Red Faction Wiki - User contributions [en]

RF:G Editing Main Page

2024-02-21T23:50:09Z

Moneyl: /* Red Faction: Guerrilla Tools */

{{BubbleNav|RFG|no|no}}This will serve as a landing page for all resources related to [[Red Faction: Guerrilla]] editing for the '''Re-Mars-tered Edition'''.

==External Links==
===Community===
*[https://discord.gg/factionfiles Faction Files Community Discord] - Active Red Faction series community Discord with #map-mod-development channel for community development discussion
*[https://rfg-modding.github.io/SyncFaction/#/modding/intro SyncFaction Modding Intro] - Extensive writeup of all available mod formats and distribution methods. Includes mod examples!
===Downloads===
*[https://www.factionfiles.com/ff.php?action=files FactionFiles.com] - Custom mods, tools, patches, and reference material
*[https://www.nexusmods.com/redfactionguerilla/mods/ Nexus Mods] - Custom mods
*[https://www.nexusmods.com/redfactionguerrillaremarstered/mods/ Nexus Mods Re-Mars-tered] - Custom mods

==Documentation==
*[[RF:G Map organization]]
*[[Nanoforge basics]]
*[https://github.com/Moneyl/RfgTools/blob/main/Documentation/RfgZonexFormat.md Zone file format docs] - Describes the zone format used by RFG in more detail
===Core Concepts===
*[[Red Faction: Guerrilla]]'s level editor is [[CLOE]], which is not publicly available.

===Red Faction: Guerrilla File Formats===
* <code>.xtbl</code> - XML table files are used to store properties or attributes in Red Faction: Guerrilla. Overall, their function is similar to the <code>.tbl</code> files of Red Faction and Red Faction II.
* <code>.scriptx</code> - Internal XML scripting language file, commonly used for missions and activities
* <code>.dtodx</code> - Weather/lighting file for maps that controls things like fog, tint, ambient colour, eye adaption, bloom, cloud color and speed
* <code>.gtodx</code> - Skybox file for maps that controls things like the sun texture, moon positions and if the horizon mountain texture is enabled
* <code>.vpp_pc</code> - Packfile
* <code>.rigx</code> - Rig
* <code>.str2_pc</code> - Texture Packfile
* <code>.rfgzone_pc</code> - Map zone
* <code>.layer_pc</code> - Map zone
* <code>.cpeg_pc, cvbm_pc</code> - Texture cpu file
* <code>.gpeg_pc, gvbm_pc</code> - Texture gpu file
* <code>.asm_pc</code> - Asset assembler file
* <code>.csmesh_pc</code> - Static mesh cpu file
* <code>.gsmesh_pc</code> - Static mesh gpu file
* <code>.ccmesh_pc</code> - Character mesh cpu file
* <code>.gcmesh_pc</code> - Character mesh gpu file
* <code>.ccar_pc</code> - Vehicle mesh cpu file
* <code>.gcar_pc</code> - Vehicle mesh gpu file
* <code>.anim_pc</code> - Animation
* <code>.cchk_pc</code> - Destructible object cpu file
* <code>.gchk_pc</code> - Destructible object gpu file
* <code>.cefct_pc</code> - Visual effect cpu file
* <code>.gefct_pc</code> - Visual effect gpu file
* <code>.cfmesh_pc</code> - Foliage mesh
* <code>.cstch</code> - Terrain clutter mesh cpu file
* <code>.gstch</code> - Terrain clutter mesh gpu file
* <code>.cterrain_pc</code> - Terrain zone cpu file
* <code>.gterrain_pc</code> - Terrain zone gpu file
* <code>.ctmesh_pc</code> - Terrain subzone cpu file
* <code>.gtmesh_pc</code> - Terrain subzone gpu file
* <code>.fsmib</code> - Fullscreen map data
* <code>.fxo_kg</code> - Shader
* <code>.le_strings</code> - Steam localization strings
* <code>.rfglocatext</code> - Localization strings
* <code>.mat_pc</code> - Render material
* <code>.morph_pc</code> - Animation Morph
* <code>.vint_doc</code> - UI
* <code>.sim_pc</code> - Cloth sim
* <code>.xgs_pc</code> - Sound config
* <code>.xsb_pc</code> - Soundbank
* <code>.xwb_pc</code> - Wavebank
* <code>.aud_pc</code> - Audio categories
* <code>.vf3_pc</code> - Font
* <code>.vfdvp_pc</code> - ?
* <code>.rfgvp_pc</code> - ?

===Red Faction: Guerrilla File Structure===

\Red Faction Guerrilla Re-MARS-tered\data\

The two most important files for modding most of RF:G are <code>misc.vpp_pc</code> & <code>table.vpp_pc</code>

* <code>activities.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures for singleplayer activities
* <code>anims.vpp_pc</code> - contains animation files
* <code>chunks.vpp_pc</code> - contains <code>.rfgchunkx</code> files and seems to be related to the <code>preload_chunks.xtbl</code> file, it's possible to add them to a map using the correct <code>dest_checksum</code> & <code>uid</code> numbers. Game might also spawn <code>missing_chunk</code> or <code>missing_destroyable</code> if a mesh fails to load.
* <code>cloth_sim.vpp_pc</code> - contains cloth simulation files
* <code>decals.vpp_pc</code> - contains decal textures
* <code>dlc01_l0.vpp_pc</code> - singleplayer DLC map
* <code>dlc01_l1.vpp_pc</code> - only contains a blank <code>asm_pc</code> file
* <code>dlc01_precache.vpp_pc</code> - similar to <code>mp_common.vpp_pc</code> but for the singleplayer DLC map
* <code>dlcp01_activities.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures for singleplayer DLC activities
* <code>dlcp01_anims.vpp_pc</code> - contains animation files for singleplayer DLC
* <code>dlcp01_cloth_sim.vpp_pc</code> - contains cloth simulation files for singleplayer DLC
* <code>dlcp01_effects.vpp_pc</code> - contains visual effect files for singleplayer DLC, some are <code>.str2</code>
* <code>dlcp01_humans.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures and meshes for characters in singleplayer DLC
* <code>dlcp01_interface.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures for loading screens & thumbnails in singleplayer DLC
* <code>dlcp01_items.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures and meshes for weapons, character props and misc objects in singleplayer DLC
* <code>dlc01_misc.vpp_pc</code> - contains <code>.rig_pc</code> files, the <code>.fsmib</code> file and two <code>.xtbl</code> files for singleplayer DLC
* <code>dlc01_missions.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures related to singleplayer DLC missions
* <code>dlcp01_personas_en_us.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>dlcp01_vehicles.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures and meshes for singleplayer DLC vehicles
* <code>dlcp01_voices_en_us.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>dlcp02_interface.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures for loading screens & thumbnails for multiplayer DLC
* <code>dlcp02_misc.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>dlcp03_interface.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures for loading screens & thumbnails for wrecking crew DLC
* <code>dlcp03_misc.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>effects.vpp_pc</code> - contains visual effect files, some are <code>.str2</code>
* <code>effects_mp.vpp_pc</code> - contains multiplayer only visual effect files, some are <code>.str2</code>
* <code>humans.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures and meshes for characters in both singleplayer and multiplayer
* <code>interface.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures for loading screens & thumbnails in both SP and MP and character portraits in multiplayer
* <code>items.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures and meshes for weapons, character props and misc objects in both singleplayer & multiplayer
* <code>items_mp.vpp_pc</code> - contains multiplayer only textures and meshes
* <code>misc.vpp_pc</code> contains <code>.xtbl</code> files and most other file types
* <code>missions.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures for singleplayer missions
* <code>mp_common.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures shared between multiplayer maps
* <code>mp_xxx.vpp_pc</code> - multiplayer maps, excluding <code>mp_common.vpp_pc</code>
* <code>mpdlc_xxx.vpp_pc</code> - DLC multiplayer maps
* <code>personas_de_de.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>personas_en_us.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>personas_es_es.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>personas_fr_fr.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>personas_it_it.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>personas_ru_ru.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>rfg_cine_00a.bik_xbox2</code> -
* <code>rfg_cine_01a.bik_xbox2</code> -
* <code>rfg_cine_02a.bik_xbox2</code> -
* <code>rfg_cine_03a.bik_xbox2</code> -
* <code>rfg_cine_03b.bik_xbox2</code> -
* <code>rfg_cine_04a.bik_xbox2</code> -
* <code>rfg_cine_05a.bik_xbox2</code> -
* <code>rfg_cine_06a.bik_xbox2</code> -
* <code>skybox.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures for the skybox like the clouds
* <code>sounds_r.vpp_pc</code> - contains <code>.xmb_pc</code> sound files
* <code>steam.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>table.vpp_pc</code> - contains only <code>.xtbl</code> files and will overwrite <code>.xtbl</code> files in <code>misc.vpp_pc</code>
* <code>terr01_l0.vpp_pc</code> - singleplayer map
* <code>terr01_l1.vpp_pc</code> - singleplayer map
* <code>terr01_precache.vpp_pc</code> - similar to <code>mp_common.vpp_pc</code> but for the singleplayer map
* <code>vehicles_r.vpp_pc</code> - contains textures and meshes for singleplayer vehicles
* <code>voices_de_de.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>voices_en_us.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>voices_es_es.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>voices_fr_fr.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>voices_it_it.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>voices_ru_ru.vpp_pc</code> -
* <code>wcxxx.vpp_c</code> - wrecking crew maps
* <code>zonescript_dlc01.vpp_pc</code> - contains <code>.scriptx</code> and <code>.rfgzone_pc</code> files for singleplayer DLC map
* <code>zonescript_terr01.vpp_pc</code> - contains <code>.scriptx</code> and <code>.rfgzone_pc</code> files for singleplayer map
* <code>xxx.bik</code> - pre-rendered custscenes

===Scriptx Functions===

* [https://www.factionfiles.com/ff.php?action=scriptxfuncs .scriptx functions]

===Primitive data types & limits===

* Floats (floating decimal points): Max value <code>3.4028237</code> and move the decimal place right 38 times. Examples: <code>1.0, 0.0</code>
* Integer (whole number that could hold a zero, positive or negative value): Max value <code>2147483647</code>
* Boolean (truth value with two constants objects True and False , basically a toggle to enable or disable something using "true" or "false"): Examples: <code><Unlocks_Cheat>True</Unlocks_Cheat>, <Unlocks_Cheat>False</Unlocks_Cheat></code>
* String (represents a sequence or characters/text): Example: <code><string>OldCoot</string></code>

===sounds_r.vpp_pc Info===

* S16 = Signed 16 bit
* LE = Little endian
* 2CH = 2 channels (stereo)

* destruction.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_d01offcam.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01dan.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01msm01.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01msm02.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01msm03.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01msm04.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01msm05.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01msm06.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01rfc.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01sam_pcm01.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* dlc01_voc_spe_d01vasha_safe.xwb_pc.en_us.xwb_pc - unknown
* mov_foley.xwb_pc - unknown
* mov_jet_pack.xwb_pc - unknown
* mov_male.xwb_pc - unknown
* mov_npc_male.xwb_pc - unknown
* mp_backpacks.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Intermittent static starting ~28sec
* mp_wep.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Static at start and end
* mus_briefings.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH.
* mus_demomaster.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH.
* mus_frontend.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH.
* mus_multiplayer.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH.
* mus_progression_01.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Static at start, may be header
* mus_progression_02.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH.
* mus_progression_03.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH.
* mus_sting.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH.
* obj_shared_ambient.xwb_pc - unknown
* obj_shared_dth.xwb_pc - unknown
* obj_shared_exp.xwb_pc - unknown
* obj_shared_impact.xwb_pc - unknown
* scripted_raids.xwb_pc - unknown
* system.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Mostly static, valid sound in middle
* system_mp.xwb_pc - unknown
* veh_civ_bus.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_civ_car1.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_civ_car2.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_civ_car3.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_civ_flat.xwb_pc - unknown
* veh_civ_flat2.xwb_pc - unknown
* veh_civ_fuel.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_civ_hauler.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_civ_taxi.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_civ_trash.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_civ_walker.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_edf_aax.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Mostly static, some valid sound at end.
* veh_edf_abx.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Mostly static, some valid sound at end.
* veh_edf_apc.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_edf_atank.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_edf_htank.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_edf_mtank.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_edf_scout.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_edf_staff.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_edf_staffh2h.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_edf_supply.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_mar_jetter.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_mar_raider.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_atv.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_bull.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_dtruck.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_etruck.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_jetter.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_pickup.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_rover.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_roverwk.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_supply.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_supplyrt.xwb_pc - unknown
* veh_min_wlklg.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_min_wlkmd.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* veh_shared.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Some static, some valid sound.
* walla.xwb_pc - unknown
* weather.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH.
* wep_rfg.xwb_pc - S16, LE, 2CH. Mostly valid, some static

===RfgUtil Guide===

* Unpacking [Placeholder]
* Repacking [Placeholder]
* Command arguments [Placeholder]
* Scripts [Placeholder]
* Updating <code>.asm_pc</code> files [Placeholder]

===Misc Notes===

* When repacking <code>.vpp_pc</code> files don't compress and/or condense them if they weren't like that in the vanilla game, it will cause the game to crash. Eg: <code>items.vpp_pc</code>, <code>interface.vpp_pc</code>, map files etc. See the table below.
* When repacking <code>.str2_pc</code> files ensure they are compressed and condensed.
* <code>table.vpp_pc</code> overwrites changes to <code>.xtbl</code> files in <code>misc.vpp_pc</code>. The work around for this with the legacy mod manager is to rename the file however this breaks multiplayer and reduces the stability of the game. You should edit the same <code>.xtbl</code> files in both <code>misc.vpp_pc</code> & <code>table.vpp_pc</code>.

