How to export a system and convert it into a usable script.

(For a system with only one star.)

1. First, you should consider where you want to settle your new system, and create a script accordingly.
Let's call the new system 'MyNewStar System'.

// Filename: MyNewStar.sc
// JackDole 2019.09.21 16:58:54

// ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------

StarBarycenter "MyNewStar System"
{
    RA 12 34 56.78 // Between 0 and 24 hours.
    Dec 89 67 45.23 // Between -90 and 90 degrees.
    Dist 345.123 // Not too far away. There are problems with the accuracy of the parameters in distant galaxies.
}
// ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ 

This script belongs to the folder '..\Steam\steamapps\common\SpaceEngine\addons\catalogs\stars'. (Or in a nutshell, in the folder 'addons\catalogs\stars'.)

2. Export a system.
I. Select the star.
II. Go to the main menu.
III. Select 'Tools'
IV. Select 'Export planet script'
V. In the small window that appears, select 'Export'. There is no feedback from the program that the script was actually exported! (After pressing 'Export', the window remains open, I think that's a bug.)
VI. If it worked, you can find the file in the folder '..\Steam\steamapps\common\SpaceEngine\export'.

3. Rename the script, for example, to 'MyNewStarSystem.sc'. Move it to the folder 'addons\catalogs\planets'.

4. Load the file in an editor. You can use 'Notepad' for that, but I recommend 'Notepad ++'.

5. Do a 'Find and Replace' and replace the 'RS xxxx-xxxx- ...' with the new name of your star, for example 'MyNewStar'.

6. Change the 'ParentBody' of the star to the name of your 'StarBarycenter', in this case "MyNewStar System".

7. At this point, I always remove all asteroids and comets from the script. I usually do a new script with them. The main script can thus be much shorter and clearer. This can be a bit complicated as the asteroids and comets in the new SpaceEngine version are scattered throughout the script rather than at the end of the script as they used to be.

8. Now you have to rename all planets and moons. Simply numbering the planets does not work with scripted planets.
You can also do this with 'Find and Replace'.
I always give the planet the name of the star and a Roman numeral.
Suppose your system has 11 planets. Then you first replace all "11 with "MyNewStar XI. Then all "10 with "MyNewStar X. And so on.

9. That's it! You can now use your own planets in this system. Either you edit a planet in the Spaceengine editor and paste the exported changes into your script, or you create your own planet and replace one of the planets.

[Cellulated Of Infinity & Rosie]

tree

[CytoZytokine]

@Folger419
Oh, sorry. Didn't see your comment there until now. Unfortunately I never ran into such systems you described and they seem to be extremely rare. A lot of systems I visit will always have 1 or 2 asteroid belts and an Oort Cloud collection of comets at the outer edge.

Thanks, but I've already found and exported a system I liked anyway, and I did so by just exporting the individual scripts of the star, planets, and major moons and later combining them into one script. It really cuts out the tedium of having to manually remove thousands of asteroids and comets.

[Folger419]

To DivineFlame100:
Have you considered picking a system with only 3 asteroids and/or comets? I mean.. Im not gonna try this, Im just killing time before I go work.. but still.

[CytoZytokine]

Honestly, you're better off exporting the scripts for each of the planets and moons in a system individually and piecing them together into one script. This is because manually deleting literally thousands of asteroids and comets is tedious, time-consuming, and ultimately not worth the effort.

[n3uva]

Thanks, It worked! heres a link to the mod I made with this:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2259308437

[captainaaron]

help it's not working

[Providence]

Good basic instruction. Could use some more examples like you have under Step 1. Helps to visualize whats being asked. Even if it seems straight forward to you.