SA Tools/Contributing to the tools - Revision history

PkR at 02:10, 15 March 2026

2026-03-15T02:10:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:10, 15 March 2026
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	Game [[Project Templates\|templates]] used by the tools contain information on how to extract levels, models, animations and other data from the games. Work has been done to identify this data and extract it in a way that could resemble the original source assets.		Game [[Project Templates\|templates]] used by the tools contain information on how to extract levels, models, animations and other data from the games. Work has been done to identify this data and extract it in a way that could resemble the original source assets.

	=== Metadata ~~fields~~ ===		=== Object Definitions ===
	To make it easier for the end users to find the assets they want, most data has meta sections that contains descriptions, texture files to use etc. This is used in the menu in SAMDL that appears when you load a project file. However, not all models have descriptions or texture files defined at the moment.		For [[SA Tools/SALVL\|SALVL]] to display objects in the editor, [[SA Tools/SALVL/Object Definitions\|Object Definitions]] are required. A lot of definitions are currently missing, and any contributions of definitions to cover vanilla game objects are highly appreciated.

			=== Metadata Fields ===
			To make it easier for the end users to find the assets they want, most data in mod projects has meta sections that contains descriptions, texture files to use etc. This is used in the menu in [[SA Tools/SAMDL\|SAMDL]] that appears when you load a project file. However, not all models have descriptions or texture files defined at the moment.

	Any help on updating the metadata is appreciated. The metadata is stored as additional fields in INI files for each template in the <code>GameConfig</code> folder.		Any help on updating the metadata is appreciated. The metadata is stored as additional fields in INI files for each template in the <code>GameConfig</code> folder.
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	If you want to update existing labels, please focus on PC ports of SA1 and SA2 as these have the most complete split data, and the labels can be transferred to different versions without redoing them all over.		If you want to update existing labels, please focus on PC ports of SA1 and SA2 as these have the most complete split data, and the labels can be transferred to different versions without redoing them all over.

	=== Split ~~data~~ ===		=== Split Data ===
	You can add more data to existing templates, or make new templates for other versions of SA1 and SA2 on different platforms, including prototypes, region exclusive trial versions etc.		You can add more data to existing templates, or make new templates for other versions of SA1 and SA2 on different platforms, including prototypes, region exclusive trial versions etc.

PkR at 07:55, 3 October 2025

2025-10-03T07:55:22Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:55, 3 October 2025
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	== Updating Game Templates ==		== Updating Game Templates ==
	Game templates used by the tools contain information on how to extract levels, models, animations and other data from the games. Work has been done to identify this data and extract it in a way that could resemble the original source assets.		Game [[Project Templates\|templates]] used by the tools contain information on how to extract levels, models, animations and other data from the games. Work has been done to identify this data and extract it in a way that could resemble the original source assets.

	=== Metadata fields ===		=== Metadata fields ===
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	== Documentation ==		== Documentation ==
	Documentation for some tools is lacking or missing entirely. If you have learned how to use a certain tool or feature and want to make it more accessible for others, you can update ~~the [https://github.com/X-Hax/sa_tools/~~wiki ~~SA Tools wiki], the [https://github.com/X-Hax/SADXModdingGuide/wiki SADX Modding Guide] or the [https://github.com/X-Hax/SA2BModdingGuide/wiki SA2B Modding Guide]~~ to share your knowledge with others.		Documentation for some tools is lacking or missing entirely. If you have learned how to use a certain tool or feature and want to make it more accessible for others, you can update this wiki to share your knowledge with others!

	== Bug Reports ==		== Bug Reports ==
	Any well-structured bug report for a reproducible issue is an important contribution to the development of SA Tools. While there is no guarantee that all issues will be resolved, a reported bug has a higher chance of being fixed than an unreported one.		Any well-structured bug report for a reproducible issue is an important contribution to the development of SA Tools. While there is no guarantee that all issues will be resolved, a reported bug has a higher chance of being fixed than an unreported one.

PkR: Created page with "= Building SA Tools = Prerequisites: * Visual Studio 2022 * .NET 8.0 Desktop runtime To produce a package, build the `SA Tools.sln` file in Visual Studio and run `buildSATools.exe` in the solution's root folder. The package is placed in the `output` folder by default. Run `buildSATools.exe` with the `-help` command line switch for additional build settings. = Contributing to SA Tools = There are many ways to contri..."

2025-10-03T07:54:24Z

Created page with "= Building SA Tools = Prerequisites: * Visual Studio 2022 * .NET 8.0 Desktop runtime To produce a package, build the <code>SA Tools.sln</code> file in Visual Studio and run <code>buildSATools.exe</code> in the solution's root folder. The package is placed in the <code>output</code> folder by default. Run <code>buildSATools.exe</code> with the <code>-help</code> command line switch for additional build settings. = Contributing to SA Tools = There are many ways to contri..."

New page

= Building SA Tools =
Prerequisites:
* Visual Studio 2022
* .NET 8.0 Desktop runtime

To produce a package, build the <code>SA Tools.sln</code> file in Visual Studio and run <code>buildSATools.exe</code> in the solution's root folder. The package is placed in the <code>output</code> folder by default. Run <code>buildSATools.exe</code> with the <code>-help</code> command line switch for additional build settings.

= Contributing to SA Tools =
There are many ways to contribute to the development of SA Tools, some of which don't require any programming knowledge.

== Updating Game Templates ==
Game templates used by the tools contain information on how to extract levels, models, animations and other data from the games. Work has been done to identify this data and extract it in a way that could resemble the original source assets.

=== Metadata fields ===
To make it easier for the end users to find the assets they want, most data has meta sections that contains descriptions, texture files to use etc. This is used in the menu in SAMDL that appears when you load a project file. However, not all models have descriptions or texture files defined at the moment.

Any help on updating the metadata is appreciated. The metadata is stored as additional fields in INI files for each template in the <code>GameConfig</code> folder.

If you want to update existing labels, please focus on PC ports of SA1 and SA2 as these have the most complete split data, and the labels can be transferred to different versions without redoing them all over.

=== Split data ===
You can add more data to existing templates, or make new templates for other versions of SA1 and SA2 on different platforms, including prototypes, region exclusive trial versions etc.

If you know the location of a model, animation, texture list etc. that isn't included in a game template's split configuration, please add it to the template. If you are working with a console version of the game, make sure asset filenames match those of their PC counterparts.

== Documentation ==
Documentation for some tools is lacking or missing entirely. If you have learned how to use a certain tool or feature and want to make it more accessible for others, you can update the [https://github.com/X-Hax/sa_tools/wiki SA Tools wiki], the [https://github.com/X-Hax/SADXModdingGuide/wiki SADX Modding Guide] or the [https://github.com/X-Hax/SA2BModdingGuide/wiki SA2B Modding Guide] to share your knowledge with others.

== Bug Reports ==
Any well-structured bug report for a reproducible issue is an important contribution to the development of SA Tools. While there is no guarantee that all issues will be resolved, a reported bug has a higher chance of being fixed than an unreported one.