Tools for modding

[Kromak]

I was wondering if you use anything else than the game editor to do your mods, and if yes, what?

[xander]

I was wondering if you use anything else than the game editor to do your mods, and if yes, what?

A text editor. The in game level editor is good for creating the levels, i.e. laying down the land, placing buildings and units, and a few other things. The in game editor cannot create scripts, and is useless for things editing game.txt. If you want to create new shapes, a 3D modeler of some kind is also useful (3D Studio Max 5.0, for instance). If you need help converting shapes into the format that Darwinia can understand, Kyuu or Nihil can probably help you (threads: (1) (2) (3))

Finally, I suggest that you spend a lot of time reading the various modding guides that are out there. Icepick's TheNextGame is probably the best place to start; Nihil's modding site has a lot of advanced techniques; and trickfred's Stellar Matter and darwikia have some useful information (and, hopefully, more as time passes -- I really need to add some stuff to the modding section :\ )

xander

[Kromak]

Great, thanks... let's see what I can do...

[Q-Lok]

3D Studio Max 5.0, for instance.

Ach. If I had that kind of money, I'd be not only insanely rich, but also the owner of one killer comp setup. Do you happen to have any pointers for people who want to do this stuff without 3DSMax? Just out of curiosity?

[Lowell]

You can make objects in OBJ LWO or many other file types. Bryce is inexpensive and easy to use. Just use a Perl script to convert them.

[holdmykidney]

can anyone point out to me the post or web site that contains the format of the SHP file?

I use blender for my 3d creation, and I would like to be able to create a python script which outputs to the appropriate format for darwinia.

I read it somewhere any now I've lost it!

or if there is already a python script that does this it would be even better

[trickfred]

The SHP file is proprietary to Darwinia, and should not be confused with the other .shp format.

It's explained in as much detail as you can currently get here (click 'Intro' on the top left).

IV has released a plugin to create shape files in the proper format for 3DS Max 5 (Only works in v5); it is found here.

Several people on the boards will convert other 3d formats for you. Use Search to find their threads, or poke around in the Mod Projects section - they're not hard to find.

Also, there are at least 2 versions of a perl script that will let you convert .ase files to the proper .shp file. Those are also listed either in the Mod Projects forum, or on Nihil's site (second link above).