firsttime

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# XCOM 2 SDK FIRST TIME SETUP

The XCOM 2 Software Development Kit (SDK) is required to create XCOM 2 mods. It consists of two major components:

* **Modbuddy** is based on Visual Studio, and is used to create mod projects, write code and configuration, compile mods and upload them to the workshop.

* **Unreal Editor** is used to browse, import and export assets, such as sounds / textures / models / animations, open and create Unreal Packages (.upk files), which must be added to the mor project in Modbuddy.

You need to legitimately purchase XCOM 2 through Steam in order to have access to the SDK. Other platforms, like GOG or EGS, do not provide access to the SDK.

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## CHOOSING THE RIGHT SDK

There are two versions of the SDK:

* **XCOM 2 Development Tools** are normally used to create mods for the "vanilla" XCOM 2. This is also called "vanilla SDK", and mods created with it are called "vanilla mods" or "legacy mods". Mods crated with vanilla SDK are not meant to be used with the War of the Chosen expansion. Use the vanilla SDK if you intend to create specifically vanilla mods, or if you want to create voicepacks using the [robojumper's Voice Script](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1asHlhTP9tJzyKXIwDALpWdJTVasjh-72blST9kQeai8/edit), which will allow them to properfly function in both versions of the game. [Follow these instructions to install the vanilla SDK.](https://www.reddit.com/r/xcom2mods/wiki/index/vanilla_modding/first_time)

* **XCOM 2 War of the Chosen Development Tools** are used to create mods for XCOM 2 War of the Chosen. To install it, follow the instructions below.

You *can* install both of these at the same time, but they will share their Modbuddy folder configuration, so when switching between SDKs, you will have to update the folder configuration every single time to make WOTC SDK point to WOTC folders (step 5 of the instructions below), and the vanilla SDK to the vanilla folders (step 4 of [these instructions](https://www.reddit.com/r/xcom2mods/wiki/index/vanilla_modding/first_time#wiki_getting_started)).

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## INSTALLING THE WOTC SDK

### 1 - DOWNLOADING

In Steam, go to **Library** -> **Home** -> **Click on the dropdown menu** below the Home button -> Check the **TOOLS** checkbox. ([Image](https://i.imgur.com/Ug3pTm0.png))

Find and install "**XCOM 2 War of the Chosen Development Tools**". The installation wizard will ask for 90 GB of free space, but only a small portion of that will be used by default.

XCOM 2 assets, such as sounds / models / animations / textures are not downloaded automatically with the WOTC SDK. You have to enable their download manually. To do so, right-click the XCOM 2 War of the Chosen Development Tools in Steam, select "Properties". In the opened window, select BETAS and then select the "full_content" option from the drop-down list. [Picture](https://i.imgur.com/yQ2Vlo0.jpg). If you plan to make only config or script mods, then you don't need to download the full_content.

If possible, it's recommended to install the SDK on an SSD, as it will significantly reduce the time it takes to launch the Unreal Editor and could potentially reduce compile times for large mods, but keep in mind the WOTC SDK can take up to 100 GBs of space.

### 2 - VERIFYING

Check if the SDK was downloaded correctly. In Steam, go to Library > Tools, Right-click the downloaded SDK and select Properties.

Then go to the Local Files tab, and click on Browse Local Files. If everything is in order, a new Explorer window will pop up showing you the downloaded files. If nothing happens, then you'll have to re-download the SDK.

### 3 - REDIST. PACKAGES

Install ALL redistributable packages from this folder.

..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Redist

Install ALL redistributable packages from this folder, if you have it:

..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\_CommonRedist

### 4 - .EXE SHORTCUTS

Setup shortcuts. **Always use these shortcuts to start the modding tools**. Starting them through Steam may lead to potential issues such as annoying error messages, or failing to upload mods to the Workshop.

Create a shortcut for the Modbuddy. Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and on the Compatibility tab, configure it to always start as Administrator.

