Skip to content

ContentTool

ContentTool is an engine for Phoenix Point content mods. It lets those mods replace or add textures, materials, models, animations, sounds, videos, creatures and weapons. It changes nothing by itself.

Players

  1. Download ContentTool-*.zip from the latest release.
  2. Copy the ContentTool folder into <Steam library>\steamapps\common\Phoenix Point\Mods\.
  3. Start the game, open Mods, and tick Content Tool.

That is all. You do not run author commands or build another mod's files. A content mod that declares ContentTool as a dependency makes the mod manager enable it automatically.

If ContentTool does not appear, the folder is probably nested one level too deeply. The file must be at <Steam library>\steamapps\common\Phoenix Point\Mods\ContentTool\meta.json.

Modders

Start here, in this order:

  1. How a mod is made — create the folder, preview changes, bake, package, reinstall as a player, and ship.
  2. Open the developer console — the physical backquote-key position opens it; nothing needs enabling when the game launched with mods.
  3. Discover game content — find the bundle, asset, def, media ID, video row, bone names, material properties and clip data you need.
  4. Pick a recipe — texture, material, mesh, animated model, sound, video, creature or weapon.
  5. Manifest and command reference — every supported field and author-facing console command.

One project can use several routes at once. The combined example replaces a texture, adds a sound, replaces another sound and publishes a model from one ppcontent.json.

The DLL answer

A content-only mod needs no DLL and no stub DLL. Use "AssemblyName": "" in meta.json, or omit that field. Add a real DLL only when your mod needs behaviour: a hotkey, a trigger, a def change, or the call that builds a declared creature or weapon. ContentTool supplies an in-memory loader shim so the mod-manager checkbox works for a code-less content mod; there is no fake file on disk to hit, protect, rename or delete.

When behaviour is required, use the complete DLL project and ModMain skeleton.

Supported and tested versions

ContentTool 1.0.0.0 is verified with Phoenix Point 1.30.2.75117 (ReleaseCandidate2025), Unity 2019.4.31f1, on Windows. A meta.json dependency carries only the ContentTool ID and no minimum version, so an author must test version skew and a game update against the exact package they ship.

If something fails

Open Phoenix Point's developer console and run:

ct_version

Then search this file for your mod ID and ct_:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Snapshot Games Inc\Phoenix Point\Player.log

Long console reports are written there in full. Start with the first refusal, not the last symptom.

License

CC BY-NC 4.0 — Morgott. Content mods built with ContentTool remain their authors' work.