[WIP] Flora Editor Reconstruction [v1.0.3]

[A-xesey]

The post was mainly written using google translate. If you see a grammatical mistake in a post, please send a corrected version below this post!
There will be no updates to the mod in the near future, as at this time I will be writing a project.
This mod reconstruction the flora editor, making the creation of normal flora possible! You can:

• Use ALL fragments (but they do not have handle deformation), except for a few cut fragments
• Normal use of paint mode
• Meet user flora in the game
• Deformation and resize trunks without crashed the game

Download link: FLORARECON_v.1.0.3.zip

• Available in Russian and English!

How work in the editor?
This video demonstrates how to use the editor:


First you need to get into the editor. This command can be entered in the game shortcut, in Steam properties, etc:

Code: Select all

-state:FloraEditor

You can also get to the flora editor by going to some other editor, for example, the creature editor, and then open the sporopedia in the editor and double-click on any plant to get to the flora editor.

• To lengthen the trunks, you need to press "Ctrl" and raise a couple of trunks slightly above the root, then cancel and return the action. When you are done with the trunks, place the very first trunk back on the root.
• There are two files in the mod folder: SAVEPLANT and DELETEPLANT. It’s better not to delete the first file, but for the second one to work you need to enable validation (download ForceSave or do everything according to these instructions: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/ ... =660859859 (I couldn’t find another one, just use a translator). After enabling validation, you first need to resave the victim flora, I recommend with the “gaprop” tag, after which the creation can be deleted! And after deleting, you MUST return SAVEPLANT and delete DELETEPLANT!

Last important notes:
NEVER PUBLISH ADVENTURES WITH USER FLORA! If you publish such an adventure, then when other users try to download this adventure, the game crashes, even if they upload custom plants to the sporopedia through the archive! This is due to the fact that the game does not record the path to the user plant, which is why the game cannot understand what it needs to load and dies.

FAQ
Does this mod require Spore modAPI?
— The mod work without Spore modAPI.

When I went into paint mode, my plant disappeared!
— Most likely, you forgot to put the main part of the creation back on the root. Put the creation on the root and everything will be fine!

I switched to Build mode after Paint Mode and now I can't select/move/resize fragments!
— This is due to the fact that animation is disabled in the editor (if you turn on animation, there will be no such problem, but the plants will sway a lot from side to side). Just do an superfluous action in Build mode and everything will be fine!

My plant is not in the adventure/game!
— If you want to look at a plant or so that you don’t come across invisible plants in games, then you need to look at the flora in the sporopedia. After this, the plants will load into the game normally.

Can I share flora with other users?
— Yep!

The water in the adventure turns completely black!
— I don't know what could be causing this error. But this can be fixed by simply restarting the game! (Maybe)

Advices
— If you don't add the "gaprop" tag to your plants, then add a couple of fruits to them so that during your play in the creature and tribe stages you can collect fruits from them.
— The size of the fruit fragment determines the size of the fruit itself in the game.
— Try to use the trunks as little as possible, during texturing the trunks take up more than half of the texture space, which is why the fragments will look terrible at the end of texturing.
— You can use custom plants in your adventures, but only as long as you don't delete the Pollination.package file.
— Don't raise the trunks too high/low from the root, otherwise the game may crash!
— I recommend you use ForceSave.

Special thanks

• rob55rod: It all started with his mod "Branching Evolution"
• 0keponline:Thanks to his PNG-creation decompiler, I was able to reconstruct the fragments more accurately!
• Old community Spore Wiki -ru:I thank them for always being there for me (including 0kepOnline)! c:

[FrenchSPORE]

Gorgeous! I thought this wasn't possible! I will finally be able to create plants that will look more like what I am looking for in relation to the themes of my Adventures. I didn't want to make plants from creatures or buildings.

And just to know, will both symmetrical and asymmetrical option be available?

[A-xesey]

Gorgeous! I thought this wasn't possible! I will finally be able to create plants that will look more like what I am looking for in relation to the themes of my Adventures. I didn't want to make plants from creatures or buildings.

And just to know, will both symmetrical and asymmetrical option be available?

I didn’t believe it at first either, until this editor started working!
Symmetry is not used in the editor, and therefore there is no need to use asymmetry, as it was, for example, in the Branching Evolution mod.
And yes, as I wrote in the post, if you send someone such an adventure with custom plants, their game will crash! Boo! Therefore you should be careful with this.

[FrenchSPORE]

...and therefore there is no need to use asymmetry...

Okay
And the ''Plants'' file in our documents which was of no use, will be useful now (I think)!

in the Branching Evolution mod

I didn't know this mod, I think I would have tried it, but it doesn't seem stable and incomplete compared to this one.

if you send someone such an adventure with custom plants, their game will crash! Boo! Therefore you should be careful with this.

