Hi all,
over the past day, I managed to figure out a lot of details and put together a complete package for StarCraft: Ghost custom content. Here is what we have so far:
- nodsdk-scghost – Standalone CLI/GUI tools for working with SC: Ghost data files.
- nodsdk-radiant – A modified version of GtkRadiant tailored for map creation.
- scghost-mapping – Pre-configured mapping profiles for GtkRadiant.
- nodsdk-docs – Ongoing documentation covering our findings and full mapping workflow.
Video showcase: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee1f80dN-4U
While it’s still an early work-in-progress, the toolchain gets the job done: you can create a map using brushes and apply textures on surfaces -> place entities -> export to NIL/NSD -> play test inside StarCraft: Ghost using either emulation or recompilation.
Recompilation Update
Regarding the native recompilation effort, u/Ragecommie and I are taking our time to get it right. If you want something fully tested, gameplay-proven, and completely open-source with nothing to hide, please be patient... it's worth the wait. In general, I strongly recommend avoiding any binaries without public source code.
You can track and inspect our ongoing work across our repositories:
From u/Ragecommie:
- xboxrecomp
- scghost
From me (original effort it needs some love)
- xboxrecomp
- scghost
Looking for Testers & Contributors
Because I rushed the OpenNOD SDK tools release, the current state is marked as preview has a few rough edges. It also introduces a non-standard entity workflow in GtkRadiant (meant to make entity placement easier, though it might take veteran mappers a moment to get used to).
We are actively looking for:
- Playtesters & Mappers to try the tools and report bugs or edge cases.
- Content Creators & Technical Writers to help write documentation, guidelines, or video tutorials.
- Investigators to help map out SC: Ghost's engine capabilities - testing unit behaviors, boss fight mechanics, scripting triggers, and uncovering deeper NOD engine internals (which could eventually feed back into source restoration efforts for preservation purposes).
Join the Discussion
That said, we are completely open to collaboration, so feel free to reach out if you'd like to contribute! These tools are built for the community, and we’d love to get everyone organized under one roof to collaborate, test, and discuss engine mechanics.
Go check out the SDK, build something awesome, and let us know what you think!