{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Filename !! Alignment !! Compressed !! Condensed
|-
| ALL .str2 || 0 || Yes || Yes
|-
| MOST .vpp_pc || 2048 || No || No
|-
| dlc01_precache.vpp_pc || 2048 || Yes || No
|-
| dlcp01_misc.vpp_pc || 2048 || Yes || No
|-
| misc.vpp_pc || 2048 || Yes || No
|-
| mp_common.vpp_pc || 2048 || Yes || No
|-
| steam.vpp_pc || 2048 || Yes || No
|-
| terr01_precache.vpp_pc || 2048 || Yes || No
|-
| zonescript_dlc01.vpp_pc || 2048 || Yes || No
|-
| zonescript_terr01.vpp_pc || 2048 || Yes || No
|-
| dlc01_l1.vpp_pc || 0 || No || No
|-
| dlcp01_voices_en_us.vpp_pc || 0 || No || No
|-
| dlcp02_misc.vpp_pc || 0 || Yes || No
|-
| dlcp03_misc.vpp_pc || 0? || Yes || No
|-
| dlcp01_anims.vpp_pc || 16? || Yes || Yes
|-
| anims.vpp_pc || 16 || Yes || Yes
|-
| table.vpp_pc || 64 || Yes || Yes
|-
| skybox.vpp_pc || 4096 || No || No
|-
| dlcp01_personas_en_us.vpp_pc || 4096 || No || No

|}

===Red Faction: Guerrilla Tools===

* [https://github.com/Moneyl/RfgUtil/releases RfgUtil] - Used for unpacking most file formats and updating <code>.asm_pc</code> files
* [https://github.com/rfg-modding/Nanoforge/releases Nanoforge] - Map editor, texture editor, <code>.xtbl</code> editor and more
* [https://github.com/CamoRF/Red-Faction-Guerrilla-Terraform-Patch/raw/main/tools/mTools.zip mTools] - Drag and drop tool to convert <code>.asm_pc</code> files to XML and vice versa
* [https://github.com/rsl-dev/RSL/releases RSL] - Script Loader
* [https://github.com/Moneyl/AsmTool AsmTool]- WIP Tool for modifying <code>.asm_pc</code> files used by Red Faction Guerrilla. This is meant to replace hand editing them, which is very error prone and tedious
* [https://github.com/rfg-modding/SyncFaction/releases SyncFaction] - Tool for automatically installing the Terraform Patch replaces the legacy mod manager with bug fixes and new features
* [https://www.factionfiles.com/ff.php?action=file&id=5686 xdelta UI] - GUI for generating <code>.xdelta</code> (binary) patches
* [http://www.ximple.cz/download.php XiMpLe XML Editor] - Lightweight GUI XML Editor that displays XML type files in a table grid views and shows what other <code>.xtbls</code> it is referencing. Very useful for understanding and editing <code>.xtbl</code> files.
* [https://github.com/CamoRF/Red-Faction-Guerrilla-Terraform-Patch/raw/main/tools/Volition_Table_File_Editor.zip Volition Table File Editor] - GUI for editing <code>.xtbl</code> files
* [https://jsonformatter.org/xml-formatter XML Formatter] - Use this to format <code>.xtbl</code> files so they are easier to read
* [https://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_validator.asp XML Validator] - Use this to validate <code>.xtbl</code> edits, any mistakes you make will crash the game
* [https://onecompiler.com/lua/3ykpyrhhb LUA Validator] - Useful for validating RSL scripts for errors, note it's safe to ignore <code>attempt to index a nil value (global 'rfg')</code>
* [https://github.com/rfg-modding/RfgToolsPlusPlus/releases/tag/ExperimentalChunkExtractor_v0.2.0 Building extractor] - Experimental building extractor (.cchk_pc & .gchk_pc files). It isn't able to extract all buildings and it doesn't extract the textures.
* [https://github.com/rfg-modding/RfgToolsPlusPlus/releases/tag/MiscMeshExtractor_V1.1.0 Misc mesh extractor] - Extractor miscellaneous mesh formats. For .cfmesh_pc, .cstch_pc, .cefct_pc, and .ccar_pc files. Requires the .NET 7 runtime to run. It doesn't extract the textures.

===Useful Software===

* [https://www.voidtools.com/ Voidtools Everything] - Locate files and folders by name instantly
* [https://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/ Agent Ransack] - Bulk search for keywords within unpacked files
* [https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/ Notepad++] - Good text editor for manually editing <code>.xtbl</code> files, set language as XML

==Tutorials==
*[[Nanoforge xtbl editing]] - How to edit [[.xtbl]] files in Nanoforge.
*[[Nanoforge Texture Editing]] - How to edit textures using Nanoforge.
* XTBL Editing Guides [Placeholder]

[[Category: Red Faction: Guerrilla]]
[[Category: RF:G Editing]]

Nanoforge basics

2024-02-21T23:43:05Z

Moneyl:

{{RFGEditing}}
{{Under construction}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This article only goes over the basics of each feature. See the other guides for more detailed explanations.

===IMPORTANT NOTE===
Nanoforge was rewritten starting with version v1.0.0. At the time of writing that version only has a map editor for multiplayer and wrecking crew maps. The other editors will return in future releases. If you're editing MP/WC maps it recommended that you use the latest version of Nanoforge. It has many improvements to the map editor. If you want to use features that are still missing in the rewrite such as the texture and mesh exporters, you should use v0.21.1

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded anywhere and run Nanoforge.exe
*You should now see the start screen. On the left side it has the data path and the recent projects list. On the right it has the changelog. Nanoforge with attempt to auto detect your RFG install. If it says that your data path is invalid click the <code>Browse...</code> button and select your RFG data folder.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. You only need to create a project if you're editing files. You don't need one to view and export files. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the start page or <code>File > New project...</code> on the main menu bar. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: (Optional) Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: (Optional) Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge ProjectCreationExample3.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

If you prefer regex you can check the regex search option. Note that the regex search option is much slower than the default one.

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>. See [[Nanoforge Texture Editing]] for more info.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and the LOD slider for meshes with multiple levels of detail.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>.

A single gltf file and the meshes textures will be exported. Each lod level is labelled in the gltf under their own subnode. Currently these gltf files don't look right as is when imported into Blender. This is because GLTF uses a different rendering model than RFG. Typically meshes have a diffuse, specular, and normal texture. Their names end with _d, _s, and _n respectively. You'll need to make the following changes to the textures in the Blender shading tab:
* Diffuse -> Set color space to linear, attach texture color to "Base Color" on the BSDF
* Specular -> Set color space to linear, attach texture color to "Specular" on the BSDF
* Normal -> Set color space to SRGB, attach texture color to "Normal" on the BSDF

In the near future an extension will be made to automatically patch the shader graph.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once it's done go to the "Output" folder inside your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with the re-mars-tered mod manager.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory via <code>Tools > Open territory</code> on the main menu bar. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory. A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_W3p0erDiTj.jpg|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

==Object Flags==
* Flag 0 (Persistent): Unknown, any objects with this flag have a separate copy stored in a second <code>rfgzone_pc</code> file with its name prefixed with <code>p__.</code> So, for example, Crescent has two <code>rfgzone_pc</code> files. <code>mp_crescent.rfgzone_pc</code> and <code>p_mp_crescent.rfgzone_pc</code>. The objects with the persistent flag are stored in both zone files, while objects without that flag are only stored in <code>mp_crescent.rfgzone_pc</code>. It's consistently used on player spawns, on most siege objectives and on most <code>rfg_movers</code> on Siege maps. It's recommended you don't enable or disable this flag on maps if you're using the Terraform Patch as it contains fixes for missing objects that incorrectly used this flag or were missing it; doing so will cause objects to vanish.
* Flag 1: Unknown
* Flag 2: Unknown
* Flag 3: Unknown; might be related to how the game saves/loads map data from save files (requires more investigation)
* Flag 4: Unknown; seems to always get converted to the runtime flag <code>streaming_fixed</code>, most <code>rfg_movers</code> and <code>general_movers</code> have this flag. If you're using the Terraform Patch it's recommended you don't disable this flag as it applies it to all objects since it was used most of the time and objects missing it were assumed to be an error by Volition. (They also made mistakes with the gamemode and persistent flags)
* Flag 5: Unknown; seems to get converted to the runtime flag <code>force_full_save</code>
* Flag 6: Unknown
* Flag 7: Unknown
* Flag 8: Spawns in Anarchy
* Flag 9: Spawns in Team Anarchy
* Flag 10: Spawns in CTF
* Flag 11: Spawns in Siege
* Flag 12: Spawns in Damage Control
* Flag 13: Spawns in Bagman
* Flag 14: Spawns in Team Bagman
* Flag 15: Spawns in Demolition

==Chunk Flags==
* Applies to <code>rfg_movers</code> & <code>general_movers</code>.
* When editing their properties in the inspector it's possible to change the <code>chunk_flags</code>.
* You can also use <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code> to apply these flags and change <code>gameplay_props</code>. If you're using the Terraform Patch a new <code>gameplay_prop</code> named <code>Invulnerable</code> is added which also can be used to make objects indestructible.
* Eg: <code>dynamic_link invulnerable</code> will make the object indestructible. Full list of flags below:
* child_gives_control: Unknown.
* building: Unknown.
* dynamic_link: Unknown.
* world_anchor: Unknown.
* no_cover: Might be where EDF can't take cover behind objects.
* propaganda: EDF propaganda billboards you destroy for the achievement in singleplayer have this flag in <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code>. Probably used so the game knows to track the players progress and reduce EDF control of the sector.
* kiosk: <code>tech_kiosk_EDF_A</code> has this flag in <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code>. Probably used so the game knows its a special object that plays propaganda videos.
* touch_terrain: Unknown, no <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code> entries use this flag and it's missing from the table description.
* supply_crate: EDF crates you destroy for the achievement in singleplayer have this flag in <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code>. Probably used so the game knows to track the players progress.
* mining: Ores you mine for salvage and the achievement in singleplayer have this flag in <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code>. Probably used so the game knows to track the players progress.
* one_of_many: Unknown, <code>windmill_0708</code>, <code>0102smokestack_86</code> & <code>0102smokestack_86_child</code> have this flag in <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code>. Might be related to one of the side activities where you have to destroy multiple targets.
* plume_on_death: Unknown.
* invulnerable: Makes an object indestructible.
* inherit_damaga_pct: Unknown.
* regrow_on_stream: Unknown.
* casts_drop_shadow: Object will cast drop shadows.
* disable_collapse_effect: Unknown.
* force_dynamic: Unknown.
* show_on_map: Most objects in <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code>. Most likely means the object will show on the minimap in singleplayer.
* regenerate: Unknown.
* casts_shadow: Object will cast a shadow map.

==Object Info==
* <code>obj_zone</code> = Defines the wind speed, terrain file name & <code>spawn_resource_data</code>. If you move its location the terrain will no longer have collision.
* <code>MPST</code> = Multiplayer siege target.
* <code>MPDCT</code> = Multiplayer damage control target.
* <code>shape_cutter</code> = Causes object to start off with initial damage, used on damage control targets or maps like crash site, ruins & remnant where they put a hole in the wall.
* <code>spawn_node</code> = Camera view at start of match and end of game. If a map doesn't have a least one of these it will crash.
* <code>spectator_camera</code> = Camera view exclusively for players using the spectator mode, recommended to just ignore adding them and use <code>spawn_nodes</code> instead.
* <code>trigger_region</code> = Killbox that can be set to a mine or cliff.
* <code>rfg_mover</code> = Buildings, backpack racks & more.
* <code>general_mover</code> = Explosive barrels and the <code>backpack_effect_attach.cchk_pc</code> objects for example.
* <code>player_start</code> = Spawn point, can be set to Neutral, EDF or Guerilla.
* <code>item</code> = In multiplayer the bag for bagman is set to <code>item_type</code> "multi_object_bagman_flag" and references <code>items_3d.xtbl</code>.
* <code>weapon</code> = Weapon spawn, <code>weapon_type</code> determines which weapon will spawn and references <code>weapons.xtbl</code>.
* <code>object_effect</code> = Visual effect, eg the fire on Nordic Bonus.
* <code>multi_object_marker</code> = Multiple uses, in multiplayer the <code>marker_type</code> can be set to <code>Backpack rack</code>, <code>Spawn node</code>, <code>Flag capture zone</code>, <code>King of the Hill target</code>, <code>Siege target</code> & <code>Spectator camera</code>.
* <code>cover_node</code> =
* <code>navpoint</code> = Probably where NPCs can navigate, similar to navmeshes in other games.
* <code>object_action_node</code> =
* <code>object_squad_spawn_node</code> = Probably where squads spawn and references various <code>squads.xtbl</code> files.
* <code>object_path_road</code> = Probably where NPCs can drive vehicles.
* <code>object_guard_node</code> =
* <code>object_vehicle_spawn_node</code> = Probably where vehicles can spawn like walkers found around the SP map.
* <code>object_bounding_box</code> = Seems to be only be used in singleplayer, unknown why.
* <code>object_activity_spawn</code> = Probably where you can start a side activity like demolition master for example.
* <code>object_house_arrest_node</code> = Related to the house arrest side activity.
* <code>object_patrol</code> = Probably where EDF patrol.
* <code>object_dummy</code> =
* <code>object_mission_start_node</code> = Probably where you can start a main mission.
* <code>object_restricted_area</code> = Probably where the EDF will attack on sight and you will get an alert level in SP.
* <code>backpack_effect_attach.cchk_pc</code> = Seems to be for attaching the backpack to the player when they spawn, DO NOT TOUCH IT ALL OR THE MAP WILL CRASH WHEN SPAWNING.

