NOTE: some of the following is very old, not updated and / or potentially out of date. Check Recommended at the end of this post for latest information. Below is a list of reference guides and resources for modding Planetary Annihilation. Please post any additional tools, utilities or references in this thread and I will include them here. Reference Guides General Guides PA Modding Changes - A summary of changes introduced in PA builds that affect modders Unit Composition - A quick rundown of all components/files that make up a Planetary Annihilation Unit. A good place to start. Hardcoded paths & files - A list of resources and paths that are currently hardcoded into the games' executable file. Blueprint Guides Unit Blueprints - Reference for Unit Blueprint values Unit Blueprint Inheritance - Listing of unit blueprint inheritance Tool & Ammo Blueprints - Reference for Tool & Ammo Blueprint values Planet Type, Biome, Feature & Decal Blueprints - Reference for Planet Types, Biomes & Feature blueprint values Effects specifications - Reference for Effect blueprint values Model, Texture & Audio Guides Models & Textures - Creating models & textures for Planetary Annihilation Unofficial PAPA file format - PAPA file format technical reference papadump.exe & papatran.exe - Usage information on the papadump and papatran utilities included with Planetary Annihilation Audio - Information on the audio format and sound cue details Export a skybox from Space Engine and import it to PA - How to add custom skyboxes, taken from the program "Space Engine" User Interface Guides UI Modding System - An overview of the UI Modding system in Planetary Annihilation UI Modding - Knockout - Reference for the javascript UI framework Strategic Icons & Build Pictures - Reference for adding and changing strategic icons and build pictures Custom Planet Types & Enabling Them In Editor - Creating new planet types that are selectable in the system editor JQuery and Javascript Performance - Tips on how to avoid performance drops when using Jquery or Javascript in UI mods API Guide for UI Modding - A guide to the way the UI is setup and how it interacts with the engine. Applications Blender - Free 3D Modelling tool. You will need the Blender Importer/Exporter (see tools, below) Paint.NET - Free advanced version of paint, good for editing PNG files with transparancy FMOD Designer - Free tool for viewing & creating FMOD sound banks and event lists Tools PA Mod Manager (new Atom Shell version) - Easily enable/disable mods Blender importer/exporter for PAPA files - v0.5 - Enables import and export functions for .papa files within Blender Reformat your json files~ - A script which re-formats all json files (blueprints), so they are easier to read. Will require Python to be installed. Unit Viewer/Unit Comparison Tool - Browser-based unit information viewer Unit query tool - Allows unit data comparison Papa texture editor - allows viewing and opening of papa texture files Recommended (NEW) https://wiki.palobby.com/wiki/Planetary_Annihilation_Modding Visual Studio Code cross platform editor with native JSON editing, formatting and validation Modifying Custom CSG: https://forums.planetaryannihilation.com/threads/tutorial-making-custom-csg-and-features.72845/ Custom CSG in 3ds Max: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Blptknucz0uRbAvAIyq2ynCOD9TVVGWjHr-DhUQKe7M/edit Creating a new PA unit in Blender ONLY:
Re: PA Modding Reference Guides, Tools & Utilities Mods with Code These mods include the exact code changes in the post or other reference material: User Interface Automatic EULA Accept/Login Instructions Play a sound on new lobby chat messages Display "Advanced" Planet Info in Game Lobby Display "Advanced" Planet Info in New Game Add More Planets, Stats Panel to Planet Editor
Hello, I think information about "mousetrap" - the library used to capture mouse and keyboard events, would be usefull too. I digged into several mods and none used mousetrap functions but implemented their own keymapper - system... http://craig.is/killing/mice Btw: These keyboard - bindings listed there could also be used in the settings section in pa. I think that especially the functionality to have input sequences is _very_ usefull. One could realize some sort of "build menues" with this - without even modding something, only by binding sequences to build commands...
Mousetrap was not part of PA since the start of early alpha, I think that is why so far nobody used it. However I'll check it out when I rewrite hotbuild some time.
Is there a PAPA import/export for 3DS Max? Blender is doing my head in .. lol <--- free yes, awesome NO .. lol If there is I'll go back to modeling in Maya 3D and export to 3DS Max for final touch-ups and texturing, then export that to PAPA.
Im waiting on news for that to. I use 3ds max as well, an Im dying to get my hands on the textures and Models of the commanders and start up my own.
Please add a link to https://forums.uberent.com/threads/how-to-be-a-good-citizen-in-javascript.55595/
Why don't we create a repo in the PA mods org for that? That way we all can edit it and work together to make some helpful docs. Great idea though! I also added you to the org so you can create it yourself and push mod commits directly to the repo.
Another thing to keep in mind for UI mods: https://forums.uberent.com/threads/how-to-hide-your-ui-mods-in-spectator-mode.57942/
@raevn if you know how could you give some info about buikd bar icon moddig? cause i´m trying to make this: into a t2 like (dark blue colour). But I have 0 knowledge of how to do so, (programms needed, some tips of how to use them,..). Thanks)
Remember to check wiki for up to date info: https://wiki.palobby.com/wiki/Planetary_Annihilation_Modding
Alright, I can see what files I would need to edit for a simple balance mod, but how can I save them into a coherent "MOD?" Like, how can I make my file-changes into something the game recognizes as a mod?
Would you be able to remove PA Mod Manager from the Tools section? It hasn't been a valid tool for a couple of years now, but the post is still really helpful. In its place you might want to point to the Planetary Annihilation Titans Modding Wiki. Also for consideration, Visual Studio Code, given that a lot of people seem to still use Notepad++ despite being inferior for the task due to the lack of real-time validation.