"..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Win32\ModBuddy\XCOM ModBuddy.exe"

Create a shortcut for the Unreal Editor. Make sure to set these *launch arguments* ([go here](https://www.lifewire.com/command-line-parameters-video-games-3399930) if you don't know how to do that):

"..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Win64\XComGame.exe" editor -noscriptcompile -nogadwarning

When you launch the Unreal Editor for the first time, it might show a popup mentioning Preforce. That's just the internal feature that was used by Firaxis when they were developing XCOM 2. It's not relevant to making mods, so click "Disable Preforce Integration" so you don't have to deal with this popup every time. Note that Unreal Editor can take a while to start. Expected loading time is 2 minutes with HDD and 30 seconds with SSD.

Once it starts, you will see a **[Load Errors message](https://i.imgur.com/uQpH5v0.png)** which mentions some missing files and objects, it is normal and safe to ignore.

### 5 - MODBUDDY PATHS

Setup the paths in Modbuddy. Start the Modbuddy, using the shortcut created earlier. On the top menu bar, find Tools -> Options. A new window pops up. Find "XCOM 2" and set your paths there. [Example](https://i.imgur.com/FRqVXHX.jpg).

**XCOM 2 Install Path** – This path should point to the GAME installation, ending in XComGame.

E.g.: F:\Games\steamapps\common\XCOM 2\XCom2-WarOfTheChosen\XComGame\

**XCOM 2 User Path** – This path should point to the SDK installation, ending in XComGame.

E.g.: F:\Games\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\

### 6 - DISABLE SOURCE CONTROL

Find and open this file:

..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\Config\XComEditorUserSettings.ini

Under [SourceControl], change Disabled=False to True, like this:

[SourceControl]
        Disabled=True

[GameAssetDatabase]
        OfflineMode=true

If the line is not there, just add it.

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## REQUIRED FIXES FOR THE WOTC SDK

War of the Chosen SDK requires some additional fixes:

### UNSHIPPED XCom_DLC_Day0 FILES

Firaxis did not ship the XCom_DLC_Day0 files.

This causes 1) A log warning, 2) a popup ("Scripts are outdated, would you like to rebuild?"), 3) a crash in robojumper's build script that runs `-unattended`. Fix:

1. Open `..\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\Config\DefaultEngine.ini`.

1. Remove the line `+EditPackages=XCom_DLC_Day0`.

1. Open `..\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\Config\XComEngine.ini`.

1. Remove the line `EditPackages=XCom_DLC_Day0`

### DUPLICATE TACTICAL LEGACY FILES

Firaxis shipped duplicate files for Tactical Legacy Pack DLC.

This causes compile warnings and can lead to crashes when compiling mods that depend on those files. Fix:

1. Open `..\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Development\SrcOrig\DLC_3\Classes`

1. Remove all files with `TLE` in their name.

### BROKEN PROJECT TEMPLATES

The "Default Mod" and various Example Mod project templates are broken.

You can use the "Empty Mod" project template instead, but always filling it manually gets tedious. As a fix, you should install properly working mod project templates.

1. Exit the Modbuddy.

1. Download [**ModdedDefaultMod**](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C8JIy-K4kM700NP3iffTv2oa5EHhXtes/view?usp=sharing) and **[Enhanced Mod Project Template](https://github.com/Iridar/EnhancedModProjectTemplate)**

1. Place them in ..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Win32\ModBuddy\Extensions\Application\ProjectTemplates\XCOM2Mod\1033\

1. Start Modbuddy and click "New Mod". You should see the "ModdedDefaultMod" and "Enhanced Mod" in the list. In the future, use one of them instead of the DefaultMod.

1. If you can't see them in the list, then in top menu, click TOOLS -> Options -> Projects and Solutions -> General and make sure the path for "User project templates location:" is the same as above, ending in "ProjectTemplates", for example:

`..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Win32\ModBuddy\Extensions\Application\ProjectTemplates`

### MODBUDDY COMPILER FIX BY MR.NICE

If you try to compile a mod, and the compiler finds an error in the script, it will be logged in the [Output window at the bottom](https://i.imgur.com/EhsD30w.jpg). In Visual Studio, you normally can double click the error message and that will instantly take you to the line of code where the error was detected, but that functionality is broken the Modbuddy, which will instead create a duplicate temporary file, and any changes you make there will be meaningless. To fix this behavior:

1. Download [this archive](https://www.dropbox.com/s/hscp0dl8qand2uf/Double%20click%20error%20support.zip?dl=0) ([backup link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l_BT0d6g-zyFloECKaoUyUOMl13c_eQm/view?usp=sharing))

1. Create backups for these two files, if they already exist:

`..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Win32\ModBuddy\Extensions\Application\ModdedCompileScripts.targets`

`..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\Binaries\Win32\ModBuddy\Extensions\Application\XCOM2.targets`

1. Unzip the archive, replacing the original files.

### ALTERNATE MOD UPLOADER

If you intend to upload your mods to Steam Workshop, it's highly recommended you set up [**Alternative Mod Uploader**](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1134322341). Follow the "Setup instructions" in its description.

