Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

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Sven.Littkowski
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Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Sven.Littkowski »

Hi,

it's time to make my very first own mod. I downloaded SporeMaster and try now to become master of the spores. My intention is, to create a mod for the gameplay of Galactic Games: some additional planet-colorizing tools.

I was reading already http://spore-modding.wikia.com/wiki/How ... a_new_tool, and I also opened the Space Tools section within SporeMaster. I found the planet colorizing tools, and see in each of them this variable: <int32 name="toolAtmosphereColorIndex">11</int32>

Means two things: that I can change that color value, and that somewhere must be pre-defined color sets. And those I want to find, and need your help to find out, where to locate them. Please assist me.
Last edited by Sven.Littkowski on Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.


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rob55rod
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by rob55rod »

Okay, what do you have in mind?

I don't think anyone's done this before, but it might be doable, depending on what you have in mind...

EDIT: Also, great to see you're making the jump :mrgreen:
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Sven.Littkowski »

Thanks for the motivated (but small-printed) words, ha ha ha!

Trying to start with something hopefully relatively easy.
There are two things I have in mind:
- creating new planet colorizing tools that just point to one unused predefined color of that color index
- or adding my own new colors to that color index of predefined colors, and making my new planet colorizing tools pointing to these own colors.

But maybe I even could create a planet colorizing tool, that does not just colorize water, land or air alone, but all three together, at once. Imagine: "the gray planet", "the black planet", "the cyan planet", "Planet Earth" (blue - green - light blue), and so on.

I found these color index numbers in these tools:

........... Terrain ..... Water ..... Atmosphere
Blue = .... 62 .......... 11 .......... 11
Cyan = ... 61 ........... 9 ........... 9
Green = .. 60 ........... 7 ........... 7
Orange = . 58 ........... 3 ........... 3
Pink = .... 64 .......... 15 .......... 15
Purple = .. 63 .......... 13 .......... 13
Red = ..... 57 ........... 1 ........... 1
Yellow = .. 59 ........... 5 ........... 4
Example with the Atmosphere Colorize Tool: <int32 name="toolAtmosphereColorIndex">11</int32> ("ColorAtmoBlue.Prop.xml")

The immediate next step is to find those predefined colors. Here I need help.
Last edited by Sven.Littkowski on Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by rob55rod »

Sven.Littkowski wrote:There are two things I have in mind:
- creating new planet colorizing tools that just point to one unused predefined color of that color index
- or adding my own new colors to that color index of predefined colors, and making my new planet colorizing tools pointing to these own colors.

But maybe I even could create a planet colorizing tool, that does not just colorize water, land or air alone, but all three together, at once. Imagine: "the gray planet", "the black planet", "the cyan planet", "Planet Earth" (blue - green - light blue), and so on.

I found these color index numbers in these tools:

........... Terrain ..... Water ..... Atmosphere
Blue = .... 62 .......... 11 .......... 11
Cyan = ... 61 ........... 9 ........... 9
Green = .. 60 ........... 7 ........... 7
Orange = . 58 ........... 3 ........... 3
Pink = .... 64 .......... 15 .......... 15
Purple = .. 63 .......... 13 .......... 13
Red = ..... 57 ........... 1 ........... 1
Yellow = .. 59 ........... 5 ........... 4

The immediate next step is to find those predefined colors. Here I need help.
Still not sure if I understand what you want correctly. Do you mean these:
Image? If so, then you're looking for the stuff in colorpickerconfig (if you don't have that, look for #97097E36 ).

In the colorpickerColors property, you can copy

Code: Select all

<colorRGB>
      <r>0</r>
      <g>0</g>
      <b>0</b>
</colorRGB>
paste it below, above, or between the existing colorRGB sets, and change the values as you please. Note that 0 is none of that colour channel, and 1 is the max. I have no idea why it works that way, but it does. Fortunately, it supports decimals, otherwise we'd be pretty limited :lol:

(If you add too many squares, they'll begin to fall off the screen, but the other properties in those files can make the squares smaller to fix that, though this solution is rather impractical on small screens).

EDIT: Also, that Spore Modding wiki is really incomplete and outdated, so take everything there with a pound of salt.
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Sven.Littkowski »

No, I don't mean that.

