Mod:Editors

Modding The Sum requires creation tools from various sources, accumulated through trial and error over the years. They greatly facilitate the modification of the game from which it was created: Fallout Tactics, and should not be substituted without advanced knowledge.

Phoenix engine

This game engine was used to create Fallout Tactics and is therefore the basic system to modify it. It comes in 3 editors (Campaign, Level, Entity)

Campaign editor

Screenshot of the Phoenix Engine interface (Campaign Editor).

The Campaign editor allows you to modify the game map:

• Add, place, hide/reveal a location (to be created in the Level editor)
• Add and place a random encounter (characters to meet on the worldmap)
• Add and place a special encounter (special event that is triggered on the worldmap)

 Included with the game.

How to use

1. Open the folder Game/ then FT Tools.EXE.
   
     Never use FT Improver.exe to modify the worldmap. Strange bugs will occur. 
   
   
   
2. Click on
   ⦿  OK 
   .
3. Click on
   ⦿  GAME EDITOR 
   .
4. Access the menu
    File 
   then
    Open 
   .
5. Open the file bos.cam located in core/campaigns/..

Level editor

Screenshot of the Phoenix Engine interface (Level Editor).

The Level Editor allows you to create or modify a location, be it a Community, an ex-city or else:

• Create and modify a location
• Program (script) a location

 Included with the game.

How to use

1. Open the folder Game/ then FT Improver.EXE.
   
     Using FT Tools.exe instead will result in an error. 
   
   
   
2. Pass the videos by clicking on them.
3. Click on
   ⦿  MORE 
   .
4. Click on
   ⦿  LEVEL EDITOR 
   .
5. Access the menu
    File 
   then
    Open 
   .
6. Open the desired file which must end with .mis (stored in Game/core/missions/, the open folder).

Entity editor

Screenshot of the Phoenix Engine interface (Entity Editor).

The Entity Editor allows you to create or modify characters, items and interactive objects (doors, computers, etc.):

• Create and modify a character
• Create and modify an item

 Included with the game.

How to use

1. Open the folder Game/ then FT Improver.EXE.
   
     Using FT Tools.exe instead will result in an error. 
   
   
   
2. Pass the videos by clicking on them.
3. Click on
   ⦿  MORE 
   .
4. Click on
   ⦿  ENTITY EDITOR 
   .
5. Access the menu
    File 
   then
    Open 
   .
6. Open the desired file which must end with .ent (stored in Game/core/entities/, the default folder).

Sprite Creator

Screenshot of the interface of Sprite Creator while editing a .spr file of Nous Aurons.

This editor allows you to create from .bmp images a sprite (animated or not) that can be used for an item, a character or any object with which it is possible to interact in the game.

 Download

How to use

1. Download the software.
2. Unzip the .zip file.
3. Launch Sprite Creator.exe.
4. Access the menu
    File 
   then
    Open... 
   .
5. Open the desired file which must end with .spr (stored in C:/TheSum/Game/core/sprites/).
6. Read the file Readme.txt for more information on the use of Sprite Editor.

Notepad++

Screenshot of the Notepad++ interface while editing a .txt file of Nous Aurons.

This advanced text editor allows you to edit all the text files (.txt) of the game with Search and Replace features that allow you to find and even replace portions of text in the entire game. Very useful to find and replace a portion of text whose location is not known.

 Download

How to use

1. Download and install the software.
2. Read the User Manual.
3. Launch notepad++.exe.
4. Access the menu
    File 
   then
    Open... 
   .
5. Open the desired file which must end in .txt (stored in C:/TheSum/Game/NousAurons/locale/ for the French version of the game and C:/TheSum/Game/core/locale/ for the English version).
   
     The game exists in two versions, French and English, so each text entry and .txt file must exist in both locations. 
   
   
   

The RAD Video Tools

Screenshot of the RAD Video Tools interface.

The Sum Uses videos in the .bink format, that can be produced by these programs.

 Download

How to use

1. Download and install the software.
2. Consult : online help.
3. Open radvideo.exe.
4. Select a video from the dialog box.
5. Click on
    Bink it! 
   .
   
     Add 100 to the Compress Level under the option Compress audio:, otherwise the video will have no sound in the game. 
   
   
   

FTSE (Fallout Tactics Scripting Engine)

Screenshot of the Notepad++ interface when editing a .lua file produced by FTSE (Fallout Tactic's Scripting Engine).

This module combe LUA programming and decryption patches inside the Phoenix engine, and thus allows to dramatically extend the possibilities of modifications of The Sum:

• LUA programming
  
    For advanced programmers only. 
  
  
  

 Included with the game.

How to use

1. Open the folder Game/ then double-click on ftse.lua.
2. In the list "More applications ↓", select Notepad++: a free (GPL) source code editor.
3. Click on
      OK   
   .
4. The edited file is a .lua file (stored in Game/).
   
     By also opening the FTSE_config.json file with notepad++.exe, a number of exe patches can be activated/deactivated in the Phoenix engine.