The game Star Trek: Armada allows for extensive modding. A few things you should know or start with:
Armada is based on the Storm3D Engine which was introduced with Battlezone. As such it uses basically the same technology. You can see this heritage also in the names of maps. Their extensions are bzn, for Battlezone. Another hint can be found in the file misc\misn18.des:
You will lead a small force behind enemy lines to destroy the Furies launch pad. You will only have a limited amount of time to hit your target and then you must return to the dust off site before the moon explodes.
MISSION OBJECTIVES
- Destroy the Fury launch pad.
This clearly references content that was meant for Battlezone.
| Extension | Task |
|---|---|
| bzn | Map object definition, this defines where and which objects are placed on the map. |
| bmp | Bitmap graphics, used for different aspects of the game. |
| odf | Object Definition File, defines the game mechanic properties (e.g. shields, weapons, scanning rang, etc.) of a unit or station or weapon. It contains a lot of ODF directives. |
| tt | Tech Tree file, contains the rules which objects are available to the player. |
| dsl | script file |
| drl | Rules file |
| sav | Saved game, actually just another extension for bzns. |
| ias | Additional information on saved games that were made from an Instant Action match. |
| sod | Storm3D Object Definition files (or short: SOD files), information on meshes, the model hierarchy and sprite markers. |
| wav | audio file |
| spr | Sprite, defines the optical representation of an element, e.g. a weapon or a map object. |
| tga | Truevision TGA graphics, used for textures |
| 1 to 6 | Also TGA files, but with a different extension. |
| zfs | Zone File System, contains data that is not to be presented in plain. |
By default, the odf files and tt files are not available as single files. They are stored in the zfs files. Most of them are password protected. The odf files are stored inside assets.zfs. The game loads these into memory first. Afterwards the files from folder addons are loaded on top of it, overwriting any already existing ones (effectively overriding them). This allows for extensive modding of already existing objects.
See article Tools on the subject.
[ Modding ] [ Tools ] [ ODF Files ] [ ODF Directives ] [ Class Labels ] [ Tech Tree Files ] [ SOD Files ] [ Buttons ] [ Wire Frames ] [ Sprites ] [ AI Scripts ] [ Model Hierarchy ] [ Node Names ] [ Emitter Names ] [ Texture Animation Names ] [ Sprite Names ]