Difference between revisions of "EditingWesnoth"

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== Game and User Directories ==
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In order to create custom content for Wesnoth, you need to know where the game's resources are and where to put your own. This page will explain how to find both the <b>data</b> (core game resources) and <b>userdata</b> (custom content) directories, as well as an explanation as to working with each one.
  
Wherever you install the game, there will be a game data directory that contains, of course, the game's data. This directory should have the following subdirectories: data, music, sounds, and images. There are several others, but these are the important ones. In this wiki, the terms "game data", wesnoth/data,  or ./data refers to the wesnoth/data directory. You normally should not modify these files, but you can if you want to modify a unit or something.
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<div class="thumb tright"><div>
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[http://www.wesnoth.org/images/sshots/wesnoth-1.11.7-1.jpg http://www.wesnoth.org/images/sshots/wesnoth-1.11.7-1-175.jpg]
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<div class="thumbcaption">Game paths</div></div>
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</div>
  
The user data directory holds your preferences file, custom maps, saved games, the WML cache and data files corresponding to user-created content. In this wiki, "user data" and ''userdata''/ refer to this directory.
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The simplest way to find your game and userdata directories is to go to <b>Preferences → General → Paths</b> (shown on the right). From here you can copy respective the paths to your clipboard or open them in your platform's file manager. If you want more detailed explanations on the specific locations for your specific system, you can read the <i>How to get there</i> sections below.
  
The paths to the game data and user data directories vary according to the operating system and packager.
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== The game data directory ==
  
=== Where is my '''game''' data directory? ===
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Wherever you installed the game, you will find these folders, among others: <b>data, music, sounds, images</b>. The rest are unimportant unless you're a developer looking to tweak stuff about the game itself. Besides <b>data</b>, they contain resources used by the game, not by campaigns.
  
====Windows====
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Inside the <i>data</i> folder you will find , among others, these folders: <b>campaigns, multiplayer, core</b>. These contain the mainline campaigns, the multiplayer maps and scenarios, and all the resources used in add-ons. You may examine the contents of the former for reference on how the campaigns and maps included in mainline are coded. In <b>core</b>, you will find another set of <b>music, sounds, images</b> directories. Look in here to find resources for creating your UMC content.
  
* ''X:\Program Files\Battle for Wesnoth <version>\data'', where X: corresponds to the drive where Windows is installed (normally C:).
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<b>NOTE: These folders are NOT the place to put your own resources when creating an add-on. You should keep them in your add-on's folder the userdata directory, as detailed below.</b>
* On 64-bit computers, it will be in ''X:\Program Files (x86)\Battle for Wesnoth <version>\data''.
 
* The path may be different if you originally chose to install the game in a different location. In such case, look for the data folder in the folder where you installed the game.
 
  
====Mac OS X====
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In this wiki, the terms <i>"game data"</i>, <i>wesnoth/data</i>,  or <i>./data</i> refer to the wesnoth/data directory. The terms <i>"core folder"</i> or <i>core</i> refer to the wesnoth/data/core directory.
  
* SourceForge.net bundle: Control+click on the application icon.  Select "Show Package Contents."  Select "Contents", then "Resources".
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=== How to get there ===
* Custom builds: ''/usr/local/share/wesnoth''
 
  
====Linux====
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==== Windows====
  
