All the starships configuration data (weapons, shields, engines,
ect.) is stored in a delimited text file which can be accessed
by excel. The file is called "sfbspc13.txt" and it is
located in "assets\specs\sfbspc13.txt" in the main
directory of the game. By modifying these fields you can make
any ship have all sorts of features. Such as: Add cloaking
ability, Modify engine power levels, Add shuttles and fighters,
Add/change weapons, Modify shield levels, Add more transporters,
troops, mines, etc, and much more.
Be sure to save the original file in a safe place before
modifying it so you can return to your original configuration.
You will also need to remove the read only attribute from the
file. When playing multiplayer all players must have the same
file (modified or not) in order to play.
Here are some hints on modifying the "sfbspc13.txt"
file.
1. The highest I have tested the engine output to is 120
each. I know that Federation ships can't seem to go over 150
each but other races ships might be able to go higher. Engine
values are located in the following areas: R_L_Warp, C_Warp,
Impulse, Apr, Battery.
2. Shields can be modified to very high values for Federation
ships (2000) but Klingon ships don't seem to be able to reach as
high. Shield values are located in the following areas: Shield
1, Shield 2_6, Shield 3_5, Shield 4, Shield Total. Shields cover
each ship on 6 sides. Therefore the values in Shield 2_6 and
Shield 3_5 each represent 2 sides of the ship. The value you
place in Shield Total = (shield 1) +((shield2_6) x 2) +
((shield3_5) x 2) + (shield4).
3. Weapons can be changed to any type within an existing
group. You can also change the number of weapons (up to 4)
within an existing group (missiles can accept higher values but
I do not know where the breaking point is on these). You can't
add new groups of weapons. You can only modify the existing
weapon hardpoints. Weapons are arranged in these areas: heavy
weapon (photons, rockets, plasma, etc) and weapon (phasers,
disrupters, ect). Weapon arcs vary but I do know that if you put
the value ALL as an arc, the weapon will fire from any angle.
4. Cloaking is very easy to add to any ship. Just go to the
area that reads "Cloak num" and place a value for how
much energy you want is to cost to run the cloak.
5. Shuttles are defined as base and max values. The base
value is the max value divided by 3. I have successfully made
the max value of all the different types of shuttles 30 and the
base value 10 which allowed me to purchase quantities of 10, 20,
or 30 shuttles of each type while in spacedock during the game.
By changing the "launch rate" value you can define how
many shuttles can launch before the ship needs to recharge
itself for more launches. If you want to add fighters to any
ships just find the area that says fighter bay 1 thru 4 and
place the value of 6 (higher than 6 will cause game to crash) in
each one of the areas and you will have 4 fighter groups made up
of 6 fighters each!
6. Movement is defined in the "turn mode" and
"move cost" areas. The best "turn mode"
value is AA. This will give you a very agile ship. Move cost
defines how much energy is used for movement. The best value I
have seen for this is .25.
