Prison Architect - Mod Creation tool (old auto grant)

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reeceaclarke
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Prison Architect - Mod Creation tool (old auto grant)

Postby reeceaclarke » Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:25 am

Ever wanted to create your own mod for prison architect? well now you can!
the software is currently in development so i will add all of the other stuff as soon as i can A find out how to do things like add items as i do not believe they have implomented it yet although you can editing pre-existing items and B when i have the time =P

Download:
link: https://mega.co.nz/#!acRynD6S!KIgITUMWC ... CxFCh-DmNU
Alternative: http://prison-exchange.com/browse/apps/ ... t-creator/

*Note to what can be made with this*
This program is still like everything else restricted to what can be made within PA with its current mod support and when new features become available they will be included (eventually =P).

If anyone has features you feel will improve the user experience please suggest them in the comments =P And if you do use this to make a mod feel free to link it in the comments I'm quite interested in seeing what you create with it =P

*Please fill out questionnaire if you can to help improve the software*
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Z5TUOe ... 4/viewform

***Instructions****

Video: http://youtu.be/rsD1krgCnOc
When you first open the software you will see a screen like this start by filling out all of the information and remembering to press ok
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Once you have filled it out you should see the following and make sure it shows in the tree view to the left
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Next what you will want to do is click on grants located in the tree viewer at the very top when you have done it enter the name and discription of the grant as well as the money rewarded when accepted and completed as before make sure it shows in the tree viewer then click on the grant you have just created.
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you should see something like the following this is were you can create requirements and edit the current grant you have selected via the treeviewer remember when you are editing grants do not use the tab pages as these will not select grants even if they information from them shows within the text boxes always use the tree viewer to do this. as well as this you can right click on a selected grant or requirement to delete it.
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After you have done this simply go to project and select build project this will now build your mod in the location you have chosen *currently saving mods in progress is not available but will be added in the near future* after you have done this just add a png image in the folder for your thumbnail remembering to call it thumbnail and your mod is compleate!
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To create new biographies go to the biographies tree here you can add first and second names as well as create traits and crimes remember in the traits and crime all spaces within the name will be cut out so replace them with "TextLikeThisSoThatWordsAreReadAble" and this will also be were you are able to pick the chance of them inheriting the traits and the time length they will get for the crime and its risk
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to edit click on the biographies tab and select what you would like to edit(in the case of first and second names it requires less input just to right click and delete them then to create a edit tab) but for the others select them in the tree view and just like grants they will pop up allowing you to edit them this is were you also can assign traits
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For editing reform programs you will need to first go reform programs tree and select a program you would like to edit in this case we will use General Education as an example here we can rename it to what ever we like and change the settings like so pressing edit after here you can also add any properties that you like and then create the grant like normal.
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Saving: Well easy as clicking file and save
Loading: Clicking file and open.
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Auto save:
Auto save is currently set at every 5 mins and will ask you to save if you have not set the save location before however i do plan on allowing you to save in the time you select later on.
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Creating a new mod:
This is by far one of the most complex tasks a user will have to do within this program taking time,skill and dedication to complete.
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Debugging:
simply click on debug to lunch PA with your mod running within it. A good thing to note is that pressing it again will launch a fresh program so in the case of steam for example you are only allowed to run it once at a time it will pop up saying that it is already running if you don't close it before.
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Hot keys:
Hot Keys are now enabled to find them they are simply shown to you when you look in the menus.
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Needs work just like grants allowing you to create and remove them.
In order to create a need first add the all of the values to the need you like remember some also allow you to leave that section blank and are shown by having a blank top line in the combo box selection.

Only after doing this and pressing add can you then add properties to the need and in order to remove or edit go to the menu and select the need just like you would a grant and right click and press remove to delete or click on it and edit the properties in the need menu to change them.

*Help my mod does not work!*
Simple fixes:
For some reason for my self having avast deep screen on causes the program to close and to stay in the task list until the computer is restarted to fix this just disable deep screen.
check if you have used a number value in requireroom as this can only be true or false
check if you have used a true or false in requireroomsavaliable as this can only be a number value
check if you have used a number value in requireresearch as this can only be true or false
check if you have used a true or false in requireobjects as this can only be a number value
Another good thing to note is have you used a number before a letter in the name for example 30 prisoners would not work but get 30 prisoners would (this is because in the LUA you are not allowed to put a number before a letter in names of functions)
(I will try and make it so you can only input the right type at a later date but for the moment please remember to use the right type)



