Want to change a few things in vanilla FL

There’s quite a bit can be changed server side with vanilla e.g. zones, factions etc but once you want to add Hp to ships or edit weapon class you need to modify the client install as well.

I assume you’re running a server on your PC and playing on that if that’s the case you might as well start modding more extensively.

There’s two ways I believe that you can change NPC difficulty, one is to change the pilot, you can see below there are 3 different pilot levels, (look in DATA/MISSIONS/npcships.ini) there’s several difficulty levels from easy to ace just change the pilot entry to something harder.

[NPCShipArch]
nickname = br_p_br_fighter_d1-5
loadout = br_p_br_fighter_loadout01
level = d5
ship_archetype = br_fighter
pilot = pilot_police_med
state_graph = FIGHTER
npc_class = lawful, class_fighter, d1, d2, d3, d4, d5

[NPCShipArch]
nickname = br_p_br_fighter_d6
loadout = br_p_br_fighter_loadout01
level = d6
ship_archetype = br_fighter
pilot = pilot_police_hard
state_graph = FIGHTER
npc_class = lawful, class_fighter, d6

[NPCShipArch]
nickname = br_p_br_fighter_d7-19
loadout = br_p_br_fighter_loadout01
level = d7
ship_archetype = br_fighter
pilot = pilot_police_ace
state_graph = FIGHTER
npc_class = lawful, class_fighter,

You’ll need to find the factions you want to edit, see below for factions and code

http://www.swat-portal.com/php/lancersreactor/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=96

The other way is to edit the NPC ship loadout found in DATA/SHIPS/loadouts.ini you’ll need ship and weapon code translations

I’d suggest you read this guide it’s where I started

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/913966-freelancer/faqs/25096

and this thread is worth a read

http://the-starport.net/freelancer/forum/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4729

There’s no easy way to modding I’m afraid, it takes a while to get a handle on what does what and what the heck caused the game to crash!

What? She has no internet and you are moving to her??? Oh come on! No exchanging Multiplayer FL for [d]sex[/d] girlfriend! Be a man!

To change Trents clothes (referred to as body in FL) you need to change the body to something new, this is from the thread below

http://the-starport.net/freelancer/forum/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3137&forum=22&post_id=30773#forumpost30773

This is trent,

[Costume]
nickname = trent
head = pi_pirate5_head
body = pl_trent_body
righthand = benchmark_male_hand_right
lefthand = benchmark_male_hand_left

Found in DATA\CHARACTERS\costumes.ini

Change the body line to

body = pi_orillion_body and this will change his outfit to the Order

To view the data files you need to run the SDK, however there are several versions but I use the 1.3 release with no issues.

Make copy of the FL install and use it for editing!!!

http://the-starport.net/freelancer/download/singlefile.php?cid=2&lid=20

or this is the latest one but I have’t tried it myself

http://the-starport.net/freelancer/download/singlefile.php?cid=1&lid=15

I’ll try and cover the other topics later

Try this link to the archived LancersReactor forum

http://www.lancersreactor.com/archive/index.php

This should set you up with an Eagle with 4 Nomad guns and 2 Skyblast B’s as a start ship.

It needs to be pasted in place of the existing ship or “package” in the mpnewcharacter.fl file in the EXE folder

ship_archetype = ge_fighter6
equip = ge_gf6_engine_01
equip = shield01_mark07_hf, HpShield01
equip = ge_fighter6_power01
equip = ge_s_scanner_02
equip = ge_s_tractor_01
equip = ge_s_thruster_03, HpThruster01
equip = special_nomad_gun01, HpWeapon01
equip = special_nomad_gun01, HpWeapon02
equip = special_nomad_gun01, HpWeapon03
equip = special_nomad_gun01, HpWeapon04
equip = gd_gm_gun01_mark04, HpWeapon05
equip = gd_gm_gun01_mark04, HpWeapon06
equip = co_turret01_mark02, HpTurret01
equip = LargeWhiteSpecial, HpHeadlight
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight01
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight02
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight03
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight04
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight05
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight06
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight07
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight08
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight09
equip = SlowSmallBlue, HpRunningLight10
equip = contrail01, HpContrail01
equip = contrail01, HpContrail02
equip = DockingLightRedSmall, HpDockLight01
equip = DockingLightRedSmall, HpDockLight02
cargo = ge_s_battery_01, 63
cargo = ge_s_repair_01, 63

Essentially a mod for FLMM is all the modified game files zipped into a file that’s extracted by FLMM and when activated the activation process put’s the various modified files in the correct locations.
The game is run by having an FL server and client on a single PC as there’s only one set of game files used by both server and client any changes effect both of them.

There’s two ways to approach what you’re after, one is pick an existing one and edit it, as long as you don’t claim credit for the work I don’t think anyone would mind but it’d do no harm to ask.

The other is to use the Total Conversion Mod Starter Pack by DwnUndr, this has all the systems removed and just 3 basic starter systems to work with so it’s a small compact mod to practice on.

http://www.moddb.com/groups/freelancer-4-ever/downloads/vanilla-total-conversion-mod-starter-pack-31

No, I don’t think Word Pad is what you want; try Note Pad (or its many replacements) instead. My site has an “Eagle Mission” save game, which starts you off with a fully-equipped Eagle; it’s encrypted, so if you want to have a look at it, you’ll need FlCodec (command line utility). FL Hack has an option to remove the level requirement when buying ships & equipment. Console has a command to change Trent’s costume (the whole character, not individual components). JFLP fixes some bugs and has all the ini files decoded, ready for editing.

Start with this: http://the-starport.net/modules/wfdownloads/singlefile.php?cid=5&lid=2048

Chips’ Server Operator 2 mod

I think the Hunor Starsphere pack (as originally released) has an option to change Trent’s look from the default to a darker one where he has dark hair, darker skin, and a black jacket.

Implement each change one change at a time. As you implement each change test it out to see if there’s a problem. At least that way you’ll be able to identify which change is one you need to work on.

Once you’ve identified that change go over each entry looking for things as simple as syntax errors or typos as well as invalid references.

Usually if a player is CTD’ing on a server it’s because there’s an incompatible mismatch between the client’s and the server’s files.

On the server side check out the fl-server-errors.log in the C:\ drive and on the client side check out the flspew.txt file in the client’s users\appdata\local\freelancer folder

(in winxp it would be in C:\Documents and Settings<useraccount>\Local Settings\Application Data\Freelancer)

Look at the most recent (last) entries for clues.

the FLSpit.vbs tool can winnow out the flspew.txt file for clarity’s sake.

As I develop our mod I use the following process.
First I make a copy of the last working mod
Then I rename that copy to a new filename (mostly just change the date reference). For example, I would rename the mod from FLUAddon_08Oct12_0900.flmod to FLUAddon_08Oct12_1030.flmod and then work on that new mod.

This way I can go back to the last known working mod and examine what I’ve changed from that version to the one that’s now not working right. I use FolderMatch to compare the contents of each mod file.

I also use scripting to make ALL changes in the existing files. This way I only have to look at the script files to see what was changed rather than having to examine an entire ini file, possible overlooking a change here or there.

Forgive me if I’m speaking as if to a newbie, I don’t know your skill or experience level. I’m very good at implementing mod changes. I’m just not an innovator. Frankly the FLUAddon mod wouldn’t exist if it weren’t built on the shoulders of the modding giants here that have so graciously educated and shared with us.

PM me, perhaps we can get together on MSN chat or something and look at the problem together.</useraccount>

Try removing your saves.