Larger ship?

[Okies]

So I was wondering if we can make a ridiculous Dreadnought type ship.
So I was tinkering in the joson save file, and even if I up the ship size in the same file, it won't translate into the game. Is it hard coded in the game the ship size?

[justkevin]

Currently, if you want to change ship hex limits, you'd need to edit the "Technologies" file in StreamingAssets/Content/DEFAULT and change the modifier on "hull logistics." (Note that the location of this file will change in the next update)

[Okies]

Thanks! And keep up the good work and Merry Christmas.

[pfroddam]

Just an update, with thanks and respect to Justkevin for their kind provision of information that other game's dev teams frequently guard jealously.
The location of the file has changed a little, It can now be found at:

..\steamapps\common\Starcom Unknown Space\Starcom Unknown Space_Data\StreamingAssets\Content\Icarus\Stories\DEFAULT

Happy modding :)

Edit:
oh, to edit the file will require a text editor with the ability to work with .json files.
These are not hard to find.
Mine is a freebie from the app store called Notepad++
It requires that you download an extension to use it with json files ;)

[Seamus Guevara]

does this still work? I tried it and must be doing something wrong as there was no change

[justkevin]

Originally posted by Seamus Guevara:

does this still work? I tried it and must be doing something wrong as there was no change

I haven't verified whether the original poster's information is correct, but the content path needs to match the build, so you should look in Kepler, not Icarus (if you even have an Icarus path)

[shiantar]

Hi @Seamus! @Okies!

So (for me) the path to this Technologies.json file is
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Starcom Unknown Space\Starcom Unknown Space_Data\StreamingAssets\Content\Kepler\Stories\DEFAULT
Probably you had no issue finding it.

Have a search for DEFAULT.HULL and you'll be at the start of the entries ("elements") relating to hull technology.

The layout of each element is pretty basic -- unique ID, name, description text, required flag for the tech to be present (if any), whether the research is reversible or not, etc.

NERD CONTENT: These are technically called JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) key:value pairs. For example, the element which is assigned index 1, it has a key called "id" and a value assigned to "id" called "DEFAULT.HULL"

For "Compact Construction" have a look at the description text, statModified1 and modifier1
"Increases the max size of our hull by 5 hexes." ; stat 10, modifier 5.0

Try replacing modifier1's value -- replace 5.0 with ... 25.0

This will result in a net +20 hexes of hull size.



You need to save the .JSON file to commit the changes. However, since the Technologies file is only loaded *once* per game and thereafter tweaked when in memory, you'll need to restart the game for any change to take effect.

ALSO NERD CONTENT: With the number of interrelated things in this game, it's quite possible that by setting values in this file you may degrade or break game functionality.

For example, if you set engine thrust at +1000%, you'll probably be unable to dock with Celaeno without smashing into the station itself.

Save a backup copy of the .JSON file first, and experiment with SMALL changes first

[shiantar]

Also, @Okies
Since you mentioned --

It's valid for you to set a ship's definition in a save file (or the ship's saved schematic file), and load the file up. I've done this myself

Some limitations are not clear. For example, you can have a ship which consists of almost entirely scanner modules. I've yet to try multiple Surveyor modules

Whether docking and entering the Shipyard actually lets you
- not throw an Exception ;
- modify the ship at all, and exit the dock ;
- Save a design ;
is entirely up to the implementation.

For example, if the rules imposed by the game (max 1 scanner module, max one surveyor module, 155 max hexes for a Dreadnought-class ship) aren't obeyed, you may be able to disconnect and remove a hex from whatever design you slipped into the save file, and not be able to add it back.

It's presumptive that at a certain ship scale and hex count, it would become impossible to render except at a low framerate.

[Seamus Guevara]

brilliant cheers, I think not fully closing out and restarting was my issue

[Rhaeem]

So nice to see a developer just saying: "Hey, if you want to change that, here is how". Quick question, will any patch affect this or only if the patch directly adresses hull size/hull tech?

[justkevin]

Originally posted by Rhaeem:

So nice to see a developer just saying: "Hey, if you want to change that, here is how". Quick question, will any patch affect this or only if the patch directly adresses hull size/hull tech?

I haven't re-read this thread, so not 100% sure, but in general if you modify anything in the install folder, expect it to get overwritten with subsequent updates. If you modify anything in your save, it should not get overwritten.

It is possible that in the near future there may be a way to create more "official" mods that do not get trampled by updates, but not yet.