*Known Bugs*
Mods created dont start for some reason and crash the game when you load them
this was because instead of requireobjects in the box it said objects to fix this litterly change that text to RequireObjects (patched in new version)
Adding spaces in bib would cause it to crash when you pressed add (patched in new version - forgot to add .replace(" ",string.empty) after the search so it would just look for the version with the spaces =P)
Chaning the name of a reform program makes it nolonger work ingame( patched in new version)
Making a mistake in requirements could crash the program (patched)
Description in requirements does not update with the entered data when you selected back to a requirement although this does not affect the mod building process (patch in new version)
Bug within the manifest files not adding " were needed in some cases (patched in new version)
Manifest not clearing out old data from last build (Patched in new version)
Money on accepting and money on completing on requirement grants is the wrong way round (patched in new version)

*Features coming out soon*
Input Files - Currently this only works with the manifest at the moment however I am slowly working on brining this to grants as well (Of course if the grant script is set out in some very strange way it will not work at importing but for grants set out in a way which uses logic and common sense they will =P)

*Old version - just thought you may like to see were this came from*
Ever wondered how to create grants of your own?
Well with this software it makes creating grants for the game easy as a few clicks away
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It enables you to add more then one objective to your grants!

file download link: https://mega.co.nz/#!aRBz2BRY!NoI5s1XrN ... e5Hag3VElA



*sorry for all the spelling mistakes as you can tell i am quite bad at spelling lol*


How to use:
Stage 1:
First create the grant name this will just be used to reference the grant in the game so remember not to use the same name as any other grant and have no spaces or another character that is not a letter or a number.
Once you have done that create the name of the grant that will be seen in game for example "Contract: Shower time!"
Once you have have entered a name you will want to enter a description in this case "The government have asked you to construct a shower in your prison"
after this you will want to add the money that they will get once they accept the grant and the money they will get once they have done it.

Stage 2:
Now what we will need to make are requirements or what the player will have to do in order to do the grant.
so what we will need to do is to create a requirement name not use else where in the same grant however you can use the same as used in other grants if you wish to do so.
once you have done this we will need to add the objective for this requirement or what the player will have to do so in this case we will select room option and then shower.
After we have select the value in this case as it is a room this will be true(if the requirement is to have the room exist) or false(if the room must not exist this could be useful in challenges such as do not use a workshop) however for things like objects and room amounts this must be a number unlike research and room which must be true or false.
now what we can add is money on completing however as this will be the only objective in the task we will leave this as 0
Now click add to objective list.
Now as we have compleated all the objectives in the grants list we can create the grant clicking the create grant button

Stage 3:
Now that we have created all the grants we want we can finish the mod off by clicking the create mod button
once we have done that its time to save it!
Create a new folder called "data"
inside data open notepad and copy the text under grants.lua and save it as grants.lua inside that folder.
next inside the folder create a new folder called language and inside that copy the text under english.txt and save that as english.txt inside that folder.
now that we have done that drag that folder to were ever the prison architect.exe file is and enjoy!




Ideas for grants you could create:
Challenge grants!
for example here is one of my own!

Stay under 10 guards
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here you can see how i have entered in the information in order to do this as you see at the start the players are given a large sum of money for accepting the quest how ever if they should get 10 or more guards they will lose $1 million!
Last edited by reeceaclarke on Sun Sep 21, 2014 4:59 pm, edited 78 times in total.
Dan7794
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Postby Dan7794 » Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:45 pm

Whats the point in making it easy as a few clicks it is just typing you dont even have to have much experience at coding!
reeceaclarke
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Postby reeceaclarke » Sat Aug 03, 2013 2:56 pm

Dan7794 wrote:Whats the point in making it easy as a few clicks it is just typing you dont even have to have much experience at coding!


Thank you for this wonderful piece for high constructive criticism I just love how you have talked about the areas of the software that I can improve on and have not put me down as i'm new to c#. :D

On another note I would just like to point out experience comes with time as you know currently i am happy that it is working as intended although of course as i get better i will be improving on it in order to make the program even easier to use and to improve the current dull looks of the software.

Now onto the point of "whats the point of making it easy as a few clicks" this makes it easier for users who do not really know much about programming or want to speed up the process as this is a lot faster then typing which also makes it nice for people who are use to programming.
jdl8717
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Postby jdl8717 » Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:04 pm

reeceaclarke wrote:
Dan7794 wrote:Whats the point in making it easy as a few clicks it is just typing you dont even have to have much experience at coding!


Thank you for this wonderful piece for high constructive criticism I just love how you have talked about the areas of the software that I can improve on and have not put me down as i'm new to c#. :D

On another note I would just like to point out experience comes with time as you know currently i am happy that it is working as intended although of course as i get better i will be improving on it in order to make the program even easier to use and to improve the current dull looks of the software.

Now onto the point of "whats the point of making it easy as a few clicks" this makes it easier for users who do not really know much about programming or want to speed up the process as this is a lot faster then typing which also makes it nice for people who are use to programming.