If you look into the source code of the "ColorAtmoBlue.Prop.xml" (tool that creates a blue atmosphere on a planet), you will see:

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<properties>
  <string16 name="description">color atmo blue</string16>
  <key name="parent" groupid="spacetools~" instanceid="tooltemplate" typeid="prop" />
  <key name="inventoryItemArtifactModel" instanceid="#56C15A5C" />
  <float name="inventoryItemArtifactNormalScale">3</float>
  <float name="inventoryItemArtifactPlumpScale">3</float>
  <float name="spaceToolAutoFireRate">-1</float>
  <int32 name="spaceToolBuyCost">30</int32>
  <key name="spaceToolContext" instanceid="planet" />
  <texts name="spaceToolDescription">
    <text tableid="spacegame_tools" instanceid="#0379D01A">Sky Blueinator</text>
  </texts>
  <texts name="spaceToolDetailDescription">
    <text tableid="spacegame_tools" instanceid="#80326DC3">Changes the atmosphere color of the planet to blue.</text>
  </texts>
  <float name="spaceToolDetectableRange">1000</float>
  <bool name="spaceToolDisableOn201Ruins">true</bool>
  <bool name="spaceToolDisableOnHomeworld">false</bool>
  <bool name="spaceToolDisableOnSaveGames">true</bool>
  <float name="spaceToolEnergyCost">1</float>
  <bool name="spaceToolHide">true</bool>
  <uint32s name="spaceToolImageColors">
    <uint32>4278190335</uint32>
  </uint32s>
  <key name="spaceToolImageID" groupid="ufotools~" instanceid="#31E8CD4B" typeid="png" />
  <int32 name="spaceToolMaxDiscoveredAmmo">1</int32>
  <float name="spaceToolMaxRange">-1</float>
  <int32 name="spaceToolMinDiscoveredAmmo">1</int32>
  <key name="spaceToolPanelKey" instanceid="#D9E70264" />
  <uint32 name="spaceToolPanelPosition">0</uint32>
  <float name="spaceToolRechargeRate">30</float>
  <key name="spaceToolStrategy" instanceid="#2FD3EB55" />
  <key name="spaceToolType" instanceid="#997EE240" />
  <int32 name="spaceToolUseCost">0</int32>
  ---------------> <int32 name="toolAtmosphereColorIndex">11</int32>    <---------------------------THIS ONE
  <bool name="toolDeselectsAfterUse">true</bool>
  <key name="toolDiscoverableRarity" instanceid="#8ECB2282" />
  <key name="toolHitCombatantEffectID" instanceid="#BA2DD8BB" />
  <key name="toolHitGroundEffectID" instanceid="#BA2DD8BB" />
  <bool name="toolHitOrientsToTerrain">false</bool>
  <key name="toolHitWaterEffectID" instanceid="#BA2DD8BB" />
  <key name="toolMuzzleEffectID" instanceid="#881B35A1" />
  <bool name="toolPassThroughAll">false</bool>
  <bool name="toolPreventsPlanetExit">true</bool>
  <key name="toolProjectileEffectID" instanceid="#992B2BBF" />
  <float name="toolProjectileExplosionExpansionRate">5000</float>
  <float name="toolProjectileLobAngle">-80</float>
  <float name="toolProjectileSpeed">150</float>
  <float name="toolProjectileTimeOut">2</float>
  <float name="toolRelationshipDelta">-0.5</float>
  <int32s name="toolTargetFlags">
    <int32>-1685158353</int32>
    <int32>1050421051</int32>
  </int32s>
  <texts name="toolTargetFlagsFailMessage">
    <text tableid="spacegame_tools" instanceid="#FDD8CC2A">You must choose a valid ground target to use this tool.</text>
  </texts>
  <bool name="toolUseOnActivate">false</bool>
</properties>
This file mentions "int32 name="toolAtmosphereColorIndex">11</int32>", and assigns color number eleven. Color 11 is a blue tone. But I want to see all other predefined colors, and that means, I have to find where all these predefined colors are. Not ingame, but inside any prop file or so.
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by rob55rod »

Sven.Littkowski wrote:No, I don't mean that.

