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RE: Modding Tool

 
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RE: Modding Tool - 10/26/2016 7:07:23 PM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		So, here we are with 0.2.3. That's data validation done and dusted!

It means that (aside from any bugfixes that might be needed) that’s all that needs doing to the code, so right now we have a completed application!

Except for graphics.

Now, as you can probably tell, I'm no artist. I make functional tools not pretty ones.

Fortunately, my girlfriend is.

So she’s going to be working on making it look a bit better. That means potentially moving/resizing controls, adding images and whatever else it is artists do. It shouldn’t involve any code changes. If I have ended up changing any code to fix bugs or whatever then I can just copy/paste any changed code on top of her version and jobs a good un.

Once we’re happy with it I’ll be publishing it as 1.0.0. If any bugfixes are needed before then I’ll just publish them as revisions to 0.2.3.

So now would be a good time to start actually using the tool and reporting any problems you have with it. I’ll be fixing issues for some time yet, but sooner or later I’ll want to be moving on to some new project which will give me less time to sort out issues with this tool.

(in reply to ChildServices)
Post #: 211
RE: Modding Tool - 10/28/2016 7:52:27 PM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Just pushed a new revision to implement something I've been thinking about doing for a while, a log reporter.

If you have problems using the tool, you can now tick the new "Send Log File on Close?" box on the main menu. If you do this, when you close the tool it'll send me a log file (via encrypted FTP) which will contain your input/output log and should include an error message if one was generated while trying to input/output. It'll be a big help if you use that in addition to reporting issues here or by email.

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 212
RE: Modding Tool - 11/16/2016 4:20:48 PM   
Shogouki


Posts: 177
Joined: 8/11/2013
Status: offline 		How's it coming? Close to 1.0 yet?

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 213
RE: Modding Tool - 11/16/2016 4:32:13 PM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		I haven't had any bug reports so it seems that it works properly, but my gf works full time so she's a bit more limited on when she can work on the artistic side of things.

It is happening though, here's a little screenshot:



This is far from complete and I don't want to push revisions while it's in this sort of half-done state, but that should give you a general idea of the style we're going for.

(in reply to Shogouki)
Post #: 214
RE: Modding Tool - 11/16/2016 5:02:29 PM   
Shogouki


Posts: 177
Joined: 8/11/2013
Status: offline 		Looking very awesome! Awesome work, both of you!

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 215
RE: Modding Tool - 11/16/2016 10:50:04 PM   
Capshades

 

Posts: 138
Joined: 8/2/2014
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Shogouki

Looking very awesome! Awesome work, both of you!

^ This

(in reply to Shogouki)
Post #: 216
RE: Modding Tool - 11/22/2016 12:42:35 AM   
Unbroken

 

Posts: 21
Joined: 8/22/2014
Status: offline 		This has been pretty damn helpful for me in trying to rejig the research tree more towards what I wanted.

However, there've been times where the editor inserts parents for various projects on its own. Also, the editor seems to be confusing the ID for Ocean and Deserts when modifying specific traits, whether related to techs or races. For example, I can pull up the Dhayut's default record and the editor tells me their HW type is Ocean.

When creating research orders, there's no button to delete techs from the order, which is a mild inconvenience. It'd also be nice if the editor remembered where the user has installed DWU so you don't always have to re-navigate to the folder every time the editor is run.

Just my two cents. Looking forward to the completed version!

(in reply to Capshades)
Post #: 217
RE: Modding Tool - 11/22/2016 2:34:52 AM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Hi Unbroken,

Thanks for the feedback! Ask and thou shalt receive…

I haven’t been able to reproduce the extra parent lines, if you manage to consistently make this happen can you let me know how?

I’ve sorted the native planet type; this was just having the Ocean/Desert planet type in the wrong order. I’ve had a look through the other references to colony types and as far as I can tell they’re all correct, feel free to report if I’ve missed any more.

Research orders can now be removed with a double click on the one you want to get rid of. Adding them again them will still work too.

I’ve set it to store the installation folder in the registry and prioritise that as the default if it exists. That way you should only have to find it once. Clearing the recent mod folders list will also clear this value, so you can reset it. You can also regedit to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Distant Worlds Mod Tool” and delete/change it manually if need be.

This is revision 4, and contains the splash screen and main menu updated with some graphical changes, it’s not complete but I think I’ve set it so it’s clear and usable (at least, once you’ve loaded a mod). I haven’t made it obligatory so if people don’t want to deal with changed graphics yet they don’t have to.

(in reply to Unbroken)
Post #: 218
RE: Modding Tool - 11/22/2016 1:56:30 PM   
Unbroken

 

Posts: 21
Joined: 8/22/2014
Status: offline 		It seemed to occur mostly when I was adding/removing parents and then switching to different projects. The editor also seemed to not always remove the entire parent entry, as I'd run into parsing errors with the game and discover that there'd be an orphaned N or Y somewhere after I had removed a parent, looking like this: "PARENTS ; 265, N, N"

It could also be related to deleting projects and the subsequent re-ordering causing issues.