* Custom builds: ''/usr/local/share/wesnoth''
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* <b>On 32-bit computers:</b> C:\Program Files\Battle for Wesnoth <version>\data
* Debian/Ubuntu packages, or emerge (Gentoo): ''/usr/share/games/wesnoth''
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* <b>On 64-bit computers:</b> C:\Program Files (x86)\Battle for Wesnoth <version>\data
* Red Hat Linux-based distributions in general (openSUSE, Fedora): ''/usr/share/wesnoth''
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* Mandriva: ''/usr/share/games/wesnoth''
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<b>Note:</b> C refers to the partition or drive where Windows is installed. If your copy of Windows is not on C, or Wesnoth is installed in a different location, the path may not match those given above. If you don't remember where you installed the game, right click on the game's shortcut, open Properties, and click on the <b>"Find target"</b> button.
* Slackware Linux: ''/usr/local/share/wesnoth''
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====Mac OS X ====
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* Control+click on the application icon.  Select <b>"Show Package Contents"</b>, then navigate to  <b>"Contents"</b> → <b>"Resources"</b>.
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==== Linux ====
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* <b>Custom builds:</b> /usr/local/share/wesnoth
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* <b>Debian/Ubuntu packages, or emerge (Gentoo)</b>: /usr/share/games/wesnoth
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* <b>Red Hat Linux-based distributions in general (openSUSE, Fedora):</b> /usr/share/wesnoth
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* <b>Arch Linux:</b> /usr/share/wesnoth
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* <b>Mandriva:</b> /usr/share/games/wesnoth
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* <b>Slackware Linux:</b> /usr/local/share/wesnoth
  
 
In a terminal, the command <code>wesnoth --path</code> shows the game data directory.
 
In a terminal, the command <code>wesnoth --path</code> shows the game data directory.
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====BSD====
 
====BSD====
  
* OpenBSD package: ''/usr/local/share/wesnoth''
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* <b>OpenBSD package:</b> /usr/local/share/wesnoth
  
 
The command <code>wesnoth --path</code> also works.
 
The command <code>wesnoth --path</code> also works.
  
=== Where is my '''user''' data directory? ===
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== The user data directory ==
  
====Windows====
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The user data directory in particular is the most important to a content creator. Inside are your preferences file, custom maps, saved games, the WML cache and data files corresponding to user-created content. In this wiki, <i>"user data"</i> and <i>userdata/</i> refer to this directory.
  
* Windows 2000/XP (1.8 and later): ''My Documents\My Games\Wesnoth1.8''
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The game looks at the following paths for the respective content:
* Windows Vista/7 (1.8 and later): ''Documents\My Games\Wesnoth1.8''
 
* General (before 1.8): ''X:\Program Files\Battle for Wesnoth <version>\userdata'', where X: corresponds to the drive where Windows is installed (normally C:).
 
  
''Note: If you don't remember where you installed the game, right click on the game's shortcut, open properties, and click on the "Find target" button, then search for the "data" folder.''
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* <b><i>userdata</i>/data/add-ons</b> - add-ons you have installed via the built-in add-on manager or are designing yourself
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* <b><i>userdata</i>/editor</b> - scenario and map files created via the in-game editor
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* <b><i>userdata</i>/saves</b> - the directory containing all your savegame files
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* <b><i>userdata</i>/cache</b> - the auto-generated game cache files
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* <b><i>userdata</i>/preferences</b> - plaintext file containing all your saved user preferences
  
''Note: If you chose "Store userdata in the install location" during installation you will find your userdata as mentioned above under "General". This will also apply if you launch wesnoth.exe directly instead of using the start menu shortcut.''
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''Note: This may not be totally accurate for all systems, for my Linux system the preferences file is stored in ~/.config/wesnoth''
  
''Note: If your userdata folder is located in the install location (for the reasons mentioned above) and you are not an administrator on this machine Windows Vista/7 will silently redirect any write access to the so called Virtual Store. You can find your userdata folder in e.g. C:\Users\<yourname>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Battle for Wesnoth <version>''
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The add-ons directory is particularly useful. <b>In order to work with custom scenarios or campaigns, you <i>will need</i> to have your own add-on set up here.</b> Instructions on how to do so can be found in [[AddonStructure]]. Several pages on this wiki will assume you have done so and refer to relative paths in such.
  
====Mac OS X====
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=== How to get there ===
  
* SourceForge.net bundle: ''~/Library/Application Support/Wesnoth_1.x/'' (1.8 and later), or ''~/Library/Preferences/Wesnoth'' (older versions). As of OS X 10.7, this location is hidden by default.
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==== Windows ====
* Custom builds: same as Linux - see below for details.
 
