Attaching an FX to a gun

Anyone tried making a CargoPod for this?
As most can probably attest to, if you have an equip = LargeRed, Hp(non-existant hardpoint name) and that hardpoint does not exist… there is no light mounted.
Now this might be a bit of a mess to look at in code, but would it mess up a server?:
CargoPod will use a shield.3db (no mesh) but add a unique light hp - say… HpRedLight01. This would also need to have an IDS name / info reflecting that HP name so players would not buy more than 1 of the same type.
Next would be the entries in shiparch.ini -this is where it’s ugly. There would need to be entries for each color / type, and number. You can see how this could get out of hand quick, perhaps restricted to fighters and then only a couple custom lights would be available.
So, player buys /mounts the cargopod with its specific light hardpoint, which then allows the light already present in shiparch.ini to show up. Kind of a domino effect. If it does work, that opens the door for other mountable fx as well… say some uber expensive eyecandy specific for each ship.

CargoPods even mountable? Could work on a shield gen as well?
Worth the hassle?

Anyhoo, was looking over solar loadout / construction and remembered this topic. Thought I’d toss out one last thought before hitting the hay.

Edit Victory!…. sort of
Well, since I was curious, I had to test it out. I used a shield generator, buyable in a store, mountable, sellable, light shows up when it’s mounted, gone after it’s sold.

Yeah, I first noticed what Mini_Me said when I was hardpointing the Lifeboat to be a pilotable rare ship (hey, I was bored) - I fudged up and forgot to actually place the RunningLight hardpoints that I defined with the ship package, so when I launched the first time I noticed the lights on my Torpedo launcher rather than the ship itself, which I thought was really neat. The problem with making a custom light system using this, as Mini_Me pointed out, is that it would be the biggest mess of mountable things ever, as you’d have to have a specific hardpoint for each light type for each light spot and blargh that’d be messy. lol

ST_EQUIP.INI section
[Shieldgenerator]
nickname = Plight01r
hit_pts_scale = 1.25
hit_pts = 19000
HP_child = SpConnect <-stock shield entry is HPConnect which is why mine didn’t show up at first
category = equipment
ids_name = 0 ;GENERATESTRRES(“Mountable Red Light01”)
ids_info = um, yeah, stuff here
DA_archetype = equipment\models\st\Plight01r.3db
mass = 10
volume = 0.0000
lootable = false
debris_type = debris_normal
hp_type = hp_freighter_shield_special_1

ST_GOOD.INI section
[Good]
nickname = Plight01r
equipment = Plight01r
category = equipment
price = 10000
item_icon = equipment\models\commodities\nn_icons\equipicon_weaponupgrade.3db
combinable = false
ids_name = 0; (“Mountable Red Light 01”)
ids_info = 0 blah
shop_archetype = equipment\models\commodities\nn_icons\equipicon_weaponupgrade.3db
Of course, this method will require quite a few renamed shields, but I suspect you already can imagine the lovely headaches ahead I can trim down my testing mod and plop it somewhere if need be.

SHIPARCH.INI
just set up a hp_freighter_shield_special_1 on say… HpLight01

MARKET_MISC.INI
[BaseGood]
base = ST04_01_Base
MarketGood = Plight01r, 0, -1, 100, 100, 0, 1

GOODS.INI
addon = Plight01r, HpLight01 <– your new hp, which you sadly had to make on every ship you wanted a light on ;-(
addon = SlowXLargeRed, HpPlight01r <–- this is the HP you added via UTF edit to the shield.3db “model”
If you’re wondering which shield model I’m referring to, go to \data\ships\liberty\LI_FIGHTER\ li_fighter_shield.3db
that only contains a hardpoint (which you need to set the position for to 0, 0, 0 and then add the unique light Hp as well)
rename the shield to same as hp for ease, and repeat.

The downside is for every light you want to be mountable, -with this method they must be declared / equipped and “built into” the model that way. So essentially the shield you buy with the light’s name acts as a key to switch that already existing light on.

Edit: This does have some other nifty applications as well though. Player Ship upgrades , for one: special thrusters or power plants, and built-in weapons, as well as whole ship sections (modular ships weee) -like perhaps macross fighters with the booster packs as an upgrade.

Thank you for your information for sharing, but I have a question to want to ask, this function just adds the light result, are there other application ways?

Well, it turns out that getting Effects to be buyable / mountable from a store is a royal pain in the booty. And as far as I’ve seen, you cannot specify a “loadout =” for anything mountable. So far this is the only way I’ve personally been able to get an effect / light to …kind of… be buyable.

Oh I see, I think perhaps it by the discovery, apply to other the part which we can’t employ get on originally.

@Mini_Me: Well, considering how you do your things…

Have you tried replacing the light (SlowXLargeRed in your example) with an AttachedFX?

addon = this_is_an_equipped_fx, HpPlight01r 

[AttachedFX]
nickname = this_is_an_equipped_fx
particles = this_is_an_actual_fx

[Effect]
nickname = this_is_an_actual_fx
...

@FF: Just tried testing it with Contrails and it works for that as well -same as standard, which should mean its good for any attached. Only other ones I’‘’'ve tried is Small_Station_E3_2001, outer_sanctum_shieldgen, and mplatform_smoke_red, which look odd, but work as well.

As with lights, the HP must already be defined / present in shiparch.ini. And the Contrail (or whatever attached effect) must already be defined / present in goods.ini (the ship package) loadouts.ini. It’‘s just a switch really -a way of adding or removing a hardpoint for equipment that’‘s already there. You’'re buying the hardpoint.

@Lancer:

Why is the forum changing single quote to a double quote?

Due to magic_quotes_gpc = on
Now its off (php.ini)