[Tool] Superluminal 2.2.1 - FTL Ship Editor

[kartoFlane]

I just want to be able to save my progress, and load it in Superluminal the next day.

That's answered by FAQ #6.

I seem to recall that it's been asked at least once before, but I agree that digging through hundreds of pages of posts is a boring and grueling task. There's not much that can be done to help with that, sadly -- the forum's search functionality requires you to know the exact thing you're looking for, and Google tends to link to a thread's first post, instead of the relevant post itself.

[Auron1]

@kartoFlame: what is the best procedure when creating a ship?
I have watched the video indicated in the FAQ #1, it would be easier to just write down a quick list.

Personally, what I do, once the program is running, is:

1) add Mods (if needed)
2) start to create a new player-ship
3) add images
- main picture
- floor
- stealth
- shields
- thumbnail
4) add gibs (if available)
4A) make gibs work → how?
5) add rooms
6) add systems and subsystems
6A) fix systems and subsystems
7) add doors
8) add stuff → weapons, augmentations, crew, drones, etc.
8A) double-check stuff
9) save as .ftl
10) install with SSM and enjoy!

Is there anything wrong?

[kartoFlane]

Seems about right. The order in which you do stuff is pretty arbitrary really, whatever workflow is better for you.
Anyway, to access the gib controls, you need to have the Manipulation Tool selected. Then, you need to hide all other elements of the ship; pressing keys 1 through 8 will do that. Then you click on a gib, and in the sidebar you'll have access to either visual controls, or raw data, as in the ship's XML files.

[Auron1]

Seems about right. The order in which you do stuff is pretty arbitrary really, whatever workflow is better for you.
Anyway, to access the gib controls, you need to have the Manipulation Tool selected. Then, you need to hide all other elements of the ship; pressing keys 1 through 8 will do that. Then you click on a gib, and in the sidebar you'll have access to either visual controls, or raw data, as in the ship's XML files.

Have you considered writing a quick-guide? Nothing special, maybe something like my previous post... I know that almost everyone here is now familiar with Superluminal, but those who arrive now (like me some ago), may find themselves "lost" without something indicating what to do and in what order.

[Auron1]

Question: are weapons always placed below the hull? I was creating a ship with weapon mounted on the upper part of the hull, but if I can't have them displayed correctly, it's all useless!

[Sleeper Service]

They will always be bellow as far as I know. You can do work around that with adding the weapon graphic to the actual hull graphic of the ship, don't know if that helps. Projectiles will also always spawn below the ship.

[Auron1]

They will always be bellow as far as I know. You can do work around that with adding the weapon graphic to the actual hull graphic of the ship, don't know if that helps. Projectiles will also always spawn below the ship.

Crap, 3 hours (at least) have gone wasted then...
The idea was to transform the Fed. Cruiser into the Fed. "Battleship", where all cannons are placed above the hull and massively fire against all enemies.
TBH I was considering even giving 6 weapons slot (yes, I know it should be always avoided), but if the weapons can't be placed there I have, at very least, to change a lot, a lot, of things.

[mr_easy_money]

TBH I was considering even giving 6 weapons slot (yes, I know it should be always avoided)

huh? why should 6 weapon slots be avoided? I've seen some ships with more, although autofire becomes an issue. maybe that's what you're getting at? on one of PLIOU's ship mods one of the ships has 8 slots if IIRC. I think maybe getting a drone system might screw with that, but it is possible to start with more than 6 slots.

[stylesrj]

More than 4 weapon slots can crash the game if you try auto-firing Weapons 5 and/or 6.
Unless it's a beam. They somehow are not affected by autofire.

[Auron1]

huh? why should 6 weapon slots be avoided? I've seen some ships with more, although autofire becomes an issue. maybe that's what you're getting at? on one of PLIOU's ship mods one of the ships has 8 slots if IIRC. I think maybe getting a drone system might screw with that, but it is possible to start with more than 6 slots.

I probably didn't write clearly enough: the idea of 6 or more weapons was an extra, meaning that I needed first to place the weapons correctly, and only after that I could consider placing more than 4 of them.
My Exp. with SL is limited: if I read "Having more than 4 weapons can cause multiple issues" I'm definitely going to reconsider it.
Still, the problem that weapons are always placed below the hull remains: I will have to find something else...