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 219
RE: Modding Tool - 11/22/2016 9:05:00 PM   
Mujik

 

Posts: 2
Joined: 11/22/2016
Status: offline 		Hey great tool mate! thanks for all your effort.

I used to play a lot of DW a few years ago, and decided do reinstall and play a little more, when i went to look for mods i found your tool, and I'm glad that i did
it makes so much easier to edit and tweak values in order do merge mods and adapt them to my style of gameplay...
just a quick feedback, when I'm going to edit any decimal values in your tool it shows decimal points in the separator as pink and decimal commas in green...
I'm fairly certain that i should be using points instead of commas (even the tip that appears when i hover the cursor says so). So, is it a problem with my keyboard configuration (just guessing) or is it something with the tool?

(in reply to Unbroken)
Post #: 220
RE: Modding Tool - 11/23/2016 1:49:20 AM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Hi Mujik,

That is a very interesting point, and something I hadn’t really thought about.

The problem is due to a conflict between your regional settings (using a number format that uses a comma for the decimal mark) and the DW:U files which use a point.

Since it “has” to use decimal points because that’s what DW:U is expecting (especially since the files use commas as data delimiters), I’ve set the application to explicitly use UK formatting for numbers, which should solve the problem.

That's revision 5.

(in reply to Mujik)
Post #: 221
RE: Modding Tool - 11/23/2016 2:56:00 AM   
Mujik

 

Posts: 2
Joined: 11/22/2016
Status: offline 		Nice it is working flawlessly now!!
thanks for again for all your hard work and for the quick answer.
And also kudos for your girlfriend, i really like the background artwork. I just wish that it was used also in other screens beside the main one, i find black backgrounds less tiresome when doing lots of editing.

I'll continue my modding testings to see if i find anything else that could be improved before you go for 1.0.0

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 222
RE: Modding Tool - 11/29/2016 2:14:02 PM   
Cepheiden

 

Posts: 27
Joined: 12/29/2015
Status: offline 		Hello Sabranan,

using version 2.3.5 the tool I get an empty box when trying to display the race research orders.
I remember I had a similar problem with one of the older versions and at some point I got it to display the existing order - though I don't remember what I did back then. Now that I updated to 2.3.5 it doesn't work again. I don't get any error of any kind and the same thing happens with any module I load.

Am I doing something wrong or missing a step to display the research orders?

(in reply to Mujik)
Post #: 223
RE: Modding Tool - 11/29/2016 7:21:28 PM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Thanks for reporting that Cepheiden, I'd forgotten to test actually loading in research orders as opposed to just creating them. Should be sorted now in revision 6.

The main menu has also taken another graphical leap forward!

(in reply to Cepheiden)
Post #: 224
RE: Modding Tool - 11/30/2016 10:06:46 AM   
Cepheiden

 

Posts: 27
Joined: 12/29/2015
Status: offline 		Good job! It works now. Also looks great.

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 225
RE: Modding Tool - 11/30/2016 5:39:45 PM   
NephilimNexus

 

Posts: 194
Joined: 9/2/2014
Status: offline 		How did I ever mod without this?

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 226
RE: Modding Tool - 12/11/2016 3:13:03 AM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Thanks for the compliment NephilimNexus!

Small bugfix today with revision 7. Fixes an issue with the Colony Growth value in the resources form having incorrect data validation set.

You may also notice the window border is gone entirely from the main menu, something I'm experimenting with. All it was needed for really was the close button (there's one on the form itself now, which will gain an icon at some point) and the ability to move the form around (just click and drag anywhere on the background).

The controls should also highlight nicely now, and it disables the "Specify Mod Folder" and the recent mod folders list when you're loading a mod to prevent triggering loading another mod and getting very confused!

(in reply to NephilimNexus)
Post #: 227
RE: Modding Tool - 12/12/2016 3:18:30 AM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Up in revision 8, a fix for an issue I noticed that basically means it crashes if you load the "About my Mod" form and you don't have a picture saved for your mod already.

We've started making headway into the other forms, so Research, Components and Facilities now use the new theme.

I'm still somewhat conflicted on the windows border for the forms, we don't need any controls on it and you can move the borderless forms around without it, but I'm honestly not sure whether it looks better or not. I've removed it from the main menu and left it in for the 3 updated forms, any feedback on preferences would be good!

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 228
RE: Modding Tool - 12/15/2016 10:19:10 PM   
Shogouki


Posts: 177
Joined: 8/11/2013
Status: offline 		Looking forward to this so much!

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 229
RE: Modding Tool - 12/23/2016 4:32:48 AM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Revision 9 is up and now we have the galaxy icon on all forms, so it shouldn't switch back to the basic Visual Studio icon in the taskbar anymore. It also includes a minor bugfix for log reporting, which could result in the custom message being corrupted.

(in reply to Shogouki)
Post #: 230
RE: Modding Tool - 12/31/2016 12:34:52 PM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Been rather busy over Christmas but out comes revision 10 with the Fighters form done.

Don't worry, we will be changing that icon!

