Alright, this is only for the really advanced users here.
So, you've played with it a bit, and it's great fun, but you want a new vehicle? Or, maybe you're using it on a server and you want to tweak things to your liking? Read on.
To make a new vehicle, you need a number of things:
- A triangulated .obj file (Look up using .obj models in Minecraft Forge if this confuses you)*
- A .txt file
- A PNG texture for your .obj file (Or multiple variants)
- an icon for your item
Head into your /mods/mcheli/assets/mcheli folder. In there, you'll see a load of folders, a readme.txt and a PDF file. The PDF file does have the main definitions in English, but the descriptions are Japanese, so it's a reference sheet at best. The readme is entirely Japanese and not much use, but it basically explains what I'm explaining here.
The first thing you need to ask yourself; "What am I making?"
Your options are Helicopter, Plane, Weapon, or Vehicle. Vehicle is something which cannot be moved, such as the Utibi, or a turret.
Once you decide that, head into the relevant folder and make a new .txt file. Name it something vaguely related to your vehicle's name, but don't use any spaces.
Inside that .txt file, you need some information! The best way to decide what to add is simply looking in another vehicles file of the same type. The required things are DisplayName, ItemID, a texture, and at least one seat. Everything else has a default, but I recommend setting them anyway.
For Speed and Throttle, 1.0 is considered fast, so use that as your base point.
The coordinates for your parts and seats are based around the base point of the .obj model. This point is also where the bounding box will lie. Best bet here is using trial and error.
For AddWeapon, it must be a valid entry from the Weapons folder
AddRecipe can be a bit confusing to those who haven't made mods before, but if you've made your own mods it should feel very simple.
Basically, your format is:
AddRecipe = "ABC", DEF", "GHI", A, iron_block ...and so on.
The ABC DEF GHI is your crafting grid, top row, middle row, and bottom row. After that, you define what the letters mean.
You can use ANY letter there, those are just examples. For example you could have "AAA", "GHG", "XYZ". In that case, the top row would all be the same item.
For item definitions, you can simply use the item's name. In 1.6.4, you should use the ID, and if it has metadata, an extra comma seperates it, for example I,21256,26 (A Gregtech steel ingot). All ID's must be valid for your installation, so only use ID's you know are in your game. Mod ID's are fine; the recipes are loaded after all the items are.
And that's about all there is I can tell you about assets; you'll have to figure out the rest for yourself!
*One of the official model editors for the mod itself just dropped in and told us what software he's using. It'll get lost in the comments soon so reposting here to help anyone interested!