PA Mod Creator [CLOSED ALPHA]

This is a highly WIP mod creator for PA, written in Java.
It is currently in closed Alpha, so if you're interested in getting involved comment or PM me.

Spoiler: Screenshots

Current Testers:

• bsergent
• Xankar
• stuart98

Feature List: (Finished) (In-Progress) (Planned)
Auto-Updater
JSON Editor
Bug Report Submitter
Suggestion Box
Resource Manager/Browser
JSON Value Editor
Infobase
Server Mod Creation
Client Mod Creation
.papa model viewer
GitHub mod exporter
.zip mod exporter
Texture Viewer/Editor
Unit Creation Wizard
PAMM-Ready Mod Exporting
Galactic War Mod Creation

I doubt i'll be able to do much with it, but i'd sure like to tamper around with the tool.

So, you're interested in becoming a tester?

looks cool, but i have a hard time believing how legitamate this is with the lines ".papa model viewer", "github mod exporter??", "texture viewer/editor" and "unit creation wizard"

wat

It means that there will be a viewer for the models stored in .papa files, the ability to export your mod directly to github, an editor and viewer for the texture files, and you will be able to create a new unit by filling in some fields about it and the program will handle the rest. They are all planned features. What's confusing about them?

Yes.

they're not confusing, it's just that this requires a tremendous amount of work. You say there will be a viewer for the actual .papa files? Are you planning to rebuild an entire 3D modelling program? .papa files are in c++ too.

Interesting, sign me up as a tester.

I take it your unit creating wizard is going to be based on editing the unit Jsons, or are you planning to actually involve creating models and all that.

EDIT:
Just read through the thread now. Posted this based on a convo with some other people.

EDIT2:
Overall your tool looks like it has potential and I am looking forward to seeing what you'll come up with.

Planned features aren't same as 'implemented' so maybe these are more along the lines of 'ideally planned features'. Also the mod will probably link in with existing software (e.g. model viewer could link to blender as that is open source I believe?).

Either way even without that having a dedicated json editor that can package for pamm would be a huge help. If that becomes available I'll probably try my hand at some balance mod work.

What do you mean by automatic updates? Are you storing the changes in some json diff format? If so I recommend the json-patch standard.

I mean the mod creator itself updates automatically. Being able to automatically update mods sounds like a good feature too though.

And with that comment, the feature creep started....

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "feature creep", but the listed goals will likely expand as I develop the tool.

I wasn't being overly serious- its a common complaint made that software projects get out of control due to 'feature creep' (i.e. people asking for more and more functionality). So long as the list doesn't get so long you give up it's all good

Just a nitpick: there is no such thing as a c++ file except for source code and libraries. If .papa files are binary and there is a specification for them you can write readers in any programming language.

Interesting. And regarding the planned feature of "Texture Viewer/Editor", feel free to copy the C++ code from the papa texture editor. Specifically, the decoding/encoding functions for the various formats: https://github.com/DeathByDenim/papatextureeditor/blob/master/papafile.cpp#L510
C++ and Java are very similar anyway.

oh Regarding papa files, here is some java code that is able to read all vertex data (and write them back modified) from papa models and animations:
https://github.com/pamods/ReScalePa/blob/master/src/info/nanodesu/ReScalePaPa.java

Oohh, thanks!

Will this work with GW for modding purposes?