Originally Posted by maerean_m (Post 1297134)

Here are some basic steps to start with the modding (tools):

* do a back-up copy of the data folder. you'll thank me later for this http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/1.gif (you'll have a backup to help you undo changes and be able to create a installation kit for your mod using a comparing tool (Beyond Compare etc)).

* configure the game to run in window mode in a resolution smaller than your Windows desktop

* change the main.cfg file in MyDocuments\SH5\data\cfg:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9...ingoptions.png

* there are several types of editors for SH5:
** standalone (Mission Editor and GoblinEditor, the descendant of Kashmir) are executables placed in the same folder as sh5.exe. You use the editor to edit data, close it and then start the game to test the changes. Closing the editor is very important because it frees important system resources that will, otherwise, be locked and the game may crash because there's not enough memory (RAM or video).
** used while the game is running so you can see the changes in real-time (terrain editors, python scripts manager, menu style sheets)
** using the game engine but not the game itself (the Menu Editor). This is the way it has been done for SH3 and while it has its advantages, it also has its drawbacks (but there's never enough time to fix this).

* with the game running (but NOT while there's a loading screen), right click on the window's title bar to show this menu:
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6097/toolsp.png
With the Windows versions that have the standard task bar, this menu also appears if you right-click the application's button in the task-bar. That's not true for Windows 7 since it has a new API for the task-bar buttons.

* although it doesn't say in the menu, the terrain editors also require the game to be "in patrol mode". As a basic rule, you can't edit something that has not yet been instantiated. So this is also true, you can start the script manager to edit the python scripts while you're in main menu but you can't change the script for the default HUD (since, duh, it's not yet instantiated). You have to be in patrol and the HUD to be running to be able to apply changes you do it (yes, it's something like Edit & Continue).

* the GoblinEditor is used to attach and edit behaviors (controllers) to the structure of every 3D object in the game. This is the way the GDS engine works (the one in the kernel.dll). There are literally hundreds of controller types in the game and can be edited visually using a property grid.

* [very important]setting up the GoblinEditor means typing the folder where the sh5.exe is located in the ActorsDirectory property in the Tools\Options window (e.g. K:\Games\Silent Hunter 5). The actors are the .act files in the SilentHunter5 folder and are the ones holding the code for all the controllers.

* This is a use case for the GoblinEditor:
** Open a GR2 file (the one with the 3D geometry, G stands for the Granny engine). You'll see the object being rendered and its structure in the GDS Scene Tree panel.
** Merge the files containing the controllers (.sim, .dat, .chr, .cam, .val, .zon). The sim file contains the controllers for the simulation (see, SH5 is a simulation after all http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/1.gif) and the cam file contains the controllers for the camera parameters.
** let's try it. open data\Objects\Guns\Deck_Gun_GE88mm.GR2 and merge the Deck_Gun_GE88mm.sim and Deck_Gun_GE88mm.cam files. Open the Controller Editor (Ctrl+E) in the Tools menu. A window is displayed (you may have to resize it the first time) and click on the StationController to see the properties for the controller handling the situation when the player uses the deck gun as a station. The actual gameplay associated with the gun is handled by the wpn_Cannon controller.

* Now, a little about the folder structure. You can find GR2 files in many folders (Library, Objects, Submarine, Sea etc). The Library folder is special (hard-coded) and contains the objects that are always needed (e.g. torpedoes_g7a-e.gr2). All the other folders contain files loaded on-demand (e.g. there's a text configuration file indicating that the file is to be loaded).


Consider this the first episode of the series. There will be others following this one.


It strikes me that this info could be also stored in a SH5 wiki. :hmmm:



This is a generic thread, so post your questions here so all the modders can read the answer. I think this is much better than answering on every mod's forum thread.

Mihai

Originally Posted by maerean_m (Post 1299475)

:ping: This is from a technical PM. I encourage you ask your questions on the forum, rather than on PMs because
1. the others will also see the answer and may benefit from it
2. it's a better use of my time, because people have similar questions so I don't have to write the same answer multiple times. Plus I may forget some details on the 3rd time I answer the same question. And I can answer more distinct questions in the same time rather than answering the same questions over and over.
3. I have subscribed to this thread so I receive emails when you ask something. So it's just like a PM, only better http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/1.gif

Hello

* Please stop changing the ini files by hand. That was the only way to create UI mods for SH4. Now we have given you the Menu Editor. Use it.
* the colors use the RGBA format
* matflags: 1 for transparency and 8 for bilinear filtering
* MatFlags=0x29 is 0x20 + 0x08 + 0x01. I don't know by heart what 0x20 means, i'll have to look into the DirectX headers. But it's not a value you normally encounter.
* menus use a system that resembles the CSS used in web development, e.g. you create a set of appearance properties (specific for texts, buttons, listboxes) and apply that style for any number of menu items. So StatesColors should usualy be set by means of style sheets (from the Menu Editor). As a bonus, style sheets can be changes while the game is running (very useful for list-boxes that only get filled with content at run-time, e.g. the Combat Log in the bottom right corner of the HUD). The style sheets themselves are stored in the Silent Hunter 5\data\Menu\StyleSheets\German.shss file.
* the FocusableMenuItem (button, check box, radio button) has 4 states: Disabled, Normal, Mouse Over, Pressed. So those are the colors for the 4 states.
* Drag, BmpState, NeedFocus, SelOne - were used in SH3 and are now obsolete (and hard-coded). The SH5 way is to use python scripting to implement your design (good examples can be found in scripts we wrote for the HUD, Navigation map and the Character dialog (the big .py files in data\Scripts\Menu)).

* While on patrol, open the script manager and click on a script from the tree on the left. Do your changes to the script code you see on the right and press the ApplyChanges button. That's it.
* There's a button called ViewGlobals to let you see the variables that the script is working with and see the exposed properties for those variables.
* The script manager has some useful features like text-auto-complete, jump-to-function-definition, find-text and go-to-line-number.
* Also, there's a tab called Class Definitions to see all the classes exported to the python scripts containing the inheritance tree, description, nested types, properties, methods and events.

Mihai

Originally Posted by gutted (Post 1285784)

I found everything but the script manager. where is it?

Originally Posted by Mission Editor 2 - Total_Germany

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/9678/missioneditor.png

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper (Post 1286033)

What do these "nodes" do? Do they have to do with traffic or someething?

Originally Posted by gutted (Post 1285784)

I found everything but the script manager. where is it?

Originally Posted by Hartmann (Post 1286288)

Well , seems that despite the drawbacks , limitations , and half finished game it´s like a blank board where modders can do everything they want. :hmmm::up:

Originally Posted by karamazovnew (Post 1286599)

That HAS to be the worst thing a dev would like to hear. Let's not go overboard just yet. There are a few things missing but I wouldn't call the game a "blank board". :shifty:

Originally Posted by Drifter (Post 1285692)

Why is this thread so dead? I mean, does no one here realize the potential for the ability to now script in SH5?!

This is BIG news. Wake up people! :timeout: