[Killer Whale]

I played the FSPort one where you have to find wings of fighters. The asteroids were invisible, but thanx to FS and FSOsupport FAQ i fixed that. Anyway, the vasudan ace is in a hercules fighter and blew me up pretty much straight away, which may be normal, cause i did get im thanks to wingmates after a couple of tries. Can anyone help, is it a buggy table or something? And where are the tables (FSPort came with FSOpen, so i changed the MOD and clicked fsport file, but there doesn't seem to be tables in that file [seem])?

[Jeff Vader]

1. The MOD tab in the Launcher only shows the folders, because you select a mod by selecting its folder.
2. The tables are in FSPort3_0_4.vp.
3. Make sure you have abso-****ing-lutely no other vps in the fsport folder, except the actual fsport vps. We just resolved such an issue the day before yesterday, when Sphynx had Cardinal Spear and Awakenings in his FSPort folder.
4. If the steps above do not help, create a new pilot. Your current pilot may have been corrupted.
5. Avoid playing different mods with the same pilot. It can be done without harm, but you can also goof up the pilot file if you, for example, play the FS2 campaign to some point, then switch to FSPort and then back to the FS2 campaign.

[Killer Whale]

The tables are in the fsport3_0_4 VP file, how do i open them? Are they packed into one file or something odd, i search for what opens them on the web and it comes up with this (File Type: Unknown, Description: Windows does not recognize this file type.). I wanna edit them!!

Edit: And this should be right seeing as i just used the installer and changed nothing

[Jeff Vader]

Why am I getting a deja vu?

1. Get Maja
(1.5. Get Java 1.5 or higher.)
2. Use Maja to open a vp.
3. Extract the desired file (must be ships.tbl in this case) from the vp to the location of your choice.
4. Edit the desired file (ships.tbl) with the appropriate program (Notepad works with table files).
5. Place the edited file to the appropriate location (\freespace\fsport\data\tables in this case).
6. Never, ever tinker around with the actual vp files. Always extract the files you want to edit and then take advantage of the fact that the game engine reads the \data\ folder before the vps that are in the same folder as the \data\ folder.

And while on the topic, I still believe you've just broken your pilot somehow. So try creating a new one before messing around with the tables.

[Killer Whale]

Subfolder


All the stuff in there is .class folders that apparently can't be opened;




So, how do i open up maja?

[Jeff Vader]

You do not ask Microsoft or Windows for opinions on what program to use for which file. They never know anything. When you double-click the .jar file, the usual "OMG! I don't know what this file is!" window pops up. Select the option that says "Select the program from the list" or something like that (I use a Finnish install of XP so I'm not entirely sure what the English equivalent is). Then, you search the list for an entry that says Java(TM) Platform SE binary. Select it, tick the "Always use this program" option and click OK.

Edit: Umm, what the hell have you been doing? Never mind. Do this: Install Java (just google it). Then, find your MajaExpress085.jar. Right-click it and select Properties. There's a line that says something like "Open with:". There's a button next to it that should say "Change". Click it and find Java(TM) Platform SE binary. Select it, tick the "Always use this program" option and click OK.

[Killer Whale]

If your wondering about the icons for the VP files, i tried opening them with all sorts of stuff, and sparky could be opened with modelview, so windows thinks all the VPs are modelview files and gives them it's icon.

Can't find MajaExpress085.jar, even used search.


And in case it'll help, a complete view of my Maja folder, sorry if someone gets stuck with such a load of pictures.
















The org is just a long list of folders open one and then another until you get to
apache
tools
bzip2

[Jeff Vader]

I'm, like, this close to facepalming.

If your wondering about the icons for the VP files, i tried opening them with all sorts of stuff, and sparky could be opened with modelview, so windows thinks all the VPs are modelview files and gives them it's icon.

And that is why we try to set you up with Maja, which is a helluvalot more fun tool for opening vp files.

Can't find MajaExpress085.jar, even used search.

1. Get Maja

That particular download is the MajaExpress085.jar. Maja. The program you were supposed to download and use. If there is no other way, right-click the link and select Save target as... from the menu that opens. Then, just save it somewhere. Then, surf to the location where you downloaded Maja and

Right-click it and select Properties. There's a line that says something like "Open with:". There's a button next to it that should say "Change". Click it and find Java(TM) Platform SE binary. Select it, tick the "Always use this program" option and click OK.

And in case it'll help, a complete view of my Maja folder, sorry if someone gets stuck with such a load of pictures.

What the hell is that folder? Either it is something completely irrelevant, or you've forcefully opened the .jar, when you were supposed to execute it with Java.

