Garrulous Glaahk TheKian Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 (edited) After much longer than it really should have taken, the first full release of the Geneforge Modding Suite is here! Create and fully customize zones and export them to a complete Geneforge scenario file. NB: Always make a full backup of your Geneforge folders before using any mods. Latest version: Shaper Edition v1.2 Download from Google Drive Shaper Edition v1.1 Download from Google Drive Shaper Edition v1.0 Download from Google Drive To get started, extract the contents of GeneMS.zip into a directory of your choice and execute run.bat. A console window will appear and ask you to enter your Geneforge 5 directory, where the executable and Geneforge 5 Files folder are (i.e. C:\Program Files\Geneforge 5). After this is entered, the modding suite will load the textures and present you with a blank zone. Geneforge Modding Suite Images Imgur Album Patch Notes: Shaper Edition v1.2 Hotfix 2 Changes: -Placing an object or creature on a tile with an existing object or creature no longer deletes objects/creatures present there Shaper Edition v1.2 Hotfix 1 Bug fixes: -Fixed problem with exporting a loaded GeneMS save Shaper Edition v1.2 Features: -Added compass to show directions in zone -Added fully functioning minimap -Added function to clear items or objects or creatures from zone -Added import entire scenario file function -Added ability to import terrain from original Geneforge and Geneforge 2 and 3 -Added ability to rotate or mirror zones -Added terrain brush sizes and random tree and floor brushes -Added hotkeys -Added eyedropper tool to copy ground/terrain tiles, items, objects, creatures (hotkey P) -Added autosave (every 10 minutes) -Added debug option to print item/object/creature list to console -Added ability to edit placed items, objects and creatures (hotkey E) -Some very minor miscellaneous quality of life improvements Bug fixes: -Zones will now display default object/item/creature instead of breaking when something has an invalid ID. -Fixed possible error when removing zones. Known Issues: -Object positioning is still off Shaper Edition v1.1 Features: -Multiple zone support -New scenario by default uses original Geneforge 5 world -Can import terrain to a zone from a Geneforge 4 zone -Can import old GeneMS save to current zone -Can save scenario file that contains data for entire world -Simpler saving/loading system -Saving/loading for entire world data -Proper save/save as functions -Scenario is exported as it would be in 'Geneforge 5 Files' folder, saved into the 'Export' folder -Undo and redo Bug fixes: -Fixed bug where mouse position was off by one tile -Fixed bug involving item removal -Fixed incorrect item placement in exported scenarios -Fixed incorrect world map locations Known issues: -Tabbing away from the modding suite may break rendering and/or scrolling Shaper Edition v1.0 -Import zones from a Geneforge 5 scenario file with Edit->Import->Zone from Scenario File -Edit all zone data* -Save and load zones you are working on -Export zone to create a scenario file, which will copy the scenario file from your Geneforge 5 folder and make a new one in your GeneMS directory -High tech scrolling map -Some fully nonfunctional menu buttons -Kinda terrible ZoneLab tool that nobody remembers how to use anymore -Full creature and object editing, with default script information included *That I could actually figure out To place a tile, terrain piece, item, etc., just left click on the ground where you want to place it. Items, objects and creatures will automatically be aligned to the nearest quarter-tile. To remove terrain, items, objects and creatures, just right click on the tile where you want them removed. Updates: Shaper Edition v1.2: Quality of Life Update Shaper Edition v1.1: The World Update Shaper Edition v1.0: Initial release Upcoming Features: -Click and drag walls, paths, shoreline -Custom creature names/levels with auto-generated script -Load everything (terrain, etc.) from script files Edited September 1, 2021 by TheKian alhoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Articulate Vlish Aleister Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 Dude thx for this, must have taken a lot of work! Keen to try this out and I'll give u feedback when I do, thanks again alhoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 (edited) I can guarantee it took years of hard work from theKian, with a various versions and all. The amount of work he put in this tool is great as is my thanks to him for this. Zonelab tool: I do remember how to use this. More or less, similar to what I did in matlab, you make a bmp file using a specific color code and that generates a zone. Edited August 18, 2019 by alhoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk TheKian Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 At long last, I have released another version of this tool, with a wide array of new features, most importantly the ability to manage data for an entire world at once and exporting it to a complete scenario file. You can see full patch notes in the main post and download the latest version (v1.1) from the main post as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 (edited) Does the MS works with the new GF1-M? I don't mean seamlessly, I mean mostly, whether the hex files are similar to those of GF4-5? The speed of the remake, with 1-2 zones per day, makes me think that the hex files are probably similar and the developers simply tweaked and added things. It would be next to impossible to remake a whole zone in a day. Let alone make it, test it, tweak it, test it again. The scrips I've seen are similar to what we've seen in the past (although I don't know how GF1 scrips were, I have experience with GF3-5 scripts). Edited February 4, 2021 by alhoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Slawbug Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Hmm. Where are you getting 1-2 zones per day from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Out of my memory from the Autumn reports we were getting from Kickstarter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt