Server Help :: View topic - how do i make shipsets for my zone??

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General Questions - how do i make shipsets for my zone??

Anonymous - Fri Dec 20, 2002 8:31 pm
Post subject: how do i make shipsets for my zone??

I have been trying to put shipsets in my zone. I thought i did it but when when my friend entered the arena he couldnt see the shipset. I was the only one who could see the shipset.Plz tell me how to put shipsets up thank you.

SuSE - Fri Dec 20, 2002 10:16 pm
Post subject:

First, you need ship images...or a ship image (or images) in all the appropriate angles for Continuum. Open up a copy of ships.bm2 (as a .bmp) in any image editing program and check it out. There is a 9 degree difference between each angle - original ship images are 36 x 36 pixels each. Once you have your ships setup in images like ships.bm2 (.bmp) (note: can also take only one ship [instead of all eight in ships.bm2] and call it ship1.bm2 / ship2.bm2 / etc) you will need to create a .lvz file.

Download lvztoolkit.zip and unzip it in some appropriate directory (I use Continuum>lvztoolkit). You will need to check out the Example.ini provided in the zip file and probably the .lvz part of the FAQ Section to really understand .lvz file creation, but for now I will tell you that you need a .ini file containing this:

----beginning after this line----
OutFile=anynameyouwant.lvz

File=ships.bm2
----end before this line---------

You can also do it the following way if you want to do each ship images separately (like ship1.bm2 instead of all ships in one ships.bm2 image -- good if one or two of your ships are much larger/smaller than the others):

----beginning after this line----
OutFile=anynameyouwant.lvz

File=ship1.bm2
File=ship2.bm2
File=ship3.bm2
File=ship4.bm2
File=ship5.bm2
File=ship6.bm2
File=ship7.bm2
File=ship8.bm2

----end before this line---------

You can change just one ship or all eight, I just used all eight for that last example.

So once you create your .ini file, save it (best to save as something that actually lets you know what's inside it -- I make mine with the name specified in OutFile=whatever.lvz and the name of the .ini the same, like shangrala.lvz is created by building shangrala.ini). After you save it, make sure your ship image(s) is/are in the same directory as the .ini file. Then just run...buildlevel.exe on your .ini file. You will be presented with a brand spanking new .lvz file in the same directory as the .ini file.

Now, to actually get the images into your zone/arena, you need to "*putfile filename.lvz" if you're a sysop, or get the .lvz to a sysop and have them upload the .lvz if you are not a sysop yourself.

After that, make sure the setting "Misc:LevelFiles=filename.lvz" is present in any/all .cfg (settings) files of any/all arenas you wish the ships to be present in. (NOTE - if you want the download to be OPTIONAL--downloaded only if players have "use optional level graphics and sound" checked in view>options>other--then make the setting "Misc:LevelFiles=+filename.lvz" ...just put a "+" in front of the filename, in other words.)

Once the .lvz is uploaded and that settings is added, just type "?go arenaname" (or just "?go" if it's for the public arena) and you (and anyone else) will download the ships.

Anonymous - Sat Dec 21, 2002 9:27 am
Post subject: continued question.

where do i put the ship1.bm2s and stuff?

Helicon - Sat Dec 21, 2002 11:13 am
Post subject:

in the same directory as the toolkit... if you want to make it easy...

Mine GO BOOM - Sat Dec 21, 2002 12:28 pm
Post subject: Re: continued question.

Slayor wrote:

where do i put the ship1.bm2s and stuff?

You are to put it in the same directory as your .ini file that you used to make the .lvz. Otherwise, the lvz maker won't find it.

Also, for file-only .lvz, i recommend using the makelevel program. It won't create a blank object-data section, so it won't screw up other .lvz's. If you only use one .lvz file, then it won't matter.

i88gerbils - Sun Dec 22, 2002 8:48 am
Post subject:

shipbuilder is the most basic ss ship editing program. Available to download @ http://downloads.aswz.net

Doggeti - Fri Jun 20, 2003 3:48 am
Post subject:

Akai wrote:

There is a 10 degree difference between each angle

That's not completely correct. The angle is 9 degrees.

SuSE - Fri Jun 20, 2003 2:07 pm
Post subject:

indeed