Are there any tutorials for the in-game X3 Galaxy Editor? I am having a hard time trying to figure out how it works.
I'm new to the X-Universe so I have no prior about how it works.
Thanks....
About X3's Galaxy Editor
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hi there you might look under the x2 forums, as there is guides in there
also when you start the ed press num enter. this will bring up a scrolling menu. for adding stations etc.
also when you start the ed press num enter. this will bring up a scrolling menu. for adding stations etc.
Handzon c.e.o at SPARTRANS TRADING CO.
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yes well im still working on that side of it, but when i added sun i ctd so wouldnt adivse on that.
Handzon c.e.o at SPARTRANS TRADING CO.
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nuclear_eclipse
- Posts: 1129
- Joined: Thu, 2. Sep 04, 01:54
You can delete any object by highlighting it on the sector map, then pressing the D key. You can copy any object to the clipboard or remove it from the clipboard by pressing Shift-C, and Paste all objects from the clipboard via Shift-V. When in the sector map, rotate highlighted objects via numberpad /, -, +, 0, and '.' - you can then reset the rotation back to 0 via numberpad 5. Press 'p' while selecting any object to get a detailed list of properties for that object, including name, lighting, and more.
Re: Suns. The X3 engine can only handle a maximum of one sun per sector (hence Akeela's Beacon is so strangled compard to X2). If you add a second sun, you'll lose all dynamic lighting for the entire sector, simliar to the way cockpits are in 1.3.
Re: Planets. These make very usefull 'secondary light sources' as well as adding to the look of the sector. Add a tiny moon (planet id > 100) and give it a super high lighting rate and you have just added a 'second sun' to the sector, or do the same for any planet to have it help light the sector.
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These are just some basic tips for galaxy editing. Galaxy13 was going to make a tutorial, last I heard, but that was also a long while ago. There are tons of things you can do with the galaxy editor, and if I can think of anymore little tips, I'll post them here.
Re: Suns. The X3 engine can only handle a maximum of one sun per sector (hence Akeela's Beacon is so strangled compard to X2). If you add a second sun, you'll lose all dynamic lighting for the entire sector, simliar to the way cockpits are in 1.3.
Re: Planets. These make very usefull 'secondary light sources' as well as adding to the look of the sector. Add a tiny moon (planet id > 100) and give it a super high lighting rate and you have just added a 'second sun' to the sector, or do the same for any planet to have it help light the sector.
---
These are just some basic tips for galaxy editing. Galaxy13 was going to make a tutorial, last I heard, but that was also a long while ago. There are tons of things you can do with the galaxy editor, and if I can think of anymore little tips, I'll post them here.
Thanks guys for all your support. I was thinking of making a GUI for it if no one was going to. Good thing I don't need to anymore. You guys can for sure make a much better one than I can.
Anyways, I hope you can get that tutorial online I will greatly appreciate it. As a suggestion, I think you should have an index of the planets. For instance, put the subtype number and a brief discription of what the planet looks like. So we don't have to go though trial and error to find the planet we need.
Question: For the sun, does the RBG values go from 0-255 -- Like the lighting in 3D Studio?
Anyways, I hope you can get that tutorial online I will greatly appreciate it. As a suggestion, I think you should have an index of the planets. For instance, put the subtype number and a brief discription of what the planet looks like. So we don't have to go though trial and error to find the planet we need.
Question: For the sun, does the RBG values go from 0-255 -- Like the lighting in 3D Studio?
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nuclear_eclipse
- Posts: 1129
- Joined: Thu, 2. Sep 04, 01:54
And.... a few more questions.
How do you move objects once they are placed?
Any recommendations for how to place planets?
Do you place suns outside the sector? How for would be recommended?
How do you import existing X-Universe sectors? Planets, stations, asteriods, etc.
Can you name your own sectors?
How do you move objects once they are placed?
Any recommendations for how to place planets?
Do you place suns outside the sector? How for would be recommended?
How do you import existing X-Universe sectors? Planets, stations, asteriods, etc.
Can you name your own sectors?
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nuclear_eclipse
- Posts: 1129
- Joined: Thu, 2. Sep 04, 01:54
Highlight the item on the sector map, then use numpad 2/8 to move up or down on the map, and use numpad 4/6 to move left and right. Use the Insert key to change up/down movement between the Y or Z axis.GoldEagle wrote:How do you move objects once they are placed?
After you've created them, highlight the planet on the sector map, use P to get the right planet type for what you want, then go back to the sector listing, and re-highlight the planet. Use +/- to move the planet closer of ruther away. Use 4/6 and 2/8 to move the planet in a circle around the center of the sector.GoldEagle wrote:Any recommendations for how to place planets?