  
====Linux====
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* <b>Windows 2000/XP:</b> My Documents\My Games\Wesnoth<version>
* Wesnoth 1.10: ''~/.local/share/wesnoth/1.10''
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* <b>Windows Vista/7/8/10:</b> Documents\My Games\Wesnoth<version>
* Wesnoth 1.9: ''~/.local/share/wesnoth/1.9''
 
* Wesnoth 1.8: ''~/.wesnoth1.8''
 
* Older versions: ''~/.wesnoth''
 
  
In a terminal, the command <code>wesnoth --config-path</code> shows the user data directory.
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<b>Note:</b> The above only applies if you did not select "Store userdata in the install location" when installing the game. If you did, keep in mind that on Windows Vista and later writes to the userdata directory in the install location may be silently redirected to the "Virtual Store", typically <code>C:\Users\yourname>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Battle for Wesnoth <version></code>. Virtual Store is hidden by default; it can be accessed by by typing <i>"shell:local appdata"</i> in Explorer's address bar.
  
====BSD====
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==== Mac OS X ====
* Same place as Linux.
 
  
== Game Data ==
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* ~/Library/Application Support/Wesnoth_<version>
  
The major directories you need to know about are wesnoth/data, wesnoth/data/core/units, wesnoth/data/campaigns, wesnoth/data/multiplayer, wesnoth/images and wesnoth/data/core/images
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<b>Note:</b> As of OS X 10.7, the Library folder is hidden by default. You can press the Option key and choose Go to access it, or choose Go > Go to Folder… and type in the path there.
  
Become familiar with what is in ./data/campaigns and ./data/multiplayer/scenarios.  These have the officially distributed campaigns and multiplayer maps.  If you ever want to examine or edit one of the scenario configuration files, this is where you would go.  For example, a common question is how a new player can give himself more turns or gold in scenario X.  This is where you would go to do that.
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==== Linux ====
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* ~/.local/share/wesnoth/<version>
  
Two very important directories are ./data/core/units/ and ./images.  You have the ability to drop new units or images in these directories and have the game recognize them.  When specifying an image for something, you do so relative to ./images.
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In a terminal, the command <code>wesnoth --config-path</code> shows the user data directory.
  
== User Data ==
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==== BSD ====
 
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* Same place as Linux.
The user data directory can do a lot of things.  The game looks here for several things:
 
* ''userdata''/data/add-ons - campaign configuration files and subdirectories
 
* ''userdata''/editor/maps - multiplayer standalone maps (map data only)
 
 
 
The ''userdata''/data/add-ons directory is particularly useful.  A single configuration file here can selectively point to an entire subdirectory tree of units, images, sounds, scenarios, and macros.  This allows you to wall off parts. Content included in the userdata units or images directories will be available globally whether you want it or not.
 
 
 
For example, assume you have a campaign called MyCampaign.  This is what the ''userdata''/data/add-ons directory might look like:
 
* ''userdata''/data/add-ons/MyCampaign/ - your campaign's directory
 
* ''userdata''/data/add-ons/MyCampaign/_main.cfg - a text file containing your instructions for the game about how to load the campaign
 
** ''userdata''/data/add-ons/MyCampaign/scenarios
 
** ''userdata''/data/add-ons/MyCampaign/units
 
** ''userdata''/data/add-ons/MyCampaign/images
 
** ''userdata''/data/add-ons/MyCampaign/music
 
** ''userdata''/data/add-ons/MyCampaign/sounds
 
** ''userdata''/data/add-ons/MyCampaign/utils
 
  
 
== See Also ==
 
== See Also ==

Revision as of 03:43, 12 August 2017


In order to create custom content for Wesnoth, you need to know where the game's resources are and where to put your own. This page will explain how to find both the data (core game resources) and userdata (custom content) directories, as well as an explanation as to working with each one.

wesnoth-1.11.7-1-175.jpg

Game paths

The simplest way to find your game and userdata directories is to go to Preferences → General → Paths (shown on the right). From here you can copy respective the paths to your clipboard or open them in your platform's file manager. If you want more detailed explanations on the specific locations for your specific system, you can read the How to get there sections below.