==Object Properties==
* <code>gameplay_props</code> references <code>gameplay_properties.xtbl</code>.
* <code>backpack_type</code> references <code>mp_backpacks.xtbl</code>.
* <code>weapon_type</code> references <code>weapons.xtbl</code>.
* <code>item_type</code> references <code>items_3d.xtbl</code>.
* <code>spawn_resource_data</code> references <code>spawn_resource.xtbl</code>.
* <code>ambient_spawn</code> references <code>ambient_spawn_info.xtbl</code> or <code>dlc01_ambient_spawn_info.xtbl</code>.
* <code>visual</code> references <code>effects.xtbl</code>.
* <code>sound</code> references <code>foley.xtbl</code> (not included in the game for some reason) however there is <code>dlc01_foley.xtbl</code>.

==Spawn Points==
* <code>mp_team</code> can be set to <code>Neutral</code>, <code>EDF</code> or <code>Guerilla</code>.
* When making a CTF map and you don't want players spawning at the opposing base ensure you disable the Flag <code>Spawn in CTF</code> for any Neutral spawn points.
* Unknown if the <code>respawn</code> and <code>initial_spawn</code> booleans do anything in multiplayer.
* <code>indoor</code> boolean is probably left over from Saints Row since all of RF:G is technically outdoors and no spawn points use this boolean.
* <code>checkpoint_respawn</code> & <code>activity_respawn</code> are only used in singleplayer.
* Foward X axis (blue line) determines player spawn direction.

==Spawn Nodes==
* Camera views at the start of match or when a player dies and is spectating.
* Foward X axis (blue line) determines player camera direction & view.
* If a map doesn't have at least one <code>Spawn node</code> it will crash when loading.

==Spectator Cameras==
* Believed to be similar to a <code>Spawn node</code> but used exclusively by players using the spectator option in matchmaking. Recommended to just ignore adding these since the community only plays custom games and adding <code>Spawn nodes</code> to your map will serve the same purpose.
* Foward X axis (blue line) determines player camera direction & view.

==Mover Types==
* Applies to <code>rfg_movers</code>
* When editing their properties it's possible to change the <code>mtype</code> field to the corresponding numbers
* Fixed = 0 (default)
* Normal = 1 (unknown)
* Lite = 2 (unknown)
* Ultra Lite = 3 (unknown)
* World Only = 4 (no collision but you can still destroy it with a hammer for example)
* No Collision = 5 (no collision)

==Damage Control Targets==
# Deep clone <code>MPDCT_MAPNAME_XXX</code>.
# Move </code>MPDCT_MAPNAME_XXX</code> to the location of your choosing.
# In object properties for the parent change <code>display_name</code> to whatever you want your new damage control objective to be called.
# If you're making a map that doesn't already have a damage control target you can open it in another tab and use the deep clone feature. If you're using the Terraform Patch the majority of Wrecking Crew maps will already have the asset along with all Siege maps.
# It's also possible to have only <code>1</code> target & more than <code>3</code>. The limit before the game will crash is a total of <code>6</code> targets when tested solo. The limit might be lower when played with other people but needs to be tested more.
# It's also possible that using the same <code>display_name</code> name for each target can introduce instability.
# The only valid value for the <code>mp_team</code> property is <code>Neutral</code>. If you change the team to <code>EDF</code> or <code>Guerilla</code> and disable the <code>shape_cutter</code> child so the target starts off intact it will belong to that team but not score any points until it's destroyed and repaired.
# You can disable the <code>shape_cutter</code> child so the target starts off intact instead of destroyed like it is by default.
# Any object can be used for a target if you add the <code>multi_object_marker</code>, <code>shape_cutter</code> and offset them correctly from the parent. See Stratosphere if using the Terraform Patch for how to do this; shipping containers are the targets added on that map in the patch.

==Siege Targets==
# Open a siege map in one tab, open a regular map with the same objects in another tab.
# Deep clone the siege target to the regular map.
# Move the added siege target to the exact same location as the existing matching object on the regular map.
# Disable all the gamemode flags for the added siege target except for "Spawn in Siege" including its children.
# Delete all the children of the siege targets (usually spawns that will be outside the map since they were deep cloned from the siege map), after they are all deleted make sure to "orphan children" of the child to ensure it doesn't have ghost children.
# Disable the <code>Spawn in siege</code> flag on the matching original map object.
# You need to update <code>mp_levels.xtbl</code> so the map is selectable in siege.
# Ensure the siege target and its child have the persistent flag.
# The <code>priority</code> property for the <code>Siege target</code> child determines which siege objects are unlocked to destroy, eg if you set it to <code>1</code> it would be the first target the attackers can destroy, you can have multiple targets unlocked by using the same number and if you wanted to have targets unlocked one at a time you would use <code>1</code>, <code>2</code>, <code>3</code> and so on. If you use a value of <code>4294967295</code> they are also unlocked at the same time.
# You must use an existing string in the game for the <code>display_name</code> property on the child or the map will crash.
# If you mess up the offset of the child the map will crash.

==Backpack Racks==
* Make sure you deep clone them when adding new racks, the child <code>Backpack rack</code> is required for it to work properly.
* Ensure that when moving the rack to a new location you only move the parent (the child will follow and be offset correctly), they will be named <code>Jetpack</code> for example if you're using the Terraform Patch.
* When editing the child <code>backpack_type</code> determines which backpack will spawn, most are the same as their in game names with the exception of Firepower <code>Commando</code> & Concussion <code>Shockwave</code>. These names are from <code>mp_backpacks.xtbl</code>.
* When editing the child you can change the number of backpacks on a rack, edit <code>num_backpacks</code> and change it from a value ranging from <code>0-3</code>, although <code>0</code> would mean the rack is empty and useless.
* When editing the child it's possible to make it team exclusive, this means only the EDF or Red Faction can pickup backpacks from that rack during team game modes. Edit <code>mp_team</code> and enter either <code>EDF</code> or <code>Guerilla</code>. In game that rack will have a green glow around it if your team can use it.
* The <code>random_backpacks</code> boolean in the object properties for the <code>Backpack rack</code> child doesn't seem to do anything.
* It's possible to make Backpack Racks destructable by changing <code>gameplay_props</code> to <code>Default</code>. During team game modes teams can fight for control by destroying racks and repairing them so only their team can use them. Racks you're able to use will glow green and racks you can't will glow red if you're using the Terraform Patch.
* The maximum number of Backpack Racks you can have on a map before it causes issues is <code>25</code>.

==Capture the Flag targets==
* The EDF and Red Faction have their own unique flag stand placed near their team spawns on regular multiplayer maps.
* Make sure you use deep cloning and only move the parent when placing or moving them so the child is offset correctly.
* Objects are called <code>edf_flag_stand.cchk_pc</code> & <code>guerrilla_flag_stand.cchk_pc</code>.
* If you attempt to add more than two stands to a map, the extras will not work as capture points and only the asset will appear.
* <code>Neutral</code> is not a valid value for <code>mp_team</code>.

==Bagman Objective Spawn==
* Object is an <code>item</code> type referencing <code>items.3d_xtbl</code>.
* Ignore the varying bounding box sizes when positioning the bag spawn, the XYZ axis position is what matters (the red, blue & green lines).
* The <code>respawn</code> boolean doesn't do what you expect, the bag will still return to the original spawn point regardless if it's enabled or not.
* You can't place more than one bag on a map normally, only one will spawn. However you can have different bag locations in Bagman and Team Bagman by using the gamemode flags.

==Weapon Spawns==
* You should clone other weapons to add new ones, if you make them from scratch and don't get the bounding box correct for certain weapons it can cause duplicate weapon spawns in some cases.
* <code>weapon_type</code> determines which weapon will spawn and references <code>weapons.xtbl</code>.
* The <code>preplaced</code> boolean needs more testing but you can disable weapons in certain game modes by disabling the game mode flags anyway.
* The <code>respawns</code> boolean will cause the weapon to not re-spawn again during a match after it has been picked up for the first time.
* Ensure the bounding box is slightly above the ground/floor when positioning weapons.

==Trigger Regions==
* In multiplayer & singleplayer these are used to prevent the player from going out of bounds.
* <code>region_kill_type</code> can be set to a <code>cliff</code> or a <code>mine</code>. A cliff will cause the player to fall to their death, while a mine will explode and kill the player; this is also reflected in the killfeed message in multiplayer.
* In singleplayer the <code>trigger_flags</code> can be changed so the trigger isn't enabled during missions and/or activities. Eg. <code>not_in_mission</code> will disable it during a main mission, <code>not_in_activity</code> would disable it during a side activity and <code>not_in_mission not_in_activity</code> would disable it during both.
* The <code>enabled</code> boolean allows mappers to enable/disable the region.
* The <code>trigger_shape</code> can be set to a <code>box</code> or <code>sphere</code>. However Nanoforge cannot render spherical bounding boxes yet.
* <code>outer_radius</code> might control the size of the region, but this is untested.

==Object Effects==
* Plays an effect such as smoke, fire, explosion, sparks, etc. Also can play sounds if the effect has one in <code>effects.xtbl</code> and the sound string is used.
* <code>sound_alr</code> = Unknown.
* <code>sound</code> = The name of the sound in <code>effects.xtbl</code>
* <code>visual</code> = The name of the effect in <code>effects.xtbl</code>
* <code>looping</code> = Controls if the effect will play once or continuously.

==Shape Cutters==
* Used to damage or cut holes into destructible objects ahead of time.
* <code>outer_radius</code> might control the size of the cutter, but this is untested.

==Maps with names different from their in-game names==
* wc1 - Complex
* wc2 - Watchtower
* wc3 - Scrapheap
* wc4 - Vista
* wc5 - Fortress
* wc6 - Factory
* wc7 - Gulch
* wc8 - Cascade
* wc9 - Transmission
* wc10 - Pipeline
* wcdlc1 - Ruins
* wcdlc2 - Repercussion
* wcdlc3 - Imperial
* wcdlc4 - Expansion
* wcdlc5 - Frost
* wcdlc6 - Abandoned
* wcdlc7 - Stratosphere
* wcdlc8 - Invasion
* wcdlc9 - Nordic Bonus
* mpcx_crossover - Doubletime
* mpcx_assembly - Outpost
* mpdlc_landbridge - Equilibrium
* mpdlc_islands - Haven
* mpdlc_minibase - Complex
* mpdlc_overhang - Gradient
* mpdlc_ruins - Remnant

==Maps with similar terrain==
* Crash Site/Complex/Nordic Bonus
* Rift/Factory
* Remnant/Ruins
* Broadside/Invasion
* Wasteland/Gulch
* Outpost/Framework
* Radial/Transmission
* Sand Pit/Division/Watchtower
* Tutorial Area/Pipeline
* Pinnacle/Fortress

==Misc Notes==
* Deep clone objects if you want to keep the children of an object and use regular clone if you just want to clone the parent. Only move the parent when deep cloning and the children will follow and be offset correctly.
* If you see anything that looks like XML inside <code>layer_pc</code> or <code>rfgzone_pc</code> files you can ignore that as we're 99% sure it's junk from their file packer reusing memory without zeroing it out.
*[https://github.com/Moneyl/RfgTools/blob/main/Documentation/RfgZonexFormat.md Zone file format docs] - Describes the zone format used by RFG in more detail.

===Localization strings===
While Nanoforge is only in English at the moment it can view localized strings used by RFG. RFG uses placeholder strings in many xtbls which are replaced with their localization at runtime. These are shown automatically in the xtbl editor. You can also view a list of all localized strings via <code>Tools > Localization > View localized strings</code>. You can search by placeholder by checking "Search by identifier". You must fully enter the identifier without typos for this to work since it's comparing it to a hash of the identifier stored in the games localization files.

[[File:Nanoforge_LocalizedStringList0.png|frameless|768px]]

===Scriptx viewer===
RFG uses an xml based scripting system called scriptx for some mission logic. The viewer is an attempt at making it easier to read scriptx files which can be difficult to understand. It's a low priority feature so it likely won't see changes for a while but was enabled in case it's useful to people editing scriptx files. You still need to edit them by hand but it can help make it clearer what a script is doing. You can access it via <code>View > Scriptx Viewer (WIP)</code>.

[[File:Nanoforge_ScriptxViewer0.png|frameless|768px]]

Nanoforge basics

2021-12-07T22:17:13Z

Moneyl: Update mesh export section. Uses gltf instead of obj and requires some shader graph adjustments to look right in Blender.

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This article only goes over the basics of each feature. See the other guides for more detailed explanations.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded anywhere and run Nanoforge.exe
*You should now see the start screen. On the left side it has the data path and the recent projects list. On the right it has the changelog. Nanoforge with attempt to auto detect your RFG install. If it says that your data path is invalid click the <code>Browse...</code> button and select your RFG data folder.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. You only need to create a project if you're editing files. You don't need one to view and export files. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the start page or <code>File > New project...</code> on the main menu bar. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: (Optional) Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: (Optional) Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge ProjectCreationExample3.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

If you prefer regex you can check the regex search option. Note that the regex search option is much slower than the default one.

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>. See [[Nanoforge Texture Editing]] for more info.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and the LOD slider for meshes with multiple levels of detail.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>.

A single gltf file and the meshes textures will be exported. Each lod level is labelled in the gltf under their own subnode. Currently these gltf files don't look right as is when imported into Blender. This is because GLTF uses a different rendering model than RFG. Typically meshes have a diffuse, specular, and normal texture. Their names end with _d, _s, and _n respectively. You'll need to make the following changes to the textures in the Blender shading tab:
* Diffuse -> Set color space to linear, attach texture color to "Base Color" on the BSDF
* Specular -> Set color space to linear, attach texture color to "Specular" on the BSDF
* Normal -> Set color space to SRGB, attach texture color to "Normal" on the BSDF

In the near future an extension will be made to automatically patch the shader graph.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once it's done go to the "Output" folder inside your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with the re-mars-tered mod manager. RFG steam edition support will come in a future update.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory via <code>Tools > Open territory</code> on the main menu bar. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory. A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_W3p0erDiTj.jpg|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

===Localization strings===
While Nanoforge is only in English at the moment it can view localized strings used by RFG. RFG uses placeholder strings in many xtbls which are replaced with their localization at runtime. These are shown automatically in the xtbl editor. You can also view a list of all localized strings via <code>Tools > Localization > View localized strings</code>. You can search by placeholder by checking "Search by identifier". You must fully enter the identifier without typos for this to work since it's comparing it to a hash of the identifier stored in the games localization files.

