Setup
Your first build
Once you launch the executable, you'll be greeted by the main window. Building the final package is simple.
NOTE
Before building, export the game as either a web page or mobile app. This is necessary so no garbage files are included. The Cook Tool will make it work as a desktop app.
- Click on the Browse button.
- Find the exported project.
- Click on build.
That is all. Wait for some minutes and the tool will prepare it for you. By default, it does the following:
- Fetch the version list from the NW.js website.
- Download the selected (or latest) version of the SDK and binaries. The architecture is determined by the OS.
- Create a copy of the project.
- Compress the files into Halva Packages (found inside the GamePackages folder).
- Place the prepared copy (with the bootstrapper) to the out folder. The bootstrapper (by default, it has the name of "Dragonhouse.GameBootstrapper")is included so the game can boot.
You can adjust the behaviour in the Project Settings menu.
NOTE
Before uploading the final build to the internet (and you have the compression turned on), make sure that you have a plugin that changes the default save location. This avoids issues where the saves are gone when the game shuts down. See the Misc section of the manual for plugins that can do that.
A quick tour
| Menu Item | Hotkey | Area | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| New recipe | Ctrl+N | Project and Utilities | Creates a new project. |
| Open recipe file | Ctrl+O | Load an existing .rmrecipe file. | |
| Save Recipe file | Ctrl+S | Saves the .rmrecipe file (the project configuration) to an existing file. If you haven't loaded one, you'll be prompted to select a location. | |
| Save recipe file as... | Ctrl+Shift+S | Allows you to select a location for a new .rmrecipe file. | |
| Project Settings | F2 | Opens the project settings menu. | |
| Edit (default settings) | - | Default project settings (Project and Utilities) | Allows you to set default settings for new projects. |
| Reset (default settings) | - | Resets the user defined defaults to the app's. | |
| Download selected version | - | Manage NW.js versions (Project and Utilities) | Downloads the selected version of NW.js (based on the configuration). |
| Clear cache | - | Removes all NW.js versions from the cache folder. | |
| Metadata Editor | - | Utilities (Project and Utilities) | Opens the Metadata Editor. |
| Asset Compressor | F4 | Opens the Asset Compressor | |
| Font Compressor | F5 | Opens the Font Compressor. | |
| User manual | F1 | Help | Open the user manual (the one that you are reading right now). |
| About... | - | Credits and version number. |
About the recipe file (.rmrecipe)
The Recipe file (file extension: .rmrecipe) is a configuration file that holds the build information for Cook Tool. The information stored in are as follows:
- Project location
- Output location. Helpful when you want to separate it from the project folder.
- Compiler and packer configuration. File Extension, opting into hotpatching, package information, etc.
- Executable Metadata. Used if you opted into changing the executable information.
You need to at least set the project location first before saving.
NOTE
The recipe file stores absolute paths to folders and files. You may encounter issues if you don't fix the affected paths.