Topic: Stupid Noob needs help...

[ShadowDiver]

Ok...So I'm new here.

I installed SFC1 'bout 5 weeks ago and I've been playing hard core ever since......

So now I decided "hey..let's try something different..like installing some model mods"
Ok...So here we go.

1. Downloaded Akron zip,  check.
2. Extracted Akron file folder to SCF/Assets/Models file folder,  check.
3. Open the sfbspc.txt (or shiplist.txt in sfc II) file located in the Starfleet Command\Assets\Specs\ folder and use Ship Edit to import and save it into your game's star ship database.

No such file! can't find it anywhere...all I have is sfbspc13.txt, I even went to my EAW folder and I found the shiplist.txt folder but I can't figure out the ship edit to import thing...there is no import feature given..

please help.
please be very explicit in your answer...thank you.

[GotAFarmYet?]

Ship edit import/export feature was for something else not for adding the ships to the game
another thing to know is SFC 1 ships will work in SFC 2 but not the other way around
SFC 3 ships will work in SFC 2 but the hardpoints will not work correctly, SFC 2 ships will not work in SFC 3 I beleive.
!!!Always back up the file you are going to edit to a different directory!!!
Ship edit is useful in getting the ships into the game, been awhile and I don'r currently have it installed so it will be hard to get screen shots for the explaination

you will pick the race you want to edit
pick the ship you want to use the new model for
and along the bottom you will see a thinik it was called a geometry line where it will show the file folder locations
you will select the folder and the mod file in that folder and then save it to the shiplist file

you can also open the file in excel or wordpad it is just a tab delimnited file, make sure you save it that way
find the ship you want to change the model for and look for the \Assets\Specs\models etc folder and change the folder location and mod name

[ShadowDiver]

Thanks GotAFarmYet...
I totally understand the whole forwards and backwards thing SFC1 ships for SFC1 only...got that.
A few quick questions tho..

1. you stated "Ship edit import/export feature was for something else not for adding the ships to the game"
but the you said "Ship edit is useful in getting the ships into the game.
So which is it?

2. since I am just trying this out, let's try this.
Pick race..........Federation..........check
pick ship..........That must be a ship edit thing, because I don't have anything like that at all.
Like I said, I downloaded the Federation ship Akron model zip, extracted the file folder, opened it and all that was in it was...1 move file which media player can't play, 1 text file which is why I'm writing this post, 12 FCA_PCX files I guess pictures and 1 EXP file..

3. why is this so hard? I thought adding a model was pretty simple.
 

[Bonk]

My advice in this, for what it is worth (havent looked at SFC1 in ages....):

If you have Excel or OpenOffice or Gnumeric... or any adequate spreadsheet (google docs even?)

Then make a copy of the shiplist you want to edit and get used to how your spreadsheet of choice handles opening, editing and saving of tab delimited text files. (It works quite smoothly if you shift right click the text file in the windows explorer and select open with... excel... - excel will automatically open it properly when opened in this fashion (at least pre 2007), make your edits and click the toolbar save button saying no file format prompts.

That is the way I handle shiplists for the most part. There are plenty of ways to do it (shipedit, perl scripts.. etc) but I always find simple file management and knowing your spreadhsheet app works best.

Once you get to that point, you will begin to see how the shiplists are organised and edits will come naturally.

[GotAFarmYet?]

Thanks GotAFarmYet...
I totally understand the whole forwards and backwards thing SFC1 ships for SFC1 only...got that.
A few quick questions tho..

1. you stated "Ship edit import/export feature was for something else not for adding the ships to the game"
but the you said "Ship edit is useful in getting the ships into the game.
So which is it?

2. since I am just trying this out, let's try this.
Pick race..........Federation..........check
pick ship..........That must be a ship edit thing, because I don't have anything like that at all.
Like I said, I downloaded the Federation ship Akron model zip, extracted the file folder, opened it and all that was in it was...1 move file which media player can't play, 1 text file which is why I'm writing this post, 12 FCA_PCX files I guess pictures and 1 EXP file..

3. why is this so hard? I thought adding a model was pretty simple.

It is pretty simple but explaining something in a written formate never is
it is simple because in most cases you are only changing the path to the ship, which is just a simple edit in one line of a tab delimited file
1 the import/export feature for ShipEdit was to get customizations of ships into the game where HP and shields etc would be done, this was useful for total game modifications done by several groups of people.

2 first question what are you doing the changes with?
for ship edit:
1 select the race (think it defualts to feds)
2 select the ship from the column on the left; BB, ACV, BC, BC+ etc pick the FCA for example
3 some where near the bottom you will see \Assets\models\FCA\FCA.mod
4 change it to \Assets\models\FAkron\Akron.mod
5 save the file (make sure it is not read only or it will not save, over write the file)
in this case if you select the FCA as a ship it will use this model, if you had selected the FCA+ then all the FCA+ ships would be this model

in Excel it is close to the same thing
1 import the file open it as tab delimited
2 on the far left will be the ship types FCA, FCA+, KCA, etc some where in the middle you will see
\Assets\models\FCA\FCA.mod
change it to
\Assets\models\
then add
FAkron\Akron.mod
so it reads
\Assets\models\FAkron\Akron.mod
and save it as a tab delimited file

Note I am doing this all from memory so everything is probably not those exact names, but it will be close enough so you can identify them and understand I hope what needs to be changed.

about the files structure in the zip
the things you need for sfc 1 and 2 are the textures in either PCX or bmp format and the shipname.mod file
the mod file is the actual ship the 3d model and all of the data needed to make it work

[ShadowDiver]

GREAT GUYS!!!!!!

Thanks for the long winded explanation   That's what I really needed!

You guy are tops!

[FoaS_XC]

And that's why GAFY should get paid the big bucks