Author Topic: TUTORIAL: How to create and package your own custom prints.  (Read 2119 times)

How to create & package your own custom prints
(I believe this was originally suggested by MoltenKitten, he said this tutorial needed a revamp)
This is a really simple and user-friendly tutorial on how to make your own prints for Blockland. I feel like the other tutorial created by Wedge didn't include 5 million screenshots like most people need needed a bit of work and better explaining. So here's my shot at it.


First up, you're going to need to make your print(s) and icon(s). The prints are what you will actually see on the brick, and the icons are what you're going to see in the printer menu. Here is the required specifications for your print(s) and icons.

Print:
  • File must be a .png
  • The image must be 512x512
  • You cannot have spaces in the file name of this. I don't know why, but don't use them.

Icon:
  • File must be a .png
  • The image must be 64x64
  • You cannot have spaces in the file name of this. I don't know why, but don't use them.
  • Make sure you name this as the same name as the print that goes with it. You will need this in order for your prints to work later!

Now that you have your prints and icons made, let's package your print.


Now you are going to need to package your prints. This is needed in order for your prints to be an actual add-on. Make sure you follow these steps closely, normally when people have problems making their prints, it's because they packaged it wrongly.

STEP ONE: Create a new folder anywhere. For now it doesn't matter what you name it.

STEP TWO: Inside of your brand new folder, create a new text file. Name it "description" and make sure it's a .txt. Open it up, and in this text file, you can type whatever, this is just your description of what this add-on is. Personally, I like to go with this format:
Code: [Select]
Name: (Name of your prints)
Made by: (your Blockland username and BL_ID)
Prints for whatever. This is clearly just an example, put your description of your prints here.
But like I said, you can type whatever here. I recommend it being informative though!

STEP THREE: Create another text file. Open it up using Notepad or whatever you use, and click save as...
Change the "Save as type:" to "All Files". This is extremely important otherwise this won't work!!!
Then name the file exactly like this: "server.cs"

Here is an image for further reference:


Assuming everything worked, your new text file should have saved as server.cs. Leave this blank. All it does is tell the game that this is an add-on.

STEP FOUR: We're almost done! Create two new folders inside your main folder. Name one "icons" and the other "prints"

Your main folder should now look like this!


STEP FIVE: Finally, take your prints and icons that you made earlier, and place them where they belong. Obviously, the prints go in the "prints" folder, and the icons go in the "icons" folder. Make sure each set of prints and icons are named the same, if they are not named the same already!

STEP SIX: Your last step. Create a new .zip folder outside of your main folder. Name it:

Print_1x1_NameHere - The print will be added to the 1x1 print bricks and 1x4x1 print bricks.
Print_1x1f_NameHere - The print will be added to the 1x1f print brick only!
Print_2x2f_NameHere - The print will be added to the 2x2f print brick only!
Print_2x2r_NameHere - The print will be added to the sloped 2x2 ramp brick only!

OTHER BRICKS:
Print_Poster_NameHere - The print will be added to the poster brick. (Keep in mind this brick isn't enabled by default, but this is the largest print brick aside from ModTerrain)

Print_ModTer_NameHere - The print will be added for ModTerrain use. (This brick isn't enabled by default either)

STEP SEVEN: Copy and paste everything from your original folder to the new .zip folder. You're done packaging the add-on! Congrats!


To try out your brand new print, copy and paste your print to your Blockland/Add-Ons folder. Start up Blockland, start a game, and look for your Add-On in the add-on list. ENABLE YOUR ADD-ON and launch the server. Build a print brick, and look for your print! If you do not see your print, you did something wrong. Check the troubleshooting section of this post.


Troubleshooting
Problem? Make sure you didn't make one of the common mistakes (listed below), and if all else fails, post in this thread or the General Modification Help board. Someone is bound to help you.

Common mistakes:
- Didn't package properly. See step four for a screenshot of what your folder should look like.
- The icons and prints aren't named the same.
- Server.cs is not a .cs file.
- The icons and prints are not the correct size or file type. See the first section of this post for file requirements.
- The .zip package isn't named correctly. See step six for proper naming.

If all of the above is absolutely correct, then either I messed you up somewhere, or there's some other issue. Seek further help.



Hope this helped. If you happened to spot an issue with this tutorial be sure to let me know so I can fix it ASAP.

It only needs to be in a zip file if you're sharing the print with other people. If you're not, a folder will do.

It only needs to be in a zip file if you're sharing the print with other people. If you're not, a folder will do.
Ah, didn't know there was support for that. I will make an edit to step seven.

It only needs to be in a zip file if you're sharing the print with other people. If you're not, a folder will do.
Yeah, I have some mods in a folder and not a zip because I constantly update them

This is amazing! I would suggest adding a section for ModTer prints. I have made prints for them a while back, for large signs that 4x bricks just wont do.

Print_1x1_NameHere - The print will be added to the 1x1 print bricks and 1x4x1 print bricks.
Print_1x1f_NameHere - The print will be added to the 1x1f print brick only!
Print_2x2f_NameHere - The print will be added to the 2x2f print brick only!
Print_2x2r_NameHere - The print will be added to the sloped 2x2 ramp brick only!

OTHER BRICKS:
Print_Poster_NameHere - The print will be added to the poster brick. (Keep in mind this brick isn't enabled by default, but this is the largest print brick aside from ModTerrain)

Print_ModTer_NameHere - The print will be added for ModTerrain use. (This brick isn't enabled by default either)

I can't be the only one to think this system sucks. Every server should have this. http://forum.blockland.us/index.php?topic=254061.0