Sanny Builder supports many games and platforms and so there is a predefined configuration for each supported game called an edit mode.

Edit modes supply Sanny Builder with the following information:

• a target game

• paths to files with the game data

• paths to files with supporting information (labels, variables, constants, etc)

By default Sanny Builder reads the modes configuration from the file <SB>\data\modes.xml. This path can be customized via the -x CLI option.

The file modes.xml is open for modification and extension, and users can create their own modes by changing it.

File Format

modes.xml is a file in the XML format and can be changed in any text editor. It defines the available modes.

The root node is <modes> and it has no attributes. The file can only have one root node.

Each edit mode is a child node of <modes> beginning with the opening tag <mode> and ending with the closing tag </mode>. The <mode> element has both mandatory and optional attributes as outlined below. The content of the <mode> is a set of specific tags (properties) defining paths to directories or files.

Mode Attributes

id

id is a required and unique identifier of the mode. Sanny Builder uses the id to save some user settings for this mode, e.g. a game directory.

A valid value for this attribute is a unique series of characters not used for any other mode's id.

extends

A mode can extend another mode (the parent) to reduce the number of duplicated properties. It is helpful for different versions of a game where most of the configuration is the same except for a few properties. The parent can also extend another mode.

When a property is missing Sanny Builder recursively traverses all parent modes trying to find the property.

A valid value for this attribute is the id of another mode defined in the same file.

title

title defines the mode's displayed name. Due to the interface constraints avoid long names and keep it within the limit of 24 characters.

game

The game attribute defines a target game for the mode. There are 6 valid values:

• gta3

• vc

• sa

• lcs

• vcs

• sa_mobile

Before disassembling or compiling a script, make sure that the correct edit mode is active. Each game has an unique script format and the scripts compiled for one game are not compatible with scripts for another game. Even if the script is compiled without errors, the game would crash trying to read a script in different format.

Sanny Builder displays a game icon in front of the edit mode name so you know the target game.

type

One mode for each target game must be a default one. It means Sanny Builder uses this mode when run with the --game CLI option.

The valid value for this attribute is default. Omit this attribute for non-default modes.

Mode Parameters

arrays

path to CustomArrays.ini​

classes

path toclasses.db​

constants

path toconstants.txt​

data

path to the mode directory

ide

path to either an .ide or .dat file: .ide files contain game model names and characteristics .dat files contain paths to other .ide files

ide element may have an optional base attribute to specify a folder that is used to resolve relative paths in the .dat file.

<ide base="@game:\">default.dat</ide>

Without base all relative paths are resolved starting from the location of the .dat file.

A mode may have multiple <ide> elements.

keywords

path to a list of keywords​

labels

path to CustomLabels.ini​

missions

path tomissions.txt​

opcodes

path to a list of opcodes​

templates

path to an exclusive templates file

text

path to a .gxt file

<text> has one required attribute: format. The supported values are:

gta3: .gxt has one table, plain keys, ANSI encoding vc: .gxt has multiple tables, plain keys, ANSI encoding sa: .gxt has multiple tables, hashed keys, ANSI encoding sa_mobile: .gxt has multiple tables, hashed keys, UTF-16 encoding

variables

path to CustomVariables.ini​

examples

path to opcodes.txt​

Built-in Variables

Sanny provides a few variables that can be used in parameters and attributes (if applicable).

@game: - path to the game directory configured in the options @sb: - path to the Sanny Builder directory (where sanny.exe is located)

Both paths do not include the trailing slash.

Available Modes

Sanny Builder offers many different modes and their number may vary from version to version:

The naming schema defines the way of describing the opcodes. The community schema has the names randomly guessed over the years, such as actor or thread. The Rockstar schema has the original taxonomy used by the game developers (e.g. char or script) that is consistent with the game's inner structures.

The parameters order defines the way of arranging the opcode parameters. In the custom order the parameter with the higher index may go earlier in the script. This is applicable to community opcode descriptions. The original order have all parameters arranged from the smallest index to the largest index. This goes with the Rockstar schema to make scripts look like they are meant to be by the developers.

Selecting a mode

To change the mode, click at the right bottom corner of the Sanny Builder's main window. A list of the available modes will appear. As you click the mode name Sanny Builder makes all necessary adjustments and you may continue working immediately.

To select the mode using CLI run Sanny Builder with the --mode option. To select a default mode for the game use the --game option.

Running Sanny Builder with the -x option allows loading the modes configuration from a file different from the default modes.xml. If Sanny Builder is already running, it reloads the configuration and updates the list of modes.