What is this?

Peon is a tool to manage the data pipeline of a game. Some features:

• Only build files that have changed or are missing.
• Simple JSON configuration of builders.
• Can watch directory for changes.

This tool is based on the build pipeline used by Ironclad Games.

How does peon work?

• peon uses the file extension to figure out how to build the file.

How build exe?

• git clone https://github.com/jseward/peon.git
• git clone https://github.com/jseward/solar.git (peon uses the solar engine for doing io and other features)
• both projects should be side-by-side in same parent directory or else you will have to resolve the paths manually yourself so peon can find the solar code.
• build peon_win32 project in peon/msvc/peon_win32

How to use exe?

• peon_win32.exe requires two .json files to run
  • settings.json
  • builders.json

ex. settings.json

{
	"src_root" : "../../data",
	"dst_root" : "../../bin/mygame"
}

ex. builders.json

[
  {
    "type": "EXEC",
    "src_extension": ".fx",
    "dst_folder": "shaders",
    "dst_extension": ".fxo",
    "exe_path": "./.exe/fxc/fxc.exe",
    "exe_arguments_format": "/nologo /Tfx_2_0 /O3 /Gpp /Fo{1} {0}"
  },
  {
    "type": "EXEC",
    "src_extension": ".tga",
	"src_has_peon_customization": true,
    "dst_folder": "textures",
    "dst_extension": ".dds",
    "exe_path": "./.exe/nvdxt/nvdxt.exe",
    "exe_arguments_format": "-file {0} -output {1} {2}"
  },
  {
    "type": "DEPENDENCY_FILE",
    "src_extension": ".fxh",
    "dependent_extensions": [
      ".fx",
      ".fxh"
    ]
  },
  {
    "type": "COPY",
    "src_extension": ".font",
    "dst_folder": "fonts"
  }
]

builders

EXEC

execute a command line app to build the file

If a side-by-side file with the same name, but with the extension .peon is found then it will be inserted into exe_arguments_format. This allows for per-file customization of how the file is built. (ex. .dds compression settings).

DEPENDENCY_FILE

not actually built but will cause other files to be built if changed (ex. .fxh - header files for d3d9 shaders)

COPY

simply copy the file

todo

• build folder support (ex. zip up a group of files)