Difference between revisions of "EditingWesnoth"

Latest revision as of 17:06, 21 May 2023

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.

The main menu

The simplest way to find your game and userdata directories is to launch the game and click on the "i" icon on the bottom left corner of the main menu, which will display the Game Version dialog with information about the game paths and build configuration. 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

C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Programs\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.

macOS

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

Documents\My Games\Wesnoth<version>

macOS

Wesnoth 1.14.6 and later: ~/Library/Containers/org.wesnoth.Wesnoth/Data/Library/Application Support/Wesnoth_<version>
Older versions: ~/Library/Application Support/Wesnoth_<version>

Note: 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>
If installed via flatpak: ~/.var/app/org.wesnoth.Wesnoth/data/wesnoth/<version>

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

BSD

Same place as Linux.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Translations}}
 <!-- single enters on this page are intentional -->
-== Game and User Directories ==
+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 do not need to modify these files, but you can if you want to modify a unit or something.
+<div class="thumb tright"><div>
+[http://www.wesnoth.org/images/sshots/wesnoth-1.14.0-1.jpg http://www.wesnoth.org/images/sshots/wesnoth-1.14.0-1-192.jpg]
+<div class="thumbcaption">The main menu</div></div>
+</div>
+The simplest way to find your game and userdata directories is to launch the game and click on the "i" icon on the bottom left corner of the main menu, which will display the Game Version dialog with information about the game paths and build configuration. 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 game data directory ==
+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.
+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.
+<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>
+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.
-The user data directory allows you to add custom content without modifying the game's own files.  Each OS puts its user data directory in a different place.  In this wiki, "user data", ''userdata''/''subdirectory'', or (occasionally) ~wesnoth/ refer to this directory.
+=== How to get there ===
-=== Where is my '''game''' data directory? ===
+==== Windows====
-====Windows====
+C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Programs\Battle for Wesnoth <VERSION>\data
-Usually C:\Program Files\Wesnoth\data but it will be different if you installed the game in a different location: look for the data folder in the folder where you installed the game.
-====Mac OS X====
+<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.
-Downloaded from sourceforge: command-click on the application icon.  Select "Show Package Contents."  Select "Contents" then "Resources.
-If you did not download from sourceforge what do you do?
-Command line build: /usr/local/share/wesnoth
-====Linux====
+==== macOS ====
-/usr/local/share/wesnoth <br>
-From apt-get (Debian and Ubuntu) or emerge (Gentoo): /usr/share/games/wesnoth <br>
-SUSE 10.0 (pre-installed): /usr/share/wesnoth<br>
-Fedora 5 (Installed from yum repository RPM): /usr/share/wesnoth<br>
-Mandriva 2006.0: /usr/share/games/wesnoth<br>
-Slackware 12 (Installed from .tgz package at LinuxPackages.net): /usr/local/share/wesnoth<br>
-If you don't find it, or if you use another distribution, try <code>find / -iname '*wesnoth*'</code>. (as yourself, not as superuser)
-=== Where is my '''user''' data directory? ===
+* Control+click on the application icon.  Select <b>"Show Package Contents"</b>, then navigate to  <b>"Contents"</b> → <b>"Resources"</b>.
-====Windows====
+==== Linux ====
-c:\Program Files\Wesnoth\userdata
-or c:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Wesnoth\userdata
+* <b>Custom builds:</b> /usr/local/share/wesnoth
-on Vista, which has virtual folders. The AppData folder is hidden.
+* <b>Debian/Ubuntu packages, or emerge (Gentoo)</b>: /usr/share/games/wesnoth