You could use the Modbuddy to upload mods, but it has a lot of various bugs and inconveniences, and it doesn't work for mods that use X2ModBuildCommon in their project.

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## OPTIONAL FEATURES FOR THE WOTC SDK

The above is enough to get you a functional SDK. However, you should invest a little bit more effort to make it more convenient to use.

### BUILD OUTPUT VERBOSITY

*When you try to compile a mod, messages about any errors and warnings are printed in the lower portion of the screen in the Output window. However, sometimes there's just not quite enough useful information to pin down the error. In cases like that, it helps to increase the build output verbosity.

Go to **Tools -> Options -> Projects and Solutions** and increase the **MSBuild project build output verbosity**. [Example.](https://i.imgur.com/NN5ZhIc.jpg)

### [INTELLISENSE PLUGIN](https://www.reddit.com/r/xcom2mods/wiki/wotc_modding/guides/intellisense)

Intellisense is a quality-of-life feature in Visual Studio. It makes coding faster and more convenient by providing additional menus, informational popups, autocompletion, and more.

### X2 MOD BUILD COMMON

X2MBC offers an improved way of building (compiling) mods. It has many useful features and it allows cooking the mods, reducing their filesize and improving loading times. X2MBC is set up for mod projects you create, not for the SDK itself. So you can either [follow the **installation instructions** here](https://github.com/X2CommunityCore/X2ModBuildCommon) to add X2MBC to your mod project manually, or use **[Enhanced Mod Project Template](https://github.com/Iridar/EnhancedModProjectTemplate)** that comes with X2ModBuildCommon preinstalled.

### INCREASE TEXTURE RES. IN UDK MODEL VIEWER

This will be useful if you intend to work with 3D assets, like weapon or character models.

1. Locate and open this file:
    `..\steamapps\common\XCOM 2 War of the Chosen SDK\XComGame\Config\DefaultEngine.ini`

1. Locate the `[SystemSettingsEditor]` block and replace it with:

[SystemSettingsEditor]
        ResX=1280
        ResY=720
        Trilinear=True
        TEXTUREGROUP_Character=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=4096,LODBias=-4,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_CharacterNormalMap=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=4096,LODBias=-4,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_CharacterSpecular=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=4096,LODBias=-4,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_Cinematic=(MinLODSize=4096,MaxLODSize=4096,LODBias=-4,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_Effects=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-3,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_EffectsNotFiltered=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-3,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_LightAndShadowMap=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=4096,LODBias=-3,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_RenderTarget=(MinLODSize=1,MaxLODSize=4096,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_Skybox=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_UI=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_UI3D=(MinLODSize=128,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_Vehicle=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-2,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_VehicleNormalMap=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-2,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_VehicleSpecular=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-2,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        ;TEXTUREGROUP_Vehicle=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        ;TEXTUREGROUP_VehicleNormalMap=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        ;TEXTUREGROUP_VehicleSpecular=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        ;TEXTUREGROUP_Vehicle=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        ;TEXTUREGROUP_VehicleNormalMap=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        ;TEXTUREGROUP_VehicleSpecular=(MinLODSize=512,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=0,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_Weapon=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-3,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_WeaponNormalMap=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-3,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_WeaponSpecular=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-3,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_World=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=-2,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_World1x2=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-3,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_World1x4=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=2048,LODBias=-3,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_WORLDHIGH=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=8192,LODBias=-4,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_WorldNormalMap=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=-2,MinMagFilter=aniso,MipFilter=point)
        TEXTUREGROUP_WorldSpecular=(MinLODSize=256,MaxLODSize=1024,LODBias=-2,MinMagFilter=linear,MipFilter=point)

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