Help needed!!
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Hi,
Me and my friend have been playing freelancer for quite a long time now and have decided to make a Total Conversion mod.
Basically we’re starting from scratch as neither of us have previous modding experience in modding Freelancer.
Currently he’s creating systems with FLExplorer and modifying them with Freelancer Mod Studio and Freelancer Devolper.
Currently i’m trying to figure out how to import new ships from another mod I play (they’re not staying there if this goes online unless we get permission) and trying to figure out how to create new weapons (guns/turrets) as well as modifying current weapons.
I’ve tried every google search I can think of and tried reading different tutorials but nothing’s helped me thus far.
Can any of ye recommend what tools I should be using and what the simplest tutorials for that are??
If anyone’s actually intrested in joining a mod team for TC that might be cool too.
All forms of help is appreciated
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Well, FYI I recall some kind of TC modding starter pack somewhere here.
Also, you might find fitting tutorials in our old archived forums area here or at the wiki.
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Bas wrote:
Well, FYI I recall some kind of TC modding starter pack somewhere here.Cool!
Also, you might find fitting tutorials in our old archived forums area here or at the wiki.
By “archived” do you mean older threads in this forum?
I tried the wiki first but a lot of that seems to be specific only to a few parts of the game.
For example if I click on “Ship & Solar Tutorials” i’ll get a link to “How to make capital ship shields”, with a lot of the tutorials I get this message “You’ve followed a link to a page that doesn’t exist yet.”Some of this is quite handy but I have to admit that it’ll be a while before I get to most of these things. What I need is an absolute beginners guide (“Idiot’s guide” if you will) to modding FL.
Presume I know nothing because tbh i’d be the first to admit I know nothing about modding this game but for a few years now we’ve really wanted to do this.
Of course if we do get it up and running there will be another Freelancer mod to play online, I don’t care if it takes years to make it.
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My Total Conversion Mod Starter Pack is here: http://freelancercommunity.net/viewforum.php?f=44
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Sweet.
I’ll definitly give your tutorials a read and see what I can find out, thanks!
A general question for anyone to answer: Currently we’re using FLExplorer, Freelancer Mod Studio and FLDeveloper.
What modding tools do ye the modding community recommend for the novices?
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Try this link for good collection of modding tutorials
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/913966-freelancer/faqs/25096
The section titled “System Building from scratch by giskard” covers system building really well.
Freelancer companion is essential for setting up trade routes
http://wiz0u.free.fr/prog/flc/
A good text editor like Notepad++ will make ini editing a lot easier than using Notepad
There’s more tools like HardCMP for Hp editing, UTF editor for adding/editing textures but I reckon they fall into the more advanced category.
CK256
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"Me and my friend "…?
Where were you dragged up???!!!
It is "My friend and I "… !!!
Blurry Kidz!
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For ships & solars (or any archetype really) … HardCMP is probably your best friend. It wont display everything (some .3db’s & very large complex models) but that’s pretty rare.
It will give you an exact look at what Hardpoints have been set & enable you to add more… take some away… learn this valuable tool 1st then move into tools like the model cloneing & resizing latter when you better understand how a .cmp / .3db is made. Ms3d is possibly the “granddaddy” of them all… but that’s a whole world in itself.
I’ll go look for the quick & dirty guide on converting… and anything else relevant and update below with links…
Now… a quick word of advice (from someone that’s “been there” ) If you really like some models… PM/email the maker if you can… or the closest you can get to them (some are no longer active or with us) i spent most of last year chasing permissions backlogged by about 2 years… i started like you… but mods have a tendency to grow… and get a following, even if just for a personal mod… its always good to have spoken to someone in the know… makes them happy & alleviates any problems should you actually want to release your mod in the future.
IE: cover your own ass at the start… and it wont get kicked latter 8-)
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go for a UTF editor. if you want to make voices, effect textures, effects, ships, materials, all of the graphical and audical stuff, the source files your codes will refer to - you won’t get away without a proper UTF editor. search in our downloads section
and a side comment: starting modding with a total conversion will get you far beyond your abilities to wait and trial and error. its PRETTY much work. -
By “archived” do you mean older threads in this forum?
Exactly that. You have to know that we used forums threads before we started our wiki project.
Old forums area:
http://the-starport.net/freelancer/forum/viewforum.php?forum=26Maybe the newly-released FL Mod studio is also worth a try:
http://the-starport.net/freelancer/forum/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2174&forum=10&post_id=32715#forumpost32715On a sidenote, FLE shouldn’t be used for professional mods. I have reads many complaints about it for not doing it job correctly plus you have WAY more possibilities by INI-Coding, afaik.
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There are multiple forums for FL modding. 3 main ones that come to mind are:
Freelancer Community, Click here
The Starport, here too and
Lancer’s Reactor here as wellFus
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You may also find interesting information over at the archives, specifically the modding tutorials forum. While I believe most important tuts have been moved in here, there may still be some nuggets to be found in there.
As far as tools go, I think you’re pretty much set for the basics. More advanced modding would require things like UTF Editor and/or HardCMP (depending on which UTF Editor version you’d be using), possibly the ALE Editor or UTF to XML…
Valuable tools to come later on will be things like FLScan or FL Error Checker (unfortunately with Digital Brilliance down I don’t have a link for you just yet). These will help you look through your mod for errors that you might otherwise have missed. FLSpit is also a good utility that reads and prettifies FL’s logs, though I can’t guarantee it’ll work on Windows Vista and up as I’ve never used it on those.
Once you get into modelling, you’ll have to either pick up Milkshape 3D with the CMP/MAT exporter or go for the brand new 3ds Max 2010/11 exporter, which is available on the Forge. I can’t recommend the latter enough over the MS3D one really, it does a much better job. Likewise, Schmackbolzen’s SUR converter is far more robust than the traditional MS3D SUR exporter, though Lancer Solurus’ SUR Builder (again, no link because DB is down) is an interesting alternative as it does the SUR for you instead of requiring you to do the mesh, with the tradeoff that it can’t do quite as optimized and fitting SURs this way.
Hope this helps and welcome to The Starport!
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[RIP]Fusion wrote:
There are multiple forums for FL modding. 3 main ones that come to mind are:
Freelancer Community, Click here
The Starport, here too and
Lancer’s Reactor here as wellFus
Appreciate the post but you get the epic gravedigger award. Last post was 6 months ago…
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FriendlyFire wrote:
or go for the brand new 3ds Max 2010/11 exporter, which is available on the Forge. I can’t recommend the latter enough over the MS3D one really, it does a much better job.
Just think I should point out, I’m working under 3ds max 9 with this, W0dk4 is using 2011 or 10 don’t remember, either way it should work for any version in between, it just needs compiled with the correct SDK.
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Ya, just remember most people aren’t very familiar with recompiling sources and that finding Max SDKs is a real pain
As for dates, heh. It did make me think we really need a “here’s everything you might need to start modding” page on the wiki…
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FriendlyFire wrote:
Ya, just remember most people aren’t very familiar with recompiling sources and that finding Max SDKs is a real painAs for dates, heh. It did make me think we really need a “here’s everything you might need to start modding” page on the wiki…
Oh, I think that’s a good idea.
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FriendlyFire wrote:
Ya, just remember most people aren’t very familiar with recompiling sources and that finding Max SDKs is a real painThis is true, but as far as I know there isn’t a compiled dll of any version on the forge at all, other than the very first one that is very basic. So either way compilation is required.
But that wasn’t my point even though it may have sounded like it. All I was meaning when I pointed it out, was so people who don’t happen to have 2010/11 didn’t get dishearted thinking it was only gonna work in those versions.
