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
jsheeh9427, the .entity files have two modes (txt & bin indicated by the first 3 characters of the file contents), the entity converting tools ALL use the convertdataEXPANSION.exe that comes wiht the game and do NOT change the file extension.
if you want to change the file extension then the game DOES NOT READ the file as the game only looks for the .entity files, so any and all changes you make to a .txt would not be seen in the game ontop of all the errors you would see in the dev mode from you renaming the files.
if you want to edit the texted .entity files, I suggest (and a few other modders also use) notepad++, but ANY plain text editing program can edit the .entity files, just do not use wordpad OR word as they will STUFF UP the formatting of the entity file and prefvent the game from using the file(s) that you edited
Harpo, the NON-subscriber
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