[[File:Nanoforge_LocalizedStringList0.png|frameless|768px]]

===Scriptx viewer===
RFG uses an xml based scripting system called scriptx for some mission logic. The viewer is an attempt at making it easier to read scriptx files which can be difficult to understand. It's a low priority feature so it likely won't see changes for a while but was enabled in case it's useful to people editing scriptx files. You still need to edit them by hand but it can help make it clearer what a script is doing. You can access it via <code>View > Scriptx Viewer (WIP)</code>.

[[File:Nanoforge_ScriptxViewer0.png|frameless|768px]]

Nanoforge basics

2021-08-09T19:17:18Z

Moneyl: Remove whitespace between "Map View" and "Localization strings" sections

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This article only goes over the basics of each feature. See the other guides for more detailed explanations.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded anywhere and run Nanoforge.exe
*You should now see the start screen. On the left side it has the data path and the recent projects list. On the right it has the changelog. Nanoforge with attempt to auto detect your RFG install. If it says that your data path is invalid click the <code>Browse...</code> button and select your RFG data folder.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. You only need to create a project if you're editing files. You don't need one to view and export files. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the start page or <code>File > New project...</code> on the main menu bar. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: (Optional) Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: (Optional) Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge ProjectCreationExample3.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

If you prefer regex you can check the regex search option. Note that the regex search option is much slower than the default one.

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>. See [[Nanoforge Texture Editing]] for more info.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

A single obj and mtl file will be outputted for each submesh. For example, if you exported kobel.ccmesh_pc (admiral kobel), you'd get 3 obj and 3 mtl files. The first one kobel_0.obj is the first submesh. In this case the first submesh is the highest quality one and the other two are lower detail ones used by the LOD (level of detail) system when you're far away from the mesh.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once it's done go to the "Output" folder inside your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with the re-mars-tered mod manager. RFG steam edition support will come in a future update.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory via <code>Tools > Open territory</code> on the main menu bar. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory. A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_W3p0erDiTj.jpg|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

===Localization strings===
While Nanoforge is only in English at the moment it can view localized strings used by RFG. RFG uses placeholder strings in many xtbls which are replaced with their localization at runtime. These are shown automatically in the xtbl editor. You can also view a list of all localized strings via <code>Tools > Localization > View localized strings</code>. You can search by placeholder by checking "Search by identifier". You must fully enter the identifier without typos for this to work since it's comparing it to a hash of the identifier stored in the games localization files.

[[File:Nanoforge_LocalizedStringList0.png|frameless|768px]]

===Scriptx viewer===
RFG uses an xml based scripting system called scriptx for some mission logic. The viewer is an attempt at making it easier to read scriptx files which can be difficult to understand. It's a low priority feature so it likely won't see changes for a while but was enabled in case it's useful to people editing scriptx files. You still need to edit them by hand but it can help make it clearer what a script is doing. You can access it via <code>View > Scriptx Viewer (WIP)</code>.

[[File:Nanoforge_ScriptxViewer0.png|frameless|768px]]

Nanoforge basics

2021-08-09T19:12:15Z

Moneyl: Add sections on localized string viewer and scriptx viewer

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This article only goes over the basics of each feature. See the other guides for more detailed explanations.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded anywhere and run Nanoforge.exe
*You should now see the start screen. On the left side it has the data path and the recent projects list. On the right it has the changelog. Nanoforge with attempt to auto detect your RFG install. If it says that your data path is invalid click the <code>Browse...</code> button and select your RFG data folder.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. You only need to create a project if you're editing files. You don't need one to view and export files. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the start page or <code>File > New project...</code> on the main menu bar. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: (Optional) Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: (Optional) Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge ProjectCreationExample3.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

If you prefer regex you can check the regex search option. Note that the regex search option is much slower than the default one.

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>. See [[Nanoforge Texture Editing]] for more info.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

A single obj and mtl file will be outputted for each submesh. For example, if you exported kobel.ccmesh_pc (admiral kobel), you'd get 3 obj and 3 mtl files. The first one kobel_0.obj is the first submesh. In this case the first submesh is the highest quality one and the other two are lower detail ones used by the LOD (level of detail) system when you're far away from the mesh.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once it's done go to the "Output" folder inside your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with the re-mars-tered mod manager. RFG steam edition support will come in a future update.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory via <code>Tools > Open territory</code> on the main menu bar. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory. A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_W3p0erDiTj.jpg|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

===Localization strings===
While Nanoforge is only in English at the moment it can view localized strings used by RFG. RFG uses placeholder strings in many xtbls which are replaced with their localization at runtime. These are shown automatically in the xtbl editor. You can also view a list of all localized strings via <code>Tools > Localization > View localized strings</code>. You can search by placeholder by checking "Search by identifier". You must fully enter the identifier without typos for this to work since it's comparing it to a hash of the identifier stored in the games localization files.

[[File:Nanoforge_LocalizedStringList0.png|frameless|768px]]

===Scriptx viewer===
RFG uses an xml based scripting system called scriptx for some mission logic. The viewer is an attempt at making it easier to read scriptx files which can be difficult to understand. It's a low priority feature so it likely won't see changes for a while but was enabled in case it's useful to people editing scriptx files. You still need to edit them by hand but it can help make it clearer what a script is doing. You can access it via <code>View > Scriptx Viewer (WIP)</code>.

[[File:Nanoforge_ScriptxViewer0.png|frameless|768px]]

File:Nanoforge ScriptxViewer0.png

2021-08-09T19:08:47Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge LocalizedStringList0.png

2021-08-09T18:56:05Z

Moneyl:

Nanoforge basics

2021-07-28T03:06:05Z

Moneyl: Update images and info

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This article only goes over the basics of each feature. See the other guides for more detailed explanations.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded anywhere and run Nanoforge.exe
*You should now see the start screen. On the left side it has the data path and the recent projects list. On the right it has the changelog. Nanoforge with attempt to auto detect your RFG install. If it says that your data path is invalid click the <code>Browse...</code> button and select your RFG data folder.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. You only need to create a project if you're editing files. You don't need one to view and export files. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the start page or <code>File > New project...</code> on the main menu bar. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: (Optional) Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: (Optional) Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge ProjectCreationExample3.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

If you prefer regex you can check the regex search option. Note that the regex search option is much slower than the default one.

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>. See [[Nanoforge Texture Editing]] for more info.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

A single obj and mtl file will be outputted for each submesh. For example, if you exported kobel.ccmesh_pc (admiral kobel), you'd get 3 obj and 3 mtl files. The first one kobel_0.obj is the first submesh. In this case the first submesh is the highest quality one and the other two are lower detail ones used by the LOD (level of detail) system when you're far away from the mesh.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once it's done go to the "Output" folder inside your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with the re-mars-tered mod manager. RFG steam edition support will come in a future update.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory via <code>Tools > Open territory</code> on the main menu bar. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory. A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_W3p0erDiTj.jpg|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

File:Nanoforge W3p0erDiTj.jpg

2021-07-28T02:47:54Z

Moneyl:

Nanoforge xtbl editing

2021-07-28T02:41:10Z

Moneyl: Update images and info

{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}}

==Introduction==
This tutorial shows how to edit xtbl files for RFG using [[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]. Xtbls are xml files used for configure the game. Many things in game such as vehicle and NPC stats are configured via xtbls. There are nearly 500 of them to edit. You can download the latest release [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases on github]. See [[Nanoforge basics]] for an intro to some of its other features.

==Create a project==
The first step of using Nanoforge is to create a project. A project tracks the changes made for a mod. You should create a different project for each mod. To do so, open Nanoforge and click the <code>New project</code> button. When you do you'll see the following popup.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample2.png|frameless|768px]]

* Name: The name of your mod. This is the name that your mod will show in the mod manager.
* Path: The folder path where you want to save your project files. I created a folder on my desktop called <code>Nanoforge Projects</code> for this purpose for easy access.
* Description: The description of your mod that's shown in the mod manager.
* Author: Your username, shown in the mod manager.

==Finding xtbls==
Most .xtbl files are in misc.vpp_pc. Table.vpp_pc has duplicates of the xtbls in misc.vpp_pc, but you shouldn't edit those as the mod manager disables table.vpp_pc. To see all xtbl files type <code>*.xtbl</code>
in the Nanoforge file explorer search bar. To open an xtbl file double click it in the file explorer.

==Editing xtbls==
Once you open an xtbl you should see something like this. Xtbls consist of one or many entries which can be organized into categories. In the image below you can see vehicles.xtbl. The left side lists all the entries and the right side lists all the values of the selected entry.

[[File:Nanoforge_XtblEdit_Vehicles_0_cropped.jpg|frameless|512px]]

Things to note:
* If you mouse over some values you'll see a tooltip describing what the value does. This feature relies on descriptions added to xtbls by the developers so many values don't have no description or very vague ones.
* Some values like <code>Vehicle group</code> in the image reference entries in other xtbls. You can click the button next to the entries name to jump to that xtbl in a new tab.

==Packaging your mod==
The final step of editing xtbls is to package your mod. Packaging generates a modinfo.xml file for the mod manager and updates any game files that were changed with your texture edits. To package your mod use <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once packaging is done you can use your mod. To get the output go to the project folder you chose earlier and look inside it's <code>Output</code> folder. This should have a mod manager mod ready for use. Copy the files to a new folder in your mods folder and it should be visible in the mod manager and ready to go.

Nanoforge Texture Editing

2021-07-28T02:39:14Z

Moneyl: Update images

{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}}

==Introduction==
This tutorial shows how to edit loading screen textures for RFG using [[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]. The same steps can be used to edit any other texture. You can download the latest release [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases on github]. See [[Nanoforge basics]] for an intro to some of its other features.

==Create a project==
The first step of creating mods with Nanoforge is to create a project. A project tracks the changes made for a mod. You should create a different project for each mod. To do so, open Nanoforge and click the <code>New project</code> button. When you do you'll see the following popup.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample2.png|frameless|768px]]

* Name: The name of your mod. This is the name that your mod will show in the mod manager.
* Path: The folder path where you want to save your project files. I created a folder on my desktop called <code>Nanoforge Projects</code> for this purpose for easy access.
* Description: The description of your mod that's shown in the mod manager.
* Author: Your username, shown in the mod manager.

==Finding textures==
RFG texture files have either .cpeg_pc or .cvbm_pc as their file extension. These are identical. You can find and open textures with the file explorer. By default it's on the left side of the screen in Nanoforge. The file explorer lists the many vpp_pc and str2_pc files. These are comparable to zip files in purpose, but customized for the game for shorter loading times. You can click on vpp_pc and str2_pc files in the file explorer to see what files are inside of them.

The game has many files so you can use the search bar to narrow down the contents of the file explorer. By default it shows files with names that contain the search. So for example, if you were to enter <code>mason</code> into the search bar you'd see a few files related to the main character. If you only want to see one type of file you can prefix your search with an asterisk <code>*</code>. For example, if you search <code>*.cvbm_pc</code> it will show all files with the .cvbm_pc extension. Note that this won't show textures with the .cpeg_pc extension, so you'll need to do a separate search for those. You can also check the "Hide unsupported formats" option to hide files that Nanoforge can't open.

Since we're looking for loading screen textures we'll search <code>loading</code> to narrow down our search. Interface.vpp_pc has some of the textures we're looking for. Find <code>ui_loading_dust_0.cvbm_pc</code> and double click it to continue.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample3.png|frameless|256px]]

==Texture window==
Once you open the texture you should see something like this. This texture file only has one subtexture, but they can contain many.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocumentExample1.jpg|frameless|768px]]

Things to note, from top to bottom:
* Export all: This will export all subtextures from the cpeg/cvbm to a folder of your choosing. This is useful when you're dealing a texture file with many subtextures. A few have over 100.
* Textures list: This is were subtextures are listed. You can right click on one to selectively export it or replace it with a new texture.
* Texture info: Info about the selected subtexture.
* Header info: General info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

===Exporting===
To export a subtexture right click it in the texture list and click <code>Export</code>. Alternatively, export all subtextures at once using the <code>Export all</code> button.

[[File:Nanoforge_ExportAllExample1.png|frameless|200px]]

===Editing===
Nanoforge exports and imports textures as .dds files, so you'll need an image editor that supports them. Two free applications for this are Paint.NET and GIMP. I recommend Paint.NET if you're unfamiliar with computer graphics/editing as it's easier to use while still being powerful. This tutorial won't go over image editing specifically as there are many resources online for that. As a simple example we'll flip the image upside down. To do this in Paint.NET open the exported texture and use <code>Image > Flip vertical</code> on the main menu bar.

Once you're done editing resave the texture as a dds file. It's suggested that you use the same DXTn version listed in the texture info section of Nanoforge as "Bitmap format". For the example image we've been using that's DXT1. Paint.NET has a window that lets you change this when you save your dds. When you're editing keep in mind the restrictions below.

====Texture restrictions====
* The width and height of textures imported into Nanoforge must be multiples of 4. This is a restriction for DXTn compressed textures. Most of RFGs textures are compressed using DXTn so Nanoforge applies this restriction for all imported textures.
* Nanoforge only supports certain dds compression methods. When saving your dds make sure you use one of the following: BC1/DXT1, BC2/DXT3, or BC3/DXT5. When you save a dds with paint.NET or GIMP a window will pop up letting you change the compression method. In paint.NET it will be the first toggle in the window, in GIMP it will be labelled "Compression"
* Nanoforge can only import dds files at the moment. Support for other common formats will be added in the future.

