General/Introduction2

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Contents:

• How do I modify Gothic?
• How do I create a GothicMOD?
• Installing a GothicMOD
• Playing a GothicMOD

To the index

How do I modify Gothic?

Most of the Gothic data are stored in VDF-files in the directory /data/ . Exceptions are the script-files and (due to technical reasons) videos and music data.

The actual data-directory of Gothic is /_work/data/ (from now on referred to as [GDATA]); do not confuse it with /data/, in which the VDF-files are stored. VDF-files contain the complete directory structure in "[GDATA]/" ... therefore they are virtual likenesses of this directory (tree).

The program \VDFS-Tool\GothicVDFS.exe can be used to display or to extract the contents of VDF-files. Before you can change those data files, which are stored inside VDF-files, you need to extract them first.

It is therefore possible to extract the contents of a VDF-file into "[GDATA]/" and then delete that VDF-file. Gothic will not be able to find these files in the VDF-System (VDFS) now, but it will search in corresponding directories on the hard disk, only needing a bit more time.

Almost every data-format of Gothic is present in a compiled form. The following sections deal with individual data-formats in more detail. At this point it needs to be mentioned only that compiled data is stored in each case in the appropriate COMPILE directory.

Warning: In SYSTEM-directory there is also a file named paths.d, which specifies some particularly important directories. This file must not be changed, otherwise Gothic may not be guaranteed to work anymore.

Textures

Directories for textures:

• general: [GDATA]/textures
• compiled textures (*.TEX): [GDATA]/textures/_compiled

The textures of Gothic are stored in the TEX format. This format can be produced by Gothic automatically. The TGA format serves as output format. Gothic searches for TGAs throughout the subdirectories. Identical texture names should be thus avoided, even if the textures are in different directories.

Converting textures

Gothic will automatically recognize and convert new textures in TGA-format. The converted textures in TEX-format are placed in COMPILED-directory. When you change existing textures, you must use GothicStarter.exe (Advanced-Options: convert textures) for converting them.

Sounds

Directories for sounds:

• general: [GDATA]/sounds

Sounds are treated in the same way as textures: Gothic searches for them throughout all subdirectories. Identical filenames should also be avoided here. The sounds must be in WAV-format for direct use. Therefore no converting takes place.

Worlds/Levels

Directories for levels:

• general: [GDATA]/worlds

Levels are saved as ZEN-files. Here is a short overview for building such a ZEN-file:

1. Load a levelmesh (3DS-format) into Spacer
2. For texturing, compile in Editor-Mode (pay attention to Indoor/Outdoor!)
   • do texturing (set textures of objects)
3. For object-building (Objektieren), compile without Editor-Mode (pay attention to Indoor/Outdoor!)
   • set default zones (DefaultFogZone and DefaultMusicZone)
   • insert (physical) objects: trees, items (no NPCs!)
   • illuminate and dub: (insert) light- and sound-objects
   • build puzzles
   • ...
4. Compile light
5. Save level as ZEN-file

Further informations for level-editing are in following docs:

• (Tutorial: Outdoor-Level)?

Scripts

Directories for scripts:

• general: [GDATA]/scripts
• compiled (*.DAT): [GDATA]/scripts/_compiled
• Content (*.D, *.SRC): [GDATA]/scripts/content
• System (*.D, *.SRC): [GDATA]/scripts/system

Content-scripts are all those scripts, which have something to do with content of the game: NPCs, items, quests, AI. System-scripts describe menus, effects etc.

In our scripting system there are three different kinds of files:

• D-scripts (ending in ".d") are the actual scripts, which will be compiled by Gothic-parser. They are written in a language which (remotely) looks like C. There are conditional IF-sentences, logical expressions, variables and types, and of course functions. Additionally, a (quite simple) concept of classes and instances is implemented. For detailed informations about scripting language please see the corresponding document.
• SRC-lists (ending in ".src") are simple lists of D-scripts and (other) SRC-lists and can perhaps be compared to INCLUDE-blocks: the listed files (wildcards are allowed) will be compiled with Parser into a DAT-file.
• DAT-files (ending in ".dat") are compiled versions of SRC-lists.

Compiling and testing scripts

To compile changed scripts into an up-to-date DAT-file, you may use parameter -zreparse when starting Gothic. GothicStarter.exe can also do that (Advanced-Options: reparse all scripts).

Then, all scripts in scripts-directory will be parsed anew and made into up-to-date DAT-files.

