This explains how to use GenTool, the PC install-build upload tool for STOVE-listed games, and GenToolUpdater, the dedicated updater for GenTool.

GenTool Product Family

GenToolUpdater

This explains how to use GenToolUpdater, the dedicated updater for GenTool.

GenToolUpdater Introduction

This explains the basic concepts of GenToolUpdater.

• It's a dedicated update tool for GenTool.
• You can install GenTool by version.
  • Side-by-side installation is also possible.
• Updating between multiple GenTool versions is possible.
  • Forward updates are possible.
  • Backward updates are possible.
• It's a Win32 application developed in .NET, so .NET Framework 4.8.1 or higher is required to install it.

Getting Started

This explains the basic features worth checking when you first run GenToolUpdater.

• Run GenToolUpdater.exe.
• GenToolUpdater is a single-page application.

• Click the Check Public IP button to look up the public IP.
• Deliver the looked-up public IP to STOVE so it can be used for the White IP.

• Click the Open Log Directory button to open the local log directory.
• The local log directory is the same as the GenToolUpdater run path.
• You can check the contents by opening a file of the form GenToolUpdater_yyyyMMdd.log in a text editor such as Notepad.

• GenToolUpdater supports English (default), Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
• You can change the display language by selecting a language in the multilingual-settings combo box.

Installation and Update

This explains how to install or update GenTool.

• Open Explorer and create a folder at the path where you want to install.
• Click the Get Version List button to load the version list.
• Select the version to install from the version list.
• Clicking the Browse button opens the folder-browse dialog; specify the folder you prepared earlier.
  • You can also enter the path directly in Local path.
• Click the Start Update button to proceed with the installation.

• The specified GenTool version is installed, and the result is shown.

• Click the Get Version List button to load the version list.
• Select the version to update to from the version list.
  • You can install both lower and higher versions than the currently installed one.
• Clicking the Browse button opens the folder-browse dialog; specify the folder where GenTool is already installed.
• Click the Start Update button to proceed with the installation.

• Even if GenTool is already installed, you can create a new folder and install GenTool fresh.
• When a feature is added to or changed in GenTool, the stage is released first in a state other than GA (General Availability).
  • EA(Early Access), RC(Release Candidate), HF(Hot Fix)
• If you want to try a new GenTool version experimentally, you can install the new version at a new local path and try it out.

GenTool Run Options

• If you install/update GenTool by clicking the Start Update button with the Auto-run GenTool after the update completes. checkbox checked, the currently installed/updated GenTool runs automatically only when the install/update succeeds.

GenTool User Manual

• You can download the user manual for each GenTool version. Clicking the Download button on a version-list item downloads the user manual.
• The user manual is an MS Word (.docx) file, and on a successful download it automatically tries to open the file. If an associated program is set on the local computer, the user-manual document opens in that program.

GenTool Developer Guide

• You can open the Developer Center guide for each GenTool version. Clicking the Visit button on each version-list item opens the Developer Center page in a browser.

GenTool

This explains how to use GenTool, the tool that uploads PC install builds for STOVE-listed games.

GenTool Introduction

This explains the basic concepts of GenTool and the STOVE patch system (DFS) that GenTool integrates with.

• It's a build and version-management tool for files that can integrate with DFS.
• It builds a game's full files or patches.
• It can record the info needed when installing and patching a game.
  • e.g., DirectX version info, VS redistributable packages, etc.
• It's a Win32 application developed in .NET, so .NET Framework 4.8.1 or higher is required to install it.

• It's STOVE's patch system.
• It puts all file info included in a patch into a JSON file (project.json), mapping each file's version, size, Path, and MD5 hash info.
• It puts the differences between patch versions into a JSON file (plist.json), storing it so only the data needed for a version patch can be downloaded.
• Each file is in raw format, using the original file as-is.
• The patch proceeds as the DFS Client module downloads the patch files.
  • It's currently integrated in the STOVE launcher.

// project.json sample – stores full file info.
{
  "service_code": "10", 
  "service_name": "CrossFire", 
  "version_no": 7, 
  "root_folder": "CrossFire", 
  "execution": "CFFS.exe", 
  "extract_size": "4562342", 
  "packed_size": "1866564",  
  "directx": "", 
  "vcredist": "", 
  "addons": "", 
  "dotnet": "", 
  "eula": "", 
  "migration_reg": [], 
  "migration_path": "", 
  "startpos": "0",
  "files": [
    "1 | D | /data", 
    "2 | X | /data.txt | 7 | 1 | xd | 5186 | 1123 | 323da7ce81c9069659c01a8107bec29d | 5cb98d6ec4dffdddfd931e5d5c83c80a | 1 | 645 |", 
    "3 | F | /added.txt | 3 | 2 | gz | 3400 | 1614 | 849c2fd4a6b45fe067e979e457c604ef | 86207a5a3acc16f7920a3507f954ee90 | 1 | 0 |", 
    "4 | F | /HDAudio.nvi | 3 | 3 | gz | 10416 | 2349 | 24f02578adac48aaa155607e0ff2d3a0 | 68e5ee51ce37ec98991e8196473e38f3 | 2 | 0 |", 
    "5 | F | /HDAudioExt.dll | 3 | 4 | gz | 892864 | 389627 | f6c608256d7e2275e64019f0f0c3596f | b06177ab8055b1429b53eacfeb4e12ba | 1 | 0 |"
  ]
}

// plist.json sample – stores only the differences from the previous version.
{
  "files": [
    "2 | X | /data.txt | 7 | 1 | xd | 5186 | 1123 | 323da7ce81c9069659c01a8107bec29d | 5cb98d6ec4dffdddfd931e5d5c83c80a | 1 | 645 |"
  ]
} 

Getting Started

This explains the steps you go through before entering the GenTool main screen.

