How to add your squadron as a new country

Hey Guys,

I just manage to add our Squadron as a new country with some squads in it, is there anyone interested in this at all? I don´t want to go through all the process to do it to find out that no one it´s interested it! :D

You just need Photoshop or similar + Windows Notepad!

You will see some spanish words, since we are an Argentinean Squad!

For some planes you can add extra skins, for some you have to overwrite old ones. Still need to work the rankings and awards/medals, but it`s working ok so far!

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First off all, a couple of things that will make the ride smoother! :D

English it´s not my native language, so don´t be afraid to correct me or question anything that you don´t understand!

We are going to need Photoshop or similar to edit textures, CDDS Explorer (it came with Modman 7.2.0.0), and Windows Notepad or similar that allow us to edit .lua files. Keep in mind that even though I use Windows Notepad, I already saw some post complaining about this program corrupting .lua files.

The process involve a lot of editing and trying, so make absolutely sure that you back up all the files that we are going to edit or replace!!!!!! I backed up the entire FC2 folder before I started messing around, just in case.

Trying to make the process as painless as possible, after every change we are going to test it inside the sim. It will save us a lot of time at the end.

Let´s start.

01 - Adding your Squadron as a new country

Most, if not all the information regarding countries inside FC2 are held inside Scripts/Database/db_countries.lua

The easiest way to do it it´s to copy an existent country, and then edit the basic options.

Open db_countries.lua with notepad so we can edit it, and in this case we are going to use Russia since it have most of the planes that we are going to need. So look for Russia (it´s the first country in the list), and you need to copy all these code.

After you copy it, you need to paste at the bottom of the file, making 100% sure that you respect the original layout meaning that you have to leave an empty line between the last ); and where you place the entire code that you just copy.

It´s A LOT of text, but after you understand it it´s quite simple.

1 - CLSID for your country, this one have to be unique in order to work, so go ahead and edit a couple of numbers and letters on the text that you just copy at the end of the file. I didn´t replace the entire thing, just some numbers and letters in order to make it different for the Russian CLSID!

2- Full name of the country, edited so it will show your Squad name.

3- Again, the Full name of your Squad.

4- Short version of your Squad name, it will be use at debriefs.

5- Name of your Squad flag, will see more of this in the next step, but for now just edit like "yoursquadname.png".

6- Number of the country, if you check the country above of the one that we just add it you will find that they are the "Insurgents" and they are number 17, so go ahead and edit the one that you copy and put it as the 18.

And that´s it for step 01. If we make everything ok, once you enter the Editor you will find your Squad as a country, but with a Russian Flag (or not flag at all), planes and everything else. Don´t worry about that for now, just make sure that FC2 works ok and that you see your Squad name both in the country list on the editor and on the Logbook.

Something that I did and that might be useful at the end, it´s to make a separte MOD Folder. After you finish with the mod, you will need to give it to all your Squad members in order to install it. So what I did to make it simpler it´s to create a separate folder to "replicate" FC2 folder structure, and in there I copy the files that I was editing. So for this first change that I made, I create a separate folder in my back up disk name Scripts, and inside this one I create another one named Database. Finally inside this one, I copy the db_countries.lua that we just edit. Of course I made all this after I make sure that all the changes were working ok! So for now on, all the files that we edit or add will be copy to this new folder in another disk, always respecting the folder structure that they use in FC2. It´s sounds like a pain in the ass I know, but in this way after we finish with all the modifications making the mod with Modman will be a piece of cake!

02 - Adding your Squadron Flag to the Editor

So, you have the Squads name on the editor, but it´s showing the wrong flag?

Go to BlackShark/data/images/Flags and open any of the .png files with Photoshop or similar. Edit it adding your Squad logo or name, respecting the size of the original file that you opened. Save it using the exact same name that you specified the step before at point 5, and try it inside FC2. If the flag it´s showing ok, copy the file and dir structure to our MOD Folder.

The flags for the Editor are really really small, so it can be a little tricky for them to show it ok, especially if you are trying to add a logo or something more complex than a flag. In my case I just add the name of my Squad (ECV56).

03 - Adding your Squadron Flag to the Logbook

Go to BlackShark/data/images/Countries and open flags-1.png in Photohsop.

As you will see, these are the flags that FC2 use at the Logbook and for the Status Bar inside the game when you use external views and it have all the flags in the same file.

So go ahead and add your Squad logo to the one at the end, so it will look like this:

If you are an impatient man you will be trying the sim now, juts to realize that it´s still showing the Russian Flag :P:D. That´s because we need to edit one more thing befor it actually works.

Open Scripts/Database/db_countries.lua and goes to the end of the file. You will see this code {0,0,64,30}. Change for this one {0,480,64,30}. Basically what we are doing, it´s changing the "coordinates" where the Sim will look to show the flag.

Before trying it inisde the game, you need to edit one more file, the one that it will show on the left low corner with any of the external views. Open any of the PNG files inside FUI/Common/Flags and after edited in Photoshop, save it in the same folder but with your squad name, the same that you specified at db_countries.lua

Thanks to =BR= CEROL for making realize about this mistake!

Go ahead and try it inside the game, you should be able to see your flag in the logbook and at the low left corner while using external views inside the sim.

If everything went as advertise, copy the files that we modified to your MOD Folder, and don´t forget to overwrite the db_countries.lua file!

04 - Adding your Squadrons Patches to the Logbook

In our case, inside our main Squad (ECV56) we have one wing for each plane that we fly in FC. So it was a good thing for us that FC have this feature.

Open Scripts/Database/Troops/LOP/Russia.lua with the notepad. Without doing anything, save it as yoursquadronname.lua in the same folder. Now open this file that you just save, if you are familiar with lua files it will be pretty obvious what we have to do.

1- Full name of your Wing.

