Where do I find ship engine models?

from GalCiv2 Forums

I think I'm being a space cadet here, but I can't find the file I want. I'm playing around with a small mod of my own, and I feel certain I've looked at the file before. What I'm trying to find is the file where the engine models are definied. Such as the Ion Engine uses "<Model>EngineX1</Model>" the Impulse Drive uses "<Model>Hyperdrive0</Model>". Isn't there a file that details these models? Or is it just a colection of 3d pictures/models? If 3d pictures, where are they? I have learned a lot just reading and searching this forum, but am stumped here.  (:( 

Thanks for any help/direction!

modding
4,822 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Look for *.shipconfig files.
They are created when saving a ship in shipyard.
myship.shipcfg goes along with its proper myship.xml representation
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I can find "Shipcfg folder", and it has ship files like "S13_cruiser.shipcfg" in it. This will be the entire ship with engines. What I am looking for is just the engines alone, before attachment to a ship. Any ideas?
ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The engines are defined in GC2Types.xml and the 3D models are located in ..\Gfx\Models plus the thumbs you mentioned.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I appriciate the help MrKorx, I have worked with the text definitions for the engines in GC2Types.xml, and have looked through ...\Gfx\Models folder. I take it that I am not going to find a seperate image of each engine? I was hoping to find something like "EngineX1.png; Hyperdrive0.png; Hyperdrive1.png etc. I'm guessing these images are bundled into a file. Is there any way to get to them? Thanks again for your help! :D 
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Oh yes, look for ..\GalCiv2\Gfx\Thumbnails as well as ..\Twilight\Gfx\Thumbnails.
In TA they switched completely to *.dds files I think.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I don't have TA, only DL & DA. I'm playing DA. The folder DarkAvatar\Gfx\Thumbnails doesn't have any egines in it, but I do find what I am looking for in GalCiv2\Gfx\Thumbnails. I did not find them as I had assumed they would subed in the DarkAvatar folder. Now I should be able to copy/mod them into MyMod\Gfx\Thombnails to use my versions in my mod, correct?
Thank You again for all your help MrKorx! :CONGRAT: 
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thumbnails aren't required, so it's quite likely a number aren't even there. The game builds them on the fly from the models if they're missing/unspecified.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hey, MrKorx read the above reply by Kryo?
That would mean the dds files created by your Asa_bat file automatically aren't really necessary, right? 16,512kbs here & there, saves loading time.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
To note, my mod is a good example of that, since the only thumbnail in it is my logo for the pieces that are invisible. The game makes the rest at runtime.