This also goes for planets, but you generally want to place planets/suns as farr from the center of the sector as possible, which is why planets and moons come in such a large variety of sizes. However, you'll notice that if a planet/star gets more than about 3000km from the center of the sector, it will wrap back to about 400km, so you can only put them out so far.GoldEagle wrote:Do you place suns outside the sector? How for would be recommended?
Using the numpad enter, go to the Galaxy Editor menu, and select the option Import Sector, then select the sector from the galaxy map, and then input the name of the map you want to import it from. Use 'x3_universe' to import sectors from the default X3 map. Note that if you want the 1.3 'miniroids' and other misc. updates, you will also have to import the sector from the map 'x3_universe_v13_patch'GoldEagle wrote:How do you import existing X-Universe sectors? Planets, stations, asteriods, etc.
Yes, but this requires editing a text file (44xxxx.xml) to do so. The best and easiest way to do so is with Doubleshadow's Text Resource Editor. Create two Page IDs, 7 and 19. Now, get the X/Y coordinates for the sector you want to edit (starting with x=1 at the left and y=1 at the top).GoldEagle wrote:Can you name your own sectors?
Create an entry in page 7 numbered 102XXYY and replace XX with the X coordinate and YY with the Y coordinate (like 01, 08, 10, 24). Put the sector name in this entry's text box.
Create an entry in page 19 numbered 103XXYY - note the 103 instead of 102 - and replace X and Y just the same. In this text entry, put in the sector's description.
Now save the text file to your X3/t folder. Start up X3, start a new game (or the galaxy editor), and then enable and enter the script editor. Create a new script named setup.<galaxyname> - on line 001, enter the command from General Commands 'Load Text: id=<Var/Number>' enter the four digit XXXX number used when saving your text file, and then hit Esc and save your script. Your text file should now be automatically loaded whenever starting a game with the script editor enabled, and sector names/descriptions should now be used and take precedence over the defaults.
--- more coming very soon... ---
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nuclear_eclipse
- Posts: 1129
- Joined: Thu, 2. Sep 04, 01:54
Other general tips when making galaxies:
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Initialize the galaxy
To have the player start in a sector other than Argon Prime (sector 1,3), or to start with conditions other than the default Buster/5000cr/etc, you must create a script named galaxy.<Name>.initplayership - replacing <Name> with the name of your galaxy. Note that the galaxy name IS case sensitive! Inside that script, create a ship anywhere you want, of any type, and make a return statement that returns a variable pointing to that ship. You can also do anything else you want inside this script, like initialize galaxy-specific objects, text files, or scripts. In the Syndicate, I use the initplayership script to set up the player's ships and station, set the player's starting notoriety, and start a whole cascade of other scripts that does cool stuff, like automated refueling stations, a custom campaign, etc. Let your mind go wild.
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Make your sectors pretty
Decorating sectors can be very fun. However, you need to plan it out to make the best impression on the player. There are a few things to think about, and the primary concern is making the sector well-lit, and look god from the angles the player will likely be spending most their time flying at.
- You want to make a splash the moment the player enters the sector. This means you want to have the focus of the sector be viewable from the main points of entry, if at all possible. For example, if the sector only has one gate, you don't want the planets and pretty background to be behind the gate. If a=the only gate brings the player in facing a bleak part of the sector, move and rotate the gate. Who says the east gate has to be on the right side of the sector? Some of the prettiest sectors in the Syndicate have resulted from me placing the west gate in the upper right corner, or had a North-South route actually take the player across the sector instead of up/down.
- Use the dynamic planet lighting to your advantage. You can get some really cool effects by placing the sun in a fashion that makes the planet only 'half' lit up, or less. Ever seen a picture of an Earth sunrise from the space shuttle? Replicate that with your own sector, albeit from an insanely higher altitude... Use the dynamic night-lighting to good effect. Pick planets with night-lighting and place the sun behind and to a side, so that most of the planet shows the night lights, whch can be really cool.
- Place the sun in an out of the way position. Not only does this mean the sun wont be in the player's eyes whenever they're in sector, but it generally offers better lighting situations foor everything in sector.
- Make it easy to see the sector. Place a planet on opposite sides of the sector from the sun, and give them decent lighting values. This will add lighting on sector objects from multiple sides, making them infinitely easier to see, especially when on the side opposite the sun. Only use dark sectors sparingly, and only for good reason.
--- More may be added later...
---
Initialize the galaxy
To have the player start in a sector other than Argon Prime (sector 1,3), or to start with conditions other than the default Buster/5000cr/etc, you must create a script named galaxy.<Name>.initplayership - replacing <Name> with the name of your galaxy. Note that the galaxy name IS case sensitive! Inside that script, create a ship anywhere you want, of any type, and make a return statement that returns a variable pointing to that ship. You can also do anything else you want inside this script, like initialize galaxy-specific objects, text files, or scripts. In the Syndicate, I use the initplayership script to set up the player's ships and station, set the player's starting notoriety, and start a whole cascade of other scripts that does cool stuff, like automated refueling stations, a custom campaign, etc. Let your mind go wild.
