Ragatron is an open source hacking tool for desktop HTML5 games. The complete code is available on GitHub licensed GPLv2.
It originally targeted games developed by Lost Decade Games, but as of version 3.6, it now also targets Game Dev Tycoon! It is available for Windows and (Intel-based) Mac.
Built-in Hacks for Game Dev Tycoon
For now, the GDT hacks are minor, but they are mighty. Note that the only supported build is Humble Bundle version 2014-09-17:
Make your media edits in the generated work directory. DO NOT MOVE ANY FILES! Instead, directly edit the original files. All the super-critical files have been secured.
If you would like to cheat in the game, those are available through the Ragatron interface. It will drop in your cheats at the last minute from its own secure copy of the game. If you mess something up, just click “Unpack” again to undo your changes. Ragatron does not modify any original files.
Expanding the Cheats
Ragatron scans its run-time directory for *.xml files. If it doesn’t find any, it will load in its internal xml files. Take a look at gamedevtycoon.xml for guidance to add your own GDT hacks.
You aren’t the only one requesting Linux. I’d like to support it. Linux support is not a technical problem. It is a time problem.
This is an off-hours volunteer effort by me. Up until version 3, I didn’t support Mac either. I have place-holders in the code to eventually support Linux. I’m shooting for version 4.0 for it, and it would be a source code release (Ragatron has its dependencies statically-linked so it is easy to build).
Time. That is the only thing holding me back. I have to draw a line. For a while, it was Mac that got cut. For now, it is Linux.
Just because it compiles on Linux (it does) doesn’t mean it works. There is just enough variance between the all platforms that I must #ifdef in a few places to keep everything working.
The reason that Mac took so long is because the first couple versions were pretty crude. I targeted only Windows and hard-coded everything. If you dig through the current code, you can see I am decently organized now. The hacks are now contained in separate XML, and I build all the checkboxes dynamically. It took a lot of effort (from GitHub: a complete overhaul) to get it to that point, but this makes expanding Ragatron far easier.
Nice to see you on the forums!
With regards to above quote, your tool should work with all current builds except the windows store version as far as I am aware. The Humble Bundle build is exactly the same as the standard edition from our website, they share the same version number. Also I can not see a reason why it would not work with the Steam version unless you can fill me in? The steam version is also non DRM, and the .exe can be run directly from the local files folder.
You are correct. There is no technical reason why Ragatron will not work with other versions of your game. I should therefore clarify my statement: It has only been tested with the version from Humble.
However, there is a design reason for lack of Steam support. I intentionally do not target Steam versions because I did not want to mess up any achievement system that may be in place. Plus, I believe the Humble store offers the best profit margin, and I want to support indies the best I can.
Couldn’t help but notice its a Qt application, exactly what is holding you back on Linux? (and, before, Mac)