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[AxleMC131]

A little background...

So I've been playing Starsector since it was Starfarer (albeit with a big break in the middle), and I've loved every minute of it. I've dabbled with mods a little, but I discovered a while back that creating a mod from scratch (at least to add custom weapons and ships) was not particularly difficult.

As an amateur writer of science fiction, I decided to utilize my newfound skills of mod-making to create a simple mod to implement various spacecraft and weapons from the universe one of my stories is set in. It has nothing to do with Starsector on its own, but I discovered that the process of creating first simple sprites, then flyable ships, then weapons to be fitted on those ships, then missions using those ships and so forth, was altogether an excellent method for world building for that story. It added massive quantities of context and contrast, and I am still periodically adding new ships, weapons and features to the mod. I'm extremely proud of some of the things I have created in the mod, and it's been heaps of fun to expand.

However.

Since the mod is of a poor quality (It was my first mod, and since I started so long ago, my technique has changed over the years making things... Inconsistent) and contains some spoilers for the universe, it is not available for public access. I use it strictly for personal gameplay and world building, and I highly doubt it will ever become public. But recently it has left me thinking that it would be nice to have a go at creating a fresh PUBLIC mod that fits within the Starsector universe a little better, with custom ships, weapons, missions, and such things I have learnt over the years how to implement.

The problem...

... is that I have a really bad habit of replicating. I'm concerned that if I was to create a new mod for public use, I would find myself rapidly copying weapon and ship concepts from this private mod of mine into the new mod. On the other hand... Since the private mod is, well, private, no one out there (that's you guys reading this) would give a damn as it would all be new from your perspective. I'm only copying from myself.

Don't get me wrong. I have new ideas all the time. It's more of a brain worm that says "Hey, why are you bothering making new stuff, when you have all this cool stuff here already that you could make public!?". Yet I flatly refuse to make this private mod of mine into a public mod. Trust me, I'm sure it's got some cool features, but you'd be disappointed by the lack of consistency, unkempt style and unfinished mini-projects.

Another reason to dislike replicating concepts - at least, 100% copying them from one mod to the other - is that it would do my head in when it comes to managing the two mods, and the two "universes" would start to collide in my imagination. As a writer, this can cause BIG PROBLEMS with consistency.

Still, I would love to make an original mod using at least SOME of the concepts and ideas from this private mod, because I reckon I wouldn't be half bad at it, given a decent theme/pretense and a little further practise.

So my questions for you are as follows.

If I am to make a new, public mod from scratch, ideally adding ships, weapons, missions and a way to access the ships/weapons in the campaign...

- Should I re-use concepts from my private mod for the sake of showcasing original ideas?
- Should I have a theme to create new concepts for / choose old concepts from?
- Should I bother tying the theme for the new mod in with the Starsector lore, and if so how tightly? Bear in mind I'm not massively educated on it.
- Would people like to see how I started modding with more excerpts (screenshots/videos/showcases) from this private mod?

For a quick look at what I can do mod-wise already, here are a small selection of screenshots from the game featuring my private mod. For a little bit of context, in the story there are three warring factions (United, Freedom and Independence) who here each have a selection of ships and weapons unique to them. You should be able to distinguish the faction's ships by the colour scheme, and to a lesser extent their actual design. Bear in mind that I DO NOT "Frankensprite" or however you refer to it as - all of my sprites are original, as they are based on my own universe, NOT the Starsector universe.

Spoiler

http://imgur.com/a/ElWPS

[close]

All your thoughts, feedback and questions for me will be happily received in the thread below. Thanks all for your time!

- Axle

[Orikson]

Hmm... interesting notion and thoughts. Up to you really, whether you wish to make a mod for players that visit this forum for the mods (and other stuff).

What I would be more concern about mod wise is not the lore or whether it has unique features/original ideas.