====Importing====
The next step is to import your edited texture into Nanoforge. To do this right click the subtexture you want to edit, click <code>Replace...</code>, and select your edited texture with the file browser that appears. If there are any import errors they'll show up in the log panel. The last step is to save your changes by pressing Ctrl + S or by clicking <code>File > Save file</code> on the main menu bar.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureImportExample.png|frameless|200px]]

In this image I right clicked on <code>ui_loading_dust_0.tga</code> to get the context menu to display, then clicked <code>Replace...</code>.

==Packaging your mod==
The final step of editing textures is to package your mod. Packaging generates a modinfo.xml file for the mod manager and updates any game files that were changed with your texture edits. To package your mod use <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once packaging is done you can use your mod. To get the output go to the project folder you chose earlier and look inside it's <code>Output</code> folder. This should have a mod manager mod ready for use. Copy the files to a new folder in your mods folder and it should be visible in the mod manager and ready to go.

==Additional info==
This section includes some other info which may be useful when editing textures.

===Where to find other textures===
====Characters====
You can find character meshes and textures in humans.vpp_pc. Most character textures are in the same str2_pc file as their meshes.

====Weapons & other items====
You can find most weapons and other items like canisters in items.vpp_pc. Most item textures are in the same str2_pc file as their meshes. If they aren't they might be in item_containers.cpeg_pc, which is in items.vpp_pc.

====Misc textures====
Many terrain and material textures can be found in terr01_precache.vpp_pc. Vehicle textures can be found in vehicles_r.vpp_pc and the equivalent dlc vpp_pc files. Building meshes can't be opened yet, but their textures can be. You can usually find building textures in the same str2_pc as their mesh. Building meshes have the .cchk_pc extension.

===Diffuse, normal, and specular maps===
You might notice that many textures have 3 subtextures, ending with _s, _d, and _n. These are special textures used by the game for lighting.

* Diffuse map: These are the textures ending with _d. They're the base color of the mesh used for lighting.
* Specular map: These are the textures ending with _s. They're used to determine how reflective or shiny a mesh is.
* Normal map: These are the textures ending with _n. They're used to make a meshes surface seem more detailed and interesting without needing huge polygon counts.

File:Nanoforge ProjectCreationExample3.png

2021-07-28T02:32:37Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge FileExplorerSearchExample2.png

2021-07-28T02:26:36Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge ProjectCreationExample2.png

2021-07-28T02:24:01Z

Moneyl:

Nanoforge Texture Editing

2021-06-06T15:04:59Z

Moneyl: Remove step of editing data path. As of v0.16.0 this is done automatically and the user will get a warning on the welcome screen if it's invalid.

{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}}

==Introduction==
This tutorial shows how to edit loading screen textures for RFG using [[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]. The same steps can be used to edit any other texture. You can download the latest release [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases on github]. See [[Nanoforge basics]] for an intro to some of its other features.

==Create a project==
The first step of creating mods with Nanoforge is to create a project. A project tracks the changes made for a mod. You should create a different project for each mod. To do so, open Nanoforge and click the <code>New project</code> button. When you do you'll see the following popup.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample1.png|frameless|512px]]

* Name: The name of your mod. This is the name that your mod will show in the mod manager.
* Path: The folder path where you want to save your project files. I created a folder on my desktop called <code>Nanoforge Projects</code> for this purpose for easy access.
* Description: The description of your mod that's shown in the mod manager.
* Author: Your username, shown in the mod manager.

==Finding textures==
RFG texture files have either .cpeg_pc or .cvbm_pc as their file extension. These are identical. You can find and open textures with the file explorer. By default it's on the left side of the screen in Nanoforge. The file explorer lists the many vpp_pc and str2_pc files. These are comparable to zip files in purpose, but customized for the game for shorter loading times. You can click on vpp_pc and str2_pc files in the file explorer to see what files are inside of them.

The game has many files so you can use the search bar to narrow down the contents of the file explorer. By default it shows files with names that contain the search. So for example, if you were to enter <code>mason</code> into the search bar you'd see a few files related to the main character. If you only want to see one type of file you can prefix your search with an asterisk <code>*</code>. For example, if you search <code>*.cvbm_pc</code> it will show all files with the .cvbm_pc extension. Note that this won't show textures with the .cpeg_pc extension, so you'll need to do a separate search for those. Since we're looking for loading screen textures we'll search <code>loading</code> to narrow down our search. Interface.vpp_pc has some of the textures we're looking for. Find <code>ui_loading_dust_0.cvbm_pc</code> and double click it to continue.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorerSearchExample.png|frameless|256px]]

==Texture window==
Once you open the texture you should see something like this. This texture file only has one subtexture, but they can contain many.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocumentExample1.jpg|frameless|768px]]

Things to note, from top to bottom:
* Save button: This will save any edits you've made to the texture in your project. If you close the texture window in Nanoforge without hitting save it won't edit the cpeg/cvbm. We'll be using this shortly.
* Export all: This will export all subtextures from the cpeg/cvbm to a folder of your choosing. This is useful when you're dealing a texture file with many subtextures. A few have over 100.
* Textures list: This is were subtextures are listed. You can right click on one to selectively export it or replace it with a new texture.
* Texture info: Info about the selected subtexture.
* Header info: General info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

===Exporting===
To export a subtexture right click it in the texture list and click <code>Export</code>. Alternatively, export all subtextures at once using the <code>Export all</code> button.

[[File:Nanoforge_ExportAllExample1.png|frameless|200px]]

===Editing===
Nanoforge exports and imports textures as .dds files, so you'll need an image editor that supports them. Two free applications for this are Paint.NET and GIMP. I recommend Paint.NET if you're unfamiliar with computer graphics/editing as it's easier to use while still being powerful. This tutorial won't go over image editing specifically as there are many resources online for that. As a simple example we'll flip the image upside down. To do this in Paint.NET open the exported texture and use <code>Image > Flip vertical</code> on the main menu bar.

Once you're done editing resave the texture as a dds file. It's suggested that you use the same DXTn version listed in the texture info section of Nanoforge as "Bitmap format". For the example image we've been using that's DXT1. Paint.NET has a window that lets you change this when you save your dds. When you're editing keep in mind the restrictions below.

====Texture restrictions====
* The width and height of textures imported into Nanoforge must be multiples of 4. This is a restriction for DXTn compressed textures. Most of RFGs textures are compressed using DXTn so Nanoforge applies this restriction for all imported textures.
* Nanoforge only supports certain dds compression methods. When saving your dds make sure you use one of the following: BC1/DXT1, BC2/DXT3, or BC3/DXT5. When you save a dds with paint.NET or GIMP a window will pop up letting you change the compression method. In paint.NET it will be the first toggle in the window, in GIMP it will be labelled "Compression"
* Nanoforge can only import dds files at the moment. Support for other common formats will be added in the future.

====Importing====
The next step is to import your edited texture into Nanoforge. To do this right click the subtexture you want to edit, click <code>Replace...</code>, and select your edited texture with the file browser that appears. If there are any import errors they'll show up in the log panel. The last step once you've imported your texture is to save your changes by clicking the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list. You need to click the save button for your changes to be preserved. To discard the changes close the texture window without clicking save.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureImportExample.png|frameless|200px]]

In this image I right clicked on <code>ui_loading_dust_0.tga</code> to get the context menu to display, then clicked <code>Replace...</code>.

==Packaging your mod==
The final step of editing textures is to package your mod. Packaging generates a modinfo.xml file for the mod manager and updates any game files that were changed with your texture edits. To package your mod use <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once packaging is done you can use your mod. To get the output go to the project folder you chose earlier and look inside it's <code>Output</code> folder. This should have a mod manager mod ready for use. Copy the files to a new folder in your mods folder and it should be visible in the mod manager and ready to go.

==Additional info==
This section includes some other info which may be useful when editing textures.

===Where to find other textures===
====Characters====
You can find character meshes and textures in humans.vpp_pc. Most character textures are in the same str2_pc file as their meshes.

====Weapons & other items====
You can find most weapons and other items like canisters in items.vpp_pc. Most item textures are in the same str2_pc file as their meshes. If they aren't they might be in item_containers.cpeg_pc, which is in items.vpp_pc.

====Misc textures====
Many terrain and material textures can be found in terr01_precache.vpp_pc. Vehicle textures can be found in vehicles_r.vpp_pc and the equivalent dlc vpp_pc files. Building meshes can't be opened yet, but their textures can be. You can usually find building textures in the same str2_pc as their mesh. Building meshes have the .cchk_pc extension.

===Diffuse, normal, and specular maps===
You might notice that many textures have 3 subtextures, ending with _s, _d, and _n. These are special textures used by the game for lighting.

* Diffuse map: These are the textures ending with _d. They're the base color of the mesh used for lighting.
* Specular map: These are the textures ending with _s. They're used to determine how reflective or shiny a mesh is.
* Normal map: These are the textures ending with _n. They're used to make a meshes surface seem more detailed and interesting without needing huge polygon counts.

Nanoforge xtbl editing

2021-06-06T15:04:33Z

Moneyl: Remove step of editing data path. As of v0.16.0 this is done automatically and the user will get a warning on the welcome screen if it's invalid.

{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}}

==Introduction==
This tutorial shows how to edit xtbl files for RFG using [[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]. Xtbls are xml files used for configure the game. Many things in game such as vehicle and NPC stats are configured via xtbls. There are nearly 500 of them to edit. You can download the latest release [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases on github]. See [[Nanoforge basics]] for an intro to some of its other features.

==Create a project==
The first step of using Nanoforge is to create a project. A project tracks the changes made for a mod. You should create a different project for each mod. To do so, open Nanoforge and click the <code>New project</code> button. When you do you'll see the following popup.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample1.png|frameless|512px]]

* Name: The name of your mod. This is the name that your mod will show in the mod manager.
* Path: The folder path where you want to save your project files. I created a folder on my desktop called <code>Nanoforge Projects</code> for this purpose for easy access.
* Description: The description of your mod that's shown in the mod manager.
* Author: Your username, shown in the mod manager.

==Finding xtbls==
Most .xtbl files are in misc.vpp_pc. Table.vpp_pc has duplicates of the xtbls in misc.vpp_pc, but you shouldn't edit those as the mod manager disables table.vpp_pc. To see all xtbl files type <code>*.xtbl</code>
in the Nanoforge file explorer search bar. To open an xtbl file double click it in the file explorer.

==Editing xtbls==
Once you open an xtbl you should see something like this. Xtbls consist of one or many entries which can be organized into categories. In the image below you can see vehicles.xtbl. The left side lists all the entries and the right side lists all the values of the selected entry.

[[File:Nanoforge_XtblEdit_Vehicles_0_cropped.jpg|frameless|512px]]

Things to note:
* If you mouse over some values you'll see a tooltip describing what the value does. This feature relies on descriptions added to xtbls by the developers so many values don't have no description or very vague ones.
* There's a manual save button at the top of the xtbl document. Xtbls also get auto saved if you package your mod or close the xtbl. A future update will have better indicators on if a file has unsaved progress.
* Some values like <code>Vehicle group</code> in the image reference entries in other xtbls. You can click the button next to the entries name to jump to that xtbl in a new tab.

==Packaging your mod==
The final step of editing xtbls is to package your mod. Packaging generates a modinfo.xml file for the mod manager and updates any game files that were changed with your texture edits. To package your mod use <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once packaging is done you can use your mod. To get the output go to the project folder you chose earlier and look inside it's <code>Output</code> folder. This should have a mod manager mod ready for use. Copy the files to a new folder in your mods folder and it should be visible in the mod manager and ready to go.

Nanoforge basics

2021-06-06T15:03:33Z

Moneyl: Update out of date info

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This is for quickly familiarizing yourself with it's features. More advanced explorations of each feature will be placed in separate articles when necessary.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
Installing Nanoforge is simple.
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded anywhere and run Nanoforge.exe
*You should now see the welcome screen with your games data path at the top. If there is an error above the data path please click the "Browse..." button to fix it or Nanoforge might not work correctly.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. At the time of writing this article only texture and xtbl editing are supported, but all future editing features will make use of the project system to track edits. You must create a project to use Nanoforge, even if you don't plan on editing anything. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the welcome page. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: (Optional) Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: (Optional) Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorer.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

If you prefer regex you can check the regex search option. Note that the regex search option is much slower than the default one.

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

A single obj and mtl file will be outputted for each submesh. For example, if you exported kobel.ccmesh_pc (admiral kobel), you'd get 3 obj and 3 mtl files. The first one kobel_0.obj is the first submesh. In this case the first submesh is the highest quality one and the other two are lower detail ones used by the LOD (level of detail) system when you're far away from the mesh.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once it's done go to the "Output" folder inside your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with the re-mars-tered mod manager. RFG steam edition support will come in a future update.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory via <code>Tools > Open territory</code> on the main menu bar. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory.

[[File:Nanoforge_OpenTerritory.png|frameless|256px]]

A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_TerritoryViewAnnotated.png|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

RF:G Editing Main Page

2021-05-27T02:59:09Z

Moneyl: Add link to Nanoforge xtbl editing article

This will serve as a landing page for all resources related to [[Red Faction: Guerrilla]] editing, including both the original '''Steam Edition''' and the '''Re-Mars-tered Edition'''.

==External Links==
===Community===
*[https://discord.gg/SJ9HUyeszx Red Faction Community Discord] - Active Red Faction series community Discord with #map-mod-development channel for community development discussion
===Downloads===
*[https://www.factionfiles.com/ff.php?action=files FactionFiles.com] - Custom mods, tools, patches, and reference material
*[https://www.nexusmods.com/redfactionguerilla/mods/ Nexus Mods] - Custom mods
==Documentation==
*[[RF:G Map organization]]
===Core Concepts===
*[[Red Faction: Guerrilla]]'s level editor is [[CLOE]], which is not publicly available.