There's no risk for me, I'm an isolated case who can't connect to the Internet from my game. . But that doesn't stop me from taking full advantage of it.

If you don't add the "gaprop" tag to your plants, then add a couple of fruits to them so that during your play in the creature and tribe stages you can collect fruits from them.

Need a little more clarification for this point:
No, I don't want to put ''gaprop'', I like to see my creations appear in my games, unless it breaks the realism ... and if I have no choice!
Is it necessary to put fruit in order for the plants to appear in the Creature and Tribe Phase? Won't that crash the game for the Civilization and Space Phases afterwards? I think you would have indicated it if that was the case.

... I just reread the paragraph concerning the two files, I'm a little afraid now of not understanding it well and not being able to do it. Tinkering with files isn't really my thing, I'm always afraid of causing an irreparable disaster, even by making copies !

[A-xesey]

There's no risk for me, I'm an isolated case who can't connect to the Internet from my game.

Oooh, I once had exactly the same problem when I was on win7, but when I moved to win10, the connection worked fine. Perhaps, if possible, you should try installing a newer version of Windows?

Is it necessary to put fruit in order for the plants to appear in the Creature and Tribe Phase? Won't that crash the game for the Civilization and Space Phases afterwards? I think you would have indicated it if that was the case.

No, the game does not crash due to custom plants, whether it is a plant with or without fruit. This is rather my recommendation to avoid food problems when playing as a herbivore or omnivore.

... I just reread the paragraph concerning the two files, I'm a little afraid now of not understanding it well and not being able to do it. Tinkering with files isn't really my thing, I'm always afraid of causing an irreparable disaster, even by making copies !

Well, SAVEPLANT is a required file for the mod to work properly, and the DELETEPLANT file is optional. If you want to remove a plant, then you need to remove SAVEPLANT and install DELETEPLANT, and after removing the plant, do the opposite: remove DELETEPLANT and install SAVEPLANT. I hope I wrote more clearly!

[FrenchSPORE]

Perhaps, if possible, you should try installing a newer version of Windows?

The problem does not come from Windows, having the game in disc version, the problem is that I bought it second hand in a flea market, so an account already exists! If I had known, I would never have bought it second hand!

No, the game does not crash due to custom plants, whether it is a plant with or without fruit. This is rather my recommendation to avoid food problems when playing as a herbivore or omnivore.

Okay

Well, SAVEPLANT is a required file for the mod to work properly, and the DELETEPLANT file is optional. If you want to remove a plant, then you need to remove SAVEPLANT and install DELETEPLANT, and after removing the plant, do the opposite: remove DELETEPLANT and install SAVEPLANT. I hope I wrote more clearly!

Yes, I don't think I will need to remove a plant, if it no longer suits me I will modify it instead. I think I'll be pretty comfortable with that .
I'll see about it when the time comes.

[vanillacold]

Nice work!
Although, I do recall that the game normally crashes with custom (not gaprop) flora if the Staff of Life is used.
Have you managed to fix that issue?
(if not, it's not too big of a problem - I've been researching that problem, and it should be fixable with custom code)

[A-xesey]

Nice work!
Although, I do recall that the game normally crashes with custom (not gaprop) flora if the Staff of Life is used.
Have you managed to fix that issue?
(if not, it's not too big of a problem - I've been researching that problem, and it should be fixable with custom code)

Thank you, I appreciate it!
...In fact, during all the time I was working on the mod, I never once thought about whether everything would work fine if I used the Staff of Life, I limited myself to only meeting the user flora at the creature stage. So no, I didn't fix it and I don't know how it can be fixed: I'm not a programmer.
Can I please know how this can be fixed?

[vanillacold]

So no, I didn't fix it and I don't know how it can be fixed: I'm not a programmer.
Can I please know how this can be fixed?

I'm not entirely sure, but it would require using custom code and reverse-engineering the game.
I'd be willing to do that part actually, though it would mean that the mod will require the Spore ModAPI Launcher Kit.
(Either that, or it'd be a separate and open-source mod.)

[A-xesey]

I'm not entirely sure, but it would require using custom code and reverse-engineering the game.
I'd be willing to do that part actually, though it would mean that the mod will require the Spore ModAPI Launcher Kit.
(Either that, or it'd be a separate and open-source mod.)

I will be glad for your help! :D
If you help, I'll add you to "Special thanks", yes
And I’ll also write about which goodies will not work without the SporeMod API.

[FrenchSPORE]

Great!
I downloaded it. I will test this ''new'' editor perhaps this Sunday.

[FrenchSPORE]

I started testing it, but I haven't finished analyzing everything yet.

I have a few things to say.

I switched to Build mode after Paint Mode and now I can't select/move/resize fragments!
— This is due to the fact that animation is disabled in the editor (if you turn on animation, there will be no such problem, but the plants will sway a lot from side to side). Just do an superfluous action in Build mode and everything will be fine!