My concerns for a mod to be appealing to the general public is:

- Balance. This is one of the tricky bits.
- Compatibility. Not only with other mods but with the base game itself.
- Quality and consistency.

That's just my thoughts anyway.

Making unique content is good though to make a mod appeal to players.


To answer your questions specifically:

1. You can use the concepts from your private mod. Whether its original or fun is left to be judged by players that download and meticulously explore your mod.

2. Having a theme is ok, though not needed. Having it can enable you to keep a consistent thing going on. If not, maybe something akin to Ships & Weapons Pack mod.

3. Tying with Starsector lore is ok, but not needed. The game changes bit by bit as we approach the final leg, so I would expect the lore to be finalised more solidly later before 1.0 or afterwards.

4. Again, showing how you make your mod bit by bit is entirely up to you. Presentation is key if you want an audience after all.


That's from me for now!

[AxleMC131]

Orikson,

Thanks for the feedback! I think I just really need a push as I've been thinking about making a public mod for a long time, and just haven't gotten around to it.

Good suggestions on balance, quality and consistency, and those I treat as a given (and like to think I'm not rubbish at the first), but could you explain what you mean by compatibility with the base game? I'm afraid you've lost me there.

[Orikson]

I'm not a modder, but here's what I perceive as being compatible with the base game:


- Utilising the correct java build.
Starsector runs on java 7 (jre 1.7.0) rather than java 8 (jre 1.8.0) due to issues. A few new green mods utilised the java 8 over java 7, and though it can work, it also can cause problems in general. Add in other mods and you'll have a slew of other problems.
For further mod consultation, I would suggest reading 'Modding' and 'Modding Resources' section a bit for more clarity and guidelines that have been laid by established modders.

- Not game breaking in the AI sense.
When performing simulated battles, a lot of is taken into account on what's in a fleet (ships, weapons and fighters). This is more of the number work so that in the event the AI performs battles using Vanilla fleets vs. your mod's fleet, there's more of a 50/50 chance for either fleet to come out on top if they are of the same fleet size and quality.

- Economy Harmony.
Not something I'm entirely sure of, but if you want to create a homeworld for you mod faction, the economy must be properly balance either by matching how Vanilla markets work or creating an internal system (something like SCY nation for example). If markets are improperly made, you'll have weird cases were the economy just spirals out of control. An example of this is Mayorate's special market condition on one of their home planets that hikes up the price of Rare Metals throughout the sector by being a black hole for it, and ORI's home system which has too many markets and is... just silly.


Other than these, I'm not sure what else to add.

[AxleMC131]

I'm not a modder, but here's what I perceive as being compatible with the base game:

Well. O.O Clearly I know nothing. I'm not a programmer, or at least, I don't know Java - everything I do for modding comes from looking at the existing game files or other mod files, then writing my own using those as a template. It's a method that's served me well enough so far.

[AxleMC131]

In other words, I taught myself from scratch how to mod Starsector.

[Midnight Kitsune]

In other words, I taught myself from scratch how to mod Starsector.

Many of the well respected ModFathers of the Mod Mafia are self taught. Especially Tarti IIRC

As for the mod, you should look at Taindong Heavy Industries by MesoTroniK on here. I would say that mod would be a good example of a complete but simple mod. Another one would Shadowyards.

Also, if you have questions then you should visit the discord as it is pretty active. Although if you ask for help or advice, be sure to take it

[Tartiflette]

The simplest mod you can use as a template is Flu-X, that's the only one left that is not using compiled code. And despite not being great sprite-wise it is very tidy and well organized.

[whatdoesthisbuttondo]

I've been working on and off on a still unreleased mod for maybe 2 years now, and while most of the ship concepts
I've thrown out for a completely different twist with every iteration, there is one concept I keep coming back to.

Sure that specific concept did undergo quite radical changes over time, but still I think it isn't that you are out of ideas
when you keep coming back to something, it just means the concept is good and is asking for more of your time to
mature and evolve.

