need help to mod cargo drone speed

[kelmenwong]

i'm trying to workout a fix as mod
to speed up the cargo drone speed

i looked at mod like faster ship, got a rough idea

i tried to use the x rebirth tool to look at the cat dat files
i believe it's stored in 01

i can extract 01.cat
but not 01.dat, keep getting err "an error occured while extracting to folder...."
i think maybe the filezie too big, like 3g

i need help either i can try look at the 01.dat file myself
or someone can show what is the original data for cargo drone it's xml properties - speed

[X2-Illuminatus]

cat and dat files always belong together. The cat file contains a list of files stored in the equally numbered dat file. So when you open the 01.cat with the catalog tool and extract a file from it, it will be taken from the 01.dat.
Please note that the highest numbered cat/dat pair always contains the newest files, which overwrite older versions from smaller numbered cat/dat pairs.

[kelmenwong]

cat and dat files always belong together. The cat file contains a list of files stored in the equally numbered dat file. So when you open the 01.cat with the catalog tool and extract a file from it, it will be taken from the 01.dat.
Please note that the highest numbered cat/dat pair always contains the newest files, which overwrite older versions from smaller numbered cat/dat pairs.

so if i successfully extract 01.cat, means i also extracted 01.dat?

if this is true, then i need help with 2 details:
1) i need the entry/pointer to the cargo drone, something like
assets/props/EngineSystems/macros/engine_???_macro.xml ??? ???

i dunno which one inside is the cargo drone

is it this one? assets/props/EngineSystems/macros/engine_drone_01_macro.xml 559 1369322375 74c5f52ae557359c9528a8640734d802

2) the speed details (xml) of the cargo drone

i can't find this data from the extracted .cat file
i thought it is inside the .dat
but i can't extract it

something may looks like
<speed forward="120" reverse="-24" strafe="28" pitch="10" yaw="10" roll="6" />

[X2-Illuminatus]

cat and dat files always belong together. The cat file contains a list of files stored in the equally numbered dat file. So when you open the 01.cat with the catalog tool and extract a file from it, it will be taken from the 01.dat.
Please note that the highest numbered cat/dat pair always contains the newest files, which overwrite older versions from smaller numbered cat/dat pairs.

so if i successfully extract 01.cat, means i also extracted 01.dat?

Correct.

[UniTrader]

i didnt look it up completely, but i think the cargo drones are these:
units_size_xs_transp_empty_macro
units_size_xs_transp_energy_macro
units_size_xs_transp_liquid_macro
units_size_xs_transp_generic_macro
units_size_xs_transp_pickup_macro

and all of them use this Engine:
engine_ship_xs_03_macro

for full file path either refer to the index/macros.xml or use text search in the assets-folder.. also note that modding should be done by using xml diff files instead of replacing files since its more compatible and easier to do than full file replacements (can be done with raw mod files, file replacements require re-packing into a cat/dat)

[kelmenwong]

yes, that's what i exactly looking for

today i try the tool, this time i use import catalog, now it show something different and i can extract the engine part u mentioned

i think i almost got it, except need 3 more details:

1) my content.xml - content.id

what value should i specify for this? can i leave it blank?
for local testing purpose, can i just fill it as like below?
<content id="ws_999999999"

2) lastupdate
it doesn't looks like datetime to me, can i just omit this attribute?

3) ext_01.cat
i found the entry:
assets/props/EngineSystems/macros/engine_ship_xs_03_macro.xml ??? ???
but i dunno how to derive the last 2 numbers

[kelmenwong]

is the catalog tool needed to generate the mod .cat and .dat files?

i can't find guide and details how to use the catalog tool
the "create diff" button hinting me something

i assume i should highlight the original extracted xml and my modified xml, then use this tool to gen the cat and dat file. yes?

if this is, then i dunno how to do this "highlight the original extracted xml and my modified xml" in the catalog tool

[UniTrader]

1. The ID ws_* is reserved for workshop items - just some other unique string which starts with something else - this ID can be anything so make use of it

2. Never used that one myself,
its workshop-specific I think

3. If you mean what I think: No need to write the cat yourself, but these are iirc file size and mod date in Unix format - better don't touch it off you don't know what you do - the cat tool will take care of it.

Also for testing you don't need to pack it into cat /dat - raw files are enough

And with diff files I meant XML diff files as explained in a tutorial linked in the stickies (sorry can't provide link atm because I write this on the phone) , the diff in the cat tool is AFAIK something different (creating a cat/dat which only contains changed files) which is irrelevant to a new mod but may be useful for big projects to keep the updates small

[kelmenwong]

it's very hard to find the tutorial, i have to use google, can't find it in stickies
the stickies are mean for experienced modders

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=347831

i can't find and download the osr_universe.rar

when u mean "raw files"

do i put everything into content.xml?
<content>
...
<diff>
...
</diff>
</content>

[kelmenwong]

i tried with content.xml, ext_01.cat, ext_01.dat

context.xml just the header/title

ext_01.cat
assets/props/EngineSystems/macros/engine_ship_xs_03_macro.xml 545 1353511592 219d3cc5e570b2bcd9f8d2d9afbf2325

i took these numbers from the extracted 01.cat

ext_01.dat
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<diff>
<replace sel="//properties/speed">
<speed forward="200" reverse="-8" strafe="8" pitch="8" yaw="8" roll="10" />
</replace>
</diff>

testing result:
cargo drone kind of get stucked when launch
i can see the icon on radar, but can't select it

encyclopedia shown the speed is 200

[UniTrader]

ok, finally at home where i can look up stuff and write with a better keyboard
well, was not sure under what it was listed and thought it is unnecesary to look it up since i want to save internet volume for the rest of the month..

with raw files i mean not packed into anything.. packing into cats/dats is required for workshop mods (the workshop tool enforces it iirc), but its not necesary to do it to get something working. Also a content.xml is not required to get a mod working, but its a lot cleaner since you can add descriptions and translations

and no, you dont write any mod content itsself inside the content.xml, but rather you (re)create the Path of the File you want to diff-mod in your Extension and put the diff files under the same name there. A quick example would be
https://github.com/UniTrader/UTBridgeCommands (this is the root folder of the Mod/Extension) where i have some diff files under assets/interiors/rooms (i remove the Skunk from the repairdock there, move the player starting pos, add some item high above the platform to avoid the fell out of platform-error when the player goes too high, and as bonus i also add some additional NPC spots)

[kelmenwong]

thx for the guides

i managed to cook out this mod

however, simply increase the speed like over 100, causing the drone stuck when launching from capship
sometime they took time to get release from the stuck, sometime it's like they never will get out.
seems like the higher the speed, the worst it became

i end up just double all numbers of the cargo drone, speed like 88
it still get stuck, but at lease it will get release sooner compare to other higher speed

<replace sel="//properties">
<properties>
<acceleration forward="24" reverse="24" strafe="24" pitch="8" yaw="8" roll="10" />
<angular />
<speed forward="88" reverse="-16" strafe="16" pitch="16" yaw="16" roll="20" />
<sounds>
<ambient ref="engineambient_verysmall" />
</sounds>
</properties>
</replace>

i have tried using other drone setting - acceleration+speed, like interceptor
same issue, and funny thing is they fly like a drunken