[PR #130] [CLOSED] kb: Spore authoring a custom creature part package (rework of #118 with public sources) #147

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opened 2026-10-15 20:53:48 +00:00 by bsakaguchi · 0 comments

bsakaguchi commented

2026-10-15 20:53:48 +00:00

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📋 Pull Request Information

Original PR: https://github.com/rehan-remade/universal-modder/pull/130
Author: @Selene0623
Created: 10/7/2026
Status: ❌ Closed

Base: main ← Head: kb/game-spore-authoring-a-custom-creature-part-package

📝 Commits (1)

182e426 kb: Spore custom creature part package note (rework of #118 with public sources)

📊 Changes

3 files changed (+340 additions, -1 deletions)

View changed files

📝 knowledge/INDEX.md (+2 -1)
➕ knowledge/games/spore/spore-authoring-a-custom-creature-part-package-rigblock-skinpaint-dbpf.md (+298 -0)
📝 knowledge/index.json (+40 -0)

📄 Description

Field note: Spore: authoring a custom creature part package (rigblock, skinpaint, DBPF)

game: Spore
engine / route: native / data
status: in-progress
humans: CaptainSandvich
agents: OpenCode (space-bunny-free), OpenCode (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash)

This is a rework of the field note in #118 by @CaptainSandvich, which is
CONFLICTING and blocked on the maintainer's request to re-verify on an official
build. #118 is authored from another fork, so it cannot be rebased from here;
this PR carries the same game-side findings (credited) plus the public sources
that corroborate or correct them, so the knowledge is not stuck behind the
blocker. If #118 gets unblocked, prefer whichever of the two you like and close
the other — they cover the same topic.

What this version adds:

Public corroboration for the rigblock / skinpaint / editor-keys claims
(SporeModder-FX wiki), including the verbatim UV-bounds rule that the note's
Paint-mode-black gotcha is really about.
A tooling map: there is no Blender addon that reads or writes DBPF
.package files. The SporeModder-Blender-Addons operators are .gmdl, .rw4,
.anim_t, .prop.prop_t only (checked in __init__.py); DBPF is handled by
SporeModder FX, vitor251093/dbpf_unpacker, owlks4/DBPF-package-manager and
Gibbed.Spore.
A correction: the ModAPI Launcher Kit detects the game from the
SporeApp.exe file version, not its size, and supports exactly three builds
— 3.0.0.2818 (disc + patch 5.1), 3.1.0.22 (EA App/Steam/GOG, Mar 2017) and
3.1.0.29 (EA App/Steam/GOG, Oct 2024). That is the rule that explains why the
author's DRM-free copy read "Unknown".
Honest marking: packageBlessCheck and the 0x40404000 package-signature
group have no public documentation, so they are labelled author-observed; and
because the in-game run happened on a DRM-free copy, status is in-progress
until someone repeats it on 3.1.0.22 / 3.1.0.29.

Covers: EA RefPack (not zlib) for 0xFFFF chunks; the five files a creature part
needs, keyed by FNV(partName); the signature entry that sets priority and the
silent package discard when it does not validate; skinpaint diffuse/specBump/
tintMask channel semantics; the EditorKeys manifest without which new parts cannot
be saved; and the UV-bounds rule that was the actual cause of Paint-mode-only
black rendering. Nine numbered gotchas, each symptom -> cause -> fix, plus the
isolation-testing method used to narrow it down.

Checked with um kb check; index regenerated with um kb index.

no game files, decompiled code dumps or secrets
versions and verification written down

_{🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.}

## 📋 Pull Request Information **Original PR:** https://github.com/rehan-remade/universal-modder/pull/130 **Author:** [@Selene0623](https://github.com/Selene0623) **Created:** 10/7/2026 **Status:** ❌ Closed **Base:** `main` ← **Head:** `kb/game-spore-authoring-a-custom-creature-part-package` --- ### 📝 Commits (1) - [`182e426`](https://github.com/rehan-remade/universal-modder/commit/182e42631a6cffe3a1e5b430722d0c565facf40a) kb: Spore custom creature part package note (rework of #118 with public sources) ### 📊 Changes **3 files changed** (+340 additions, -1 deletions) <details> <summary>View changed files</summary> 📝 `knowledge/INDEX.md` (+2 -1) ➕ `knowledge/games/spore/spore-authoring-a-custom-creature-part-package-rigblock-skinpaint-dbpf.md` (+298 -0) 📝 `knowledge/index.json` (+40 -0) </details> ### 📄 Description Field note: **Spore: authoring a custom creature part package (rigblock, skinpaint, DBPF)** - game: Spore - engine / route: native / data - status: in-progress - humans: CaptainSandvich - agents: OpenCode (space-bunny-free), OpenCode (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) This is a rework of the field note in **#118** by @CaptainSandvich, which is CONFLICTING and blocked on the maintainer's request to re-verify on an official build. #118 is authored from another fork, so it cannot be rebased from here; this PR carries the same game-side findings (credited) plus the public sources that corroborate or correct them, so the knowledge is not stuck behind the blocker. If #118 gets unblocked, prefer whichever of the two you like and close the other — they cover the same topic. What this version adds: - **Public corroboration** for the rigblock / skinpaint / editor-keys claims (SporeModder-FX wiki), including the verbatim UV-bounds rule that the note's Paint-mode-black gotcha is really about. - **A tooling map**: there is no Blender addon that reads or writes DBPF `.package` files. The SporeModder-Blender-Addons operators are `.gmdl`, `.rw4`, `.anim_t`, `.prop.prop_t` only (checked in `__init__.py`); DBPF is handled by SporeModder FX, `vitor251093/dbpf_unpacker`, `owlks4/DBPF-package-manager` and `Gibbed.Spore`. - **A correction**: the ModAPI Launcher Kit detects the game from the `SporeApp.exe` **file version**, not its size, and supports exactly three builds — 3.0.0.2818 (disc + patch 5.1), 3.1.0.22 (EA App/Steam/GOG, Mar 2017) and 3.1.0.29 (EA App/Steam/GOG, Oct 2024). That is the rule that explains why the author's DRM-free copy read "Unknown". - **Honest marking**: `packageBlessCheck` and the `0x40404000` package-signature group have no public documentation, so they are labelled *author-observed*; and because the in-game run happened on a DRM-free copy, status is `in-progress` until someone repeats it on 3.1.0.22 / 3.1.0.29. Covers: EA RefPack (not zlib) for `0xFFFF` chunks; the five files a creature part needs, keyed by FNV(partName); the signature entry that sets priority and the silent package discard when it does not validate; skinpaint diffuse/specBump/ tintMask channel semantics; the EditorKeys manifest without which new parts cannot be saved; and the UV-bounds rule that was the actual cause of Paint-mode-only black rendering. Nine numbered gotchas, each symptom -> cause -> fix, plus the isolation-testing method used to narrow it down. Checked with `um kb check`; index regenerated with `um kb index`. - [x] no game files, decompiled code dumps or secrets - [x] versions and verification written down --- <sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>

bsakaguchi

2026-10-15 20:53:48 +00:00