-Or if you don`t remember where you installed it right click on the game`s shortcut open properties and click on the `Find target` button,then search for the `data` folder.
+* <b>Red Hat Linux-based distributions in general (openSUSE, Fedora):</b> /usr/share/wesnoth
+* <b>Arch Linux:</b> /usr/share/wesnoth
+* <b>Mandriva:</b> /usr/share/games/wesnoth
+* <b>Slackware Linux:</b> /usr/local/share/wesnoth
-Starting from Wesnoth 1.6 it can be in MyDocuments\My Games\Wesnoth1.6 on Windows XP or Documents\My Games\Wesnoth1.6 on Vista.
+In a terminal, the command <code>wesnoth --path</code> shows the game data directory.
-====Mac OS X====
+====BSD====
-Downloaded from sourceforge: ~/Library/Preferences/Wesnoth <br>
-For Wesnoth 1.7.x : ~/Library/Application Support/Wesnoth_1.x/ <br>
-Command line build: ~/.wesnoth (same as Linux; see below for details)
-====Linux====
+* <b>OpenBSD package:</b> /usr/local/share/wesnoth
-~/.wesnoth <br>
-For newer wesnoth versions it can also be ~/.wesnoth<version>. I.e. ~/.wesnoth1.6 <br>
-If unsure you can check stdout of wesnoth (run from a terminal) on startup where the used directory is mentioned.
-== Game data ==
+The command <code>wesnoth --path</code> also works.
-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
+== The user data directory ==
-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.
+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.
-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.
+The game looks at the following paths for the respective content:
-== User Data ==
+* <b><i>userdata</i>/data/add-ons</b> - add-ons you have installed via the built-in add-on manager or are designing yourself
-The user data directory can do a lot of things.  The game looks here for several things:
+* <b><i>userdata</i>/editor</b> - scenario and map files created via the in-game editor
-* ''userdata''/data/campaigns - campaign configuration files and subdirectories
+* <b><i>userdata</i>/saves</b> - the directory containing all your savegame files
-* ''userdata''/editor/maps - multiplayer standalone maps (map data only)
+* <b><i>userdata</i>/cache</b> - the auto-generated game cache files
+* <b><i>userdata</i>/preferences</b> - plaintext file containing all your saved user preferences
-The ''userdata''/data/campaigns 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.
+''Note: This may not be totally accurate for all systems, for my Linux system the preferences file is stored in ~/.config/wesnoth''
-For example, assume you have a campaign called MyCampaign.  This is what the ''userdata''/data/campaigns directory might look like:
+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.
-* ''userdata''/data/campaigns/MyCampaign/ - your campaign's directory
-* ''userdata''/data/campaigns/MyCampaign/_main.cfg - a text file containing your instructions for the game about how to load the campaign
-** ''userdata''/data/campaigns/MyCampaign/scenarios
-** ''userdata''/data/campaigns/MyCampaign/units
-** ''userdata''/data/campaigns/MyCampaign/images
-** ''userdata''/data/campaigns/MyCampaign/music
-** ''userdata''/data/campaigns/MyCampaign/sounds
-** ''userdata''/data/campaigns/MyCampaign/utils
-{{DevFeature}} Note that in 1.7.0 and later versions, ''add-ons'' replaces ''campaigns'' for these paths.
+=== How to get there ===
+==== Windows ====
+* Documents\My Games\Wesnoth<version>
+==== macOS ====
+* <b>Wesnoth 1.14.6 and later:</b> ~/Library/Containers/org.wesnoth.Wesnoth/Data/Library/Application Support/Wesnoth_<version>
+* <b>Older versions:</b> ~/Library/Application Support/Wesnoth_<version>
+<!-- gotta keep mentioning the old path until 1.16.0 since not all macOS users update every stable release -->
+<b>Note:</b> 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>
+* <b>If installed via flatpak:</b> ~/.var/app/org.wesnoth.Wesnoth/data/wesnoth/<version>
+In a terminal, the command <code>wesnoth --config-path</code> shows the user data directory.
+==== BSD ====
+* Same place as Linux.
 == See Also ==
@@ Line 78: / Line 92: @@
 * [[Create]]
-<div style="border:1px solid #5599FF; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 5px; padding: 5px;">
-- [[EditingWesnoth|English]] - [[Editer Wesnoth vf|Français]] -
-</div>
 [[Category:Create]]