This list should present to you a (hopefully) complete listing of all available modding tools and important ressources. If I missed anything you think should be included here, comment here or send me a message.
Official tools:Nexus Mod Tools by Mithis Entertainment
... also supplied with the game
... includes modding manual, a model viewer, model converter (Lightwave to Nexus), texture converter, solar system editor and mission editor
... also includes Excel spreadsheets to make tacticstypes and effects editing easier
File extraction and/or packing:datool by ElFarto
... able to extract and create Nexus' .dat- and .dap-archives, except the movie files (nexus_01.dat, nexus_02.dat, etc)
nexus tool by Socarr
... able to decrypt Nexus' movie files to bink format (nexus_01.dat, nexus_02.dat, etc.)
DatXTract by Arparso
... GUI-enabled tool for extracting .dat and .dap-archives, except the movie files
File conversion:model converter by Arparso
... converts Nexus' models (.msh) to Wavefront .obj format
texture converter by Arparso
... converts Nexus' textures (.tex) to Targa .tga format
Importer:Milkshape 3D importer plugin by Rainman
... imports Nexus' models (.msh) in Milkshape 3D
Miscellanous:Tacticstype tool by Mularac
... detects free shipclass/devicetype/shiptype IDs and can also assign each item a new number in numerical order
OpenOffice spreadsheets for tacticstypes.ini and efx.ini by Arparso
... spreadsheets with attached macros to make creating/editing tacticstypes.ini and efx.ini easier (scroll down for the efx.ini sheet)
... this is mainly a conversion of the Excel sheets included with the official modding tools, but with new macros to make it work in OpenOffice
Modding ressources:dynamic lighting by jstubbles/Arparso/GeoModder/Mularac
... describes a method to achieve dynamic lighting in your mod (e.g. from weapon fire), also including a sample patch for the vanilla Nexus campagin
Pack of suns by DreamorCZ
... contains blue, red, white and yellow stars for use in Nexus mods
HD Asteroids pack by DreamorCZ
... new asteroid models with much higher detail