The game data directory

Wherever you installed the game, you will find these folders, among others: data, music, sounds, images. The rest are unimportant unless you're a developer looking to tweak stuff about the game itself. Besides data, they contain resources used by the game, not by campaigns.

Inside the data folder you will find , among others, these folders: campaigns, multiplayer, core. These contain the mainline campaigns, the multiplayer maps and scenarios, and all the resources used in add-ons. You may examine the contents of the former for reference on how the campaigns and maps included in mainline are coded. In core, you will find another set of music, sounds, images directories. Look in here to find resources for creating your UMC content.

NOTE: These folders are NOT the place to put your own resources when creating an add-on. You should keep them in your add-on's folder the userdata directory, as detailed below.

In this wiki, the terms "game data", wesnoth/data, or ./data refer to the wesnoth/data directory. The terms "core folder" or core refer to the wesnoth/data/core directory.

How to get there

Windows

  • On 32-bit computers: C:\Program Files\Battle for Wesnoth <version>\data
  • On 64-bit computers: C:\Program Files (x86)\Battle for Wesnoth <version>\data

Note: C refers to the partition or drive where Windows is installed. If your copy of Windows is not on C, or Wesnoth is installed in a different location, the path may not match those given above. If you don't remember where you installed the game, right click on the game's shortcut, open Properties, and click on the "Find target" button.

Mac OS X

  • Control+click on the application icon. Select "Show Package Contents", then navigate to "Contents""Resources".

Linux

  • Custom builds: /usr/local/share/wesnoth
  • Debian/Ubuntu packages, or emerge (Gentoo): /usr/share/games/wesnoth
  • Red Hat Linux-based distributions in general (openSUSE, Fedora): /usr/share/wesnoth
  • Arch Linux: /usr/share/wesnoth
  • Mandriva: /usr/share/games/wesnoth
  • Slackware Linux: /usr/local/share/wesnoth

In a terminal, the command wesnoth --path shows the game data directory.

BSD

  • OpenBSD package: /usr/local/share/wesnoth

The command wesnoth --path also works.

The user data directory

The user data directory in particular is the most important to a content creator. Inside are your preferences file, custom maps, saved games, the WML cache and data files corresponding to user-created content. In this wiki, "user data" and userdata/ refer to this directory.

The game looks at the following paths for the respective content:

  • userdata/data/add-ons - add-ons you have installed via the built-in add-on manager or are designing yourself
  • userdata/editor - scenario and map files created via the in-game editor
  • userdata/saves - the directory containing all your savegame files
  • userdata/cache - the auto-generated game cache files
  • userdata/preferences - plaintext file containing all your saved user preferences

Note: This may not be totally accurate for all systems, for my Linux system the preferences file is stored in ~/.config/wesnoth

The add-ons directory is particularly useful. In order to work with custom scenarios or campaigns, you will need to have your own add-on set up here. Instructions on how to do so can be found in AddonStructure. Several pages on this wiki will assume you have done so and refer to relative paths in such.

How to get there

Windows

  • Windows 2000/XP: My Documents\My Games\Wesnoth<version>
  • Windows Vista/7/8/10: Documents\My Games\Wesnoth<version>

Note: The above only applies if you did not select "Store userdata in the install location" when installing the game. If you did, keep in mind that on Windows Vista and later writes to the userdata directory in the install location may be silently redirected to the "Virtual Store", typically C:\Users\yourname>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Battle for Wesnoth <version>. Virtual Store is hidden by default; it can be accessed by by typing "shell:local appdata" in Explorer's address bar.

Mac OS X

  • ~/Library/Application Support/Wesnoth_<version>

Note: As of OS X 10.7, the Library folder is hidden by default. You can press the Option key and choose Go to access it, or choose Go > Go to Folder… and type in the path there.

Linux

  • ~/.local/share/wesnoth/<version>

In a terminal, the command wesnoth --config-path shows the user data directory.

BSD

  • Same place as Linux.

See Also