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Introduction to modding: Difference between revisions
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==Introduction to the Oni engine== | ==Introduction to the Oni engine== | ||
Oni runs on a custom engine that Bungie could build for both Windows and the Macintosh (later, PlayStation 2 support was added, however console games are not easily modded, so we do not work with the PS2 version of Oni). At the time development started, Bungie did not yet have a true 3D engine, and Oni's lead coders intended their work to be reused in future Bungie titles, so the engine consists of various | Oni runs on a custom engine that Bungie could build for both Windows and the Macintosh (later, PlayStation 2 support was added, however console games are not easily modded, so we do not work with the PS2 version of Oni). At the time development started, Bungie did not yet have a true 3D engine, and Oni's lead coders intended their work to be reused in future cross-platform Bungie titles, so the engine is separated into a lower layer of general game code, BungieFrameWork (BFW), and an upper layer with the Oni-specific code. The engine also consists of various subsystems, some of which have colorful animé-related names like [[wikipedia:Akira (film)|Akira]] (environment), [[wikipedia:Motoko Kusanagi|Motoko]] (graphics), and [[wikipedia:My Neighbor Totoro|Totoro]] (animation). | ||
Unfortunately, the game was rushed to completion during a change of ownership (see [[Oni]] for the full story), and it was not possible for the developers to release any tools or information to aid the fans in modding. The game data also reflects Oni's rocky development, being assembled somewhat haphazardly, containing unused and duplicate resources, and also missing a number of resources that the engine looks for during gameplay. One good thing that can be said about the engine is that it is solid enough to run smoothly over top of the errors that it regularly encounters in the data. That being said, it's easy to crash the engine when modding, as is the case with all game engines. | Unfortunately, the game was rushed to completion during a change of ownership (see [[Oni]] for the full story), and it was not possible for the developers to release any tools or information to aid the fans in modding. The game data also reflects Oni's rocky development, being assembled somewhat haphazardly, containing unused and duplicate resources, and also missing a number of resources that the engine looks for during gameplay. One good thing that can be said about the engine is that it is solid enough to run smoothly over top of the errors that it regularly encounters in the data. That being said, it's easy to crash the engine when modding, as is the case with all game engines. | ||
Due the lack of modding tools/information at the time of Oni’s release, fans had to explore the wild jungle of raw game data and create modding tools through reverse-engineering. It took over seven years to unlock most of the game's secrets –- and the work is still ongoing (see [[History of Oni modding]]). But to make a long story short, we can now mod almost all types of data effectively, allowing us to create entirely new levels | Due to the lack of modding tools/information at the time of Oni’s release, fans had to explore the wild jungle of raw game data and create modding tools through reverse-engineering. It took over seven years to unlock most of the game's secrets –- and the work is still ongoing (see [[History of Oni modding]]). But to make a long story short, we can now mod almost all types of data effectively, allowing us to create entirely new levels and characters. Now we're turning our focus to making tools that are user-friendly so artists can work more freely. | ||
Altogether, we have identified over 100 types of resources (often called "file types" on this wiki, and "tags" in many other game modding communities) in the game data, however we only directly edit about half of these. It may sound intimidating at first, but depending on the kind of modding you want to do, you might be able to start working with only a little knowledge of the engine. | Altogether, we have identified over 100 types of resources (often called "file types" on this wiki, and "tags" in many other game modding communities) in the game data, however we only directly edit about half of these. It may sound intimidating at first, but depending on the kind of modding you want to do, you might be able to start working with only a little knowledge of the engine. | ||