I haven't seen in the editor where to go to activate/deactivate the animation, how do we do it? In case it happens.

For the fruits, I think it's ''normal'' which have the appearance of small triangles in the editor, but for the second one which has lots of them, which is under the classic orange fruit, what will the fruit look like if the plant appears in the Creature/Tribe Phase? To find out if things are going well or better with a particular plant.


In the Sporpedia, when I clicked to view a Maxis plant to modify it, it said that elements were not installed, are there any missing? Of course, I was still able to open it by double-clicking, but the plant looked a little different, and with elements hidden beneath the earth.

We would say that there are a few small bugs, when I opened the plant which looks like a big pink flower (large flora), its petals were very enlarged, did not have the same shape and were placed on an invisible body in the editor, then the camera zoom was very far away.
If the problem is the same with our own plants, it will be a bit annoying .

Maybe more to come...

[A-xesey]

For the fruits, I think it's ''normal'' which have the appearance of small triangles in the editor, but for the second one which has lots of them, which is under the classic orange fruit, what will the fruit look like if the plant appears in the Creature/Tribe Phase? To find out if things are going well or better with a particular plant.

It's not a fruit, it's... a thing. It seems that this fragment was originally in the fruit section, so I left it there.
I don't know what it does, there is no skill written in this snippet file, like the fruit skill that adds fruit to a plant. The funny thing is that this fragment is used in only a couple of plants and it even had three deformation handles!

In the Sporpedia, when I clicked to view a Maxis plant to modify it, it said that elements were not installed, are there any missing? Of course, I was still able to open it by double-clicking, but the plant looked a little different...

Fragments currently don't have handles defomation and are just regular models, which is why they look that way on Maxis plants. In future updates I will try to add new deformations to fragments. Why "try"? Because I have no experience in animating objects.

...then the camera zoom was very far away

I checked out this creation now, it looks cool. The camera moves away from the creation from the size of the creation itself.

If the problem is the same with our own plants, it will be a bit annoying :oops:.

I have ensured that this will not happen in future updates. c:
But if such a problem arises, it will be easy to fix it by releasing a sort of “patch” to correct this error.

I haven't seen in the editor where to go to activate/deactivate the animation, how do we do it? In case it happens.

Oh, I'm an idiot, I didn't check what was written in the English translation, haha
What I did: first I wrote in Russian, then I did a reverse translation and looked at whether the text changed much when translated back into Russian or not. If not, then everything is fine.
What I meant was that animation is disabled in the editor code so that the creation does not move, like in the creature editor. Just imagine what it would look like if you decided to look at that pink plant with the animation turned on. Or, for example, on "Deciduous".
...In my opinion, that would be terrible. Therefore the animation is disabled.

...уand with elements hidden beneath the earth.

...on an invisible body in the editor

I don't understand what you're talking about. :O

[FrenchSPORE]

It's not a fruit, it's... a thing. It seems that this fragment was originally in the fruit section, so I left it there.
I don't know what it does, there is no skill written in this snippet file, like the fruit skill that adds fruit to a plant. The funny thing is that this fragment is used in only a couple of plants and it even had three deformation handles!

Okay, their thing is still weird, so we can say that it's not useful .
Also, I have seen fruit placed on ''large flora'' type plants, while this type of plant never has fruit in the Creature/Tribe phase, I don't really understand the point.

Fragments currently don't have handles defomation and are just regular models, which is why they look that way on Maxis plants. In future updates I will try to add new deformations to fragments. Why "try"? Because I have no experience in animating objects.

Okay, so it's this little problem that's doing this. This must also be the case for the elements hidden under the ground.

I checked out this creation now, it looks cool. The camera moves away from the creation from the size of the creation itself.

I hadn't noticed that this plant was made on a very large scale , I saw it when viewing it in the Sporpedia, we could only see a piece of trunk!

Oh, I'm an idiot, I didn't check what was written in the English translation, haha

Yes, sometimes the translation gives slightly strange results.

What I meant was that animation is disabled in the editor code so that the creation does not move, like in the creature editor.
...In my opinion, that would be terrible. Therefore the animation is disabled.

Yes, this is completely normal, so there is no activation/deactivation.

I don't understand what you're talking about.

This:
In fact, the size of the ''mushroom'' is reduced in the editor, which means that the leaves are fixed on an invisible body! Probably a basic editor bug.
And these leaves (FE_leaf_21) do not have the same appearance (nor the mushroom which is a little rounder), they are very stretched in the editor, while outside, they are a little smaller! As if there were originally morphable handles on almost all the parts, but since there aren't any, they remain in their basic shape. Yes, adding morphable handles would be great .