TriRodent Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I had a memory of that too, but thought it was 1-2 days per section. I just went & looked through the Kickstarter updates but no mention of the time frame per section, just of the need to completely rework the terrain & dialogue to incorporate the changes to the world. So somewhere there's a mention but I've got other things to do today than dig around. So if anyone 'does' want to look around for said quote/mention, you can exclude those updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Jeff mentions a percentage of game complete between Kickstarter updates and that averages between 1-2 zones per day. Knowing the total number of zones is 81, you can get that figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 1-2 zones per day is a hell of a much work. I mean, even if you have 5 people team, each working on a zone, you still need to test them yourself and playtesting them... so it would be like a week for 4-5 zones with Jeff and 5 people solely working on the zones. And I don't think Spiderweb has that many people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Slawbug Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 It doesn't, but I would imagine that time doesn't cover the actual testing. Keep in mind that Jeff and Mariann have been doing this -- transmogrifying old zone data for a new engine -- for nearly two decades now. I would imagine they have it pretty streamlined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt TriRodent Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I knew it sounded familiar... 'we' were talking about it this past summer... And like I mentioned in that thread, a lot of the zones are just providing a vehicle for you to both gain experience & provide filler while you're traveling along to 'x'. So, program the terrain, put the wandering monsters/traps or mines in the way, toss in some loot & move onto the next section. Those would go fairly quickly while programming the 3 (+?) villages & everyone in them would take some time. Averaging a section/day seems (& apparently was) quite doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Who is Mariann? And they certainly do and they are also pros. But ... it really shows dedication. This is 8-9 hours work per day, for a game they have already written. It's dedication. It's not an "Easy money grab!" where you casually spend 2-3 hours per day in between doing other things. For me, to make a zone from the beginning in GF5 was easily 40 hours of work, spread within 2 weeks, and that was for an "Easy-ish" zone. If they added a couple of difficult dungeons, with levers, and tricks and thought behind it instead of just dialogue and monsters it would be more time. And that's what I think they did when they added "more" in the game. Look, long story short: This is a project of love. Not money-grab. It was a calculated risk to sink that much time in remaking Geneforge. There's no way they could be moving ahead with different projects on the time and deliver such polish as I see here. This was a year or so of full-time work for a remake that I really, really hope it sells well because it deserves to sell well. Please tell your friends to buy it. Or buy it for your friends on steam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt TriRodent Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 4 minutes ago, alhoon said: Who is Mariann? His wife/office manager, & probably the power behind the throne... alhoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk TheKian Posted August 25, 2021 Author Share Posted August 25, 2021 A new version is finally out! Shaper Edition v1.2 adds many quality of life features and generally makes things much more pleasant. You can download it here or in the main post. Patch notes for this version are as follows: Spoiler Shaper Edition v1.2 Features: -Added compass to show directions in zone -Added fully functioning minimap -Added function to clear items or objects or creatures from zone -Added import entire scenario file function -Added ability to import terrain from original Geneforge and Geneforge 2 and 3 -Added ability to rotate or mirror zones -Added terrain brush sizes and random tree and floor brushes -Added hotkeys -Added eyedropper tool to copy ground/terrain tiles, items, objects, creatures (hotkey P) -Added autosave (every 10 minutes) -Added debug option to print item/object/creature list to console -Added ability to edit placed items, objects and creatures (hotkey E) -Some very minor miscellaneous quality of life improvements Bug fixes: -Zones will now display default object/item/creature instead of breaking when something has an invalid ID. -Fixed possible error when removing zones. Known Issues: -Object positioning is still off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Roamer Superdeath25 Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 (edited) With this kind of editing tool, you pave the way for one could make their own Geneforge games. Now that the series has long ended, maybe one day it could go the route of the Freespace games and be continued through custom made games that either fill gaps between games, go back to the origins of Shapers, or have games that continue after 5 as unofficial sequels. It could even have a Knossos like database called The Gameforge Edited August 25, 2021 by Superdeath25 alhoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 (edited) 14 hours ago, Superdeath25 said: With this kind of editing tool, you pave the way for one could make their own Geneforge game. Now that the series has long ended, maybe one day it could go the route of the Freespace games and be continued through custom made games that either fill gaps between games, go back to the origins of Shapers, or have games that continue after 5 as unofficial sequels. It could even have a Knossos like database called The Gameforge I agree and I am slowly working on a big mod. However, game and story design requires more than just an awesome level editor. Edited August 25, 2021 by alhoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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