Questions for the editing Jedi Masters

[jmarso]

In the past (I mean going back two decades) I've made a TON of custom mission content for this game. Truthfully, more than came with the original game. I got to be pretty good with AlliED over the years, and this past summer during lockdown I finally delved a bit into OPT editing and texturing, but I'll never be more than an amateur at the latter compared to work done by the folks around here.

My question is, what is the process (and is there a tutorial or documentation) for shipset creation for custom battles / campaigns? I know how to use MXvTED to install new ships and .opts, but the end result is that I've modified my OWN executable and I'm not sure how to translate that to something that could be released for others to use.

While it's easy enough to release mission packs using only the assets from the stock game, there is SO MUCH cool work that's been done in other eras, like Rebels and CW, along with DTM's planetary opts, that it seems a shame NOT to build some shipsets and missions using those assets. I've also, in the past, made a few missions for Kyle Katarn in the Crow and Jaden Korr in his/her trusty Z-95 to complement the Dark Forces and Jedi Academy games, along with mission sets that go with the old Dark Horse X-wing Rogue Squadron comic series, and some stand-alone storylines in keeping with the lore of X-wing Alliance and the EU.

If I can figure out the process for shipset creation, I'd love to seek permissions from modders who've assets I've used to revise and then release some of this stuff to the gaming public, perhaps hosted on sites like Ace's or Vince T's. Before I can do any of that, however, the trick is mastering shipset creation.

So, where can the tutorials / documentation be found to start learning about that?

[Vince T]

Mmm there used to be a tutorial on creating shipsets on DM's XWA Expansion Guide website, but I think that one's got lost with Darksaber's site going down. Might still be available via the wayback machine though.

Generally, there are several ways to pack things together
- Easiest for you, less easier for the player, would be packing everything together with the required SHP files for the OPTs.
- You can also create a shipset as an XMOD file which uses the X-Wing Install System (XIS) to extract the files and patch the game
- Third OPTion is using the new Palpatine Converter, DTM's your best source for info on that one.

[jmarso]

My understanding of the Palpatine converter is that it would only work on my own executable. It seems like I would need to do the XMOD thing in order for someone else to install it on their system using the Palpatine converter.

I know the XIS has been around for a while. Any good gouge on that anywhere?

EDIT: Digging around for info on XIS I found a reference to this: ---> "XWAUP installers, using NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Installer System)"

In the post I saw that it was touted as something more recent and secure than the XIS / XMOD system. Is there any information available on XWAUP installers?

[Vince T]

I think that one's for DTM or Jeremy to answer, not my expertise.