If you look into the source code of the "ColorAtmoBlue.Prop.xml" (tool that creates a blue atmosphere on a planet), you will see:

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<properties>
  <string16 name="description">color atmo blue</string16>
  <key name="parent" groupid="spacetools~" instanceid="tooltemplate" typeid="prop" />
  <key name="inventoryItemArtifactModel" instanceid="#56C15A5C" />
  <float name="inventoryItemArtifactNormalScale">3</float>
  <float name="inventoryItemArtifactPlumpScale">3</float>
  <float name="spaceToolAutoFireRate">-1</float>
  <int32 name="spaceToolBuyCost">30</int32>
  <key name="spaceToolContext" instanceid="planet" />
  <texts name="spaceToolDescription">
    <text tableid="spacegame_tools" instanceid="#0379D01A">Sky Blueinator</text>
  </texts>
  <texts name="spaceToolDetailDescription">
    <text tableid="spacegame_tools" instanceid="#80326DC3">Changes the atmosphere color of the planet to blue.</text>
  </texts>
  <float name="spaceToolDetectableRange">1000</float>
  <bool name="spaceToolDisableOn201Ruins">true</bool>
  <bool name="spaceToolDisableOnHomeworld">false</bool>
  <bool name="spaceToolDisableOnSaveGames">true</bool>
  <float name="spaceToolEnergyCost">1</float>
  <bool name="spaceToolHide">true</bool>
  <uint32s name="spaceToolImageColors">
    <uint32>4278190335</uint32>
  </uint32s>
  <key name="spaceToolImageID" groupid="ufotools~" instanceid="#31E8CD4B" typeid="png" />
  <int32 name="spaceToolMaxDiscoveredAmmo">1</int32>
  <float name="spaceToolMaxRange">-1</float>
  <int32 name="spaceToolMinDiscoveredAmmo">1</int32>
  <key name="spaceToolPanelKey" instanceid="#D9E70264" />
  <uint32 name="spaceToolPanelPosition">0</uint32>
  <float name="spaceToolRechargeRate">30</float>
  <key name="spaceToolStrategy" instanceid="#2FD3EB55" />
  <key name="spaceToolType" instanceid="#997EE240" />
  <int32 name="spaceToolUseCost">0</int32>
  ---------------> <int32 name="toolAtmosphereColorIndex">11</int32>    <---------------------------THIS ONE
  <bool name="toolDeselectsAfterUse">true</bool>
  <key name="toolDiscoverableRarity" instanceid="#8ECB2282" />
  <key name="toolHitCombatantEffectID" instanceid="#BA2DD8BB" />
  <key name="toolHitGroundEffectID" instanceid="#BA2DD8BB" />
  <bool name="toolHitOrientsToTerrain">false</bool>
  <key name="toolHitWaterEffectID" instanceid="#BA2DD8BB" />
  <key name="toolMuzzleEffectID" instanceid="#881B35A1" />
  <bool name="toolPassThroughAll">false</bool>
  <bool name="toolPreventsPlanetExit">true</bool>
  <key name="toolProjectileEffectID" instanceid="#992B2BBF" />
  <float name="toolProjectileExplosionExpansionRate">5000</float>
  <float name="toolProjectileLobAngle">-80</float>
  <float name="toolProjectileSpeed">150</float>
  <float name="toolProjectileTimeOut">2</float>
  <float name="toolRelationshipDelta">-0.5</float>
  <int32s name="toolTargetFlags">
    <int32>-1685158353</int32>
    <int32>1050421051</int32>
  </int32s>
  <texts name="toolTargetFlagsFailMessage">
    <text tableid="spacegame_tools" instanceid="#FDD8CC2A">You must choose a valid ground target to use this tool.</text>
  </texts>
  <bool name="toolUseOnActivate">false</bool>
</properties>
This file mentions "int32 name="toolAtmosphereColorIndex">11</int32>", and assigns color number eleven. Color 11 is a blue tone. But I want to see all other predefined colors, and that means, I have to find where all these predefined colors are. Not ingame, but inside any prop file or so.
Oh...I have no idea how to do that... D:
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Sven.Littkowski »

So, what would be the way to change the color then? Basically, just replacing the "11" with any number from 1 to 64 (the highest index number I found), right? But I don't know, what number equals to what color.

And that means, I would have to create a tool and assign number "2" to it, create a mod, start GA, find that tool, and try out ingame what color it is? Then stopping GA, renaming that tool to its appropriate color (example: "Orange Water"), and recreate that mod to have it in its final version?

