Go into the Profile folder in the \homeworld2 directory, for example C:\Games\Homeworld2\Bin\Profiles\Profile1. There is a file in this folder called "player.cfg". Open it up with Notepad, and scroll down just a bit till you see "maxmission = x" obviously x will be different for everyone but if you want to be able to play all the levels, then, just type 15 here.

Use a text editor to edit the "persist*.lua" file in the "\homeworld2\bin\profiles\profile1\campaign\ascension" folder. Note: the number in the filename corresponds to the mission. Open the "persist*.lua" for the desired mission and search for a string of lines as follows:

shiphold = {
},
name = '''',
teamColourHandle = 0,
hotkey = 67108872,
},
{
tactic = 1,
type = ''Hgn_AssaultFrigate'',
subsystems = {
},
buildjobs = {
},
size = 1,
shiphold = {
},
name = '''',
teamColourHandle = 0,
hotkey = 67108872,

Ok, there is a lot of information here you don't really need. The important part is type = "Hgn_assault_frigate". If you want more of it, just copy the entire string:

{
tactic = 1,
type = ''Hgn_AssaultFrigate'',
subsystems = {
},
buildjobs = {
},
size = 1,
shiphold = {
},
name = '''',
teamColourHandle = 0,
hotkey = 67108872,
},

and paste it below. This will give you one more ship for each one pasted. You can create a huge fleet if desired. Note: If you make a lot of ships that "fly" out of the mothership in the beginning, then you have to wait for all of them. This could be a while if you make 50 or so. Try to stick to frigates since they warp in separately. You can also edit the research you currently have and the modules in the ships.

Locate the file "persist*.lua" where the * is the mission number. The file is in the "Homeworld\Bin\Profiles\Profile\CampaignASCENSION" folder. Open the "persist*.lua" file with a text editor such as Notepad. Locate "RUs =" at the bottom of the file and change the value to whatever you like.