XBLAH's Modding Tool

XBLAH's Modding Tool is a tool written by XBLAH to improve Valve games modders productivity and quality of life.

When running the tool, it will automatically set your Source SDK 2013 SP branch to 'upcoming', if you haven't already. You may have to wait a few moments until it restarts Steam and finishes updating.

To begin, select int the toolbar a base game and the mod you want to work on. It will automatically detect all compatible GoldSrc, Source and Source 2 based games you have installed through Steam. Additional libraries may be added manually.

Warning:As of December 2022, XBLAH's Modding Tool is no longer free and requires a Patreon subscription. Versions 1.13 or older will continue to work without a purchase.

Game

New Mod

Creating a barebones Source engine mod usually requires more than just creating a gameinfo.txt. Mods based on Half-Life and Half-Life 2 games can be created with the XBLAH's Modding Tool using an intuitive interface, that creates all the required files and directories. Mapbase mods are also supported.

When creating Half-life 2 mods, it will replace the default font file so all letters are available, since the stock font file only contains the letters that make Half-Life.
When creating Mapbase mods, it will include Thexa's PBR Shaders by default.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Game > New Mod.

How to use it
To create a new mod, select a Base game. Then, select a Mod Template (if you are unsure which to use, choose the default one). Choose a title for the mod. At last, insert the mod folder name. Keep in mind this is not the mod name or title, but rather an unique folder name, with lowercase letters and hyphens. Once everything is set up, click Create and you will have a fully working mod, ready to be expanded.

See more in Create a Mod.

Open Game Folder

XBLAH's Modding Tool provides a shortcut to the selected base game folder, proving itself useful in case you need to modify any files manually.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Game > Open Game Folder.

Refresh Mods

In case you manually added or modified any mods for the current game, you can refresh the mod listing.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool Game > Refresh Mods.

Modding

Run

You can run mods straight from XBLAH's Modding Tool, without having to restart Steam when you create or install a new mod. XBLAH's Modding Tool supports lots of different run modes. It contains basic presets for each game, and you can add new ones.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Run or under Run in the toolbar.

How to use it
To run the mod, select a Preset and click OK. Optionally, you can set an Additional Command. Commands starting with - are shortcut parameters, and commands starting with + are console commands. This Additional Command will be appended to the Command of the preset, rather than replacing it.

If you messed up the presets and want a factory reset, you can click the Reset button.

Add a preset

You can create new presets by clicking the button.

The Run Mode can either be Fullscreen, Windowed or VR (for compatible games).
The coverage will tell the tool which games and mods will support. It can be either Global, Current engine only, Current game only or Current mod only.
You can select an executable path. If none is selected, it will automatically select the game executable. This usually works for compatible games.
You can optionally set extra commands, so they are called once the game is ran.

Edit a preset

You can also check the preset configurations by clicking the button.

Remove a preset

You can remove a preset by clicking the button.

Open Mod Folder

XBLAH's Modding Tool provides a shortcut to the selected mod folder, proving itself useful in case you need to modify any files manually.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Open Mod Folder.

File Explorer

All the files mounted into the game info can be previewed with XBLAH's Modding Tool in the File Explorer. The File Explorer replaces the GCFScape as the ultimate file browsing tool, since it will mount all the VPKs and loose files according to the game info, to show the modder a compreensive list of files. This relieves the modder of having to browse vpks individually, and the integrated features of the tool usually dismisses the necessity of extracting the files from the vpks, since they can be accessed natively.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > File Explorer.

How to use it
The File Explorer contains context menus for each file, targeting them to their respective native editor, if available.

When you don't know where the file is, there is a search field in the top-right corner.

See more in Game Directory.

Clean Files

Before shipping the mod, the XBLAH's Modding Tool provides the modder with a list of unnecessary files, which can be removed with the push of a button.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Clean Files.

How to use it
By default it will select all files that should be deleted before publishing the mod. You can manually unselect the files you want to keep.

See more in Pre-publication evaluation#Excess_files.

Game Info

The mod information can be edited with XBLAH's Modding Tool through a comprehensive UI without requiring the modder to mess with text files. It includes all the major keys of Source SDK 2013 Single-player and Source SDK 2013 Multi-player, more than enough for the majority of Source modders.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Game info.

How to use it
See more in Gameinfo.txt.

Content Mount

The mod mounted content can be edited with XBLAH's Modding Tool, pointing to directories and vpks in the desired order, without the risk of messing the game info.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Content Mount.

Chapters

Chapters for single-player games can be created with XBLAH's Modding Tool through an UI. The modder can easily create new chapters, select the chapter images, chapter background images, the first map of the chapter, the background map, and the tool will do the dirty work of creating the required vtfs, vmts and scripts. It gives the option to automatically blur the background images, so the modder can just take a screenshot of the background map and the tool will apply the usual blur. This replaces the need of saving VTFs, creating chapter images with weird proportions, and so on.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Chapters.

How to use it
See more in Adding chapters to your mod and Menu Background Map.

Starting Maps

For GoldSrc games, you can set the map that will be run when you start a new game, and the map that will run when you start the training section.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Starting Maps.

