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X2WOTCCommunityHighlander

Welcome to the X2WOTCCommunityHighlander Github project. This is where the work happens.

Download the latest release

View Highlander documentation

What version are we at?

There are two published Steam versions: One infrequently updated stable version that matches the latest GitHub release has been tested a fair amount, and a beta version that is updated more frequently with changes from the master branch. The main menu text tells you which commit the beta version is based on.

What IS the X2WOTCCommunityHighlander?

A Highlander replaces the XComGame package. That means it replaces the code of the Vanilla game, without requiring any ModClassOverrides to do so. As implied by the name, there can only be one Highlander. Therefore, it's important to make a highlander address as many modding use-cases as possible, and incorporate bugfixes that would otherwise require class overrides to implement.

The original X2CommunityHighlander is an extension of the Long War 2 Highlander, which was built by the hard-working Pavonis Interactive team.

The X2WOTCCommunityHighlander provides a Highlander for the XCOM 2 expansion War of the Chosen.

Development

Discussion channel

For the most part, discussion happens in a Discord channel. It's our platform of choice for lengthy discussions that don't fit GitHub issues.

Code style

The code style is what is generally in use for the XCOM 2 codebase:

  • Tabs (width: 4 spaces)
  • Braces always on a new line
  • Liberal use of space between blocks
  • Braces even for one-line if/else bodies

The following code should illustrate all of this:

static function CompleteStrategyFromTacticalTransfer()
{
	local XComOnlineEventMgr EventManager;
	local array<X2DownloadableContentInfo> DLCInfos;
	local int i;

	UpdateSkyranger();
	CleanupProxyVips();
	ProcessMissionResults();
	SquadTacticalToStrategyTransfer();

	EventManager = `ONLINEEVENTMGR;
	DLCInfos = EventManager.GetDLCInfos(false);
	for (i = 0; i < DLCInfos.Length; ++i)
	{
		DLCInfos[i].OnPostMission();
	}
}

Documenting your Contributions

Generally, Highlander changes will be weaved into vanilla code in ways that require us to keep close track of what code changes what vanilla behaviour, and for what purpose. To do this, we comment code precisely to match with issues created on Github at:

https://github.com/X2CommunityCore/X2WOTCCommunityHighlander/issues

Every change has a tracking issue, where the problem is described along with a use case for the Highlander change. This applies to bugs, enhancements, and new features.

Any code you write should be documented to include the issue it addresses, either as a single line comment, or as a start and end block. Don't forget to mark any variables added for that issue, as well.

We should be able to find every line of code related to an issue by searching for "Issue #928" (or whatever) in the codebase. In addition, any commits related to that issue should also have the issue number marked in the same way.

Additionally, every feature should be documented with inline documentation that will be published via GitHub Pages (at https://x2communitycore.github.io/X2WOTCCommunityHighlander/). That online documentation also has instructions for how to write your documentation and run the documentation tool.

Building

XComGame replacements, like this highlander, can only be loaded successfully into XCOM 2 in one of two ways:

  1. As a cooked package (a .upk file). This is how the unmodified vanilla game works.
  2. With the -noseekfreeloading switch, which is designed for debugging purposes.

Most of the information here about building the game comes from Abe Clancy's excellent post on the Nexus Forums:

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/3868395-highlander-mods-modding-native-classes-and-core-packages-xcomgameupk-etc/

His post goes into far more detail than this guide, if you're interested.

Cooking a Final Release (Automated method)

  1. Make sure you have the complete SDK installed (full_content branch in Properties->Betas->full_content). This requires about 90 GB of disk space.
  2. Copy 'CookCommunityHighlander.bat' to your SteamLibrary folder (the folder that contains the steamapps subfolder). By default, this path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam.
  3. If XCOM 2 and the SDK are in the same Steam library, go to step 4. If they are in different libraries, go to the next step.
  4. Open CookCommunityHighlander.bat in a text editor, modify the variables below, and save:
SET "SDKLocation=.\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK"
SET "GameLocation=.\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen"
  1. Run CookCommunityHighlander.bat by double-clicking it.
  2. If a message like "Scripts are outdated. Would you like to rebuild now?" pops up, click "No".

