in the future, though ... most likely once the next incarnation of the game (assuming there is one) has replaced EM.

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:25 am

From post: 105519, Topic: tid=7469, author=Marvin wrote:Vice changed his mind about including instructions for modding the Mercenary universe. It might happen in the future, though ... most likely once the next incarnation of the game (assuming there is one) has replaced EM.

That's right, I remember you mentioning the whole 'super system' exploit. Oh well, I'll just have to enjoy being an honest pilot in Legends SP for now. Unless somebody wants to host a server for Legends that is. (hint hint

, wink wink

, sparkle sparkle

... uh, you're gonna have to forget that last one...

)

Post by **Marvin** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:15 pm

The biggest advantage of Mercenary (over Legends) is the ability to script a new quest. But Legends has, I think, a better way of creating background nebulas. Nonetheless, any modification you make to the universe is one that will make the game incompatible with a default MP server.

SilentWolf · Post by **SilentWolf** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 12:59 am

From post: 105544, Topic: tid=7469, author=Marvin wrote:Nonetheless, any modification you make to the universe is one that will make the game incompatible with a default MP server.

That's fine, I'd be okay with playing SP only, so long as I had sufficient space to build my world. (which I've got more than enough room to do). Besides, I was raised on offline old-school hand-me-down DOS/W95 games

, so I know how to immerse myself well enough to make up for lack of human players.