The GSC File Utility will unpack all of the games data files,
animations etc. The GSC File Utility will also pack all the new units & data
files that you have made or modified for your mod so that you can play them in the
game. You need to have Cossacks or American Conquest (depending which game your
modding) installed on your PC to use this tool.
Using the GSC File Utility to unpack GSC files: Start the GSC File Utility, then select
File>Open from the
menu and browse to your American Conquest directory, usually C:\Program Files\American Conquest - Fight Back,
and select the All.GSC file. All the files inside the All.GSC file will now be
visible, you can now select which files you wish to unpack, or click
"Select All" if you want all the files unpacked. Check the
"Extract as "+" box. In the "Extract to folder" box
enter the path you want all the files unpacked to. Now click the extract button
and the GSC File Utility will begin to unpack all the selected files, this can
take a bit of time depending on your PC specs. Now head to the folder you chose
to unpack the files to and find all the unpacked files ready for
editing/viewing.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Using the GSC File Utility to pack up GSC files: When you have made or modified a new unit or changed a data
parameter file, you need to pack these files up so they can be used by the game
engine. To do this start the GSC File Utility and click the "File
Generator" box, now you will need to drag the files you want to add to the
tool, so open up the folder which has your modified files in it and drag them across
to the GSC File Utility. Then select these files and click the
"Generate" button, the tool will then pack your files and place the
packed file in the "generated" folder that is in your "CI GSC Utility"
folder.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Adding the mod file to the game: Now head to the "generated" folder and find the newly
created patch01.gs1, copy and paste this to your American Conquest directory,
normally C:\Program Files\American Conquest - Fight Back. It is advisable to
always backup any files that you may need to replace, the easy way to do this is
just simply add a .bak extension to the file you want to keep, and if you want
to use it again you just remove the .bak extension, e.g. patch01.gs1.bak. Start the game to play your new mod!
A note on Packing with folder/sub directories: The GSC File Utility unfortunately won't handle any folders,
you need to specify a + for the folders, more info coming on that soon.
