Ssys.xml

Documentation of the ssys.xml system definitions.

= Introduction = ssys.xml contains all of the galaxy-wide system properties, such as which planets are in which systems, which systems are connected to which other systems, and what system-wide hazards exist in each system.

It is important to note that much of the contents of ssys.xml are generated by the in-game galaxy editor. This galaxy editor can be accessed by starting the game with the --devmode command-line parameter. Caution: the galaxy editor saves its output in the naev root directory! Example

The following XML snippet demonstrates all the tags that make up ssys.xml.

= Explanation of the major tags =

general
Contains general information about the system. Child tags are radius, stars, asteroids, interference and nebula.

radius
This is the system radius. Though systems extend infinitely in all directions (sort of), the system radius is the distance from the center at which jump points are placed (unless manually overridden - see below). The AI also uses this value to decide how big a system is. As such, most if not all system activity will take place within this radius.

stars
This is the density of the starry background that can be seen in non-nebula systems. The value is the amount of stars that are rendered at any given time.

asteroids
This value is unused. At present, asteroids do not exist in the game. There is a proposal about asteroids, but it has not been implemented yet.

interference
This value represents the sensor interference that exists in the system. Interference will reduce the range at which ships can be targeted, identified and spotted. See the electronic warfare proposal for more information about these concepts.

nebula
This value represents the density of the nebula in the system. The nebula will impair visibility. The nebula tag has a "volatility" argument that determines how volatile the nebula is. A volatile nebula will continuously inflict damage to any ship in the system.

pos
This is the position of the system on the galaxy map. Note that this value is generated by the galaxy editor.

assets
This is a list of the assets in the system. See asset.xml for details on assets. Each asset can be present multiple times, but real assets (as opposed to virtual ones) should only ever exist once.

jumps
This is a list of the jumps leading from this system to others. Note that jumps are generated by the galaxy editor. Manual editing is not recommended. Note that as long as jumps have the 'autopos' tag set, they will automatically be positioned in the system depending on the relative positions of the systems in question. If not, it will be placed at the coordinates specified. In the galaxy-editor, a green jump point is automatically placed, a white one is not.