Getting custom ship designs into a mod (mod won't read them)

from GalCiv3 Forums

Currently ship designs are stored in the Design folder in the GalCiv3 directory - outside of the Mod folder.

 

I have not been able to get my race mod to utilize the custom ship designs as default (as opposed to the ships from that ship style).  The relevant xml files are FactionShipStyleSetDefs.xml and ShipClassDefs.xml.

In FactionShipStyleSetDefs.xml, for 

<DisplaySampleObjGfxConfig>Terran_Survey_04S.objgfxconfig</DisplaySampleObjGfxConfig>

If you change the file to something in your Designs folder, it does not show in game when you create a race and select a ship style.  

 

Or, in ShipClassDefs.xml, the file structure for each entry is:

<ShipClass>
<InternalName>TestColony</InternalName>
<DisplayName>TestColony_Class_Name</DisplayName>
<Description>TestColony_Dec</Description>
<ThumbnailOverride>Test Colony Ship_B6036AF0C7F348018663D48B4D0B602E.PNG</ThumbnailOverride>
<ShipHullType>Cargo</ShipHullType>
<ShipRule>ColonyShip</ShipRule>
<ShipDesign>Test Colony Ship_B6036AF0C7F348018663D48B4D0B602E</ShipDesign>
<AIShipClass>Colony</AIShipClass>
<StrategicIcon>ColonyShip</StrategicIcon>
<BlueprintDef>ColonyBlueprint</BlueprintDef>
</ShipClass>

However, if you change the thumbnail, or ship design (to refer to the file name of your custom designed ship) it does not work.  (changes done in a mod file, not in main file.).  In fact, the game just crashes, presumably because it cannot find the files that it needs. 

The files "Test Colony Ship_B6036AF0C7F348018663D48B4D0B602E.PNG" and "Test Colony Ship_B6036AF0C7F348018663D48B4D0B602E.objgfxconfig" and "Test Colony Ship_B6036AF0C7F348018663D48B4D0B602E.ship" are in the design folder.

If I copy the files and place them in the program file's Designs folder, then they appear properly.

In other words, the mod does not read the ship design files from the Designs folder in the My Games->GalCiv3 folder.

For modders, this will be problematic.  Or, does someone know a solution?

 

5,695 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Try putting the files in a Designs folder inside the mod.

Basically, each mod has to be self-contained.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Tried that.  :(

 

I had noticed that since the Text folder is in the Mod folder along side the others, even though in the Program Files the Text folder is in a different directory than the others.  So, I thought perhaps the design folder would work the same.  But alas, no dice.

 

As I recall, in GC2, integrating custom ships into mods was also problematic.  Though, conceptually, it seems that this should be a natural part of modding.  

Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Did they not work here ??? C:\Users\XXXXX\Documents\My Games\GalCiv3\Designs

 

Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Nastytang, reply 3

Did they not work here ??? C:\Users\XXXXX\Documents\My Games\GalCiv3\Designs

 

The designs work there.  But if you mod a faction's ShipClassDefs and FactionShipStyleSetDefs to use the designs you created - thus making them the default ship designs for the faction, then the mod system does not look for designs in that folder.  Instead, it only looks in the Designs folder in the program files path.