In Star Wars: Empire at War, players controlled an entire war for the Star Wars galaxy as the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire. Now, they will face off against both of them in Forces of Corruption as a brand new third faction. As Tyber Zann, players will stop at nothing as they seek to further the sinister agenda of the Zann Consortium and become the most notorious criminal leader since Jabba the Hutt. With all new tactics like piracy, kidnapping, and bribery, players can control the shadowy forces of corruption in their attempt to rule the Star Wars underworld.

Post tutorial Report RSS Granting Custom Names to Ships

Here I've compiled what I've learned from various forums and posters on how to create personalised names for ships in EaW, FoC, and the multitude of mods. Special thanks go to Rebelmoon, who's mod I'll be using as an example, and Locutus for explaining a part of it that I hadn't seen mentioned on any other sites.

Posted by on - Basic Other

This is not an advanced tutorial. It requires merely three things; A programme like Wordpad or Notepad (Do not use any form of word processor such as Open Office, WordPerfect or Microsoft Word. It could well damage the space-time continuum.), a strict following of the tutorial, and a half-hour of your time.

As an example I shall be using the Terran Federation ships from Rebelmoon's defunct 'Starship Troopers; 1st Interstellar War' mod.

Step 1;
Make sure you've downloaded and installed/extracted the mod to the Empire at War and/or Forces of Corruption folder as necessary.
I'll be using the Reaper-class Destroyer as an example. Exchange all instances of it being mentioned for the ship you want to make names for if the Reaper-class isn't the one you want to customise.

Step 2;
Navigate to the mod's Data folder. In my case, that is Local Disk (C:)\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Empire At War Forces Of Corruption\Mods\SST_1st_Interstellar_War\DATA.

In it will be six folders; ART, Audio, CustomMaps, SCRIPTS, Text, XML. Enter the XML folder.

Step 3;
Now we'll be looking for two specific XML files. These are GameConstants.XML and UNITS_SPACE_FEDERAL_REAPER_DESTROYER.XML. Open both of these in Notepad/Wordpad.

Step 4;
Once you've done this, scroll down on GameConstants.XML and look for a section labelled like this : <

Someone wrote: !-- Files for custom ship names -->
< ShipNameTextFiles>


(I've been forced to put a space between the left arrow and the rest of the text on each line to prevent its being invisible in the tutorial.)

Within it should be the following entries: (Exclamation marks have been added to denote section beginning and end)
! ! ! ! ! ! !

Someone wrote: Neptune_Corvette, Data\Fed_Neptune_Corvette.txt
Midway_Destroyer, Data\Fed_Midway_Destroyer.txt,
Reaper_Cruiser, Data\Fed_Reaper_Cruiser.txt,
Methesulah_Cruiser, Data\Fed_Methesulah_Cruiser.txt,
Geneva_Battlecruiser, Data\Fed_Geneva_Battlecruiser.txt,
Athena_Carrier, Data\Fed_Athena_Carrier.txt,
Star_Battleship, Data\Fed_Star_Battleship.txt,
Ryuho_Dreadnought, Data\Fed_Ryuho_Dreadnought.txt,
Saratoga_Carrier, Data\Fed_Saratoga_Carrier.txt,
Rodger_Young, Data\Fed_Rodger_Young.txt,
Valley_Forge, Data\Fed_Valley_Forge.txt,

Calamari_Cruiser, Data\Calamari_Cruiser.txt,
Generic_Star_Destroyer, Data\Star_Destroyer.txt,
Star_Destroyer, Data\Star_Destroyer.txt,
Star_Destroyer_Tractor_Fighters, Data\Star_Destroyer.txt,
Corellian_Corvette, Data\Corellian_Corvette.txt,
Corellian_Gunboat, Data\Corellian_Gunboat.txt,
Broadside_Class_Cruiser, Data\Broadside_Class_Cruiser.txt,
Marauder_Missile_Cruiser, Data\Marauder_Missile_Cruiser.txt,
Nebulon_B_Frigate, Data\Nebulon_B_Frigate.txt,
Alliance_Assault_Frigate, Data\Alliance_Assault_Frigate.txt,
Victory_Destroyer_No_Fighters, Data\Victory_Destroyer.txt,
Victory_Destroyer, Data\Victory_Destroyer.txt,
Acclamator_Assault_Ship, Data\Acclamator_Assault_Ship.txt,
Interdictor_Cruiser, Data\Interdictor_Cruiser.txt,
Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser, Data\Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser.txt

! ! ! ! ! ! !
This lower section contains the name files for the ships in the basic Empire at War game, and the higher section is that for the 1st Interstellar War mod's Terran Federation ships. We're going to make one of them now.

Step 5;
We've opened both GameConstants.XML and UNITS_SPACE_FEDERAL_REAPER_DESTROYER.XML and read through the relevant part of GameConstants.XML. Now we're going to examine the XML for the Reaper-class Destroyer.

