How to change ship models/sizes |
Hello, I'm not much of a modder, so I was wanting to know how I would go about doing one of two things.
1. Is there any easy way to take a ship model, and increase or decrease it in all dimensions, such that you could then use it for a larger or smaller ship class? I understand that the game doesn't care what the ship's size is, in dimensions, relative to its kT. But as a person, I would like my model for my higher kT ships to be bigger than the lower ones.
2. I am also wanting to know if anyone has made a mod, or knows a way to mod the game, such that you could pick from several models for a given ship class. For example, you could have 1,2,3...ect different ship models for a destroyer, or battleship.
If there are simply more models to choose from, that in itself shouldn't require too much modding other than some gui and interface changes, because the main ship sizes would all reamin the same for the AI's purposes, although one would have to tell the AI how to choose which model to use (either random or in order for each new design it makes).
3. Same basic question as in #2, but this time I am wondering has anyone added in even more main ship sizes other than the default 7 and then the 2 stationary bases. Or does anyone know how it would be done? This mod would take a good bit, I imagine, since one would have to change everything from interface, to tech tree levels, to AI handeling of the new sizes.
Re: How to change ship models/sizes
1. Don't resize the model, resize the XFile Class. eg: open Norak_Ships_XFileClasses.txt and find the ship in question. Alter the scale values as necessary:
Starting Scale X := 0.01
Starting Scale Y := 0.01
Starting Scale Z := 0.01
Sadly, these sorts of physics are defined by shipset instead of mod, so you have to do it for every single race...
2. Not possible to do cleanly. The only way to do it would be to duplicate the Vehicle Sizes, each one calling a different model.
3. That is rather trivial to do, actually. Nothing in the interface needs changing. All you have to do is add some more levels of ship construction techs, insert the models where you like in the Vehicle Size hierarchy and adjust tech reqs, and edit the AI research script to cover the new tech levels/area. The ship design minister/AI should be able to handle new sizes without alteration, since it automatically uses the largest hull (or at least, whatever is last in the mysterious lst_AI_Design_Type_Vehicle_Size list) and adds components generically via percentages.
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