===Red Faction: Guerrilla File Formats===
*[[.xtbl]]
*[[.vpp_pc]]
*[[.rigx]]
*[[.str2_pc]]
*[[.rfgzone_pc]]

===Red Faction: Guerrilla Tools===
*[[gibbed RF:G Tools]]
*[[RF:G Script Loader]]
*[[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]
*[[RF:G Mod Manager]]
*[[RF:G Texture Editor]]
*[[ChrisCrinkle RF:G Tools]]

==Tutorials==
*[[Nanoforge basics]] - Introduction to Nanoforge and its features.
*[[Nanoforge xtbl editing]] - How to edit [[.xtbl]] files in Nanoforge.
*[[Nanoforge Texture Editing]] - How to edit textures using Nanoforge.

[[Category: Red Faction: Guerrilla]]
[[Category: RF:G Editing]]

Nanoforge xtbl editing

2021-05-24T22:32:59Z

Moneyl: Created page with "{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}} ==Introduction== This tutorial shows how to edit xtbl files for RFG using Nanoforge. Xtbls are xml files used for configure the ga..."

{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}}

==Introduction==
This tutorial shows how to edit xtbl files for RFG using [[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]. Xtbls are xml files used for configure the game. Many things in game such as vehicle and NPC stats are configured via xtbls. There are nearly 500 of them to edit. You can download the latest release [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases on github]. Once downloaded unzip it and make sure the data path in Settings.xml is the path of your copy of RFG. See [[Nanoforge basics]] for an intro to some of its other features.

==Create a project==
The first step of using Nanoforge is to create a project. A project tracks the changes made for a mod. You should create a different project for each mod. To do so, open Nanoforge and click the <code>New project</code> button. When you do you'll see the following popup.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample1.png|frameless|512px]]

* Name: The name of your mod. This is the name that your mod will show in the mod manager.
* Path: The folder path where you want to save your project files. I created a folder on my desktop called <code>Nanoforge Projects</code> for this purpose for easy access.
* Description: The description of your mod that's shown in the mod manager.
* Author: Your username, shown in the mod manager.

==Finding xtbls==
Most .xtbl files are in misc.vpp_pc. Table.vpp_pc has duplicates of the xtbls in misc.vpp_pc, but you shouldn't edit those as the mod manager disables table.vpp_pc. To see all xtbl files type <code>*.xtbl</code>
in the Nanoforge file explorer search bar. To open an xtbl file double click it in the file explorer.

==Editing xtbls==
Once you open an xtbl you should see something like this. Xtbls consist of one or many entries which can be organized into categories. In the image below you can see vehicles.xtbl. The left side lists all the entries and the right side lists all the values of the selected entry.

[[File:Nanoforge_XtblEdit_Vehicles_0_cropped.jpg|frameless|512px]]

Things to note:
* If you mouse over some values you'll see a tooltip describing what the value does. This feature relies on descriptions added to xtbls by the developers so many values don't have no description or very vague ones.
* There's a manual save button at the top of the xtbl document. Xtbls also get auto saved if you package your mod or close the xtbl. A future update will have better indicators on if a file has unsaved progress.
* Some values like <code>Vehicle group</code> in the image reference entries in other xtbls. You can click the button next to the entries name to jump to that xtbl in a new tab.

==Packaging your mod==
The final step of editing xtbls is to package your mod. Packaging generates a modinfo.xml file for the mod manager and updates any game files that were changed with your texture edits. To package your mod use <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once packaging is done you can use your mod. To get the output go to the project folder you chose earlier and look inside it's <code>Output</code> folder. This should have a mod manager mod ready for use. Copy the files to a new folder in your mods folder and it should be visible in the mod manager and ready to go.

File:Nanoforge XtblEdit Vehicles 0 cropped.jpg

2021-05-24T22:28:01Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge XtblEdit Vehicles 0.jpg

2021-05-24T22:25:56Z

Moneyl:

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-26T23:45:53Z

Moneyl: Update mod packaging section. There's now a progress bar

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This is for quickly familiarizing yourself with it's features. More advanced explorations of each feature will be placed in separate articles when necessary.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
Installing Nanoforge is simple.
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded.
*In the unpacked folder look for <code>Settings.xml</code>. Make sure <code><DataPath></code> is set to the path of your RFG data folder.
*Run Nanoforge.exe.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. At the time of writing this article only texture editing is supported, but all future editing features will make use of the project system to track edits. You must create a project to use Nanoforge, even if you don't plan on editing anything. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the startup page. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorer.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

A single obj and mtl file will be outputted for each submesh. For example, if you exported kobel.ccmesh_pc (admiral kobel), you'd get 3 obj and 3 mtl files. The first one kobel_0.obj is the first submesh. In this case the first submesh is the highest quality one and the other two are lower detail ones used by the LOD (level of detail) system when you're far away from the mesh.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once it's done go to the "Output" folder inside your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with the re-mars-tered mod manager. RFG steam edition support will come in a future update.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory find the panel labelled <code>Zones</code>. If you don't see it you may have to make it visible by clicking <code>Tools > Zone list</code> on the main menu bar. You can open a territory by picking one from the drop town at the top of the panel and clicking <code>Open</code>. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory.

[[File:Nanoforge_OpenTerritory.png|frameless|256px]]

A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. Note that this is broken in version 0.6.0 and will be fixed in 0.7.0. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_TerritoryViewAnnotated.png|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

Nanoforge Texture Editing

2020-11-26T23:30:15Z

Moneyl: Remove note about mod packaging freeze, now has progress bar. List additional texture import restrictions. Add info about where to find some other types of textures and basic description of diffuse/specular/normal maps.

{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}}

==Introduction==
This tutorial shows how to edit loading screen textures for RFG using [[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]. The same steps can be used to edit any other texture. You can download the latest release [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases on github]. Once downloaded unzip it and make sure the data path in Settings.xml is the path of your copy of RFG. See [[Nanoforge basics]] for an intro to some of its other features.

==Create a project==
The first step of creating mods with Nanoforge is to create a project. A project tracks the changes made for a mod. You should create a different project for each mod. To do so, open Nanoforge and click the <code>New project</code> button. When you do you'll see the following popup.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample1.png|frameless|512px]]

* Name: The name of your mod. This is the name that your mod will show in the mod manager.
* Path: The folder path where you want to save your project files. I created a folder on my desktop called <code>Nanoforge Projects</code> for this purpose for easy access.
* Description: The description of your mod that's shown in the mod manager.
* Author: Your username, shown in the mod manager.

==Finding textures==
RFG texture files have either .cpeg_pc or .cvbm_pc as their file extension. These are identical. You can find and open textures with the file explorer. By default it's on the left side of the screen in Nanoforge. The file explorer lists the many vpp_pc and str2_pc files. These are comparable to zip files in purpose, but customized for the game for shorter loading times. You can click on vpp_pc and str2_pc files in the file explorer to see what files are inside of them.

The game has many files so you can use the search bar to narrow down the contents of the file explorer. By default it shows files with names that contain the search. So for example, if you were to enter <code>mason</code> into the search bar you'd see a few files related to the main character. If you only want to see one type of file you can prefix your search with an asterisk <code>*</code>. For example, if you search <code>*.cvbm_pc</code> it will show all files with the .cvbm_pc extension. Note that this won't show textures with the .cpeg_pc extension, so you'll need to do a separate search for those. Since we're looking for loading screen textures we'll search <code>loading</code> to narrow down our search. Interface.vpp_pc has some of the textures we're looking for. Find <code>ui_loading_dust_0.cvbm_pc</code> and double click it to continue.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorerSearchExample.png|frameless|256px]]

==Texture window==
Once you open the texture you should see something like this. This texture file only has one subtexture, but they can contain many.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocumentExample1.jpg|frameless|768px]]

Things to note, from top to bottom:
* Save button: This will save any edits you've made to the texture in your project. If you close the texture window in Nanoforge without hitting save it won't edit the cpeg/cvbm. We'll be using this shortly.
* Export all: This will export all subtextures from the cpeg/cvbm to a folder of your choosing. This is useful when you're dealing a texture file with many subtextures. A few have over 100.
* Textures list: This is were subtextures are listed. You can right click on one to selectively export it or replace it with a new texture.
* Texture info: Info about the selected subtexture.
* Header info: General info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

===Exporting===
To export a subtexture right click it in the texture list and click <code>Export</code>. Alternatively, export all subtextures at once using the <code>Export all</code> button.

[[File:Nanoforge_ExportAllExample1.png|frameless|200px]]

===Editing===
Nanoforge exports and imports textures as .dds files, so you'll need an image editor that supports them. Two free applications for this are Paint.NET and GIMP. I recommend Paint.NET if you're unfamiliar with computer graphics/editing as it's easier to use while still being powerful. This tutorial won't go over image editing specifically as there are many resources online for that. As a simple example we'll flip the image upside down. To do this in Paint.NET open the exported texture and use <code>Image > Flip vertical</code> on the main menu bar.

Once you're done editing resave the texture as a dds file. It's suggested that you use the same DXTn version listed in the texture info section of Nanoforge as "Bitmap format". For the example image we've been using that's DXT1. Paint.NET has a window that lets you change this when you save your dds. When you're editing keep in mind the restrictions below.

====Texture restrictions====
* The width and height of textures imported into Nanoforge must be multiples of 4. This is a restriction for DXTn compressed textures. Most of RFGs textures are compressed using DXTn so Nanoforge applies this restriction for all imported textures.
* Nanoforge only supports certain dds compression methods. When saving your dds make sure you use one of the following: BC1/DXT1, BC2/DXT3, or BC3/DXT5. When you save a dds with paint.NET or GIMP a window will pop up letting you change the compression method. In paint.NET it will be the first toggle in the window, in GIMP it will be labelled "Compression"
* Nanoforge can only import dds files at the moment. Support for other common formats will be added in the future.

====Importing====
The next step is to import your edited texture into Nanoforge. To do this right click the subtexture you want to edit, click <code>Replace...</code>, and select your edited texture with the file browser that appears. If there are any import errors they'll show up in the log panel. The last step once you've imported your texture is to save your changes by clicking the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list. You need to click the save button for your changes to be preserved. To discard the changes close the texture window without clicking save.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureImportExample.png|frameless|200px]]

In this image I right clicked on <code>ui_loading_dust_0.tga</code> to get the context menu to display, then clicked <code>Replace...</code>.

==Packaging your mod==
The final step of editing textures is to package your mod. Packaging generates a modinfo.xml file for the mod manager and updates any game files that were changed with your texture edits. To package your mod use <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Once packaging is done you can use your mod. To get the output go to the project folder you chose earlier and look inside it's <code>Output</code> folder. This should have a mod manager mod ready for use. Copy the files to a new folder in your mods folder and it should be visible in the mod manager and ready to go.

==Additional info==
This section includes some other info which may be useful when editing textures.

===Where to find other textures===
====Characters====
You can find character meshes and textures in humans.vpp_pc. Most character textures are in the same str2_pc file as their meshes.

====Weapons & other items====
You can find most weapons and other items like canisters in items.vpp_pc. Most item textures are in the same str2_pc file as their meshes. If they aren't they might be in item_containers.cpeg_pc, which is in items.vpp_pc.

====Misc textures====
Many terrain and material textures can be found in terr01_precache.vpp_pc. Vehicle textures can be found in vehicles_r.vpp_pc and the equivalent dlc vpp_pc files. Building meshes can't be opened yet, but their textures can be. You can usually find building textures in the same str2_pc as their mesh. Building meshes have the .cchk_pc extension.

===Diffuse, normal, and specular maps===
You might notice that many textures have 3 subtextures, ending with _s, _d, and _n. These are special textures used by the game for lighting.

* Diffuse map: These are the textures ending with _d. They're the base color of the mesh used for lighting.
* Specular map: These are the textures ending with _s. They're used to determine how reflective or shiny a mesh is.
* Normal map: These are the textures ending with _n. They're used to make a meshes surface seem more detailed and interesting without needing huge polygon counts.

Nanoforge Texture Editing

2020-11-25T06:44:05Z

Moneyl: Link Nanoforge basics page

{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}}

==Introduction==
This tutorial shows how to edit loading screen textures for RFG using [[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]. The same steps can be used to edit any other textures. You can download the latest release [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases on github]. Once downloaded unzip it and make sure the data path in Settings.xml is the path of your copy of RFG. See [[Nanoforge basics]] for an intro to some of its other features.

==Create a project==
The first step of creating mods with Nanoforge is to create a project. A project tracks the changes made for a mod. You should create a different project for each mod. To do so, open Nanoforge and click the <code>New project</code> button. When you do you'll see the following popup.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample1.png|frameless|512px]]

* Name: The name of your mod. This is the name that your mod will show in the mod manager.
* Path: The folder path where you want to save your project files. I created a folder on my desktop called <code>Nanoforge Projects</code> for this purpose for easy access.
* Description: The description of your mod that's shown in the mod manager.
* Author: Your username, shown in the mod manager.

==Finding textures==
RFG texture files have either .cpeg_pc or .cvbm_pc as their file extension. These are identical. You can find and open textures with the file explorer. By default it's on the left side of the screen in Nanoforge. The file explorer lists the many vpp_pc and str2_pc files. These are comparable to zip files in purpose, but customized for the game for shorter loading times. You can click on vpp_pc and str2_pc files in the file explorer to see what files are inside of them.