Near the top we'll see this section;

Someone wrote: < SpaceUnit Name="Reaper_Destroyer">
< Text_ID> TEXT_FED_REAPER_DESTROYER
< Encyclopedia_Good_Against>
< Encyclopedia_Vulnerable_To>
< Encyclopedia_Text> TEXT_FED_TOOLTIP_REAPER_DESTROYER
< Encyclopedia_Unit_Class> TEXT_FED_CLASS_DESTROYER
< Icon_Name>I_BUTTON_FED_REAPER.tga
< Moniker>Fed_Reaper_Destroyer.txt


It is Moniker that interests us, as that's what links to the individual name files. We're going to make this .txt file next.

Step 6;
You'll need to open up the Star Wars Empire at War folder now. Not the Forces of Corruption one, the original.

The bottom section from Step 4 (the one that consists of .txt files for the main game's ships like the Corellian Corvette, Acclamator and so on) should be visible in it now.

Before doing this part it may be wise to save backups of those .txt files as a 'just-in-case'. Open one of them up in Notepad/Wordpad. I used the Acclamator_Assault_Ship.txt for this, and it contained the following names;
Aggressor
Arrestor
Bel’reen
Candaserri
Danticore
Defiant
Doneeta
Drakmha
Eliminator
Enforcer One
Fire’s Path
Galactic Guardian
Grey Shadow
Harilin
Implacable
Majestic
Marauder
Odeaon
Triumph

Highlight all of these, and begin entering in the names you want. Personally, I chose the theme of death gods/spirits for the class name, to fit with the 'Reaper' name.

This is my list;
Ankou
Giltine
Hel
La Catrina
Malak al-Maut
Mara
Memitim
Reaper
Smierc
Thanatos
Yama
Yanlou

Once you've entered in the names you want (It seems you can enter in as few as five, or as many as thirty or more. One poster mentioned that he had ship names from the US Navy and that gave him in excess of 1200 names!), you will need to go to the File menu and select 'Save As'.

Save the file as a standard .txt file, and place it in your mod's Data folder. That's Star Wars Empire At War Forces of Corruption\Mods\1st_Interstellar_War\DATA for the 1st Interstellar War mod, and the path should be similar for any other mod you choose to personalise.

The important part here is making sure you don't overwrite the .txt files for the original Star Wars ships unless you don't mind them losing their names, and you've got to have the .txt be the same name as the one listed in the moniker file.

Step 7;
This is really a clarification step. We've saved our .txt file, which according to the Moniker tags in the UNITS_SPACE_FEDERAL_REAPER_DESTROYER.XML, should be titled Fed_Reaper_Destroyer.txt. This is where we have a problem. The files used for Monikers need to be titled the same as the ship's Spaceunit_Name;

Someone wrote: < SpaceUnit Name="Reaper_Destroyer">


As we can see here, the name's don't match. So we're going to select the Fed_Reaper_Destroyer.txt and rename it to Reaper_Destroyer.txt.

Now we're going back to the GameConstants.XML file. Do you remember the list of files we saw in the file back on Step 4? Highlight the one that says;

Someone wrote: Reaper_Cruiser, Data\Fed_Reaper_Cruiser.txt,


We're going to alter this, because it's wrong. As you can see, it lists the Reaper as a Cruiser when it's a Destroyer, so that needs changing, as does the .txt file in the line. Change it to;

Someone wrote: Reaper_Destroyer, Data\Reaper_Destroyer.txt,


Once that's done, save the GameConstants.XML file. Now simply open the mod, start a skirmish game and build/level up your station to build an exemplar of the class we've just modified. If it appears with the first name on your list, then you've done it!

If you have any queries please put them below in the comments section and I'll do my best to reply as I can.

Post comment Comments
StalinGrad6
StalinGrad6

I tested this and tried to modify the Pirates Crusader gunship. i couldnt find the MONIKER line you said, so thats one part that doesnt work

Monikers are not used for most mods. ive looked in 8 or 9 mods i couldnt find any moniker line in ANY ship XML file.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
ViridiaGaming Author
ViridiaGaming

It's easy enough to create one then. You just need to find the dedicated .XML file for the ship in question, or dig into the .XML file containing all the ships of the same weight in the case of a mod like Return of the Clones.

Just add in this text with the changes appropriate for the ship you're naming;
< Moniker>Methuselah_Cruiser.txt</Moniker>

So if I was renaming one of the Acclamator's from the RotC mod, it'd read as;
< Moniker>republic_assault_ship.txt</Moniker>

Since that's the Republic faction's Acclamator 'SPACEUNIT_NAME' in its .XML file. Wherever I can see the Moniker line present in an .XML, it's always on the same line like this;
< Scale_Factor>0.9</Scale_Factor>
< Moniker>Alliance_Assault_Frigate.txt</Moniker>
< No_Colorization_Color> 255, 255, 255, 255 < /No_Colorization_Color>

Just paste/type the personalised moniker line into that space, and it should work. Let me know if you're having any more trouble.

