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Introduction to modding: Difference between revisions
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==What engine does Oni run on?== | ==What engine does Oni run on?== | ||
Oni runs on a custom engine that could be built for Windows, the Macintosh and the PlayStation 2 (console games are not easily modded, so we don't | Oni runs on a custom engine that could be built for Windows, the Macintosh and the PlayStation 2 (disc-based console games are not easily modded, so we don't support modding for the PS2 version of Oni). The engine consists of various subsystems, some of which have colorful animé-related names like Akira (environment), Motoko (graphics) and Totoro (animation). | ||
Unfortunately, the game was rushed to completion during a change of ownership, and it was not possible for the developers to release any tools or information to aid the fans in modding. Thus, fans had to explore the wild jungle of the raw game data and create modding tools through reverse-engineering. It took over seven years to unlock most of the game's secrets, but we can now mod almost all types of data effectively, allowing us to create entirely new levels and characters. | Unfortunately, the game was rushed to completion during a change of ownership, and it was not possible for the developers to release any tools or information to aid the fans in modding. Thus, fans had to explore the wild jungle of the raw game data and create modding tools through reverse-engineering. It took over seven years to unlock most of the game's secrets, but we can now mod almost all types of data effectively, allowing us to create entirely new levels and characters. | ||
Altogether, we have identified over 100 types of resources (often called "file types" on this wiki | 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 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. | ||
* Go to [[Oni]] for the full story on Oni's development, or; | * Go to [[Oni]] for the full story on Oni's development, or; | ||
* Go to [[History of Oni modding]] to read about the community's accomplishments up until now, or; | * Go to [[History of Oni modding]] to read about the community's accomplishments up until now, or; | ||
* Go to [[Engine terminology]] to learn about versions of the engine and its subsystems, or; | |||
* Continue reading to learn about the game data files. | * Continue reading to learn about the game data files. | ||
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A game can be compared to a theater play: in both cases, you have <u>stages</u>, <u>scripts</u>, <u>actors</u>, and <u>music</u>. A level is built so that when the player performs certain actions or reaches certain locations on the '''stage''', further events are set in motion according to the '''script'''. The player interacts with [[wp:Artificial intelligence in video games|AI]] '''actors''' along the way. '''Music''' will often play dynamically behind all this, changing along with the flow of events. | A game can be compared to a theater play: in both cases, you have <u>stages</u>, <u>scripts</u>, <u>actors</u>, and <u>music</u>. A level is built so that when the player performs certain actions or reaches certain locations on the '''stage''', further events are set in motion according to the '''script'''. The player interacts with [[wp:Artificial intelligence in video games|AI]] '''actors''' along the way. '''Music''' will often play dynamically behind all this, changing along with the flow of events. | ||
In Oni's case, the stages, actors and music (and other sounds) are all packed together into files inside GameDataFolder/ that end in ".dat", ".raw", and, on Macs, ".sep". The level0_Final files provide resources for all levels, and when you load a Chapter, an additional set of data files provide the level-specific resources for that Chapter (e.g. level12_Final for Chapter 10). The scripts are stored in separate plain-text files ending in ".bsl" inside GameDataFolder/IGMD/. The player's progress is stored in persist.dat next to the Oni application. | In Oni's case, the stages, actors and music (and other sounds) are all packed together into files inside GameDataFolder/ that end in ".dat", ".raw", and, on Macs, ".sep". The level0_Final files provide global resources for all levels, and when you load a Chapter, an additional set of data files provide the level-specific resources for that Chapter (e.g. level12_Final for Chapter 10). The scripts are stored in separate plain-text files ending in ".bsl" inside GameDataFolder/IGMD/. The player's progress is stored in persist.dat next to the Oni application. | ||
* Go to [[Oni (folder)]] | * Go to [[Oni (folder)/GameDataFolder]] to see how the data files correspond to the game's levels, or; | ||
* Go to | * Go to [[Game data terminology]] to learn the community's terms for the game data, or; | ||
* Continue reading to learn the general process of modding. | * Continue reading to learn the general process of modding. | ||
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===Third-party tools=== | ===Third-party tools=== | ||
If you are scripting, | If you are scripting, you might need nothing more than a text editor. For editing textures, you might only need a free bitmap editor. For creating levels or characters, you'll need a full 3D modeling package. Since Oni doesn't have modern 3D graphics, you won't need to know as much about modeling/texturing as you would with a modern game, and there are free modelers available. Our recommendations for tools will be found under the subsections of "Modding resources" below. | ||
===Community tools=== | ===Community tools=== | ||