Cooking a Final Release (Manual method)

One-time preparation

The following instructions are functionally the same as those of a vanilla Highlander mod. All the below references to the root Steam directory are made as %STEAMLIBRARY%. You should replace them with your actual Steam directory folder, such as: "D:/SteamLibrary", or whatever.

A few files need to be copied into the SDK for you to successfully cook the Highlander. Check the folder %STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\CookedPCConsole and copy the following files to %STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\Published\CookedPCConsole:

GuidCache.upk
GlobalPersistentCookerData.upk
PersistentCookerShaderData.bin
*.tfc

Additionally, you need to install the complete SDK (full_content branch in Properties->Betas->full_content). This requires about 90 GB of disk space.

Cooking

Start by building the mod through ModBuddy, as you normally would. Then, enter the command line and run the following commands:

"%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Win64\XComGame.exe" make -final_release -full
"%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Win64\XComGame.exe" CookPackages -platform=pcconsole -final_release -quickanddirty -modcook -sha -multilanguagecook=INT+FRA+ITA+DEU+RUS+POL+KOR+ESN -singlethread

If a message like "Scripts are outdated. Would you like to rebuild now?" pops up, click "No".

The commands above create cooked files for your XComGame, Engine, and Core package replacements in %STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\Published\CookedPCConsole:

XComGame.upk
XComGame.upk.uncompressed_size
Engine.upk
Engine.upk.uncompressed_size
Core.upk
Core.upk.uncompressed_size

Copy those files into a folder called CookedPCConsole inside the mod's output folder. You will need to delete Script\XComGame.u, Script\Engine.u and Script\Core.u, now that we've put the cooked script file in it's place.

Once you've done all that, the mod should now run in vanilla XCOM. Note that all logging statements will be stripped from the Cooked version, so don't expect to see any of your script logs.

Using noseekfreeloading

Before using noseekfreeloading, a few things need to be done to ensure the game actually runs without crashing.

You need to install the XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK obviously, and also opt-in to download the 'full content' for it (54 GB). You opt-in by using the 'Betas' menu in Steam. It doesn't require a code to download the content.

After you've installed the XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK, it's important you ensure symlinks from the main WOTC folder point to the same folders within the SDK. Delete the following folders/links if they exist:

%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\Content
%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\Script
%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\__Trashcan
%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\Engine\Content
%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\Engine\EditorResources

...and then open a command line as an administrator and run the following commands:

mklink /J "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\Content" "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\Content"
mklink /J "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\Script" "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\Script"
mklink /J "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\__Trashcan" "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\__Trashcan"
mklink /J "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\Engine\Content" "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Engine\Content"
mklink /J "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\Engine\EditorResources" "%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Engine\EditorResources"

Build the mod through ModBuddy, as usual. The Highlander mod can be loaded uncooked by running XCOM with the following command (in the command prompt):

"%STEAMLIBRARY%\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\Binaries\Win64\Launcher\ModLauncherWPF.exe" -allowconsole -log -autodebug -noseekfreeloading

If all goes well, the XCOM Launcher will run. Enable X2WOTCCommunityHighlander and start the game.

Building Against the Highlander

Making new mods that use the Highlander requires one change, to ensure you can use any new classes or methods it implemented. The SDK uses the contents of XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Development\SrcOrig to compile against files not included in the mod.

Backup that folder, as it contains the vanilla source files, and then copy the highlander's Src folder into it. Be aware that if you make a mod that uses any new functions or variables, it will crash Vanilla XCOM 2, guaranteed.

If your mod uses the methods or functions provided by Long War 2's Highlander, things should still work fine.