Standalone Application Overview

The standalone version of the game development tool is a desktop application that can be installed on a computer, and it allows the user to design and model game data, as well as generate source code for it. The standalone version is typically used by individual game developers or small development teams who want to work offline.

Requirements

Charon is a .NET Framework 4.7.2 and/or Mono 5.18.0 application. It currently uses .NET Core tools for bootstrap scripts.

WindowsMacOSLinux

1. Download and install .NET Framework 4.7.2+.

2. Download and install .NET Core 5+.

3. Make sure you have write access to %APPDATA%/Charon.

# check for mono is already installed
mono --version

# check for .NET Core is already installed
dotnet --version

Installation and Updates

There is two bootstrap scripts which download and run latest version of Charon on your PC:

• RunCharon.bat for Windows

• RunCharon.sh for Linux or MacOS

Both scripts require the dotnet tool to be available in PATH and mono installed for Linux and MacOS.

1. Download one of the scripts into a local folder charon.

   1. RunCharon.bat (Windows)

   2. RunCharon.sh (Linux, MacOS)

2. Navigate to the local folder cd charon.

3. Run RunCharon.bat or RunCharon.sh depending on your OS.

4. Wait for the script to automatically download and upgrade Charon.exe, and display help text.

5. Create an empty file named gamedata.json

6. Run Charon.exe in standalone mode

Or use following bootstrap script:

WindowsLinux, MacOS

rem ##### Load and run bootstrap script #####

@echo off
mkdir Charon
cd Charon
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gamedevware/charon/main/scripts/bootstrap/RunCharon.bat
echo. 2>  gamedata.json

rem ##### Start editor #####

RunCharon.bat SERVER START --database ./gamedata.json --launchDefaultBrowser --log out

Creating and Editing Game Data

Any empty gamedata.json file could be used as starting point for standalone application launch. The editor will automatically fill the empty file with the initial data.

WindowsLinux, MacOS

./RunCharon.bat SERVER START --database ./gamedata.json --launchDefaultBrowser --log out

After finishing your work, you could just terminate the process.

See also

• Nuget Package

• Bootstrap Scripts

• Basic Navigation and User Interface Overview

• Creating Document Type (Schema)

• Filling Documents

• Publication of Game Data

• Generating Source Code

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Glossary