• Enter the CP info (CP Name, CP Key) you were assigned.
• The CP info is delivered from Smilegate to the CP through prior consultation.
• The Remember feature works when the main screen has opened and closed normally.

• Enter the account info you were assigned.
• You can connect by selecting a configured environment such as GATE8 (Sandbox) or LIVE, and environment info may be filtered by the game's or account's permissions.

• Using the entered CP info (CP Name, CP Key), GenTool performs preparatory work.
• As one of these, it checks whether the public IP of the device running GenTool is an IP designated as a White IP.
• The CP must deliver the public IP of the device that will use GenTool to Smilegate in advance through prior consultation.
  • You can use the Public-IP Lookup feature in GenToolUpdater.
• If the White IP check doesn't pass, the GenTool application exits.

• Log in with a per-environment STOVE (onstove.com) regular-member (email) account.

• Select the game to build the patch for.
• Game info may be filtered by the environment's and account's permissions.
• For a game (package) that includes DLC, a Select DLC menu is created.
  • It's split into Game (the main game) and DLC.

• You can choose between the base game and a branch game.

Main Screen

This explains the layout of the GenTool main screen and the features available on each screen.

• Selecting a game name from the top menu enters the main screen.
• It's displayed in the form game name (selected server).
• The menu below the game name lets you switch to the screen for each feature.

This screen is where you enter the basic info for building the game and handle basic features such as building and uploading.

The game's project code and version info are displayed, and the Build version can be edited.

The folder paths and additional info used in a GenTool build.

Info related to building and uploading is displayed.

• Tuning applies only when you specify the Last Version folder in FOLDER INFO and generate an xd file during the build.
• Generating the xd file during a build can take a long time depending on the situation. However, tuning that shortens the build time is possible depending on the system memory capacity.
  • Adjusting the memory capacity allocated to the build can reduce the build time.
• GenTool reads the value set in the %AppData%\Local\GenTool\gentool_config.json file to set the buffer capacity when generating the xd file.
  • The configurable values are 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, and 512MB, and the default is 64MB.
  • A total of 4 units each use memory to generate the xd file, so it uses 4 times the set value in memory.
• GenTool doesn't create the gentool_config.json file itself.
  • If needed, the user must create the file at that path themselves. If the file is missing or has an invalid value set, the default of 64MB is used.
• The contents of the gentool_config.json file are as follows.

{
    "xdelta_buff_size_mb": 512
}

• We recommend setting the buffer size so the total usage is about 1/4 of the system memory capacity.

• On the GENERAL screen, you can use the Quick Upload menu by right-clicking.
• Clicking the Quick Upload menu shows a folder-selection dialog. If you select the folder where existing build output is saved in this dialog, you can upload directly without the build process.

Set the game's dependencies for the version currently being built.

This screen controls the game's version.

• You can set the Live version.
  • The left version list shows from the Live version to the last uploaded version.
  • You can designate one among the versions uploaded after the Live version.
• You can roll back the last build version.
  • It can be used only in environments other than the Live environment.
  • It rolls back the very last build version by one step.
  • If the Live version is set on the very last build version, the Live version is also rolled back to the previous Live version.
  • The rollback feature supports rollback to the immediately previous step only.
    • Repeating this process makes multi-step rollback possible too.
  • As with uploading, a GenTool restart dialog for data stability appears right after a rollback.

This screen lets you set integrity check on/off and set/check the integrity-validation type list of the last uploaded version.

• It stores the current version's integrity-validation type per file, so the launcher checks the validity of the designated files when running the game.
• You can edit the integrity-validation-type target files regardless of build deployment.
• The current version's integrity info is first uploaded when you upload the build.
• If a Manifest file containing integrity info for a previous version exists on the server, the same integrity info applies to game files that exist identically in the previous version and the current build.

Selecting the LAST VERSION VALIDATE TYPE LIST tab loads the current version's integrity info asynchronously.

• Files removed from a GenTool build are marked R and directories E, stored in the manifest file. Even as builds repeat, once-deleted file/directory info is kept, and the launcher deletes local files/directories based on the R/E-marked info.
• For example, suppose the distribution strategy for a resource file/directory included in the v1 build changed so that, instead of including that resource in the GenTool build, the game downloads it at runtime.
• In the v2 build, you remove that resource file/directory and build, and this resource is marked R/E and recorded in the manifest file.
• When the launcher updates to v2, the R/E-marked resource is deleted locally and, on game launch, dynamically downloaded and stored locally.
• After that, when a v3 build is uploaded via GenTool and the launcher updates to v3, the R/E-marked file/directory (which the game has now dynamically downloaded locally) is deleted locally again and, on game launch, dynamically downloaded again and stored locally.
• If you want to prevent a specific file/directory from being infinitely repeatedly deleted/downloaded between the game and the launcher, you can delete the R/E-marked info so the launcher no longer deletes that resource locally.

WELCOME

The initial screen of GenTool.

• Provides a link to move to the Settings screen.
• Shows a notification about a new GenTool version. The notification is shown only when a new version has been released.

SETTINGS

• You can change the program's theme, colors, font size, etc.
• You can reset the CP info saved via the Remember feature in the CP-info input field.