Category:Server Documentation

Adding Custom Pirates

Pirates can spawn from any blueprint flagged as 'Enemy Usable'. Adding a custom pirate is quite simple:

1. Add a blueprint file to yourstarmadedirectory/blueprints
2. Start up StarMade
3. Open the menu, select Catalog
4. Click the blueprint you added
5. Click Permissions
6. Ensure that the 'Enemy Usable' box is selected.

Additionally, a server administrator can use the /catalog_enemy_spawnable [BlueprintName] command to toggle the ability for a blueprint to be spawned as a pirate vessel.

Custom Factions

StarMade features AI factions run by the game itself. These factions gain territory, trade, and periodically declare war and sue for peace amongst each other. Server admins or people running single-player universes can control what factions generate, where they appear, and what ships and stations they tend to build.

Adding or Changing Factions

In yourstarmadefolder/data/config/npcFactions, you'll find a file called npcSpawnConfig.xml that lets you control how factions generate.

In the Spawn Config, you'll find a number of tags that control various aspects of how NPC factions are generated.

• RandomSpawn (true/false) - Determines if an NPC spawns in a random location.
• FixedSpawnSystem (x y z) - If RandomSpawn is false, determines what system the faction spawns in.
• Name (string) - Name of the custom faction.
• Description (string) - Description of the custom faction.
• PossiblePresets (string) - Folder containing preset ships and stations for the faction. Multiple presets can be used; separate entries with a comma (e.g. pirates,outcasts)
• InitialGrowth (number) - How many systems the faction controls upon universe initialization.

Setting Custom Ships and Stations for Factions

In order to make a faction use certain ships and stations, you must add a child directory to yourstarmadefolder/data/config/npcFactions. The name is important - it must appear in the Presets tag for the factions in your npcFactionConfig.xml file.

Each directory requires two files. The first is npcFaction.xml This file determines how the NPC faction actually behaves in game.

The second file is blueprints.zip, a ZIP archive containing all blueprints that the faction will use. It's highly recommended that you set roles for each blueprint you add in StarMade prior to adding them to the file, as the npcFaction.xml file will spawn designs more or less frequently depending upon their classification.