For X4 (will largely also work for XR)
Before getting started
Download the X-tools XR/X4 catalogue extraction tool from either steam (it’s available in ‘tools’) or the egosoft website
Have a text editor on hand, my personal favourites are notepad++ and vscode
Get familiar with the file structure of the base game, particularly everything within libraries and maps.
With all the necessary files it is now prudent to setup a file structure which should be as follows
your_highway_mod | |||
libraries | maps | extensions | content.xml |
highwayconfigurations.xml | xu_ep2_universe | <mod/dlc_file_name> | |
material_library.xml | zonehighways.xml | maps | |
sectors.xml | Sectors.xml | ||
Note: extensions is only required if modifying the sectors of a DLC or mod, be sure to follow the way sectors.xml is named in the original. For example for cradle of humanity its actually named dlc_terran_sectors.xml
The inclusion of the libraries directory and its contents is optional and only relevant if the appearance of the highway is to be changed.
Getting Started
To get started open up zonehighways.xml with your editor and add the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<diff>
<add sel="/macros">
<!--We'll put highway macros here-->
</add>
</diff>