Skip to content

Validate, bake, apply, verify, package

Keep the project beside ContentTool under <Phoenix Point>\Mods\. The bench's Build & share screen runs the five stages in order under plain names: Check files (Validate), Build (Bake), Install (Apply), Verify install (Verify) and Package for sharing (Package). For a console workflow, bake with ct_project <project> and stage the release with ct_package <project>; enable and test the mod through the game.

Where the files land

<Phoenix Point>\
  Mods\
    ContentTool\
    MyMod\
      meta.json
      ppcontent.json
      Content\                    <- author sources
      Dist\
        MyMod.bundle              <- mod-owned bundle, when this route makes one
        Sounds\
          <mediaId>.bnk           <- sound replacement bank
          sources.ledger          <- records the bank's source
      WwiseAudio\                 <- bake-time stream extraction; not packaged

<persistentDataPath>\
  ContentTool\
    Patched\
      <8-hex install tag>\
        <ppcontent.json id>\
          <shipped bundle>        <- private copy; never distribute
    Packaged\
      MyMod\                      <- console package output; inspect and zip this folder

<persistentDataPath> is Phoenix Point’s writable player-data directory. The eight-character tag separates patched copies made for different game installations. The bench’s Package for sharing chooses a new output directory per run and displays its path.

1. Validate

In the bench, select your project, open Details and log and press Run on Check files. It checks the manifest and source placement without writing output. You should see a line beginning Validate: PASS - and a cache key. Fix any refusal before baking. There is no separate console Validate command in this workflow.

2. Bake

Press Run on Build after Check files passes, or press Build & test to run Check files, Build, Install and Verify install in order. Keep Build & share open. You should see the log finish with ct_project: ALL PASS - <output>.

Enter the project folder name:

ct_project MyMod

You should see an import report, checks of the written output, and a final ct_project: ALL PASS - <output> line.

Bake imports sources and checks what it wrote. Bundle replacement rows produce private patched copies under Patched\<8-hex install tag>\<id>\; mod-owned content may also produce Dist\<bundle>. A project made only of bundle replacements can end with:

ct_project: ALL PASS - this project has no bundle of its own; the patched copy(ies) above are the whole output

Read the last line. Every SOURCE SKIPPED: or refused replacement counts as a failure even if later rows continue and some output is written. A failed run ends in ct_project: <n> FAILURE(S). See messages.

Sound replacements have a separate bake

ct_project does not bake Content\Audio\Replace. For a project replacing shipped sound media, run:

ct_sound bake MyMod

This writes one Dist\Sounds\<mediaId>.bnk per replacement and a Dist\Sounds\sources.ledger. You should see a final line beginning ct_sound bake: <baked>/<declared> bank(s) in; check its refused count before packaging. Replacement sources must be mono or stereo.

Added sounds

New sounds under Content\Audio bake and self-check, but ContentTool does not load their added bank when players run the mod. They are silent unless the mod’s own DLL loads that bank. Sound replacements through Content\Audio\Replace work without a DLL. Streamed added sounds are extracted to WwiseAudio during baking and are not packaged.

A video row is checked during bake, but its clip stays under Content\Videos\ and is served live when the mod is enabled.

3. Apply

Tick the mod in the mod manager, or run Install in the bench. You should see the mod enabled or an Install result in Build & share. ContentTool redirects future requests for the named shipped bundles to their private copies. It does not change files in the game installation.

A redirect cannot replace a bundle Unity has already loaded. If Install reports restart required, restart with the mod enabled before the game first requests that bundle. A copy already being served by the game also cannot be rewritten by another bake in that session; restart before baking again.

One owner for a shared target

If two enabled mods claim the same shipped bundle, only the mod whose ppcontent.json id sorts lower owns it. The comparison is ordinal and case-sensitive, so uppercase letters sort before lowercase ones. Enable order does not make conflicting bundle replacements compatible.

The same lower-ID rule governs one replacement sound media ID and one video key. Sound banks load in lower-ID order; a conflicting bank is refused because an already loaded bank cannot be taken back during that session. A conflicting video clip is held behind the serving lower-ID mod and can take over if that mod lets go. Combine changes into one mod or use a compatibility version when two mods need the same target.

4. Verify

Run Verify install in the bench after Install, then inspect the change in the game. You should see a result beginning Verify: PASS - when the load-back checks pass and all declared targets are served from this project’s copies. A shortfall leaves targets unproven. If Install requested a restart, begin a new game process before verifying.

For a visible replacement, also load the screen, mission or object that actually uses the target. A successful bake alone does not prove the game requested that asset.

5. Package and test

Press Package for sharing after the required stages pass. You should see a PACKAGED <count> file(s), <bytes> B into <package-path> line and a fresh output directory.

Enter:

ct_package MyMod

You should see PACKAGED <count> file(s), <bytes> B into <package-path> and the staged folder under <persistentDataPath>\ContentTool\Packaged\MyMod\.

Packaging does not bake sources or compile a DLL. Build the DLL yourself first if meta.json names one. The packager takes the named DLL, meta.json, ppcontent.json, optional README.md, SOURCES.md and license files, plus the allowed Content, Icons and Dist trees. It leaves out source code, build directories and WwiseAudio. Baked sound replacement sources are left out of the release; their Dist\Sounds banks are what players load.

The packager refuses invalid manifests, missing or stale sound replacement banks, video rows without a usable clip, patched game bundles and other files that must not ship. On a staged-package refusal it removes the partial output when it can. Fix the named problem and package again.

Install the staged folder into a clean Mods\ setup as a player would. You should see Mods\MyMod\meta.json, the mod listed with its ContentTool dependency, and the change working in game. Zip the MyMod folder itself only after this test.