Modding is a big part of Transcendence. By creating a mod you can change the game for yourself, and share those changes with others. You can make it easier or harder, you can fly different ships or create entire new universes. Transcendence mods are very flexible, having a complex xml syntax and a scripting language to create dynamic mods. On this page we will try to introduce you to using mods, show off some of the best mods made by the community and introduce you to making your own mods.
Manual Installation: extract the mod into your ”/trans[version#]/extensions/” directory, and you're good to go!
Please note, this document is a work in progress
Building a mod is a big subject that cannot be covered in a tutorial. We will attempt to give an overview and mention the best resources for becoming a good modder.
The difficulty of a mod can range from very simple to extremely complex. You can make a mod in about 20 lines of xml, or one that spans several files and thousands of lines of xml and Transcendence script (tscript). There is no official documentation on building mods, so all that is known has been discovered by experimentation or by studying the extracted source.
Some good resources are availabe though, the best being Functions on Xelerus. This list of functions includes descriptions and examples of most functions in tscript, painstakingly compiled by community members (looking at you DigDug and Betel). There are also several mods availabe on Xelerus that are good to study when beginning modding and can be used for bases to start of. We have tried to list them here. Of course, all mods can be studied and picked apart, and when appropriate, reused. We try to maintain a polite atmosphere in the modding community, so if you are reusing another persons work, please give credit where it is due. Otherwise you may find yourself moderated. The Official Transcendence Forums contain a wealth of information and The Shipyards are always open for modding questions. Eventually we will try to migrate a lot of the information on the forums to the wiki in a structured format, but that will take some time. We can also be found on IRC, namely in ##transcendence on Freenode. You can use your regular irc client, or use mibbit from xelerus to join.
Xml—
NotePad current version: N/A
NotePad++ current version: 5.4.5
jEdit current version: 4.2
Graphics (3D)—
3dsMax current version: 9
GMax current version: 1.2
Wings3d current version: ?
Blender current version: 2.? (recommended version: 2.5 alpha 0: superior UI, however currently unstable)
Solid Works current version: ?
DOGA current version: 3?
Metasequoia current version: ?
Truespace current version: 7.5
Bryce current version: 5.5c (free)
Graphics (2D)—
Paint.NET current version: 3.36
Photoshop current version: CS3
GIMP current version: 2
Paint Shop Pro current version: X2 (raccomended 7 or 9)
Audio—
Audacity current version: 1.2 Beta: 1.3
tdb unpacking TransData.exe
xelerus policy, forum policy
This is a community maintained list of mods that have been found to work well, provide unique gameplay, use interresting effects and in general contains what we think are the best mods around.
This page contains reference material for creating mods: