dsh-hoi4-modding

dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-hoi4-modding

dsh-hoi4-modding

English | [中文](#中文)



A DeepSeek Harness skill bundle for Hearts of Iron IV 1.19.3 modding. It registers one skill,

hoi4-modding, and ships the working notes, references and Python tooling behind it, so the agent can

take an HOI4 mod from an empty folder to a verified, installed, error.log-clean mod — and debug the

parts that actually go wrong: tech-tree pages, the tank designer, icons, CJK fonts, scripted GUI and

topbar buttons.

• One skill, no background services. Installing the package only adds skill metadata; nothing runs

until you ask for a task and the agent invokes a bundled script.

• Built from real sessions. Every reference section cites the game/mod file and line it came from;

the 1.4.0 round is a read-only survey of 23 workshop mods (~44 GB) plus four overhauls (Kaiserreich,

The Fire Rises, East Showdown, Road to 56).

• 14 Python tools. All standard library except dds_helper.py (Pillow) — verifier, installer,

tech-tree/icon/font auditors, designer layout generator, DDS pipeline.

• No game assets, no network calls, no API keys.

Current release: 1.4.1 — see [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md). The package is also listed in

dsh-market through the awesome-dsh-plugin index (category skill).

Install

# npm (what a market install does)
dsh plugin --profile web add dsh-hoi4-modding

# or straight from this repo
dsh plugin --profile web add github:a1249070611/dsh-hoi4-modding

Restart / refresh as the host asks. The skill shows up in the session skill catalog; trigger it by

asking for HOI4 work ("做个 HOI4 mod", "加个国策树", "mod 报错了") or explicitly "load hoi4-modding".

The bundle works on DeepSeek Harness 0.2.x (engines.dsh: >=0.2.0 <0.3.0).

If the game is installed somewhere unusual, set HOI4_GAME / HOI4_USER_DIR; otherwise the scripts

auto-detect the Steam install and the player mod/ directory.

What it covers

Area · What the skill knows how to do

Mod authoring · Scaffold descriptor.mod + .mod + localisation + a runnable idea/event (optional focus tree); focus trees, events, decisions, ideas, characters, technologies, states/resources/buildings, dynamic variables and modifiers, MIO, special projects, scripted GUI panels, text/icons/GFX registration

Tech-tree UI · technology_folders.available must use original_tag (flag-based conditions silently drop every connection line); big/small item mixing needs the small item background sprites to point at real small textures; split/merge pages; @ grid macros; gridbox as a draw filter; three debugging recipes

Tank designer · Window/slot position tables, 16- and 18-slot layouts (7+4+7), module_slots data order vs pos_custom_module_slot_window_N, module categories, the fixed-size 1092×553 window background trap, duplicate_archetypes and gui_category

3D tank models · graphic_db → entity (.asset) → pdxmesh (.gfx) → .mesh/.anim/.dds; reuse vanilla entities, repaint, or custom mesh; effect nodes (barrel, tracks, exhaust)

Icon pipeline · Photo/vector → 173×77 .dds with safe area and card preview, background removal (transparent/white/8px checkerboard), white-paint protection, 183×84 card self-check

Scripted GUI & topbar · containerWindowType only (windowType fails), <button>_click effect naming, topbar plate extension and alert/info-bar offsets, the three topbar mounting patterns, why scripted windows are never auto-closed by native windows, TNO-style native-shell tabs

Localisation & fonts · UTF-8 with BOM, key rules, multi-line escaping; the real CJK ???? root cause (interface/core_chinese.gfx bitmapfont_override slices — every .fnt has zero CJK glyphs), 37 safe font names, custom font slices, font_audit.py

Verification & triage · Static lint (syntax/encoding/BOM/localisation/GFX/ID conflicts/.mod), tech-page audit, item-size vs sprite check, error.log triage table, acceptance checklist that requires a real new-game test

Knowledge base · Compact cheatsheet for 15 common tasks, a topic→deep-doc index, the 23-workshop-mod technique survey, and a multi-agent division-of-labour playbook (survey / build / audit write domains, handoff contract)

Bundled tools

Run with the script directory of the installed skill ($S below). Python 3.10+; only DDS work needs

Pillow.

Script · What it does

new_mod.py · Scaffold a runnable mod (.mod, descriptor.mod, BOM localisation, example idea/event, optional focus tree) and lint it

hoi4_lint.py · Static verifier: syntax, encoding/BOM, localisation, GFX references, ID conflicts, .mod structure; builds a vanilla index on first run (--no-vanilla to skip)

install_mod.py · Copy-install into the player mod/ directory and enable in the playset (--uninstall to remove); never touches the game install

build_reference.py · Generate effects/triggers/modifiers/console references from the game's own documentation/*.md

dds_helper.py · Generate or inspect HOI4 DDS icons (Pillow)

pdx_parser.py · Tolerant PDX script parser shared by the linter

tech_tree_audit.py · Audit tech pages: registry vs page/tab/item templates/gridboxes/techs/localisation

tech_folder_available.py · Migrate technology_folders.available from has_country_flag to original_tag (--check / --apply / --revert, backs up)

item_sprite_check.py · Compare item template sizes with the actual item background sprite pixels ("small item looks big")

errorlog_triage.py · Triage error.log into tech-tree / texture / scope / unknown-field / localisation buckets

tank_designer_probe.py · Probe the desi

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