The much awaited 2nd version of my custom hero designer is finally here.
There have been a lot of changes since the first version I released, for example, now the program will always get the latest variables each time the game is updated, however this does have some drawbacks and you do need to have endless space 2 installed on the same machine. This will also pick up any items which are not fully implemented into the game, so I will just say, that if you are not sure what you are selecting, it might cause your game to crash. These should be few and far between, however I cannot say that they are not there, or wont be in the future.
I have also added Hero skills meaning that heros can now have starting skills and also heros can also have custom skill trees.
Also for those who wanted to know how to start the game with custom heros I did write a guide of how to do it, but I have also added that into this program now too.

Also a special thanks to Chaika, Timevir and Kuma for debugging and other general help!

Nobody asked for this, but I still delivered, you're welcome.
(In the video I was wrong, skill trees start at level 0, not 1)

The sourcecode and a windows build are available on github here[github.com].
Simple download and extract it somewhere such as your desktop.

You need to copy and paste the install directory at the top, the easiest way to get this is going to steam, right clicking endless space 2, go to the local files tab, then click Browse Local Files.
It should take you to the folder with the EndlessSpace2.exe in it, this is the folder you want.

Firstly usually I like to add the images, from what I know, it is recommended to format the images as followed:
Large:

• Format: PNG
  
• Width: 360px
  
• Height: 180px

Meduim:

• Format: PNG
  
• Width: 180px
  
• Height: 240px

Mood:

• Format: PNG
  
• Width: 1324px
  
• Height: 712px

ModIcon:

• Format: PNG
  
• Width: 430px
  
• Height: 430px

You can add these images by just double clicking the image box.

The next part is really easy, type out the name of the hero and their description in the first two boxes, then add in the workshop info below.

Warning: The name field should not contain spaces or special characters.

This step is more overwhelming at first than difficult as there are a lot of different Affinities for your hero to select, but, after you've chosen simply click it.
Classes are simple enough to chose from.
Then once you get to Politics, its numbered between 1 and 6, they are as follows:

1. Industrialists
   
2. Scientists
   
3. Pacifists
   
4. Ecologists
   
5. Religious
   
6. Militarists

Then you get to the skill trees, feel free to mix and match as you please, I've never tried adding multiple of the same tree, so do so at your own risk. Custom skill trees will also appear in these lists once saved.

Clicking on the Add button on the skills group will open a new window, here you will need to fill out the skill name, and skill description. Note that the skill name also does not allow for spaces, use underscored instead and the program will replace underscores with spaces in the langauges files so that they show up as spaces in game). You also need to select an Icon for the skill.

From here you get to make the skill levels, starting from level 1. the custom skill button can be used if you want to either edit a template or write a skill from scratch. Though I'd recomend just using the templates.

Every time you switch skill level you will have to click save to save the current skill, I'd also recomend saving before you click add skill and close.

To add more levels to your skill, ckick add level next to the Level box and then use the dropdown to select the level (remember to save before selecting the new level).

This is much easier than it looks, once you have added a suitable amount of skills you need can add your skill tree(s).

Start by clicking add on the skilltree group, then another new window will pop up, Add the skilltree name and the description, you can also change the colour of the skill tree here (RGBA format).

To add skills type in the Level, this is the level on the skill tree that the skill is available to be used. the default tree levels are 0, 4, 8, and 12.

You can have multiple skills per branch level, or just one. Seelect the skill you want to be on the chosen branch and click Add Skill.

Once you have added all of the skills, simply close the window.

This is really simple, once you have the skill inm the skills box, click on it so that it is highlighted, the name should automatically appear in the Hero Skills: Skill Name box, then all you need to do is choose the skill level you want the hero to start with, for example if the skill has 4 different levels you might want it to start with level 2. Once you have input the desired level, click Add.

This is just as easy as setting up starting skills, the hero name should automatically be inside the text box, however if it isnt or you want a different hero, type in their name (not the workshop name) into this folder.

In this section you can add as many different heroes as you want, as they will overwrite each other if you are using multiple heroes that use this trick, so only do it once.

You can also add different heroes to different factions and it will still work.

Now that you have created your hero you need to save it. Click the massive save button in the bottom right and save it to your Folder.

You're done! Launch the game and you'll find them in your mod list.