I have a set of eclipse and ant based tools for modding with Sins that others may find useful when validating or building their projects.
Current Downloads (older downloads: Downloads)
FAQ
System Requirements
Syntax Wiki - A syntaxual representation of almost all of the Sins editable files.
How To's:How To Install EclipseHow To Setup Entity Validation Eclipse Plugin (Updated for new preference with v0.6)
Video: How to setup and configure the Soase Eclipse Plugin
References:
Mod Development with Eclipse (Forum link providing a general overview of Eclipse)
Eclipse download site (http://eclipse.org/downloads)
Tools Supported:
Entity Editor (Click me for cool stuff about visual Entity Validations)
Eclipse Editor builder/nature extension that provides visual feedback to the following validations.
Entity Definition View - Displays the syntax rules for the currently opened entity file.
Summary of validations currently supported: Boolean: Validates boolean entries contain TRUE or FALSE onlyBrush: Validates a referenced brush entry exists for the value enteredConditional Validation: Allows conditional structures to follow based on a field valueKey word: Validates all entity file key words are spelled correctlyQuotes: Validates any values requiring qoutes have beginning and ending quotation marksInteger: Validates integer entries contain digitsDecimal: Validates decimal entries contain ####.#####Entity References: Validates a referenced entity file exists for the value enteredString Reference: Validates a referenced String entry exists for the value enteredSound Reference: Validates a referenced Sound entry exists for the value enteredEnumeration Validation: Validates an entry confirms to an allowed set of values (i.e. buffInstantActionType)Iteration Validation: Validates repeating elements are correctStructure Validation: Validates entries appear in the correct order in the entity file (configurable to allow unordered structures)Explosion Validation: Validates a referenced explosion entry exists for the value enteredTexture Validation: Validates a referenced texture exists for the value enteredParticle Validation: Validates a referenced effect exists for the value enteredSounddata Validation: Validates sounddata files for correctness including referenced sound filesGalaxyScenarioDef Validation: Validates galaxyScenarioDef files for correctness with 2 pass validationsStringInfo Validation: Validates English.str for correctnessBrushes Validation: Validates brushes files for correctnessGameplay.constants: Validates the Gameplay.constant file for correctnessExplosiondata Validation: Validates sounddata files for correctness including referenced sound filesGalaxy Validation: Validates galaxy files for correctness and performs additional validations on referenced templates and design names.
Content Assistance: [ctrl]+[space bar] on keywords or constants and get suggested completionsSyntax Coloring: change syntax coloring of entity files to suit your preferences (defaults to all black currently)Hover Help: hover over a keyword and get additional details about the value or structureQuick link to wiki syntax
I can't remember using anything but AlwaysPerform.
Instant actions seem to allow everything but AlwaysPerform and OnChance.
For Periodics I've also only used AlwaysPerform and OnChance.
I was curious if anyone had tried OnCondition in the Ability file.
The above is working in my build except for the checking of particles in meshes and meshes in particles.
I need to write some new code to validate the meshes up to the vertices (i.e. not going to validate the entire file). I then need to create xml definitions for the particle files.
It'd be nice to edit down that long list of warnings. I pretty much ignore it due to the amount.
The problem is on your end if your getting that many warnings.
My suggestion to edit them down would be to analyze the warning, why it is given and fix the issue.
In the rare event I'm reporting something incorrectly please feel free to report it.
I was just wondering how you use and set up the Manifest Generator, that would make modding a lot easier.
There are some invalid items in the core game, most are in PlayerPirate.entity.
I'm not surprised the mod works as that is the purpose for leaving several things as warnings and not errors. These are things you can fix or can ignore. It's up to you as the mod maker.
Are you using Eclipse? Do you understand Ant?
I've thought about removing that from the OP as it seems there aren't any modding this game that understand or are interested in using development tools like Ant.
My recommendation to most people is to use Harpo's manifest generator.
I have found that your tool sets give us modders much more flexiblity , also with harpos tools sometimes they dont always function correctly . Do you have any tutorials on how to use ant with eclipse ?
thanks jay
Yeah, I am using eclipse, but I have no idea what Ant is or how to use it, I am interested in using it though as it would make modding just a little bit easier.
Ant is a fairly stand tool used to execute build scripts.
There are tutorials on how to use Ant that you should be able to find with Google. I'd recommend doing some research and trying to use it to execute simple commands. If you are able to get some beginner comfort level with Ant then you might be able to incorporate some of what I've done.
I don't have any personal tutorials unfortunately.
Here is a snapshot of my current manifest generation for Trinity.
Version 2.1.1 updated. Includes changes for all version of Sins.
Version History:
Eclipse Plugin:
** Warning: Warnings are something you should note, but don't necessarily indicate a problem with the mod. **
11/1/2012 v2.1.1 (Compatible with Eclipse 3.6.x or higher)
9/12/2012 v2.1.0 (Compatible with Eclipse 3.6.x or higher)
Sweet. I don't suppose you added the new instantActionType "ApplyBuffToFirstSpawnerNoFilterNoRange"? I think I have over 100 errors from that. Might be more, I decided that when adding a lot of new files it's better to turn the validator off, do the skeleton work of copying/renaming buffs, then turn it back on to catch the errors before actually testing them.
Updated a new version same name with that. I forgot they added that for some modder requests.
Edit:
The xml changed is buffInstantActionType.xml:
<condition><value version="Rebellion">ApplyBuffToFirstSpawnerNoFilterNoRange</value> <field required="true" name="instantActionTriggerType"/> <field required="true" name="buffType" validation="Entity" /> </condition>
Ya, I do the same thing too. Especially if you are moving a file around at a time. It's pretty intensive adding new files as it prompts a "full" validation versus modifying a single file which does only validates that change. This is essentially done as references may have been fixed or removed updating the errors/warnings appropriately.
Got this running recently and I tip my hat to you for it Zombie. I have a suggestion, for the asteroidTemplate and dustCloudTemplate checks, the tool should load up the mod's AsteroidDef.asteroidDef and DustCloudsDef.renderingDef files rather than using some default values. As, if someone uses any custom templates, the error checker can return hundreds of false positives, as it does whenever I run it, which is extremely annoying.
Ya, I see what you mean. I hadn't had any comments about this prior so didn't think about people modding those files. You could unzip the jar file and modify the planet.xml to in the meantime.
<field name="asteroidTemplate" validation="Any"></field>
And do the same for dust cloud templates.
Then zip it back up with the jar extension as before.
I need to see how much effort would be involved pre-processing those templates and adding them to validation.
As Vader said, "impressive.".
Another thing of alarm, concerning AsteroidDef.asteroidDef, if that isn't parsed there's a chance you will get false positives regarding mesh files that the plugin thinks is not referenced; once again, as is my case.
That is an option that can be turned on/off. I included it as a way to help cleanup my mod with the knowledge I can't handle every file and reference in Sins. You should turn it on when you want to analyze what "might" be dead. It's really useful, but not absolute.
That's what I figured; it actually has been quite helpful in finding a bunch of mesh files that aren't used, which has freed up some valuable space. This has been invaluable so far.
Unrelated, but is there a way to get the error and warnings tabs to display anything, versus just 100?
It's the little triangle in the upper right of the frame. Look at Preferences then Configure Contents for another useful filter.
That preferences or configure contents should do the trick, if I can find the thing, which I seem to be unable to do.
Hate to sound like an idiot here, but using what program exactly? Putting it all into an archive (without compression) and then simply changing the extension doesn't seem to want to work.
Click on the little triangle shown in this screenshot for "View Menu". It will popup a small menu with those two options.
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