You can find more about scripts and the way they work in the following documents:

• The scripting language Daedalus
• (Gothic scripts)?
• Script tutorial

How does Gothic find my files?

The procedure is actually very simple:

• Gothic checks, whether the requested file can be found in one of VDF-files
• if the file is found in exactly one VDF-file, then this single instance will be used
• if the file is found in more than one VDF-file, then the instance from the most recent VDF-file will be used (patches are made possible this way)
• if the file is not found in any VDF-file, then Gothic seeks it in the corresponding directory on the hard disk
• if this also fails, then an error is reported

This naturally leads to a problem:
A file, which already exists in a VDF-file, will never be read from the hard disk. This naturally makes testing of changed files (textures, for example) harder.

But let's go step by step:

1. New files, as for example a new level or the textures, sounds etc. that new level references, will not be found in any VDF-file, therefore Gothic will seek them on the hard disk. Wonderful!
2. Files, changed by you, which also exist in the official VDFs (of the original game), will be taken from VDFs and the version on the hard disk will be ignored. Possible solutions of this problem:
   1. Always make your own VDF (the GothicMOD-VDF, see next chapter) and test with it.
   2. Use the new option vdfs:physicalfirst . There is an option in GothicStarter for this (physicalfirst). With it you can force Gothic to look for files on the hard disk first.
   3. Work with unpacked VDFs: unpack the individual files from a VDF-file into "[GDATA]/" and delete (or rename) VDF-file.

This was a short description of all things that can be created or changed in a MOD. Before you begin making your own MOD, please read also the detailed documentation for scripting language, for ZenGin and the tutorials.

How do I create a GothicMOD?

Contents of a GothicMOD

This section will explain, how to assemble changed data into a MOD, that can be passed to others. So I talk less about the individual data, but more about how can be data now packed into a GothicMOD.

A GothicMOD usually consists of two files:

./system/modname.ini
./data/modvdf/modname.mod

• GothicMOD-INI

To each GothicMOD belongs a file modname.ini, which contains various filenames and settings. These INI-files (of GothicMODs) are expected to reside in SYSTEM-directory. You can find a precise description of all entries in an INI-file in document (GothicMOD-INI)?

• GothicMOD-VDF

The actual data of a MOD (sounds, textures, levels, script files) are packed in a VDF-file. But contrary to the other VDF-files, accompanying Gothic, this file does not have ending .VDF, but the ending .MOD and is saved in a different directory (/data/modvdf/). Every MOD should consist only of one such GothicMOD-VDF.

For creating a GothicMOD-VDF you need the program \VDFS-Tool\GothicVDFS.exe (GothicVDFS)?

With this program, you must pack into a VDF-file (.mod) only all changed or new data that belongs to your MOD. For this, you need only compiled data, for example, regarding scripts, only the DAT-files, not the individual scripts (.d)!

• In the section "Exceptions" you'll find instructions for using your own music and videos, which should not be packed into a GothicMOD-VDF.

Exceptions

Some files of Gothic do not reside in the VDF-files. (Compiled) script files (DAT-files) which belong to your MOD, should by all means be stored in your GothicMOD-VDF; but videos and music files for DirectMusic (DirectX) cannot be stored in a VDF-file, due to technical reasons. If you have prepared music and videos for including in your MOD, you need to include them into MOD-package as individual files:

Exemplary content of modname.exe (for example a ZIP- or RAR-EXE):
./system/modname.ini
./data/modvdf/modname.mod
./_work/data/music/modname/file1.sgt
./_work/data/music/modname/file2.dls
./_work/data/videos/modname/video1.bik
./_work/data/videos/modname/video2.bik

Once more: All files for a MOD belong in the GothicMOD-VDF with name modname.mod. Exceptions are only music files and videos.

Creating GothicMOD-EXE

Playing a GothicMOD

After correctly installing a GothicMOD, you can use the program GothicStarter.exe to run it. This program shows all existing (installed) MODs in a list and also offers additional functions. When you use GOTHIC-MODs, you should use only this program to start Gothic. For it I also recommend the GothicStarter documentation.

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End.
So long, and thanks for all the fish

Translated to English from a German text based on the G1MDK documentation (Copyright © [Piranha Bytes])
IN NO EVENT SHALL PIRANHA BYTES BE LIABLE FOR ANY FAULT IN THE TRANSLATION OF THIS DOCUMENT INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS.

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Document last modified Sat, 08 Oct 2005 11:14:24