Reply Good karma+1 vote
StalinGrad6
StalinGrad6

EG < SpaceUnit Name="Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser">
< Moniker>Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser.txt< Moniker>

thats all it takes?

somming like that? sry if im being seriously dense about this but - computers REALLY hate me. i mean REALLY hate me.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
ViridiaGaming Author
ViridiaGaming

Are you taking the spaces out of the Moniker line? I've done that because it doesn't show up on ModDB otherwise.

If you are, then make sure the name files are being left in the mod's data folder. They can't go into the main FoC directory.

Reply Good karma+1 vote
StalinGrad6
StalinGrad6

I get CTD on startup after into sequence.

as a test to try out i modify for corvettes and go for the Tartan Patrol Cruiser.

i do it like so

< SpaceUnit Name="Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser">
< Moniker>Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser.txt</Moniker>
in the exact spot you suggested. it matches whats inside gameconstants.xml file as well.

i create a .txt file, put in some names and place it in Data folder. i get a CTD.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
StalinGrad6
StalinGrad6

FYI this is all while mod Absolute Corruption Mod 2.4 is installed.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
StalinGrad6
StalinGrad6

okay i can confirm your instructions work PERFECTLY, ive fixed my issues earlier. my stupidity and impatience.

BUT now ive a new problem. the .txt file ive used has each name in ENGLISH, but when im in game, the nasme comes out as... Korean... or Chinese... or something. got anything for that?

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
ViridiaGaming Author
ViridiaGaming

Yes I had that problem when I first tried it too. Just to check; is this mod one that requires an installer, or can it be put in a mods folder and used with the Petrolauncher?

If it's the former, then my instruction to place it into the mod's DATA folder doesn't apply so much, since that would be integrated with the FoC directory's own DATA folder.

Just to clarify;
1.You've made a .txt file containing your list of names and placed it into the relevant directory?
(Either "C\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Empire at War Forces of Corruption\Mods\YourModHere\DATA" or "C\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Empire at War Forces of Corruption\Data"
2.The .txt file, the GameConstants.xml file, and the SpaceUnit Name and the Moniker lines in the spacecraft's .xml file have all got the same name?
(So for the standard Acclamator ship in the basic game, the .xml file would be like this;
< SpaceUnit Name="Acclamator_Assault_Ship">
< Moniker>Acclamator_Assault_Ship.txt</Moniker>
The .xml file has the same name, so that would be Acclamator_Assault_Ship.txt, and the GameConstants.xml has this line in the ShipNameTextFiles section; Acclamator_Assault_Ship, Data\Acclamator_Assault_Ship.txt,

Reply Good karma+2 votes
ViridiaGaming Author
ViridiaGaming

Addendum; if you can confirm you've done all that, then it should be working.

Reply Good karma+1 vote
Militarijan
Militarijan

Thank you very much, it works wonderful. ;)

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
ViridiaGaming Author
ViridiaGaming

Glad to hear it!

Reply Good karma+1 vote
Surrex
Surrex

Well, I followed your directions and got the same Chinese letters. What did you do to solve that problem?

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
ViridiaGaming Author
ViridiaGaming

Hi there, if you run through the steps I gave to StalinGrad6, then it should be working. If you've done that already and you're still getting the same problem, reply here or PM me with the names of the moniker files, the unit you want to modify, and the location of those files in the directory.

Reply Good karma+1 vote
Surrex
Surrex

This is the entry that I have in GAMECONSTANTS.xml:

<ShipNameTextFiles>
Vengence_E,Data\Vengence_E.txt,
Jedi_Cruiser_E_2,Data\Jedi_Cruiser_E_2.txt,
Jedi_Cruiser_R_2,Data\Jedi_Cruiser_R_2.txt,
Calamari_Cruiser,Data\Calamari_Cruiser.txt,
Titan_Destroyer,Data\Titan_Destroyer.txt,
Recusant_U,Data\Recusant_U.txt,
Providence_Cruiser_U,Data
\Providence_Cruiser_U.txt,
Praetor_U,Data\Praetor_U.txt,
Mediator_Cruiser,Data\Mediator_Cruiser.txt,
Mandator_E,Data\Mandator_E.txt,
Lucrehulk_Battleship_U,Data
\Lucrehulk_Battleship_U.txt,
Allegiance_Destroyer,Data
\Allegiance_Destroyer.txt,
MON_CAL_MC80A,Data\MON_CAL_MC80A.txt,
Generic_Star_Destroyer,Data
\Generic_Star_Destroyer.txt,
Corellian_Corvette,Data\Corellian_Corvette.txt,
Corellian_Gunboat,Data\Corellian_Gunboat.txt,
Broadside_Class_Cruiser,Data
\Broadside_Class_Cruiser.txt,
Nebulon_B_Frigate,Data\Nebulon_B_Frigate.txt,
Alliance_Assault_Frigate,Data
\Alliance_Assault_Frigate.txt,
Victory_Destroyer_No_Fighters,Data
\Victory_Destroyer_No_Fighters.txt,
VSD2,Data\VSD2.txt,
Acclamator_Assault_Ship,Data
\Acclamator_Assault_Ship.txt,
Interdictor_Cruiser,Data\Interdictor_Cruiser.txt,
Dominator,Data\Dominator.txt,
Deflector,Data\Deflector.txt,
Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser,Data
\Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser.txt
</ShipNameTextFiles>