Just my 0.02$

[AxleMC131]

As for the mod, you should look at Taindong Heavy Industries by MesoTroniK on here. I would say that mod would be a good example of a complete but simple mod.

Well that's lucky. Tiandong is one of the ones I have downloaded for use as a template (and if I'm honest, a little inspiration...)! I actually really like the idea of it, and I'm tempted to do a similar sort of style. I love the "industrial" type ships quite a lot. Obviously I have other ideas to make it distinctly different from THI.

The simplest mod you can use as a template is Flu-X, that's the only one left that is not using compiled code. And despite not being great sprite-wise it is very tidy and well organized.

Actually haven't heard of this one. I'll be sure to look it up.

I think it isn't that you are out of ideas
when you keep coming back to something, it just means the concept is good and is asking for more of your time to
mature and evolve.

Just my 0.02$

That makes me feel a whole lot better. Thanks for the thoughts!

[AxleMC131]

To update:

So with some random concepts floating around my mind last night when i made this topic, I slept on it and have awoken fresh and with some ideas for theme, ships, weapons, and such that are both original to myself, but reuse some of my favourite concepts from my private mod. Feedback is still appreciated of course, but I think I'm at a point where I can start working on some new concepts.

[AxleMC131]

Another update and another question: Livery!

Gosh things are moving fast! I already have a fairly concise concept for a "faction" (organization, company, whatever) and an idea for the theme. I think I'm going to go for industrial vessels, and I've got a few pointers to make them unique, but I'll explain that at a later date assuming this follows through.

Now, I have a "prototype" of the first ship I'm making, but I have a dilemma. COLOUR SCHEME. I don't know what to use! So I'm here again to ask for some suggestions.

PLEASE NOTE:
- I want the livery to be unique and easily recognizable, but not overwhelmingly colourful or garish.
- The theme is industrial, so well-armoured ships built for doing dirty work. Nothing too flash, but fairly utilitarian.
- Ships are often going to be accessible for both the military and civilians.


For a look at what I've got so far, here's the first ship concept, with a couple of colour schemes (but no real "texturing" just yet) for inspiration. It's a frigate-sized combat freighter with a cargo container, light defensive weaponry. Nothing special.

Spoiler

#1 - Proper industrial, complete with dirty hull and hazard stripes. Honestly my favourite, but I feel it's a little too close to the Tiandong colour scheme and that's putting me off using it.


#2 - A little more brown-and-grey, this is actually the same base colouration I use for some of the ships in my private mod. The cargo container can provide a splash of colour.


#3 - Clearly a civilian livery. This one's nice, and I might keep it handy for a later date, but I don't feel it's appropriate for an industrial cargo ship.

[close]

Please voice your opinions and any suggestions below!

[Weltall]

The simplest mod you can use as a template is Flu-X, that's the only one left that is not using compiled code. And despite not being great sprite-wise it is very tidy and well organized.

Since this has been mentioned, I really love that mod. Seeing the mutant like ships around in the universe makes me feel weird and wary, especially because they are neutral.

I think your mod will be awesome no matter how simple it is, as long as you will give it love AxleMC131. I feel happy to see a new mod in Starsector's Universe~

[AxleMC131]

I think your mod will be awesome no matter how simple it is, as long as you will give it love AxleMC131. I feel happy to see a new mod in Starsector's Universe~

Aww, thanks. Already I've got heaps of great ideas for it. All I have to do now is make my thoughts into reality, haha!

[Seth]

More mods - the better, if you have ideas and passion, you definitely should do you best to flesh it out. Community here is rather friendly and very helpful, I'm sure you'll get lots of tips on how to polish it. What I see as most important thing for every mod is - balance, because unless it's total overhaul, it's best to be used in unison with other mods, and if it's too unbalanced, it becomes niche. I know it's brutal pain to balance everything well, but still it's completely worth it IMO.
So, good luck!