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 231
RE: Modding Tool - 1/1/2017 2:28:28 AM   
gazdadude

 

Posts: 28
Joined: 7/22/2014
Status: offline 		Can you add races with this

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 232
RE: Modding Tool - 1/1/2017 12:36:04 PM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Yes you can, there's a "create race" button on the races form that will make a new race along with blank policy, design template, character and dialogue files.

(in reply to gazdadude)
Post #: 233
RE: Modding Tool - 1/5/2017 1:11:11 AM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Something a bit sexy today, the Components form now has a new button (Batch Tasks) that will open up a new subform. This subform will allow you to pick a starting/ending component (inclusive) and apply multiplier operations to the resource costs, energy used and size.

So if you wanted to make every component cost twice as much in terms of resources, you could now do that in a few clicks. You can enter decimal multipliers too, and have them round by standard rules, always up or always down as you please.

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 234
RE: Modding Tool - 1/5/2017 3:14:50 AM   
Capshades

 

Posts: 138
Joined: 8/2/2014
Status: offline 		Since you will probably be finished and moved on by the time I start using your tool in earnest, how flexible is the tool and how far can you push the limits? I plan on replacing every race, most resources (other than gold and exotics obviously), changing in-game text and descriptions (I know I have to do this manually), and adding significant graphics upgrades, probably mostly GEM. A good equivalent example is Mensrea's WH40K mod, have you tried loading it and seeing if your tool can recognize/handle all the aspects in it? His last work is here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/261470/discussions/0/540744934902076411/ although it's not very stable due to lack of a core update, and has GEM removed.

< Message edited by Capshades -- 1/5/2017 3:17:31 AM >

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 235
RE: Modding Tool - 1/5/2017 3:09:06 PM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		You can certainly replace races and resources and while it obviously can't create new graphics it does let you select image or sound files, once you've chosen the file it'll copy into the mod folder for you and rename it appropriately.

As an example of the tools capabilities I've just tried loading the mod you linked. When you first load someone else's mod into the tool, it generally finds a bunch of things wrong.

In this case, first, it throws the following warning:

"The current line contains invalid data in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Distant Worlds Universe\Customization\WH40K\races\quietude.txt file, the "Condition5Proportion 0" variable is not recognised. It will be dropped if the races are outputted."

I've double checked and this is true, the author is missing a “;” on that line. It probably won't make any odds since condition 5 isn't used for that race, but it's a simple fix anyway.

Next warning is:

"Policy file "Ghassulia.txt" skipped as it does not match a race name. This file will be dropped on output."

A quick look in the races folder shows that there is a file called "ghassulia.txt" but opening it reveals the race name is in fact Ghassulian. So when you play as them in the mod, it doesn't load the policy/character/design templates files! If they were an AI race, it wouldn't load the dialogue file either. Easy fix though, just change all the filenames to Ghassulian instead of Ghassulia.

The rest of the warnings are about missing files (these are optional anyway) or additional ones that aren't used in game (like the "DEFAULT" folder under design templates for example).

So you would need to fix at least the Ghassulian naming issue for it to load the policy/dialogue/character/design templates files that go with their race but other than that it loads fine.

(in reply to Capshades)
Post #: 236
RE: Modding Tool - 1/6/2017 12:07:39 AM   
Capshades

 

Posts: 138
Joined: 8/2/2014
Status: offline 		Awesome, he did it all manually so I'm not surprised. Looking forward to using the mod tool!

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 237
RE: Modding Tool - 1/8/2017 12:06:24 AM   
Sabranan

 

Posts: 418
Joined: 2/24/2016
Status: offline 		Revision 12 is up, I've done a number of things here.

Firstly a bugfix, the components form wasn't recognising two of the Hyperdrive values as being used so it was setting them to 0, fixed now. Also on the same form, data validation wasn't applying properly to the Colonization Module type because the modding guide said that value 1 was in millions when it wasn't. So I assumed a value of 1 would be 1,000,000, when in fact it's just 1.

Minor correction for the main menu's input log, if you loaded a mod without a races folder it would warn you, but the text would be white instead of orange. Fixed.

For the inputter, it'll now accept the obsolete values found in the default DW "ketarov.txt" dialogue file. It just reallocates them to the equivalent Universe values, which should help keep the flavour text when loading any mod based on it.

Finally, the parents section of the research form was using really crappy code to delete parents. I expect this resulted in the obligatory value getting switched sometimes, and quite possibly would account for some of the reports of corrupted parent lines being outputted. Should be much better now!

(in reply to Capshades)
Post #: 238
RE: Modding Tool - 1/8/2017 2:51:40 PM   
LuciferBaphomet

 

Posts: 4
Joined: 1/8/2017
Status: offline 		Been playing DW a couple of months now. Wanted to fiddle a bit with races, but the modding manual reduced me to a state of abject terror.

I think this tool might be the solution.

(in reply to Sabranan)
Post #: 239
RE: Modding Tool - 1/8/2017 3:34:52 PM   
LuciferBaphomet

 

Posts: 4
Joined: 1/8/2017
Status: offline 		Hmm, I extract it, click setup.exe, and nothing happens.

(in reply to LuciferBaphomet)
Post #: 240
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