The game has many files so you can use the search bar to narrow down the contents of the file explorer. By default it shows files with names that contain the search. So for example, if you were to enter <code>mason</code> into the search bar you'd see a few files related to the main character. If you only want to see one type of file you can prefix your search with an asterisk <code>*</code>. For example, if you search <code>*.cvbm_pc</code> it will show all files with the .cvbm_pc extension. Note that this won't show textures with the .cpeg_pc extension, so you'll need to do a separate search for those. Since we're looking for loading screen textures we'll search <code>loading</code> to narrow down our search. Interface.vpp_pc has some of the textures we're looking for. Find <code>ui_loading_dust_0.cvbm_pc</code> and double click it to continue.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorerSearchExample.png|frameless|256px]]

==Texture window==
Once you open the texture you should see something like this. This texture file only has one subtexture, but they can contain many.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocumentExample1.jpg|frameless|768px]]

Things to note, from top to bottom:
* Save button: This will save any edits you've made to the texture in your project. If you close the texture window in Nanoforge without hitting save it won't edit the cpeg/cvbm. We'll be using this shortly.
* Export all: This will export all subtextures from the cpeg/cvbm to a folder of your choosing. This is useful when you're dealing a texture file with many subtextures. A few have over 100.
* Textures list: This is were subtextures are listed. You can right click on one to selectively export it or replace it with a new texture.
* Texture info: Info about the selected subtexture.
* Header info: General info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

===Exporting===
To export a subtexture right click it in the texture list and click <code>Export</code>. Alternatively, export all subtextures at once using the <code>Export all</code> button.

[[File:Nanoforge_ExportAllExample1.png|frameless|200px]]

===Editing===
Nanoforge exports and imports textures as .dds files, so you'll need an image editor that supports them. Two free applications for this are Paint.NET and GIMP. I recommend Paint.NET if you're unfamiliar with computer graphics/editing as it's easier to use while still being powerful. This tutorial won't go over image editing specifically as there are many resources online for that. As a simple example we'll flip the image upside down. To do this in Paint.NET open the exported texture and use <code>Image > Flip vertical</code> on the main menu bar.

Once you're done editing resave the texture as a dds file. It's suggested that you use the same DXTn version listed in the texture info section of Nanoforge as "Bitmap format". For the example image we've been using that's DXT1. Paint.NET has a window that lets you change this when you save your dds. When you're editing keep in mind the restrictions below.

====Texture restrictions====
* The width and height of textures imported into Nanoforge must be multiples of 4. This is a restriction for DXTn compressed textures. Most of RFGs textures are compressed using DXTn so Nanoforge applies this restriction for all imported textures.

====Importing====
The next step is to import your edited texture into Nanoforge. To do this right click the subtexture you want to edit, click <code>Replace...</code>, and select your edited texture with the file browser that appears. If there are any import errors they'll show up in the log panel. The last step once you've imported your texture is to save your changes by clicking the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list. You need to click the save button for your changes to be preserved. To discard the changes close the texture window without clicking save.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureImportExample.png|frameless|200px]]

==Packaging your mod==
The final step of editing textures is to package your mod. Packaging generates a modinfo.xml file for the mod manager and updates any game files that were changed with your texture edits. To package your mod use <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. At the time of writing this there is no progress bar for mod packaging so it may appear that Nanoforge is frozen during packaging. This is expected and will be fixed in the next update. Packaging should take 10-30 seconds depending on how many textures you've edited. If you've edited a large amount it could take a few minutes. Packaging speed will also be improved in the future.

Once packaging is complete you'll be able to use the UI again. To get the output go to the project folder you chose earlier and look inside it's <code>Output</code> folder. This should have a mod manager mod ready for use. Copy the files to a new folder in your mods folder and it should be visible in the mod manager and ready to go.

RF:G Editing Main Page

2020-11-25T06:41:10Z

Moneyl: Add link to nanoforge texturing editing tutorial

This will serve as a landing page for all resources related to [[Red Faction: Guerrilla]] editing.

==External Links==
===Community===
*[https://discord.gg/SJ9HUyeszx Red Faction Community Discord] - Active Red Faction series community Discord with #map-mod-development channel for community development discussion
*[https://discord.gg/redfaction Official Red Faction Discord] - Discord owned by THQ Nordic
===Downloads===
*[https://www.factionfiles.com/ff.php?action=files FactionFiles.com] - Custom mods, tools, patches, and reference material
*[https://www.nexusmods.com/redfactionguerilla/mods/ Nexus Mods] - Custom mods
==Documentation==
===Core Concepts===
*[[Red Faction: Guerrilla]]'s level editor is [[CLOE]], which is not publicly available.
*[[RF:G Map organization]]

===Red Faction: Guerrilla File Formats===
*[[.xtbl]]
*[[.vpp_pc]]
*[[.rigx]]
*[[.str2_pc]]
*[[.rfgzone_pc]]

===Red Faction: Guerrilla Tools===
*[[gibbed RF:G Tools]]
*[[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]
*[[RF:G Mod Manager]]
*[[RF:G Texture Editor]]
*[[ChrisCrinkle RF:G Tools]]

==Tutorials==
*[[Nanoforge basics]] - Introduction to Nanoforge and its features.
*[[Nanoforge Texture Editing]] - Explains how to edit textures using Nanoforge.

[[Category: Red Faction: Guerrilla]]
[[Category: RF:G Editing]]

Nanoforge Texture Editing

2020-11-25T06:39:32Z

Moneyl: Tutorial on how to edit textures using Nanoforge. Will give it another pass soon to check for any spelling errors or unclear/vague areas.

{{RFGTutorial|Moneyl}}

==Introduction==
This tutorial shows how to edit loading screen textures for RFG using [[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]. The same steps can be used to edit any other textures. You can download the latest release [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases on github]. Once downloaded unzip it and make sure the data path in Settings.xml is the path of your copy of RFG.

==Create a project==
The first step of creating mods with Nanoforge is to create a project. A project tracks the changes made for a mod. You should create a different project for each mod. To do so, open Nanoforge and click the <code>New project</code> button. When you do you'll see the following popup.

[[File:Nanoforge_ProjectCreationExample1.png|frameless|512px]]

* Name: The name of your mod. This is the name that your mod will show in the mod manager.
* Path: The folder path where you want to save your project files. I created a folder on my desktop called <code>Nanoforge Projects</code> for this purpose for easy access.
* Description: The description of your mod that's shown in the mod manager.
* Author: Your username, shown in the mod manager.

==Finding textures==
RFG texture files have either .cpeg_pc or .cvbm_pc as their file extension. These are identical. You can find and open textures with the file explorer. By default it's on the left side of the screen in Nanoforge. The file explorer lists the many vpp_pc and str2_pc files. These are comparable to zip files in purpose, but customized for the game for shorter loading times. You can click on vpp_pc and str2_pc files in the file explorer to see what files are inside of them.

The game has many files so you can use the search bar to narrow down the contents of the file explorer. By default it shows files with names that contain the search. So for example, if you were to enter <code>mason</code> into the search bar you'd see a few files related to the main character. If you only want to see one type of file you can prefix your search with an asterisk <code>*</code>. For example, if you search <code>*.cvbm_pc</code> it will show all files with the .cvbm_pc extension. Note that this won't show textures with the .cpeg_pc extension, so you'll need to do a separate search for those. Since we're looking for loading screen textures we'll search <code>loading</code> to narrow down our search. Interface.vpp_pc has some of the textures we're looking for. Find <code>ui_loading_dust_0.cvbm_pc</code> and double click it to continue.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorerSearchExample.png|frameless|256px]]

==Texture window==
Once you open the texture you should see something like this. This texture file only has one subtexture, but they can contain many.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocumentExample1.jpg|frameless|768px]]

Things to note, from top to bottom:
* Save button: This will save any edits you've made to the texture in your project. If you close the texture window in Nanoforge without hitting save it won't edit the cpeg/cvbm. We'll be using this shortly.
* Export all: This will export all subtextures from the cpeg/cvbm to a folder of your choosing. This is useful when you're dealing a texture file with many subtextures. A few have over 100.
* Textures list: This is were subtextures are listed. You can right click on one to selectively export it or replace it with a new texture.
* Texture info: Info about the selected subtexture.
* Header info: General info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

===Exporting===
To export a subtexture right click it in the texture list and click <code>Export</code>. Alternatively, export all subtextures at once using the <code>Export all</code> button.

[[File:Nanoforge_ExportAllExample1.png|frameless|200px]]

===Editing===
Nanoforge exports and imports textures as .dds files, so you'll need an image editor that supports them. Two free applications for this are Paint.NET and GIMP. I recommend Paint.NET if you're unfamiliar with computer graphics/editing as it's easier to use while still being powerful. This tutorial won't go over image editing specifically as there are many resources online for that. As a simple example we'll flip the image upside down. To do this in Paint.NET open the exported texture and use <code>Image > Flip vertical</code> on the main menu bar.

Once you're done editing resave the texture as a dds file. It's suggested that you use the same DXTn version listed in the texture info section of Nanoforge as "Bitmap format". For the example image we've been using that's DXT1. Paint.NET has a window that lets you change this when you save your dds. When you're editing keep in mind the restrictions below.

====Texture restrictions====
* The width and height of textures imported into Nanoforge must be multiples of 4. This is a restriction for DXTn compressed textures. Most of RFGs textures are compressed using DXTn so Nanoforge applies this restriction for all imported textures.

====Importing====
The next step is to import your edited texture into Nanoforge. To do this right click the subtexture you want to edit, click <code>Replace...</code>, and select your edited texture with the file browser that appears. If there are any import errors they'll show up in the log panel. The last step once you've imported your texture is to save your changes by clicking the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list. You need to click the save button for your changes to be preserved. To discard the changes close the texture window without clicking save.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureImportExample.png|frameless|200px]]

==Packaging your mod==
The final step of editing textures is to package your mod. Packaging generates a modinfo.xml file for the mod manager and updates any game files that were changed with your texture edits. To package your mod use <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. At the time of writing this there is no progress bar for mod packaging so it may appear that Nanoforge is frozen during packaging. This is expected and will be fixed in the next update. Packaging should take 10-30 seconds depending on how many textures you've edited. If you've edited a large amount it could take a few minutes. Packaging speed will also be improved in the future.

Once packaging is complete you'll be able to use the UI again. To get the output go to the project folder you chose earlier and look inside it's <code>Output</code> folder. This should have a mod manager mod ready for use. Copy the files to a new folder in your mods folder and it should be visible in the mod manager and ready to go.

File:Nanoforge TextureImportExample.png

2020-11-25T06:20:34Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge ExportAllExample1.png

2020-11-25T06:05:06Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge TextureDocumentExample1.jpg

2020-11-25T05:54:10Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge FileExplorerSearchExample.png

2020-11-25T05:51:27Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge ProjectCreationExample1.png

2020-11-25T05:26:27Z

Moneyl:

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-22T20:43:50Z

Moneyl: Mention submeshes and low lod meshes in mesh export section

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This is for quickly familiarizing yourself with it's features. More advanced explorations of each feature will be placed in separate articles when necessary.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
Installing Nanoforge is simple.
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded.
*In the unpacked folder look for <code>Settings.xml</code>. Make sure <code><DataPath></code> is set to the path of your RFG data folder.
*Run Nanoforge.exe.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. At the time of writing this article only texture editing is supported, but all future editing features will make use of the project system to track edits. You must create a project to use Nanoforge, even if you don't plan on editing anything. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the startup page. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorer.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

A single obj and mtl file will be outputted for each submesh. For example, if you exported kobel.ccmesh_pc (admiral kobel), you'd get 3 obj and 3 mtl files. The first one kobel_0.obj is the first submesh. In this case the first submesh is the highest quality one and the other two are lower detail ones used by the LOD (level of detail) system when you're far away from the mesh.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Depending on how many edits you've made Nanoforge may freeze up for a minute or two. This is expected, just give it time. A future update will have a progress bar to make it more clear what's going on. Once it's done you should be able to access the UI again. Go to the "Output" folder of your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with Red Faction Guerilla Re-mars-tered. RFG steam edition support will come in a future update.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory find the panel labelled <code>Zones</code>. If you don't see it you may have to make it visible by clicking <code>Tools > Zone list</code> on the main menu bar. You can open a territory by picking one from the drop town at the top of the panel and clicking <code>Open</code>. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory.

[[File:Nanoforge_OpenTerritory.png|frameless|256px]]

A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. Note that this is broken in version 0.6.0 and will be fixed in 0.7.0. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_TerritoryViewAnnotated.png|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

RF:G Editing Main Page

2020-11-21T05:04:42Z

Moneyl: Link Nanoforge basics page

This will serve as a landing page for all resources related to [[Red Faction: Guerrilla]] editing.

==External Links==
===Community===
*[https://discord.gg/SJ9HUyeszx Red Faction Community Discord] - Active Red Faction series community Discord with #map-mod-development channel for community development discussion
*[https://discord.gg/redfaction Official Red Faction Discord] - Discord owned by THQ Nordic
===Downloads===
*[https://www.factionfiles.com/ff.php?action=files FactionFiles.com] - Custom mods, tools, patches, and reference material
*[https://www.nexusmods.com/redfactionguerilla/mods/ Nexus Mods] - Custom mods
==Documentation==
===Core Concepts===
*[[Red Faction: Guerrilla]]'s level editor is [[CLOE]], which is not publicly available.
*[[RF:G Map organization]]

===Red Faction: Guerrilla File Formats===
*[[.xtbl]]
*[[.vpp_pc]]
*[[.rigx]]
*[[.str2_pc]]
*[[.rfgzone_pc]]

===Red Faction: Guerrilla Tools===
*[[gibbed RF:G Tools]]
*[[Nanoforge (Tool)|Nanoforge]]
*[[RF:G Mod Manager]]
*[[RF:G Texture Editor]]
*[[ChrisCrinkle RF:G Tools]]

==Tutorials==
*[[Nanoforge basics]] - Introduction to Nanoforge and its features.