---
Make your sectors pretty
Decorating sectors can be very fun. However, you need to plan it out to make the best impression on the player. There are a few things to think about, and the primary concern is making the sector well-lit, and look god from the angles the player will likely be spending most their time flying at.
- You want to make a splash the moment the player enters the sector. This means you want to have the focus of the sector be viewable from the main points of entry, if at all possible. For example, if the sector only has one gate, you don't want the planets and pretty background to be behind the gate. If a=the only gate brings the player in facing a bleak part of the sector, move and rotate the gate. Who says the east gate has to be on the right side of the sector? Some of the prettiest sectors in the Syndicate have resulted from me placing the west gate in the upper right corner, or had a North-South route actually take the player across the sector instead of up/down.
- Use the dynamic planet lighting to your advantage. You can get some really cool effects by placing the sun in a fashion that makes the planet only 'half' lit up, or less. Ever seen a picture of an Earth sunrise from the space shuttle? Replicate that with your own sector, albeit from an insanely higher altitude... Use the dynamic night-lighting to good effect. Pick planets with night-lighting and place the sun behind and to a side, so that most of the planet shows the night lights, whch can be really cool.
- Place the sun in an out of the way position. Not only does this mean the sun wont be in the player's eyes whenever they're in sector, but it generally offers better lighting situations foor everything in sector.
- Make it easy to see the sector. Place a planet on opposite sides of the sector from the sun, and give them decent lighting values. This will add lighting on sector objects from multiple sides, making them infinitely easier to see, especially when on the side opposite the sun. Only use dark sectors sparingly, and only for good reason.
--- More may be added later...
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nuclear_eclipse
- Posts: 1129
- Joined: Thu, 2. Sep 04, 01:54
nuclear_eclipse, did you spot and remove all of the duplicate items in the patch xml file for the mini 'roids? I was doing a merge & thining out of them at the same time and found several systems in the patch file with duplicate asteroids (t="17" not the 28's) and one with four duplicate planets. It made me wonder if there weren't more in the game and if they were having a negative impact on performance in some sectors.
Here's on quick example of what I'm talking about:
This also makes me wonder how many similar duplicates are in the original universe file. And I'm also thinking whoever made the patch for the map was getting sick of adding the mini roids towards the end 
Here's on quick example of what I'm talking about:
Code: Select all
<o t="1" x="7" y="16" r="14" size="50000000" m="0" p="-1">
<o t="2" s="31" neb="0" stars="0"/>
<o f="1" t="17" s="0" x="18350043" y="43515568" z="18383784" atype="0" aamount="10" a="48824" b="-13440" g="-17586"/>
<o f="1" t="17" s="0" x="25000000" y="50000000" z="25000000" atype="1" aamount="64" a="48824" b="18304" g="28494"/>
<o f="1" t="17" s="1" x="4503983" y="10003197" z="4502901" atype="0" aamount="2" a="18104" b="15232" g="22350"/>
<o f="1" t="17" s="1" x="12225539" y="32533935" z="12200732" atype="1" aamount="5" a="18104" b="15232" g="22350"/>
<o f="1" t="17" s="1" x="4503983" y="10003197" z="4502901" atype="0" aamount="2" a="18104" b="15232" g="22350"/>
<o f="1" t="17" s="1" x="12225539" y="32533935" z="12200732" atype="1" aamount="5" a="18104" b="15232" g="22350"/>
<o f="1" t="17" s="0" x="25000000" y="50000000" z="25000000" atype="1" aamount="64" a="48824" b="18304" g="28494"/>
<o f="1" t="17" s="0" x="18350043" y="43515568" z="18383784" atype="0" aamount="10" a="48824" b="-13440" g="-17586"/>
</o>-
nuclear_eclipse
- Posts: 1129
- Joined: Thu, 2. Sep 04, 01:54
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Saint-Ashley
- Posts: 1267
- Joined: Sat, 3. Dec 05, 03:40
http://www.doubleshadow.wz.cz/index.php?p=x3
That link will supply you with what you need as far as tools. To find the galexy map you must extract the .cat/.dat files, (you can easily do this with the X3 Mod Manager) After you extract each file individually (since im not sure which .cat/.dat file has the galexy map) the galexy map is inside the "maps" directory. At least I beleive that is what I think it is
im not 100% sure. (not everyones like nuke and galexy, so kudos to them!)
That link will supply you with what you need as far as tools. To find the galexy map you must extract the .cat/.dat files, (you can easily do this with the X3 Mod Manager) After you extract each file individually (since im not sure which .cat/.dat file has the galexy map) the galexy map is inside the "maps" directory. At least I beleive that is what I think it is
im not 100% sure. (not everyones like nuke and galexy, so kudos to them!)