race image? can it be changed?

Read the Empire Style Guide for details on what you'll need to change. Everyone in a multiplayer game will need the same files.

For you, you’ll find the three portrait pictures in ‘Terran’, open them up, paste the image you want (so that it conforms to the correct size) then save. That’s what I did

Suggest creating a temp file to place your old files first, in case it goes wrong though.

However, I don’t think this works for existing games you already have running. I think the game saves the races portrait you used when you first begin. I’ve altered a races portrait, then played my existing game, and I seem to recall it had the old image. I may be mistaken.

Regarding Multiplayer, I imagine yes, everyone would have to be sent your new ‘Terran’ Portrait which they’d have to use in their game to see your race.

Another alternative is to create a new race folder. This would take a lot of work as you’d have to rename everything to conform to the file name. I.e. If your race was called “Confederacy” you’d have to create a folder called that, and rename every file within the folder as “Confederacy”.

Benefits: - You have a unique race which multiplayer opponents can easily just download from you, and paste in there ‘Empires Folder’ without them having to muck around with their Stock Races portraits. Like a custom race shipset.

Down side: - Time consuming for you to rename everything and alter images. (Took me 2 hours to make all the changes I wanted to ALL the stock races. If I were to play Multiplayer I’d have to revert it back, but that’s my problem, wouldn’t affect you as your talking about 1 race)

I have a different question, loosely related to this. Are there any sites/downloads people know about with more race portaits and flags? I'd especially like more SEV flag sets, but have only found one download at spaceempires.net, which to be honest isn't very good.

The easiest way I know of is to go to the SE5 shipyards: http://www.spaceempires.net/home/shipyards-g-SE5.html
and take an interesting shipset from a race you don't plan on using... then replace the race portraits with your own portraits AND change the AI_Main file to
Is Empire Race := FALSE
and
Is Neutral Race := FALSE
So the computer won't try to use the race itself.

Check this thread from the Shrapnel Games forum for flags. Most are modern national flags, with a few others thrown in.

Look at this thread from spaceempires.net for some extra race portraits.