Projects

Projects: making, opening, saving and copying them

A project is your game’s folder. Everything the game needs is inside it:

In the folder	What it is
project.xml	The game’s settings: its name, screen size, start scene, input actions, sound buses
scenes/	The levels and menus, one .scene.xml file each
assets/	Images, sounds, fonts, levels, everything the scenes use
scripts/	Your Odin code
export/	Games you exported (made by File > Export; not part of the project)
build/	The editor’s build output (not part of the project)

The editor works on one project at a time. Its name is in the window’s title, with a * after it while there are changes you haven’t saved.

• Making a new project
• Opening a project
• Recent projects
• Saving
• Save Project As: a copy somewhere else
• Project archives: the project in one file
• Unsaved changes
• Questions

Making a new project

1. File > New Project (Ctrl+N).
2. Name: the game’s name. It’s also the folder’s name.
3. Location: the folder to make it in (Browse… picks one). The project goes in a new folder there, <Location>/<Name>.
4. Create.

A new project has one scene, Main, with a World node in it, a 1280 x 720 screen, and the usual input actions (the arrow keys, Enter, Escape: ui_left, ui_accept…).

Opening a project

File > Open Project (Ctrl+O), then pick the project’s folder (the one with project.xml in it).

You can also start the editor with a project: crossfire-editor path/to/MyGame.

Recent projects

File > Open Recent lists the projects you opened lately, the most recent first: click one to open it again. Each shows its folder’s name, then where it is (~ is your home folder). The project that’s open isn’t listed.

• The list keeps the last 10 projects (the menu shows 8).
• A project that has been moved or deleted is reported in the Console when you choose it, and taken off the list.
• Clear Recent Projects (at the end of the list) empties it.

The list is kept beside the editor’s settings, in recent_projects.txt.

Saving

File > Save (Ctrl+S) writes everything: project.xml, every scene, components, animation and theme files, data resources, and the scripts open in code tabs.

Play (F5) and Export save first too, so the game runs what you see.

Save Project As: a copy somewhere else

File > Save Project As… (Ctrl+Shift+S) saves the project, as it is now, into another folder, and opens that copy. Use it to try something out without touching the original, to start a new game from an old one, or to keep a version before a big change.

1. File > Save Project As…
2. Name: the copy’s name, and its folder’s (it starts as “<project> Copy”).
3. Location: where to put it (it starts beside the project).
4. Save Copy.

What happens:

• The project’s files are copied into <Location>/<Name>: scenes, assets, scripts, everything in the folder except exported games (export/), build output (build/) and the Git history (.git/). The copy starts with no version history of its own.
• What’s open goes into the copy, unsaved changes too (scene edits, code you haven’t saved).
• The copy opens. The project where it was stays as it was last saved: the changes you hadn’t saved are only in the copy.
• The copy is added to the recent projects, so the original is one click away in the File menu.
• Undo starts fresh in the copy.

Assets that live outside the project folder (a path like ../shared/hero.png) aren’t copied: the copy uses the same path, which may not lead anywhere from its new place. The Console lists them. To bring outside assets into a project, use a project archive (below).

Project archives: the project in one file

File > Export Project Archive… writes the project as one .odinsdl file (a zip) to send to someone or keep. Assets outside the project folder are copied in. …with History keeps the Git history too. File > Open Project Archive… unpacks one and opens it.

Unsaved changes

New Project, Open Project, a recent project and Quit ask first when there are unsaved changes:

• Save: saves, then goes on.
• Don’t Save: drops the changes and goes on.
• Cancel: stays where you are.

Save Project As doesn’t ask: your changes go into the copy.

Questions

Save Project As says the folder already exists. It won’t copy over another folder: choose another name or location.

My copy is missing images. They were outside the project folder (see the Console). Copy them into the copy’s assets/ folder and choose them again, or use a project archive, which brings them in.

A recent project won’t open. It was moved or deleted; it’s taken off the list. Use File > Open Project to find it where it is now.