[MP-Ryan]

What the hell is that folder? Either it is something completely irrelevant, or you've forcefully opened the .jar, when you were supposed to execute it with Java.

Five gets you 10 that's exactly what happened.  This is why it might have been better to send him to VPView 2.0.  Many inexperienced Windows users have a great deal of trouble with Java.

And I just realized I don't have the latest version of Maja!  For shame =(

[Jeff Vader]

Aye. Aye... I didn't take into concideration the fact that Java can indeed be mysterious. So, I'll also present an alternative: QuickVP. Handy, small. I used it before switching to Maja. The problems with it are that it can't create vp files, and sometimes what you select to be extracted has very little to do with what QuickVP itself has decided to extract. But otherwise, it'll get the job done.

[Killer Whale]

Thanks, getting used to it i've just trashed my sparky file and found the table files,

$Name: PVF Seth
$Short name: VFight7
$Species: Vasudan
+Type: Heavy Fighter
+Maneuverability: Fair
+Armor: Heavy
+Manufacturer: PVN
+Description: Slow and sluggish, but heavily armored.  Has high afterburner speed.  Useful for hit and run attacks.  High payload capacity.
$end_multi_text
+Tech Description: As the slowest fighter in the PVN, the Seth has earned itself a reputation as the turtle of the Vasudan fleet.  Even though it is quite compact in size, the Seth can carry a massive payload and has a lot of shielding.  Its standard impulse engines aren't very powerful, but the Seth gains an incredible speed boost when using its afterburners.  The Seth is primarily used in convoy attacks and capital ship escort duties.

The GTA considers the PVF Seth to be a class C threat.
$end_multi_text
+Length: 16 Meters
+Gun Mounts: 4
+Missile Banks: 2
$POF file: fighter07.pof
$Detail distance: (0, 70, 200, 700)
$Show damage: YES
...

Searching through, i cannot find the fighter07.pof file in the sparky thing (luckily enough, i extracted it's content to freespace 2/fsport/data/models before i trashed it)

[Jeff Vader]

I'd guess there is no Seth in the FSPort files, since it is also flyable in FS2 and can be found from the FS2 vps. And how exactly did you "trash" your sparky?

[colecampbell666]

Could he have deleted it? Nah...

[Killer Whale]

Could he have deleted it? Nah...

Well, i deleted something in quickvip and thought it would just clear the clipboard. But i went back and the whole vp file was gone.

[Jeff Vader]

As a general rule, "Delete" buttons usually destroy something.

[colecampbell666]

Thank you for that valuable insight.

[Jeff Vader]

Quiet, you. Killer Whale does reckless things, such as deleting files and using QuickVP for unspeakable purposes. That is more than enough reason to start throwing in sporadic axiomata concerning FreeSpace, and computer usage in general.

Dear Killer Whale,

1. Don't start randomly deleting any files. The sparky you destroyed from your FSPort folder is most likely sparky_hi_fs1.vp. And sparky_hi_fs1.vp to FSPort is kind of like a kidney to a human; really, really useful.

2. It sounds like you've been trying to tinker with files inside a vp with QuickVP. Don't do that. Even if the president/other key figure of your country called and told you to do it, just don't do it. Screwing up vp files causes problems and most likely forces you to redownload them, thus wasting everyone's time and bandwidth. Modding happens by extracting the desired files out from vp files, then tinkering with the extracted files, and finally placing the modified files to an appropriate folder inside \freespace\data\ ot \freespace\modname\data\.

3. The FreeSpace Wiki (link at the top of the page) has some serious material about modding. Read it.

I'll make a mental note to include some modding basics to my to-be guide.

[MP-Ryan]

2. It sounds like you've been trying to tinker with files inside a vp with QuickVP. Don't do that. Even if the president/other key figure of your country called and told you to do it, just don't do it. Screwing up vp files causes problems and most likely forces you to redownload them, thus wasting everyone's time and bandwidth. Modding happens by extracting the desired files out from vp files, then tinkering with the extracted files, and finally placing the modified files to an appropriate folder inside \freespace\data\ ot \freespace\modname\data\.

This is exactly why VPView should be recommended to newbies.  It is incapable of damaging or altering the VP file.

[Jeff Vader]

Hell, I've never been able to do anything with QuickVP, apart from extracting files. I had absolutely no idea it possessed such a destructive power.

[colecampbell666]

I used VPMage until I found Maja (thanks to you. Hell, I thought it was still WIP)

Anyhoo, didja get sparky_hi_fs1? Just rerun the installer.