The handles for extending/shortening the pieces are a little difficult to master, it seems to only work on the white ''ghost'' pieces when you move them, and they tend to become invisible or disappear when we click on them to get the handles .

[Mayfly]

It took me a bit to install it properly, but I am loving this mod so far! I think I still messed something up though because the plants show up as invisible in-game until I load up the model in the sporepedia. Has anyone else had this issue, and do you know how to fix it?

[FrenchSPORE]

I think I still messed something up though...

Yes possible, you must have read it wrong, the author explained that this problem could be encountered, and indicated:
My plant is not in the adventure/game!
— If you want to look at a plant or so that you don’t come across invisible plants in games, then you need to look at the flora in the sporopedia. After this, the plants will load into the game normally.

EDIT: Ah! I didn't know that you had to visualize each time a plant, so that it is not invisible, it's a bit painful to do that all the time!

[vanillacold]

To make plants work properly, you need to change Spore's files to allow it to compile shaders during runtime - the render shaders for flora are not pre-compiled.
So, to do that; first, add this to Properties.txt in the Galactic Adventures Config folder (in the GA Data folder, or DataEP1 for Steam/GOG)

Code: Select all

property FragmentCompilation  0x05fb85a3           bool false

Then, add this to ConfigManager.txt:

Code: Select all

boolProp FragmentCompilation true

After this, they should render properly both in-game and in-editor.

[Mayfly]

Thank you both for letting me know. I must have missed that on my first read through. I changed the config a while ago and while it helped with everything else, it seems that the plants only stay invisible when I try to replace plants in the creature game by removing old plants by terraforming with a space stage game and putting new ones in (I would love to have more control over what plants spawn on my planets for storytelling purposes). Doing this also leaves maxis made plants invisible when I tested it, so I assume the plants being player made is not the problem here. I have yet to have a player created plant spawn naturally in creature stage, but I will let you know if it works when I see it happen.

[FrenchSPORE]

Thank you both for letting me know.

From nothing

To make plants work properly, you need to change Spore's files to allow it to compile shaders during runtime - the render shaders for flora are not pre-compiled. So, to do that; first, add this to Properties.txt in the Galactic Adventures Config folder (in the GA Data folder, or DataEP1 for Steam/GOG)

Is this also the same for disk media, or is this not affected? Can this fix some of the small issues I've reported? I don't really understand how to do that, I don't have ''.txt'' at the end of the name of these two files, is it the same? And on which line to write the codes?
And how do we proceed if we put the files coming from the subject ''The ultimate graphics fix topic.'' ?
viewtopic.php?p=42343#p42343

I spotted others: the little triangles which represent the fruits are now visible! Wherever we see a plant.
And marks on some leaves as if they had been cut out a little from the inside.

EDIT:

The handles for extending/shortening the pieces are a little difficult to master, it seems to only work on the white ''ghost'' pieces when we move them, and they tend to become invisible or disappear when we click on them to get the handles .

I now understand how to master this, strange that it's not a method like you can do with the limbs of a creature, I don't know if it's because you were showing it on your video, but if so, there was not a written explanation saying this so that we would know.
So yes, you have to lift the plant (made cancel/redo etc... so that it is not invisible) because the trunks can only be stretched when they are white, and all you have to do is click on it!
But if we click on the first segment attached to the root (the little ball), the plant disappears! But a segment appears alone on this root as if it were doubled (or it a little bug??), but we would say that it seems to be a backup segment to be able to stretch our desired trunks, so it's good that it is there .

[FrenchSPORE]

I posted a duplicate by mistake while trying to correct a sentence, clicking on the wrong button!

EDIT: To correct this duplicate, I add this in addition:

I noticed some minor issues that weren't reported, a fix will be helpful.
- While testing a new game in Creature Phase to test a mod, there were my plants (they were not invisible), and I noticed that some were missing (also speaking of those of Maxis) seeing the marks on the ground where they should be, as if my planet was in T2, well it's true! When I retested starting with the Space Phase! My planet was indeed in T2! But apparently this only happens if your plants appear. I thought it was coming from the mod I tested, but no, it still does it after removing it.

- In the Adventure workshop, going to the flora section on terraforming, when we choose a plant at random by clicking on the small die, it is always our plants that are displayed! Those of Maxis are no longer displayed. I find that our plants are selected as a priority and give the impression that they remain that way, and that even in a new part, it is almost always our plants that are displayed!
Normally, I like it to be my creations that appear, but for plants, there is still a small problem, they don't appear randomly as they should, like creatures, buildings and vehicles.

- With : Being an unfinished editor, I think that the mod is not really compatible with DI, because the trunks are completely black when you go to painting mode and also on the Sporpedia thumbnails, and parts like leaves are invisible, except when we visualize a plant outside, there is no problem, it has its colors and no invisible parts.