Custom Ship Class?

Post your best tactics and strategies for getting the big bux in Vega Strike
Post Reply
VGSailor
Hunter
Hunter
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:48 pm

Custom Ship Class?

Post by VGSailor »

What would be involved in creating a new ship class that only I have?

I've noticed that some Llamas have medium gun mounts, while your default one has only light, and yet there's apparently no way to buy an upgrade to a gun mount. So, after having had to familiarize myself with the units.csv and serialized_xml files to correct a broken overdrive on my Plowshare, I've convinced myself that it ought to be possible to create a Llama that has whatever gun mounts I want it to have. So, supposing that I do want a killer Llama that can take down an Agasicles, what would I have to do?

Is it as simple as creating a Llama.super line in units.csv and giving it the specs that I want it to have, and then hacking my game save files and creating a Llama.super.csv in the serialized_xml directory?

And, if this is all it takes, would I be the only one with a super-Llama? Or would I suddenly have to worry about being blasted into nothingness by an angry Uln?

A corrollary to this is that I long to someday lay waste to Andolian civilization, paying them back for all the times they've killed me for accidentally tagging one of their ships with a laser before I had autotracking or accidentally bumping into a refiniery or a mining base. I've already proven to myself that hacked armor values in the serialized_xml files can create a robust enough ship, but repairing or otherwise changing the outfitting of the ship restores everything to its default value. I want a super ship that can withstand an assault by multiple Goddards, but that can still be repaired and upgraded through the normal game interface. I don't mind cheating, but it's more fun if I only have to do it once.

Thanks in advance! :)
TBeholder
Elite Venturer
Elite Venturer
Posts: 753
Joined: Sat Apr 15, 2006 2:40 am
Location: chthonic safety

Re: Custom Ship Class?

Post by TBeholder »

And some have Medium weapons in Light mounts (and not only Llamas). A result of cut-pasting over the years of having no giuidelines.
IMHO giving a light shuttle good weapons is overkill, but it would be better to have ParticleBeam reclassified as Light and give NPCs a few possible upgrades - something like
3x (Light) ParticleBeam + 1x (Light/Special) Tractor + Dumbfire + FoF, or
1x (Light) ParticleBeam + 2x (Light/Special) Stormfire + 1x (Light/Special) Tractor + 2x Hail
"Two Eyes Good, Eleven Eyes Better." -Michele Carter
VGSailor
Hunter
Hunter
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:48 pm

Re: Custom Ship Class?

Post by VGSailor »

Okay, just for fun, I did some experimenting on my own. I decided to use my troublesome Plowshare as the guinea pig.

I created a new line in the units.csv file for Plowshare.super by duplicating the Plowshare.stock line and changing the name. Then, I editied the armor and hull settings in the new line to contrast it with the other ships. Then, I changed my game save file to show Plowshare.super as my primary ship. Finally, I renamed the Plowshare.stock.csv file in my serialized_xml directory to Plowshare.super.csv.

After loading the game, it seemed to work, almost. The armor and hull stats were what I wanted them to be, but all of my upgrades were gone. I launched out into space and got attacked by some enemies. The ship's new armor statistics seemed to be valid in practice. I even rammed a Rlaan capship and survived.

When I landed and attempted a repair, that's when things got weird. Some stats would change and others would stay the same.

After awhile, I realized that I had to change the name of the ship in the Plowshare.super.csv file, because it still said Plowshare.stock. I did this, and then all my upgrades came back, but none of the armor or hull adjustments I had made in units.csv were there anymore. It was back to being a plain, old, stock Plowshare.

So, the questions is: How do I get the characteristics of the new ship class that I created to stick? Which is to say, how do I get my ship in the game to adopt the specs that the units.csv file indicates that it should have? And how do I make those stats become the ones restored when a repair or upgrade is performed?

Thanks again!
warpnoob
Trader
Trader
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 5:46 pm

Re: Custom Ship Class?

Post by warpnoob »

Damn, your Plowshare is taking quite a beating, huh?
First the standard overdrive failure, and now these uncertified gun mount modifications. I can only imagine the amounts of duct tape in your cockpit.
I just hope your engineer doesn't get a heart attack next time you come around.
VGSailor
Hunter
Hunter
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:48 pm

Re: Custom Ship Class?

Post by VGSailor »

Well, for the 33 miliion credits I got for selling that Automated Factory I hijacked, he should be willing to build me a custom ship from scratch. :lol:
Post Reply