Or, give me an example how you would create a planet colorizer tool, that colorizes - let's say - the water to a medium gray?

is there any way, to use something like
<colorRGB>
<r>0.3</r>
<g>0.8</g>
<b>1.0</b>
</colorRGB>
inside that XML file instead of pointing towards a predefined color ("11")? Then I could easily create any color I want.
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Vallachan »

The only way I can see it would work to do this would be to just guess and check a whole lot
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Sven.Littkowski »

Yes, that was my fear. Thanks for confirming it. :mrgreen:

But can't I just create a totally new prop file that contains RGBF (RGB + filter/transparency) definitions for many colors, and refer to that file from within the new tool prop file?
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by rob55rod »

Sven.Littkowski wrote:Yes, that was my fear. Thanks for confirming it. :mrgreen:

But can't I just create a totally new prop file that contains RGBF (RGB + filter/transparency) definitions for many colors, and refer to that file from within the new tool prop file?
You're thinking of RGBA. And this process will be greatly accelerated by the knowledge that you can add tools to the spacecreate cheat via spacetools~\toolconfig.prop.xml (specifically the CheatTools property)

EDIT: No, you can't just create an RGBA property. That's not how this works :lol:
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Shattered »

Actually, I think there might be another file which has the planet paint colors. I'm not sure but I think that Index just means a list of something.
The blue sky could be the 11th of the planet tool colors.

It's just my hypothesis.

Oh, and I noticed that Yellow's Atmosphere and water numbers are the only one's that are different from each other. "5 and 4" instead of "13 and 13" and so on.

Good luck.
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by rob55rod »

GalacticSheldon wrote:Actually, I think there might be another file which has the planet paint colors. I'm not sure but I think that Index just means a list of something.
The blue sky could be the 11th of the planet tool colors.

It's just my hypothesis.

Oh, and I noticed that Yellow's Atmosphere and water numbers are the only one's that are different from each other. "5 and 4" instead of "13 and 13" and so on.

Good luck.
I, too, had figured there was a list somewhere. I thought we'd already established that. Regardless, 2 questions remain, one of which is dependent on the answer to the other:
a) Is the list handled as a .prop or in the code?
b) If it's a .prop, where is it?

Also, it seems anyone who can find these answers may also have stumbled upon another list I believe exists, used for UI colour tints...
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Sven.Littkowski »

I used a software to search within all prop xml files for any occurrence of the identifier "toolAtmosphereColorIndex", but it appears that this identifier name exists only within the planet colorizing tool files.

But it is a MUST, that such a list of predefined colors exist somewhere. We just gotta find it. The race has started.
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by emd »

Sven.Littkowski wrote:I used a software to search within all prop xml files for any occurrence of the identifier "toolAtmosphereColorIndex", but it appears that this identifier name exists only within the planet colorizing tool files.

But it is a MUST, that such a list of predefined colors exist somewhere. We just gotta find it. The race has started.
You can just use SporeMaster's "Search bar" for that xD Image
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by rob55rod »

Emd4600 [ASR] wrote:
Sven.Littkowski wrote:I used a software to search within all prop xml files for any occurrence of the identifier "toolAtmosphereColorIndex", but it appears that this identifier name exists only within the planet colorizing tool files.

But it is a MUST, that such a list of predefined colors exist somewhere. We just gotta find it. The race has started.
You can just use SporeMaster's "Search bar" for that xD Image
The problem isn't how to search, but rather, what query to search for ._.
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Re: Please Guide Me - Making My Very First Own Mod

Unread post by Sven.Littkowski »

Exactly. Because I tried already to search for "toolAtmosphereColorIndex". But that is just the identifier name within these planetary colorizing tools. What we need to look for, are numbers, such as "11", "63", and such. But ... plenty numbers out there. Like inhabited planets in a galaxy. Ideas needed.

The first question is. would such a color declaration be made within another prop xml file, or within hard-coded binary code? I believe, it could still be within one of the prop xml files. And that means, we need to find a way, to search for something within them. And for what? We know, that these color definitions must have those index numbers, and also probably these RGB definitions as seen on that example rob gave some postings before. Those had their own identifier names. Those we could try to look for.
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