2- Again, full name of your wing or sub squad.

3- Name of your wings patch.

You can have as many wings/sub squad as you want.

Now, go to BlackShark/data/images/Countries and inside there create a new folder with your Squads name, using the exact same that you use for the Step 01, point 02. Now create another folder inside your squads, named Troops and another one name LOP

At the end you will have something like this:

BlackShark/data/images/Countries/YourSquadName/Troops/LOP

Since we are here, also create a folder name Awards inside your Squads name folder. We will use it later.

So, we continue with your Wings patches. Open any of the XXXCountry/Troops/LOP .png files in Photoshop, so you can use them as a guide for size. Add your wing patch or logo, and save it inside BlackShark/data/images/Countries/YourSquadName/Troops/LOP, making sure to use the exact same name that you used at the point 03 just a couple of lines above.

Now, we need to open Scripts/Database/db_countries.lua again, and edit the last line in our country. Change the Russia.lua for yoursquadname.lua, making sure to use the exact same name that we use at the start of this step.

Save everything, and try it inside the Sim.

05 - Adding your Squadrons Ranks, Stripes and Awards to the Logbook

If you understand what we are doing so far, the rest it´s pretty simple since we are using the same technique in order to do it.

Open Scripts/Database/db_countries.lua and go to the end of the file.

For Ranking

1- Full name of your rank, starting at the lowest.

2-Again, full name of your rank.

3- Amount of points/missions? that you have to complete in order to advance. I´m going to be 100% honest here, I didn´t investigate this in full depth, so I´m not 100% sure that the number represents points or missions, I´m just using common sense!

4- Coordinates for the .png file, don´t touch it.

Now open BlackShark/data/images/Countries/AnyCountry/Stripes.png. You can edit it or use the same, just make sure that after you are done you save it inside your squads foler, with the same name.

BlackShark/data/images/Countries/YourSquadsName/Stripes.png

For awards, let's go back to our Scripts/Database/db_countries.lua file.

5- Full award name.

6- Full award name.

7- Again, I´m not 100% sure that this are points, missions or what. But for sure, they indicate a level that you need to reach to get the award. In my case, I leave them untouched.

8- Awards .png file

As we did it before, we go to BlackShark/data/images/Countries/AnyCountry/Awards folder and open any of the .png files to use as a guide for size. We need to save one for each award that we have, and we need to do it inside BlackShark/data/images/Countries/YourSquadsName/Awards using the exact same names that we specified insides Scripts/Database/db_countries.lua. If you remember, we created this folder just a couple of steps above.

And that´s pretty much it. Now we have our Squad as a Nation.

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This it´s what I wrote so far. I still need to explain how to add your own Skins and Skins names, hopefully I will finish it sometime during today. But you have something to start with already!

Any questions please, don´t hesitate to ask!

Great stuff. Please PM me how to do this.

I edited the first post with the instructions that I got so far.

I still need to write the instructions to use your own Skin and Skin name in the editor, but you have something to start with already, hopefully it will be finished sometime during today!

Any questions, just ask!

its best with Notepad++ to edit LUA files.

Subscribed to this, and rep inbound. I am a bit worried what mess this can create in MP - if some players don't have equal mod.

I am a bit worried what mess this can create in MP - if some players don't have equal mod.

Hi shamandgg,

We still need to test it in FC2 to see how it works, but for the old FC1 worked like this:

If you are the server, with the mod installed and you load a mission that uses your squad as a country, only people that have the mod installed will be able to join.

If you are the server, with the mod installed and you load a mission that NOT uses your squad as a country, everyone will be able to join.

If you are the client, with the mod installed and you join a server that don´t have the mod, you will be able to fly ok. Worst case scenario, you will be seeing some of your skins instead of the default ones.

In FC1 with multiple installations used to be a lot easier since I had a clean install to join servers over HL and a moded install with our Squad mod that I used every time we have official missions, or Fighting School. Now I´m kind of clueless since AFAI it´s not possible to have more than 1 active install of FC2.

I will be finish this tutorial ASAP, but it´s a holiday down here in Argentina so I´m trying to enjoy my day off:joystick: :thumbup:

Hey, Finger...

First Time...nice post ... i do everything that you write, but... i step of "flags-1.png editing", i created a new with space above to put my Country flag... i edited the coordinate above my country in db_countries.lua... like you writed..... and... in a space on info bar inside game, only shows a white space.. it is strange... and... when a change aircraft to russia or another country, the flag shows ok.... only in my country doesn't work... !!

Coul'd you help me ? we're neighbors aren't.. ??? i live in Brasil !! :thumbup:

Gracias !

Hi =BR= CEROL!

Can you upload your db_countries.lua and flags-1.png so I can take a look at those files. And also, a screenshot of what you are seeing in F2 view?

Obrigado

Hi !

I upload to http://www.esquadbr.com/arquivos/br.zip thanks in advance finger !!

[]'s

Well, I´m an idiot! I forgot one step inside 03 - Adding your Squadron Flag to the Logbook, so that´s why you had that error.

Before trying it inisde the game, you need to edit one more file, the one that it will show on the left low corner with any of the external views. Open any of the PNG files inside FUI/Common/Flags and after edited in Photoshop, save it in the same folder but with your squad name, the same that you specified at db_countries.lua

Sorry about that, I already update the tutorial.

Ok, it's work now... ! i'm still having problems in Patches to the Logbook, but i don't know if is a beer or whiskey... LOL !!

And, NO, you're not an Idiot, and i'm glad to talk to you.... !!

Well, again... nice to talk to you Finger... thanks to help me on this !

Cya

Let me know whats the problem with the Patches inside the logbook, I´m sure we can work it out!

And on a personal note, I read about the tragic accident with the Fumaza last friday. My deepest sympathies. :(