This shows all the names of my moniker files (Providence_Cruiser_U, Lucrehulk_Battleship_U, Allegiance_Destroyer, Generic_Star_Destroyer, Broadside_Class_Cruiser, Alliance_Assault_Frigate, Victory_Destroyer_No_Fighters, Acclamator_Assault_Ship, and Tartan_Patrol_Cruiser don't have breaks like that in my file, I had to split them up to fit into the post's 50 character word limit). All the units have new names in their files. I believe that I followed all your directions, Though I didn't separate the upper and lower sections as you did. All the moniker files are named after the respective ship's names in SPACEUNITSFRIGATES.XML or SPACEUNITSCORVETTES.XML (whichever their entry is located in). I put the moniker files in C:\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars Empire at War Forces of Corruption\Mods\ACM2.4\Data. I am using the ACM 2.4 Mod, as was StalinGrad6, who seemed to also have the same problem. I hope you can help. Thanks

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
ViridiaGaming Author
ViridiaGaming

Hi there. When you say 'didn't separate upper and lower sections', could you please clarify what this refers to?

I'm downloading the mod to examine the XML myself, and will be working on it as real life permits.

Reply Good karma+1 vote
Surrex
Surrex

I was referring to when you stated in your original post "This lower section contains the name files for the ships in the basic Empire at War game, and the higher section is that for the 1st Interstellar War mod's Terran Federation ships.", when I said that I didn't do that. They are all mixed together. I don't know if that makes any difference, and I just wanted to be sure to point that out. Your efforts are very appreciated.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
LakeWookie
LakeWookie

Im hopelessly lost. Not familiar at all with XML modding. I have the Star Wars The Clone Wars mod based on the animated series. The data files still have the old ships from the base games. Any help would be appreciated.

Reply Good karma Bad karma0 votes
ViridiaGaming Author
ViridiaGaming

Could you please link the mod here, as there's so many I'm hesitant to waste time downloading what could be nearly all the wrong mods.

Reply Good karma+1 vote
LordDarion
LordDarion

How do I edit the research time for all the Tech levels?

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Reeb99
Reeb99

TechBuilding.xml is the file with the tech upgrades for the Empire.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
The-Conquerors
The-Conquerors

Same problem as everyone else. I did everything to the letter and I get a gunk of corrupted Korean text instead of the name I want. This seems fun and all but it doesn't actually seem to work.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
hxazgalor
hxazgalor

Is there a way to get Zann Consortium ships to use custom names? I tried using the steps above, but it didn't work out.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Reeb99
Reeb99

I don't think the moniker part is actually needed. I have it sort of working for Executor class SSD's without that part. Problem is that every ship of that type is named Executor, instead of the two other names I have in the text file.

If you get the strange characters thing, just make sure you have the commas exactly like the other entries in the GameConstants.xml part.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
LordDarion
LordDarion

How do I change the name of the space & ground commanders? I have tried manual edit via the GenericHeroUnits file, but the game either crashes or doesn't recognise the change :c.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Captain_Kavok
Captain_Kavok

I encountered the Chinese writing bug when creating ship names as well and had followed the steps exactly, however here is how I fixed the problem.

When saving the text files, make sure the "Encoding" box is selected to "Unicode", by default this will probably be set on something like ANSI.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Zkullknight
Zkullknight

does anyone know how to fix a missing name for a unit i didnt change any thing

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
thefarsidenoob
thefarsidenoob

To anyone who's figured this out: I've been trying to do this for the clone wars mod, and I can't seem to get it working. Would appreciate help.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Aetherial87
Aetherial87

arrgh lack of formatting...why can't I delete lol

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Guest
Guest

This comment is currently awaiting admin approval, join now to view.

Dwarf_Fan
Dwarf_Fan

Can I add more names to the existing list for FOC? For example adding more names for imperial Star Destoryers

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Guest
Guest

This comment is currently awaiting admin approval, join now to view.

Post a comment

Your comment will be anonymous unless you join the community. Or sign in with your social account: