XeenTools - Open-Source Library for World of Xeen

XeenTools is an open-source library and collection of command-line tools for working with resource files of the Might & Magic: World of Xeen games, namely Might & Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen and Might & Magic IV: Darkside of Xeen.

The library is meant for use in larger projects while the command-line tools allow users to extract files or parts of files for further conversion.

Knowledge of the file formats is required for understanding how things fit together. You do not have to know how exactly the file formats work, that is what the library is for, but you have to know where the data you are looking for is stored and what data you need in the first place.

Building

A C11 standard compliant compiler is required, and there are no library dependencies. There is a makefile in the source directory, but at the moment it is more like duckt tape and bubble gum rather than a one-step make.

Usage

For now the entire thing is considered highly unstable, meaning one commit could break compatibility completely. As such it is not recommended for use.

Versioning

XeenTools uses Semantic Versioning

All releases with the same major version are guaranteed to be backwards compatible. Releases that add new features but retain compatibility increment the minor number. Releases that add no features and don't change compatibility increment the patch number.

Major version 0 is not yet production ready and compatibility can bread without any notice. At the moment we are not even at version 0.x.x yet.

Progress

So far the following file formats are supported:

[o] ATT sprite files for attack frames
[o] CC files, containers that hold other files
[o] CFG configurations for DOS
[o] CHR
[o] DAT sprite info files for objects or maps
[o] Environment sets
[o] Copy-protection files
[o] FAC
[o] FNT font files
[o] FWL
[o] GND ground sprits
[ ] M
[o] MAZExxxx.DAT & MAZExxxx.MOB maps in the game
[o] MON sprite files for idle frames
[o] OBJ sprite file (these are just regular sprite files, so there is nothing

specific to them)
[o] PAL palette files
[ ] PTY
[o] RAW image files
[o] SKY sky sprites
[o] sprite files in general
[ ] SRF
[ ] SWL
[ ] TIL
[ ] TXT
[ ] VGA
[ ] VOC

Git branching model

There are two main branches, Devlop and Master, as well as many topic-branches that get created and deleted as they are needed.

TL;DR: if you want a stable release use the Master branch. (currently there is no master yet)

═════[ T I M E ]═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════>

                                ──── [Hotfix]
                               ╱    ╲
──[Master]─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────>
                       ╱    ╲         ╲
 [release client] ─────      ╲         ╲           ─────── [aborted release]
                 ╱            ╲         ╲         ╱       ╲
──[Develop]────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────>
             ╲      ╲    ╱        ╱            ╲                ╱
              ╲      ───────────── [Feature]    ╲              ╱
               ╲                                 ╲            ╱
                ────────────────────────────────────────────── [Feature]

The Develop branch is the "dirty" branch to do development on. Smaller changes can be made on this branch, but larger feature topics must be branched off. Feature branches can be merged back into the development branch if needed and they can merge in the current development to stay up to date.

Once the feature is ready it can be merged into the development branch for the last time. The feature branch is then deleted.

Once enough features have accumulated for a release a release client branch is branched off the development branch. This branch is under feature freeze, no new features may be added. The point of this branch is to prepare for release, i.e. fix bugs, write documentation and so on. The version number of the release is decided upon at this point.

If the release has to be abored the branch is merged back into the development branch and deleted. Otherwise it is merged into the Master branch. Every commit on the master branch is a new release by definition and guaranteed to be production-ready. Every release is tagged with the version number. The release is then merged back into the development branch.

If a release is broken and needs a hotfix a Hotfix branch if branched off that particular release. After it has been fixed it is merged back into the master branch for a new release and from there merged into development. That way the master stays clean and the development still gets the fix.

Further documentation

The documentation directory contains forther reading, in particular the style guidelines and the user manual. At least it will eventually.

License

The MIT License (MIT)

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. License

HiPhish/XeenTools