Do you want to learn how to mod sh4?

Look at this as just a basic how to get started guide for teaching yourself how to mod things in the game. this simple guide is not going to teach you to be a modder but it should show you how to teach yourself to mod anything your interested in.


first let me say that this guide is mainly talking about learning stand alone mods because grouped mods and large mods are too complicated to figure out by dissecting them because you can never know what each file does just by looking at them untill you really understand the files well..


modding 101:

well the first thing you should do is start by downloading every mod there is out there that you can find, even the ones for outdated game versions and burn it all to a disk.

this is your "how it is was done by someone else" instruction manual so you know what files are involved to do this or that with a mod. most mods you might want to do have probably already been done before for an old version of the game or maybe its not done to your taste but it will show you which files are involved and the read mes should tell you what types of changes were made to those files.

you should organise your mods:

mods can be put in groups or catagories that they fall into so break them down into groups that make the most sense to you so you can find what you need later on.

for me i organise them as, environmental, damage related, sound, sensor related, textures, and text editing (which is the easy kind but also easy to mess up with typos).

when you look at mods think about the catagory they fall into because simular catagories are usually done in simular ways. not always but often its the same guidelines you follow but maybe change a different catagory of values in the files.

how to dissect a mod and learn how it was done:

see what the mod does, look at the files in the mod, these are what you need to change to do whatever the mod does, then take a stock unmodded version of the exact same files and open them up side by side to see what was changed and by how much. if there is a read me in the file it tells you what it effects then as you learn you will recognise which files do what in the mod.

if you wanted to, you can do all this without even talking to the guy who did the mod.

in most cases modders are glad to answer any questions you may have. if you dont understand something and the modder cant help you then just ask about it in the forum but remember to be polite and dont say "bernard wouldnt tell me how he did this or that?" just ask in a general manner something like "if i want to increase "XXXX" power, what settings do i need to change?" then when you get your answer you will know the numbers to look at and change and in the process you have learned how to open a mod and find out exactly what was done to the files.

if by some chance the modder isnt around anymore to answer your questions, then use what i told you to get the info you need.

now i will send you a bill in the mail for your education lol.

[AVGWarhawk]

Classically known as reverse engineering?

[ancient46]

Personally if I know how it is done, I will try to explain the method to anyone who asks. Just like all those who answered my questions and still answer them. Many years of training electrical apprentices makes this an automatic response.

[Frank Smith]

OK, retired, 66 and love SH all versions.
I can open the Data and use notepad for cfg files.
what do you use to open a sim. or misge or tsr or upcge
i'd like to learn... and i'm sure i missed the page some where that
gives me more info on how...
thanks take some an leave some for the others .
Snuffy the Ol Pirate

[jmardlin]

sim zon dat cam dsd val are all opened with s3d... You can download it from the link on the sticky for it at the top of this forum. Upc and upcge also use notepad. The other two you mentioned are mission files you open with the mission editor in the sh4 root folder.

Originally Posted by Frank Smith

OK, retired, 66 and love SH all versions.
I can open the Data and use notepad for cfg files.
what do you use to open a sim. or misge or tsr or upcge
i'd like to learn... and i'm sure i missed the page some where that
gives me more info on how...
thanks take some an leave some for the others .
Snuffy the Ol Pirate

i would say a third of the files open with notepad but some dont make sense but most do.

the following off the top of my head are a list of files notepad opens: mis, misge, tsr, cfg, eqp, sns, upc, and a few others i cant remember



misge are done with mission editor, they arent visable unless you select the german mission folder the the box will look empty but its not, look at the file types line and select misge file types and then the mission will show up.

you can manually edit them using notepad, which you will need to do occassionally if your mission dates arent in line with ships available at the time. for those cases you will manually edit the "cfgdate" so the item you want will appear at the time and place you chose even if it wasnt available in real life at that time.



here is a further explanation about this mission editor issue that is best fixed only by manually editing the file:

a most common cause for confussion when creating missions with mission editor is not having the correct sub you selected when the mission was created.

if you dont get the sub you chose in mission editor when you run the mission here is how to fix the problem.
mission editor will always use the cfg date of the oldest ship you use in building your mission for the "cfgdate" of your sub. if its before the date your sub entered the war then this causes the game not to use the sub of your choosing but instead revert to the default porpoise type sub.
you can tell this error because you will see the porpoise sub listed in the mission directory.
to fix this, open Data/ SingleMissions and then open the mission file your working on.
now open the "MIS" file (or MISGE) with windows notepad and manually change the "CfgDate" to match the same numbers it shows for "GameEntryDate".


this is what a porpoise class sub looks like in a mis file

[Unit 1]
Name=_US Porpoise#1
Class=SSPorpoise
Type=200
Origin=American
Side=0
Commander=1
CargoExt=-1
CargoInt=-1
CfgDate=19380101 <<< this number means - 1938=year / 01=month / 01=day
DeleteOnLastWaypoint=false
DockedShip=false
GameEntryDate=19380101
GameEntryTime=0
GameExitDate=19451115
GameExitTime=0
EvolveFromEntryDate=false
Long=15984316.000000
Lat=2029342.000000
Height=-17.000000
Heading=134.113556
Speed=5.000000
CrewRating=3
DelayMin=0
ReportPosMin=-1
ReportPosProbability=100
SecondsUntilReport=-10.150150
HighPrioContact=false
RandStartRadius=0.000000
TacticalUnit=false
AvailStartDate=19380101
AvailEndDate=19451231
NextWP=0


this is what the salmon class looks like in a mis file

[Unit 1]
Name=USS Grouper
Class=SSSalmon
Type=200
Origin=American
Side=0
Commander=1
CargoExt=-1
CargoInt=-1
CfgDate=19420301 <<< to use the salmon in a 1938 mission just change this date to 1938 so it reads 19380101
DeleteOnLastWaypoint=false
DockedShip=false
GameEntryDate=19380315
GameEntryTime=0
GameExitDate=19451231
GameExitTime=0
EvolveFromEntryDate=false
Long=-21493264.000000
Lat=3726281.000000
Height=-16.5000000
Heading=4.081214
Speed=5.000000
CrewRating=3
DelayMin=0
ReportPosMin=-1
ReportPosProbability=100
RandStartRadius=0.000000
NextWP=0

NOTE - i always use 0101 for month and day because that way i dont have to think about the mission dates just the year but you can use the correct month and day of the mission if you wish.


this same mission editor conflict can cause ships not to show up in missions.

if a ship doesnt appear in a mission at the time and place you chose then its "cfgdate" is not in line with the mission date so look at the list and find the ship and make sure you edit it to have the same "cfgdate" as your sub does.

[pythos]

How do I use S3d to add, or change sounds for a specific sub.

How about hull creaks and where they occur?