[[Category: Red Faction: Guerrilla]]
[[Category: RF:G Editing]]

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-21T04:57:48Z

Moneyl: Add a section on mod packaging + modinfo generation

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This is for quickly familiarizing yourself with it's features. More advanced explorations of each feature will be placed in separate articles when necessary.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
Installing Nanoforge is simple.
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded.
*In the unpacked folder look for <code>Settings.xml</code>. Make sure <code><DataPath></code> is set to the path of your RFG data folder.
*Run Nanoforge.exe.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. At the time of writing this article only texture editing is supported, but all future editing features will make use of the project system to track edits. You must create a project to use Nanoforge, even if you don't plan on editing anything. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the startup page. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorer.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Mod packaging===
Once you're done editing textures you can use Nanoforge to repack the editing files and generate a modinfo.xml for you. To do this, simply click <code>File > Package mod</code> on the main menu bar. Depending on how many edits you've made Nanoforge may freeze up for a minute or two. This is expected, just give it time. A future update will have a progress bar to make it more clear what's going on. Once it's done you should be able to access the UI again. Go to the "Output" folder of your project folder to see the modinfo.xml and any files that it relies on. These are ready for use with Red Faction Guerilla Re-mars-tered. RFG steam edition support will come in a future update.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory find the panel labelled <code>Zones</code>. If you don't see it you may have to make it visible by clicking <code>Tools > Zone list</code> on the main menu bar. You can open a territory by picking one from the drop town at the top of the panel and clicking <code>Open</code>. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory.

[[File:Nanoforge_OpenTerritory.png|frameless|256px]]

A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. Note that this is broken in version 0.6.0 and will be fixed in 0.7.0. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_TerritoryViewAnnotated.png|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

Nanoforge (Tool)

2020-11-21T04:24:04Z

Moneyl: Remove underscore from nanoforge

{{RFGEditing}}

==Nanoforge==
Nanoforge is a modding tool for Red Faction Guerrilla which allows you to view RFGs file formats and aims to make modding easier. You can download it from [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. See [[Nanoforge basics]] for an introduction to Nanoforge and its features.

Nanoforge (Tool)

2020-11-21T04:23:15Z

Moneyl: Basic description of Nanoforge. Linked github and intro to nanoforge guide.

{{RFGEditing}}

==Nanoforge==
Nanoforge is a modding tool for Red Faction Guerrilla which allows you to view RFGs file formats and aims to make modding easier. You can download it from [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. See [[Nanoforge_basics]] for an introduction to Nanoforge and its features.

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-21T04:05:58Z

Moneyl: Add sentences about camera movement

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This is for quickly familiarizing yourself with it's features. More advanced explorations of each feature will be placed in separate articles when necessary.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
Installing Nanoforge is simple.
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded.
*In the unpacked folder look for <code>Settings.xml</code>. Make sure <code><DataPath></code> is set to the path of your RFG data folder.
*Run Nanoforge.exe.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. At the time of writing this article only texture editing is supported, but all future editing features will make use of the project system to track edits. You must create a project to use Nanoforge, even if you don't plan on editing anything. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the startup page. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorer.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

====Camera movement====
To move the camera hold down the right mouse button over the 3D view and use WASD to move around. Holding down shift while moving will cause the camera to move faster. Pressing Q and E will move the camera directly up and directly down respectively.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory find the panel labelled <code>Zones</code>. If you don't see it you may have to make it visible by clicking <code>Tools > Zone list</code> on the main menu bar. You can open a territory by picking one from the drop town at the top of the panel and clicking <code>Open</code>. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory.

[[File:Nanoforge_OpenTerritory.png|frameless|256px]]

A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Camera movement is the same as the mesh viewer. See [[#Camera_movement|camera movement]]. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. Note that this is broken in version 0.6.0 and will be fixed in 0.7.0. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_TerritoryViewAnnotated.png|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-20T18:37:19Z

Moneyl: Replace redundant info with something more useful

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This is for quickly familiarizing yourself with it's features. More advanced explorations of each feature will be placed in separate articles when necessary.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
Installing Nanoforge is simple.
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded.
*In the unpacked folder look for <code>Settings.xml</code>. Make sure <code><DataPath></code> is set to the path of your RFG data folder.
*Run Nanoforge.exe.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. At the time of writing this article only texture editing is supported, but all future editing features will make use of the project system to track edits. You must create a project to use Nanoforge, even if you don't plan on editing anything. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the startup page. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorer.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it can list object properties when viewing territories (see map viewing section below).

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory find the panel labelled <code>Zones</code>. If you don't see it you may have to make it visible by clicking <code>Tools > Zone list</code> on the main menu bar. You can open a territory by picking one from the drop town at the top of the panel and clicking <code>Open</code>. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory.

[[File:Nanoforge_OpenTerritory.png|frameless|256px]]

A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. Note that this is broken in version 0.6.0 and will be fixed in 0.7.0. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_TerritoryViewAnnotated.png|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-20T18:16:10Z

Moneyl: Add territory view section. Still need to do a spelling and link pass on this document.

{{RFGEditing}}

This page goes over how to install Nanoforge and it's basic features. This is for quickly familiarizing yourself with it's features. More advanced explorations of each feature will be placed in separate articles when necessary.

==Installation==
===Download===
Nanoforge releases are posted on [https://github.com/Moneyl/Nanoforge/releases github]. Multiple releases will be listed. You should always download the most recent release. To download it, look for the <code>▸Assets</code> button(1), click it, and download the first zip file listed under it(2).

[[File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png|frameless|768px]]

===Install===
Installing Nanoforge is simple.
*Unpack the zip file you downloaded.
*In the unpacked folder look for <code>Settings.xml</code>. Make sure <code><DataPath></code> is set to the path of your RFG data folder.
*Run Nanoforge.exe.

==Features==
This section gives a quick rundown of each of Nanoforge's features.

===Projects===
Nanoforge uses projects to track edits made to game files. The idea is to use a single project per mod. At the time of writing this article only texture editing is supported, but all future editing features will make use of the project system to track edits. You must create a project to use Nanoforge, even if you don't plan on editing anything. To create a new project click <code>New project</code> in the startup page. Fill out all the info on the popup and click <code>Create</code>. Below are each of the fields to fill in:
*Name: The name of the project. Used to name the project file and as the name in any modinfo.xml files it generates.
*Path: Path to the folder that the project should be created in.
*Description: Description of what the mod is. Used in the description field of modinfo.xml.
*Author: Author(s) of the mod. Used in the author filed of modinfo.xml.
*Create project folder: If unchecked then the project files are placed directly in the folder chosen for path. If checked a folder with the entered name will be created in that folder.

===File explorer===
The file explorer lets you view the contents of vpp_pc and str2_pc files without extracting them manually. You can double click supported file formats like textures to open them. If you single click a vpp_pc or str2_pc file it will expand to show it's contents. Extra info about the file will be shown in the properties panel for some files when single clicking them.

[[File:Nanoforge_FileExplorer.png|frameless|256px]]

====Search====
You can use the search bar to limit which files are shown in the file explorer. By default it will only show files with names that contain the search term. You can also use some special characters to specialize your search behavior:
*Start your search with *: Will only show files with names that end with whatever comes after *
*End your search with *: Will only show files with names that start with whatever comes before *

===Properties panel===
The properties panel sometimes will show additional info about files selected in the file explorer. It also may be used by other UI panels to show additional info. For example, it shows some info about vpp_pc and str2_pc files.

[[File:Nanoforge_PropertiesPanel2.png|frameless|256px]]

===Textures===
You can open texture files by double clicking them in the file explorer. Textures are split into two files. Either a cpeg_pc and gpeg_pc file pair or a cvbm_pc and gvbm_pc file pair. You can double click any of these to open a texture. A single RFG texture file can contain multiple textures, which we'll refer to as subtextures. Info about the selected subtexture will be shown below the subtexture list.

[[File:Nanoforge_TextureDocument.png|frameless|768px]]

Above is an example of what you might see if you open a texture file. On the sidebar to the left there a few things, in order:
*The subtexture list. Click on one to see more info about it below.
*Texture info. This is info about the selected subtexture.
*Header info. This is general info about the cpeg/cvbm file.

====Exporting textures====
Textures can be exported to files you can edit with common image editors like Paint.NET, GIMP, or Photoshop. Currently textures can only be exported as .dds files. You can export single subtextures by right clicking one of them and clicking <code>Export...</code>. You can export all subtextures at once with the <code>Export all...</code> button.

====Editing textures====
Textures can be edited by imported textures you've edited externally. Currently it can only import .dds files. You do this by right clicking a subtexture, clicking <code>Replace...</code> and selecting the file you want to replace the subtexture with. Once you do this it's critical that you press the <code>Save</code> button above the subtexture list to save your edit. This edit will be automatically saved to your current project when you click <code>Save</code>.

===Meshes===
Nanoforge supports viewing and exporting .csmesh_pc (static mesh) and .ccmesh_pc (character mesh) files. Just like textures, meshes consist of two files. Every csmesh_pc file is paired with a gsmesh_pc file, and every ccmesh_pc file is paired with a gcmesh_pc file. You can click any of them to open a mesh. When you open a mesh you'll first see a blank space. Meshes are loaded on a background thread so it may take a few seconds for the mesh to be loaded and for it's textures to show up. Before its textures are found or if the textures cant be found you might see textures from previously loaded meshes applied to the mesh.

[[File:Nanoforge_MeshDocument.png|frameless|512px]]

Above is what you might see if you open a mesh file. There's a few parts of the UI to note, in order:
* The camera button. This lets you control camera settings like speed and location. You can move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and using WASD to move around. If this doesn't work try left clicking on the mesh 3D view. Only the most recently selected mesh reacts to camera controls so if you have several open it'll only move one camera.
* The scene button. This has some rendering settings for the mesh such as scale and lighting color/intensity.
* The info button. This shows some additional info about the mesh such as vertex format, and submeshes. For many meshes the submeshes are lower detail versions of the mesh so by default they'll be hidden. Submeshes are loaded one by one so they may not all be visible until loading is finished.
* The export button. This lets you export the mesh and it's textures to a .obj file, which can be imported into tools like blender.
* The status bar. This shows the loading status and percentage. It will show <code>Done! ✓</code> once loading is complete.

====Exporting meshes====
To export a mesh:
* Wait for it to finish loading. The status bar will show <code>Done! ✓</code> and 100%.
* Click the export button. Top left of the document, button furthest to the right.
* Select a folder to export the mesh and it's textures to and click <code>Export</code>. This will export the mesh as a .obj file, and export it's textures as .dds files. You can import the obj and it's textures with blender. Note that if you use the built in windows 10 3D viewer to open the obj that it won't show textures as it doesn't support dds.

===Map view===
Nanoforge has partial support for viewing maps like the main campaign map. We'll be referring to them as territories as that's how RFG groups together many zones. See [[RF:G Map organization]] for more details on how RFG maps are structured. To open a territory find the panel labelled <code>Zones</code>. If you don't see it you may have to make it visible by clicking <code>Tools > Zone list</code> on the main menu bar. You can open a territory by picking one from the drop town at the top of the panel and clicking <code>Open</code>. Terr01 is the main campaign map territory.

[[File:Nanoforge_OpenTerritory.png|frameless|256px]]

A new document should appear when you open a new territory. Terrain is loaded in the background so you'll see separate blocks of terrain pop into view as they load. Bounding boxes are drawn for zone objects. Note that this is broken in version 0.6.0 and will be fixed in 0.7.0. With a territory open you should see new information on the zone panel and the zone objects panel. You can dock panels by clicking and dragging on their titles. It's recommended that you dock the zone object list below the zone list so you can see both at once.

Below is an annotated image of information you can view about territories plus descriptions for each annotation.

[[File:Nanoforge_TerritoryViewAnnotated.png|frameless|1024px]]

* First, in the top left is the zone list. Territories are made up of one or more zones which in turn have many zone objects. Click a zone to see its object in the zone objects panel (bottom left). By default the zone with the most objects is selected. In this case that's <code>04_06</code>. Note that each zone corresponds to a rfgzone_pc file. So, for example, <code>04_06</code> is really terr01_04_06.rfgzone_pc.
* Next, bottom left is the zone objects list. This lists the objects inside the selected zone. Click an object to see its properties in the properties panel. Some objects have child objects, denoted by having a triangle in front of their name which you can click to expand them. You can filter objects by type inside the filters header. By default some very common objects like navpoints are hidden.
* Finally, in the top right is the properties panel. This shows the properties of the selected zone object.

File:Nanoforge TerritoryViewAnnotated.png

2020-11-20T18:07:24Z

Moneyl: Nanoforge territory view with labels for each important panel. Used in Nanoforge basics guide with additional details for each annotation.

== Summary ==
Nanoforge territory view with labels for each important panel. Used in Nanoforge basics guide with additional details for each annotation.

File:Nanoforge OpenTerritory.png

2020-11-20T17:55:00Z

Moneyl:

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-20T17:47:52Z

Moneyl: Add explicit mesh exporting section to make it easier to find.

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-20T17:42:24Z

Moneyl: Finish first pass on mesh viewing section. Fix line following texture image being inline with it instead of below.

File:Nanoforge MeshDocument.png

2020-11-20T17:38:45Z

Moneyl:

Nanoforge basics

2020-11-20T17:37:00Z

Moneyl: Initial version of page. Saving now to avoid losing it in case of hardware failure. Will finish today.

File:Nanoforge TextureDocument.png

2020-11-20T17:07:11Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge PropertiesPanel2.png

2020-11-20T16:53:59Z

Moneyl: Re-upload cropped version of image. Uploaded as separate file since the upload page wouldn't let me overwrite

== Summary ==
Re-upload cropped version of image. Uploaded as separate file since the upload page wouldn't let me overwrite

File:Nanoforge PropertiesPanel.png

2020-11-20T16:04:57Z

Moneyl:

File:Nanoforge FileExplorer.png

2020-11-20T16:01:07Z

Moneyl:

File:NanoforgeDownloadStepsAnnotated.png

2020-11-20T15:18:19Z

Moneyl: Steps for downloading Nanoforge with labels

== Summary ==
Steps for downloading Nanoforge with labels