GON Modding

GON modding is the first of two major parts of modding. GON files, located in the Data folder, are the code that the game reads. The GON section of this wiki explains this further in detail.

.GON objects

GON objects are, in many facets, technically a table with a name attached to it. These "tables" are given certain metas and assigned different specifications based on the file they show up as. For instance, a object defined in "furniture.gon.append" would not be recognized as a enemy, nor the other way around.

Creating new .GON files and objects

There are two ways to do this; the first way is just by appending to a file that already exists (read more here). The second is by making a new file with a new name; as long as a file is in a certain folder, it is identified as a specific object. (CITATION NEEDED)

For instance, if you have made a new class through classes.gon.patch, you could make a .gon file in the abilities folder for it using your own class name, such as "mynewclass_abilities". These abilities will then be read by the game and "approved" as a ability object, which can then be thrown into your class's ability pool.

It is highly recommended to append to a pre-existing file if that's what the scenario calls for. New enemies should still be in characters/enemies if possible; new disorder abilities should be in abilities/disorders.

Creating new objects outside of .GON capabilities

Because the base code for most methods in the game is hardcoded under a name or variable, outside of DLL modding we are unable to create "new" objects for anything outside of the base .gon files. (For example, a DLL mod could make a extra button, but a .gon mod cannot because we are limited to the functions in the .gon files) You can learn more about that in the DLL section of this wiki.

Pre-existing .GON file names

While it's highly suggested to look in the files yourself using the official File Unpacker, here's a handy list of what we can edit/add to for each major .gon file!

A "/" at the end of a header name means it is folder.

Abilities/

Abilities are coded actives in the game. They constitue what should happen to a subject, who the subject is, and how it affects others in the battle. Read more about abilities here

We've split up the files of Abilities into 3 tables.

Allies / Classes

These do not include passives.

.GON Name	Implement/Purpose
butcher_abilities	Butcher's abilities.
colorless_abilities	Colorless abilities.
druid_abilities	Druid's abilities.
fighter_abilities	Melee's abilities.
hunter_abilities	Hunter's abilities.
jester_abilities	Jester's abilities.
mage_abilities	Mage's abilities.
medic_abilities	Cleric's abilities.
monk_abilities	Monk's abilities.
necromancer_abilities	Necromancer's abilities.
psychic_abilities	Psychic's abilities.
tank_abilities	Tank's abilities.
theif_abilities	Theif's abilities.
Tinkerer	Tinkerer's abilities.

Enemies

.GON Name	Implement/Purpose
finalboss_abilities	The Creator's abilities / attacks.
guillotina_abilities	Guillotina's abilities / attacks.
kaiju_abilities	Both kaiju's abilities / attacks.
rifthead_abilities	Soach's abilities.
special_enemy_abilities	Every non-boss's ability. This basically contains every enemy ability in the game.
throbbing_king_abilities	Throbbing King's abilities.

Misc / Neither

.GON Name	Implement/Purpose
abilities	Provides a basic ability template. Do not use.
armor_abilities	Abilities specifically set from armor.
basic_attacks	Sets up basic cat attacks.
basic_movement	Sets up basic movement styles and abilities.
consumable_item_abilities	"Abilities" - effects for each consumable.
contextual_abilities	Specific abilities for when the player is under a certain status, like trapped or short circuited.
disorder_abilities	Sets up abilities unique to disorders.
event_abilities	Despite the name, these are not abilities from events. Instead, these are used for certain in-battle events, such as rocks falling in the Caves.
item_abilities	Each item's abilities. Weapons, consumables, and head, neck, and face pieces. Base position for AOE usually starts at cat wearing it.
misc_abilities	These are a collection of random abilities too small to meet requirements as a actual ability. I.e. "Move One", "Form Shrink Two", "Do Nothing".
test_abilities	Seems to be a mishmash of unused, half-formed, or unfinished versions of actual abilities.
util_abilities	Contains the basic attack for each class.

Ability Templates/

Contains one file, with each ability template. Learn more about them here.

AI Presets/

Contains two major files, decision_presets and move_presets.

These presets are used for their respective file names. Decision partially controls the AI "thoughts" of a unit, while move controls how it should move on the map in relativeness to enemies and friends. You can learn more about them here.

Characters/

These are the entities of the game, what you see when you open up a battle.

Allies

.GON Name	Implement/Purpose
druid_friends	Crow, Squirrel, etc.
familiars	Maggots, pooters, etc. Most of these are variants of enemies.
player_cat	Constitutes the base player cat, shade cat, etc
rare_cat_tests	Constitutes the look for rare enemy cats; Pigs, Dog, Tyler, Sonichu, etc

Enemies

.GON Name	Implement/Purpose
bosses	Boss enemies.
cat_enemies	Because most cat-shaped enemies use the same system for appearance that player cats use, the game places them in this file to read their meta differently.
cat_minibosses	Same applies as cat_enemies.
enemies	All non-cat, non-small enemies.
guillotina	Guillotina's AI.
rifthead	Soach's AI.
small_enemies	Small enemy AI, like Dips and Maggots.
terminator	Both C-800 and C-1000's AI.
throbbing_king	Throbbing King's AI.

Neither / Misc

.GON Name	Implement/Purpose
bonus_birds	Neutral bird enemies.
inanimate_objects	Ice blocks, gas clouds, bombs, tumor (grid), poops, Gambit's die, etc.
pickups	While what a pickup does is defined in abilities, it's entity is defined here. It's ability is in the passive table.
test_enemies	Half-baked test enemies. Has "Spear Guy" and "Dummy".
world_event_specials	Any part of the world that is added or altered from external AI (like a enemy); i.e. DeadPinky, AlienEgg, SeducedBoulder etc.