This tool builds game Mod or Addon release files from flat game data source files. In its current release it is compatible with Windows 10 and above.
The ModBuilder contains all program source files. It is relevant for tool developers, but not for mod developers.
The SampleProject contains all scripts (.bat) and configurations (.json) for mod developers to get started with their own project. All tools associated with the Generals Mod Builder will automatically download and install.
The Setup.bat allows to customize the Mod Builder install. When a new Mod Builder is released, it can be upgraded by modifying this script, or by replacing the script(s) with a new version from the Sample Project. It is possible to change the folder layouts, but for simplicity sake just use the same layout as presented in the Sample Project.
In the given SampleProject, all game data source files are placed in the GameFilesEdited folder and is referenced in the ModBundleItems.json. The bundles configuration allows to define bundles aka .big archives and miscellaneous files. The ModBundlePacks.json references the bundle items and packs them together as one entity. This allows to pack a project into different configurations, for example as My_Textures_Pack_2k and My_Textures_Pack_4k.
If a json file is misconfigured, the Mod Builder tool will halt execution early and print information about the problem. Once the configuration is properly set, it will start building.
Find more information about Configuration Settings.
The following file conversions are supported:
Since Release 1.0
- Any to BIG (Game Archive)
- Any to ZIP (Archive)
- Any to TAR (Archive)
- Any to TAR.GZ (Archive)
- CSF to STR
- STR to CSF
- PSD to TGA
- PSD to DDS (DXT1 and DXT5)
- PSD to BMP (24)
- TGA to DDS (DXT1 and DXT5)
- TGA to BMP (24)
Since Release 1.8
- BLEND to W3D
Batch scripts are available in SampleProject/Scripts to build and run the project. The BuildInstallRun.bat is helpful to build, install and run the game with the project in one go. After the game is closed, the project is automatically uninstalled. The ModRunner.json can be customized to change game run behaviour.
The scripts and Mod Builder program will download and install a few executable files (.exe) from github. These are required to build .big or .dds files for example. Before any execution, all executable files are checked against sha256 hashes stored within the scripts and the Mod Builder to verify correctness. This means once the scripts are placed in a Mod project, then no file change on the Internet can incur wrong or malicious program behaviour.