Template Help

Heeeelp...meeeee....

Anybody?

i guess it must go by race,frig,captype,then i guess what type it is.

hope it helps i havent played with moding diplo yet still getting the hang of entrenchment manifest files

I have tried...

"Psi:Frigate:Envoy", "Psi:Frigate:PsiEnvoy",  "Psi:Frigate:StarBaseConstructer" along with the Tech and Phase variations of these that I am guessing at from the entity files.

They are in a planet template to be present at start and they do not cause the game to unload on start up or seem to bring any jitter or other symptoms of an issue...but they do not spawn either.  So I am not sure if these particular ships can't spawn unless the tech is already researched (unlike other standard ships and structures you can use in templates).

Thanks for the attempt--any pointers appreciated.

Anyone out there with a solution?

they have to be defined like so in the GalaxyScenarioDef file

planetItemTypeCount 256
planetItemType
    designName "GSD name"
    entityDefName "ENTITYFILENAME"

make sure you add one to planetItemTypeCount for each planetItemType you create

as for starbases, they require a lot more work

we do it in Distant Stars, but it gets complicated

At this point I am simply adding a template to the Galaxy file map.  It isn't a mod item in this case (that's next).  I simply want a player to be able to start with a starbase constructor and an envoy ship at his HW.

Other ships and modules create fine--these don't and I am not sure why. Here's the template sample*:

template
   templateName "PsiHome"
   subTemplates 0
   groups 2
   group
      condition
         type "PlanetOwnerIsRaceNormalStart"
         param "Psi"
         owner "PlanetOwner"
         colonizeChance 0.000000
  items 7
         item "Frigate:Psi:StarBaseConstructor"
         item "Frigate:Psi:Envoy"
         item "Tech:Module:TradePort"
         item "Psi:Module:HangarDefense"
         item "Psi:Frigate:Scout"
         item "Psi:CapitalShip:Colony"
         item "Psi:Frigate:Heavy"

*In the above, everything is created except the Envoy and StarBase Constructor (the PlanetOwnerIsRaceQuickStart section is the same).

I just saw another reply about this same thing and it appears starting constructors and envoys require modding?

both need to be defined in the GSD file or they will not appear

Envoys only need a minor level of modding as I used in my example

Starbases get more complicated as you have to make the constructors automatically build and what they build, it is possible but more complicated then Envoys

Thanks for the answer as it is helpful and keeps me from going in circles with bad info. 

My modding will be pretty modest--I want a few new planet classes which aren't really much different but different levels of existing planets.  Asteroids and Planets with fewer tactical and logistics slots--minor alterations so I can make map assets strategic values.

One of the great things about classic wargames is you usually have a limited line of supply or amount of assets--Sins tends to pour in cash so you can build things fast.  I'm shooting for making maps with more things pre-positioned that have to be protected and can't be easily replaced if lost and resources being in strategic areas that are contended. 

The planets are "all or nothing" right now.  No resources or significant amounts of them.  So I am prepositioning ships and that's the template questions I am coming up with.   I have playtested my current map (based on a scifi boardgame) with no planetary resource production and fixed fleets.  It's quite a different style of game that way and pretty fun if you are into careful strategy.