HowTo:Edit Systems:Milkyway

Edit Systems

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Autogenerated system files

Since they are autogenerated, these systems must have some rules so that the generator knows what to make. The rules are inside of the XML file universe/milky_way.xml.

Example

(parts of milky_way.xml)

<galaxy>
  <systems>
 ...
 ...
    <sector name="enigma_sector">
      <var name="faction" value="confed"/>
      <var name="namelist" value="names.txt"/>
 ...
 ...
      <sector name="shelton">
        <var name="sun_radius" value="26000"/>
        <var name="faction" value="aera"/>
        <var name="planetlist" value="planets.aera.txt"/>
        <var name="compactness" value="5.8"/>
        <var name="num_stars" value="1"/>
        <var name="num_gas_giants" value="3"/>
        <var name="num_planets" value="8"/>
        <var name="num_moons" value="2"/>
        <var name="nebulae"   value="true"/>
        <var name="asteroids"   value="true"/>
        <var name="jumps" value="enigma_sector/harrison enigma_sector/repleetah
                                 enigma_sector/mccaffrey enigma_sector/wetland"/>
        <var name="num_natural_phenomena" value="2"/>
        <var name="num_starbases" value="0"/>
        <var name="data" value="1039"/>
      </sector>
 ...
 ...
    </sector>
 ...
 ...
  </systems>
</galaxy>

XML Schema Description

• <galaxy> ... </galaxy> -- Marks the beginning and end of the XML file.
  • <systems> ... </systems> -- You need it but I don't know why.
    • <sector ... > ... </sector> -- (repeatable) A sector containg a group of systems.
      • name -- the name of the sector. For, enigma_sector.
      • < var ... /> -- (repeatable) The default variables for the entire sector (var tag to be described later)
      • <sector ... > ... </sector> -- (repeatable) A system (to be a system it must be inside another sector tag).
        • name -- the name of the system, for example, heavens_gate.
        • < var ... /> -- (repeatable) To be described later

Variables

The < var name="" value="" /> tag

Variable Types

• BOOL = boolean value = "true" or "false"
• INT = integer
• FLOAT = decimal number
• FILENAME = the name of a file inside the universe directory.

Variables

If these variables are not set inside any of the sector tags (innermost overrides) the system will randomly use a number between the corresponding values of the unknown_sector/min and max "systems"

Here is a list of all of the possible names and their values so far:

sun_radius

• Type: FLOAT
• Description: The radius of the sun in the system.

compactness

• Type: FLOAT
• Description: The scale of the star system.

num_stars

• Type: INT
• Description: The number of suns in the system (to make binary systems).

num_gas_giants

• Type: INT
• Description: The number of gas giant planets.

num_planets

• Type: INT
• Description: The total number of inhabited(?) planets (not including gas giants).

num_moons

• Type: INT
• Description: The number of moons orbiting any planet.

nebulae

• Type: BOOL
• Description: Whether there are nebulae or not.

asteroids

• Type: BOOL
• Description: Whether there are asteroids or not.

num_natural_phenomena

• Type: INT
• Description: How many asteroids/nebulae/? there are in the system.

num_starbases

• Type: INT
• Description: how many bases there will be (may be changed around with dynamic universe)

faction

• Type: FACTION NAME
• Description: The name of the faction that owns the system.

data

• Type: INT
• Description: The random number seed that is used to generate the system.

num_jump

• Type: INT
• Description: The number of jump points to other systems there are.

namelist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: a file containing a list of planet names to use.

starlist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A file with a list of colors/textures/sprites for different sizes of stars:
• Example

"0 .3 1 .3 .1 stars/white_star.png"

"1000 .5 .5 1 .1 stars/white_star.png"

... means, "if the radius of the star is greater than or equal to 0 but less than 1000, then use RGB color (.3,1,.3), variance (?) of .1 and a texture/sprite filename of "stars/white_star.png". The same goes for 1000, etc.

gasgiantlist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A list of possible textures for gas giants. If a follows the filename, then it will have atmosphere. If a "^" and another filename follows the first filename then the next texture will be used for lights.

planetlist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A list of possible textures for non-gas-giant planets with the same rules as above.

moonlist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A list of possible textures for moons with the same rules as above.

unitlist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A list of distances and units with the following format:
• Example: "U800^MiningBase U800^MiningBase A8480^AFieldBaseSparse&U400^MiningBase"
  • Format: "U"|"E"|"B"|"A"|"N"|"gas"|"jump"|"planet" distance-from-orbiting-planet "^" unit-name
  • Description
    • U = Unit
    • N = Nebula
    • B = Building
    • E = Enhancement
    • A = Asteroid.

You can have another object at the same coordinates by putting a "&" and another of these unit-distance pairs with no white space in between.

asteroidlist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A list of distances and units with the same format as unitlist.

nebulalist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A list of distances and units with the same format as unitlist.

ringlist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A list of textures of planetary rings.

backgroundlist

• Type: FILENAME
• Description: A list of background spheremaps/cubemaps without the extension (.png,.jpg,etc.).

force

• Type: BOOL
• Description: If this is not true, then the system will clamp to the corresponding value of the unknown_sector/minlimit or maxlimit "system__