To master a big project like the CSP, you need a lot of tools. We’d like to show you the tools we use. As there are so many of them we’ll split this into two parts. You can find the first part below, the second one will follow later on.
The CSP professionally uses its own web forum in which all topics are coordinated among the team members: Public relations, candidatures, story, balancing, engineering, testing and much more. The web forum is the key player in our communication.
The modified or new Gothic3 files are stored in a storage system with version control. Specifically, we are using the version control Subversion (SVN). This allows us to keep track of the changes in a very simple way. As a graphical interface, we are using TortoiseSVN which is implemented via a shell extension for the explorer. This makes it very comfortable and intuitive to use. Also, it includes the merge tool TortoiseMerge which is very helpful to show the difference between two versions of a given file.
The story is coordinated through multiple files via word processing programs without any bric-a-brac. In this case, we work on a region or city specific base spanning multiple chapters. For example in “Coast C1-4” you’ll find those quests which apply to multiple cities or regions on the coast from chapters 1-4. In addition, there are city concepts like “Ardea”, in which the local quests are described.
The implementation through our scripters is flagged via a coloring scheme:
black: New content, not implemented yet
orange: a scripter marked this content for implementation
green: fully implemented
blue: useful annotations in relation to the implementation to make future bug fixing easy.
red: content is technically not realizable
The implementation through our scripters is flagged via a coloring scheme:
black: New content, not implemented yet
orange: a scripter marked this content for implementation
green: fully implemented
blue: useful annotations in relation to the implementation to make future bug fixing easy.
red: content is technically not realizable
Hex editors are history. The ultimate tool for changing Gothic3 world files is g3dit. G3dit enables you to duplicate, change, erase or move Gothic3 world files as easily as a walk in the park. The direct control of Gothic3 allows the very precise positioning of new objects. The 3d preview with analysis of the material switch is a good way to examine new texture combinations without lengthy Gothic3 starts.
Advanced search patterns for entities, positions or file names simplify the work tremendously. Also, there exists a growing list of scripts for plausibility checks to search for simple mistakes. Alright, enough of the assets of g3dit, or otherwise you’ll be still reading about the advantages of g3dit on Christmas Eve.
Advanced search patterns for entities, positions or file names simplify the work tremendously. Also, there exists a growing list of scripts for plausibility checks to search for simple mistakes. Alright, enough of the assets of g3dit, or otherwise you’ll be still reading about the advantages of g3dit on Christmas Eve.
Gothic3 itself is altered, revised and enhanced through dll modifications. This enables us to remove ugly bugs like gurus and navigation errors on the one hand, on the other hand, it simplifies and accelerates the implementation for example through new info commands.
The story is implemented via a version of G3IQ which is adjusted specifically to the needs of the CSP. G3IQ offers a dialog preview and multiple search aids and plausibility checks. Also, G3IQ delivers the control files for the text to speech audio output.
G3MC tackles the problem that many pieces of equipment like helmets or hairs are not usable on different NPCs. With G3MC the meshes can be easily adjusted without the need of a 3d software.
For animated 3d meshes we use Rimy3D so we can give you a lot more variety in NPC clothing. The actual mesh modifications are done with the help of a 3d software. Rimy3D is responsible for the production of animated 3d meshes. In the picture, you can see how an orc boss becomes an orc sergeant without the coat and gongs.