Menu Items

Main menu items can be added, modified or removed with XBLAH's Modding Tool based on a provided list of options.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Menu Items.

How to use it
See more in Manipulating the game menu items.

Add a menu item

You can add a menu item by clicking on the button, by selecting the command and choosing a caption. You can also choose whether it should only show when you have a map running.

If you select the engine <command>, you can set a command parameter that will be inserted and run through the console when the user clicks the menu item.

You can select an Empty row to add spacing between menu items.

Edit a menu item

You can edit a menu item by clicking the button.

Delete a menu item

You can delete a menu item by selecting the menu item and clicking the button.

Extract Used Assets

You can select a few VMFs in XBLAH's Modding Tool and it will list you all the required assets, showing you to which pack or loose folder they belong, and giving you an option to copy what you want to a separate folder under /custom/. By default, it will select all the files not located inside VPKs, but you can extract the files from the VPKs on the go, if you want to, in case you are using assets from games not everyone own.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Assets > Extract Used Assets.

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How to use it
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Compiled maps
Materials (and required files)
Models (and required files)
Sprites
Sounds (used by ambient_generic)
Particles
Skyboxes

Select the files that you want to be copied to the custom folder. You can select individual files, or you can select a whole package to copy or not to copy the files. For example, you may choose to only extract assets that are inside a VPK, in case you own a game that you are not just players of your mod own too.

When you've selected the files you want to extract, click Copy Assets and the assets will be copied to a new directory under /custom/.

Pack Files Manually

Instead of distributing loose files, you can select the files you want and pack them into a VPK. The selected files will be automatically deleted after they are packed into the VPK, cleaning up your mod folder. The VPK will be saved under /custom/.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Assets > Pack Files Manually.

Pack Subdirectory under /custom/

Instead of manually packing files into a VPK, you can select a folder under the Custom directory and it will convert all the Unpacked Files into a single VPK. You will have the option to delete the Unpacked Files.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Assets > Pack Subdirectory under /custom/.

Unpack Files

You can quickly convert mounted VPKs into Unpacked Files, to help during the modding process. All the files in the VPK will be extracted to the mod folder, and you will have the option to delete the VPK.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Assets > Unpack Files.

Remove Duplicates

The tool will list all the files that have the same name, relative directory and content and are mounted at least twice, and will give you the option to delete the extra Unpacked Files with a single button click.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Mod > Assets > Remove Duplicates.

Animations

Choreography Editor

The Source Choreography Editor will be automatically configured if ran through the XBLAH's Modding Tool, patching the missing icons.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Animations > Choreography Editor.

Maps

Editor

The level editors will be automatically copied and configured if ran through the XBLAH's Modding Tool.

For Goldsrc games, it will run Jack with the correct configurations, ready for editing and compiling. For Source games, it will run Hammer++ (for compatible branches) or the stock Hammer 4, with Slartibarty's Compile Tools (for compatible branches). It will also run Hammer++ ready to be used with Mapbase, with no special configurations or shortcuts needed.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Maps > Editor.

Decompile

Compiled maps for Goldsrc and Source can be decompiled through the XBLAH's Modding Tool. The tool will list all the mounted maps, both the loose files and the ones inside the VPKs. You will be able to decompile the maps without having to extract them beforehand. The decompiled maps will be saved under /mapsrc/ as a loose file.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Maps > Decompile.

Prefabs folder

There is a handy shortcut to the Game's Prefabs Folder.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Maps > Prefabs Folder.

Materials

Skybox Editor

LDR Skyboxes can be created straight from image files with the XBLAH's Modding Tool using an intuitive interface, that creates all the required vtfs and vmts. All you have to do is select each cubemap face, preview it, and save. It has a built in 3D previewer to check if the skybox is seamless, and supports the regular square skyboxes and the clamped ones.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Materials > Skybox Editor.

How to use it
See more in Skybox (2D).

Particles

Generate Manifest

A manifest file is required for rendering particles in-game. The Particle Manifest file can be generated automatically with XBLAH's Modding Tool, based on all the particle files mounted in the mod.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Particles > Generate Manifest.

Sounds

Generate Soundscape Manifest

A manifest file is required for playing soundscapes in-game. The Soundscape Manifest file can be generated automatically with XBLAH's Modding Tool, based on all the soundscape files mounted in the mod.

Where to find it
This can be accessed within the tool through Sounds > Generate Soundscape Manifest.

Options

Steam Libraries

The libraries used by the games and mods in the tool are automatically set if you have a legit Steam installation. Keep in mind the libraries set here are only used by the tool, and the games and mods will still use their gameinfo to mount their contents.

Where to find it
You can manually add or remove the libraries used by the tool through Options > Steam Libraries

Add a library

You can add a library manually by clicking on the button, and selecting a directory that contains a SteamApps folder. This is particularly useful when you don't have a proper Steam installation but you still want to create mods. To get the tool working, insert your games inside a SteamApps folder, and then select the parent directory if this SteamApps folder as the library.

Delete a library

You can delete a manual library by selecting the library and clicking the button.

Browse a library

You can open the library directory by clicking the button.

External links