What people generally fail to realize, for those into coding, making apps/mods/bots/cheats etc etc etc, is actually more fun and rewarding for them than the game itself. I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours building bots for games I hardly liked, just because I enjoyed the challenge and the accomplishment, the testing, the continual improvements etc, and I was NEVER an advanced programmer what so ever. I couldn't imagine if I was a fully trained programmer with the ability to do nearly anything.

Good work!
HerrJoebob
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Postby HerrJoebob » Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:26 pm

Cool idea! My suggestion would be to make it a wizard-style tool, as the UI is a bit overwhelming right now.

Nice job!
M11xStryker
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Postby M11xStryker » Sat Aug 10, 2013 7:05 am

Wow this is amazing.
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Postby mashpotato » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:19 am

I downloaded your mod so I could make the game a bit easier for my son. It's a great idea and easy to use which is great for me as i know nothing about programming.

two problems though

Is there a way to delete current objectives or current grants? I made an objective wrong and the only way I can find to change things is to close the programme, lose everything i've made and restart it all for just wanting to change one thing.

I've followed your instructions and made a data file saved the grants.lua as a txt file on notepad and saved the english.txt also with notepad as a file named language, and placed it in the prison architect folder but it doesn't add anything to the game. I've downloaded a couple of other grant mods where the grants are already made for you and one uses exactly the same system of just placing their data folder in the prison architect folder and theirs loads up fine. Any ideas why i can't get this one to work - i'd really like to create my own - Now solved the install problem

Made a grant called build 50 cells but in game on the objectives box it says Grant_50 cells_50 cells_ instead of the objective

Thanks
reeceaclarke
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Re: Prison Architect - Automatic Grant creator

Postby reeceaclarke » Sun Sep 08, 2013 4:08 am

Thanks for the feed back guys me being me forgot to back this up so as per usual I go and mess up the source files however I may soon begin to reprogram this and make the UI nice then what it currently is
Tasher
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Re: Prison Architect - Automatic Grant creator

Postby Tasher » Wed Sep 11, 2013 4:13 am

Great idea, and will be better once you get it fully GUI'd. Run a spell check on the GUI you have as well. Is there a way you could save little grant files (note at this point haven't yet downloaded and installed or played with it), so that you could drop in a bunch of grants that have been made by others (don't have to re-invent the wheel if they don't want to, or can edit once they have a good base template)?
reeceaclarke
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Re: Prison Architect - Automatic Grant creator

Postby reeceaclarke » Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:53 pm

*Update*

This is an update to quite an old project but after quite a large amount of time I have finally start reworking and recreating what I have lost with many new features.
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Although this list creating new items this like most of the stuff will not be in the first build of it as well no resources point to how you are able to do this what so ever however within the first few releases i will be hoping to make it so that you are able to edit what is currently there so far I have recreated most of the grant system and for the first time allowing you to completely edit grants that you have created unlike the old system were if you screwed up you would have to recreate in the current version you are only required to click on the tree item and it will change you to the correct tab loading all of the properties
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I will be releasing this updated version as soon as i can as i currently am working on creating the language file builder but here is currently the debug view of the lua builder
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So hopes are i will be able to get this out to you guys soon and with all the improvements i am wanting to fit into this like for example saving which i hope i will be able to get out with the first release saving to a xml file and loading form them so you are able to save progress on your important mods =P

in this image we can see how you are able to remove grants and requirements you do not like just by selecting the name of them
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Last edited by reeceaclarke on Fri Mar 21, 2014 8:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Prison Architect - Automatic Grant creator

Postby knoest26 » Fri Mar 21, 2014 7:40 pm

Looks interesting, I don't see me using it but it still is a cool thing
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Re: Prison Architect - Automatic Grant creator

Postby RGeezy911 » Fri Mar 21, 2014 10:18 pm

Good to know you're still working on this. I have added this to the developer wiki on the Mods article, and it is listed under the Grants section.
reeceaclarke
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Re: Prison Architect - Automatic Grant creator

Postby reeceaclarke » Fri Mar 21, 2014 10:46 pm

RGeezy911 wrote:Good to know you're still working on this. I have added this to the developer wiki on the Mods article, and it is listed under the Grants section.
thanks =P also just to keep this in the same post

*new alpha version of the software is out now! =P*
reeceaclarke
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Re: Prison Architect - Mod Creation tool (old auto grant)

Postby reeceaclarke » Sun Mar 23, 2014 7:41 pm

This is a post just to inform people of a brand new feature!

The Biographies editor and creator has now been introduced into the mod creator tool! So have fun include what ever crazy crimes you come up with =P
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reeceaclarke
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Re: Prison Architect - Mod Creation tool (old auto grant)

Postby reeceaclarke » Mon Mar 24, 2014 10:50 pm

*Update*

The editing of reform programs has been enabled so enjoy creating mandatory super hero lessons for your prisoners =P as the join the justice league

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