FriedMeat - Union Plugin [Gothic I/G1A/G2/G2NotR]

FriedMeat is a Union plugin for Gothic I/G1A/G2/G2NotR that turns raw meat into fried meat when a monster burns after taking fire damage. The plugin detects fire effects so it works with all fire damage sources including fire spells, Uriziel sword in Gothic 1 and fire attacks from other NPCs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj85yz3gCaE

Features

• Automatic Meat Cooking: Raw meat in creature inventories is automatically converted to cooked meat when a monster burns after taking fire damage
• Smart NPC Filtering: Only affects non-human NPCs (animals and monsters), leaving human NPCs unaffected
• JSON Configuration: Easily configurable meat pairs through JSON file supporting multiple mods
• Multi-Game Support: Compatible with Gothic I Classic, Gothic I Addon, Gothic II Classic, Gothic II NotR, and popular mods
• Union Menu Integration: Enable/disable plugin and access project page directly from Union settings

Installation

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page
2. Extract FriedMeat.vdf to your [Gothic]\Data\Plugins folder
3. Launch Gothic - the plugin will load automatically

Usage

Basic Mechanics

• Fire Damage Detection: Plugin monitors all damage dealt to NPCs and detects fire-based effects
• Instant Conversion: When a fire effect is detected, the NPC is marked for meat conversion
• Death Processing: Upon NPC death, all raw meat in their inventory is converted to cooked meat
• Human Protection: Human NPCs are excluded from meat conversion to prevent unintended effects

Configuration

Through Union Menu (Recommended)

1. Launch the game
2. Go to Main Menu → Options → Union
3. Find "FriedMeat" in the list
4. Configure options:
   • Enabled: Toggle the plugin on/off
   • CheckSpells: Enable if fire spells don't ignite enemies (for mods like Archolos where some creatures don't burn)

Configuration Options

Option	Description	Default
Enabled	Enable/disable the entire plugin	On
CheckSpells	Also check for fire spell damage (configurable in JSON)	On

Through JSON Configuration File

The plugin uses SYSTEM/FriedMeat.json to define meat conversion pairs and fire spells:

{
    "fireSpells": {
        "gothic1": [
            { "id": 13, "name": "SPL_PYROKINESIS" },
            { "id": 17, "name": "SPL_FIREBOLT" },
            { "id": 18, "name": "SPL_FIRESTORM" },
            { "id": 19, "name": "SPL_FIRERAIN" }
        ],
        "gothic2": [
            { "id": 19, "name": "SPL_FIREBOLT" },
            { "id": 23, "name": "SPL_INSTANTFIREBALL" },
            { "id": 30, "name": "SPL_CHARGEFIREBALL" },
            { "id": 37, "name": "SPL_PYROKINESIS" },
            { "id": 38, "name": "SPL_FIRESTORM" },
            { "id": 42, "name": "SPL_FIRERAIN" },
            { "id": 100, "name": "SPL_FIREWAVE", "mod": "archolos" }
        ]
    },
    "meatPairs": {
        "classic": [
            { "raw": "ITFOMUTTONRAW", "cooked": "ITFOMUTTON" }
        ],
        "archolos": [
            { "raw": "ITFO_MOLERATMEAT_RAW", "cooked": "ITFO_MOLERATMEAT" },
            { "raw": "ITFO_TROLLMEAT_RAW", "cooked": "ITFO_TROLLMEAT" },
            { "raw": "ITAT_MEATBUGFLESH", "cooked": "ITAT_MEATBUGFLESH_FRIED" },
            { "raw": "ITAT_RATMEATRAW", "cooked": "ITFO_ROASTEDRATMEAT" },
            { "raw": "ITFO_BEARRAW", "cooked": "ITFO_BEAR" },
            { "raw": "ITFO_BOAR_RAW", "cooked": "ITFO_BOAR" },
            { "raw": "ITFO_CRABRAW", "cooked": "ITFO_CRAB" },
            { "raw": "ITFO_SCAVENGERMEAT_RAW", "cooked": "ITFO_SCAVENGERMEAT" },
            { "raw": "ITFO_SHADOWMEAT_RAW", "cooked": "ITFO_SHADOWMEAT" },
            { "raw": "ITFO_SHEEP_RAW", "cooked": "ITFO_SHEEPFRIED" },
            { "raw": "ITFO_WOLFMEAT_RAW", "cooked": "ITFO_WOLFMEAT" }
        ]
    }
}

Adding Custom Meat Pairs

To add support for new mods or custom meat types:

1. Open SYSTEM/FriedMeat.json in a text editor
2. Add a new category in meatPairs section:

{
    "fireSpells": { ... },
    "meatPairs": {
        "classic": [...],
        "archolos": [...],
        "your_mod": [
            { "raw": "CUSTOM_RAW_MEAT", "cooked": "CUSTOM_COOKED_MEAT" }
        ]
    }
}

3. Save the file and restart the game

Adding Custom Fire Spells

If your mod adds new fire spells, you can add them to the fireSpells section:

1. Find the spell ID in your mod's scripts (look for SPL_ constants)
2. Add to the appropriate engine section (gothic1 or gothic2):

{
    "fireSpells": {
        "gothic2": [
            { "id": 19, "name": "SPL_FIREBOLT" },
            { "id": 100, "name": "SPL_FIREWAVE", "mod": "archolos" },
            { "id": 101, "name": "SPL_CUSTOM_FIRE", "mod": "your_mod" }
        ]
    }
}

3. The "mod" field is optional and for now serves as documentation only

Supported Games and Mods

Base Games

• Gothic I Classic: ✅ Supported
• Gothic I Addon: ✅ Supported
• Gothic II Classic: ✅ Supported
• Gothic II NotR: ✅ Supported

Popular Mods

• The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos: ✅ Pre-configured with 11 meat pairs
• Other Mods: Easily configurable through JSON file if they use different meat instances than classic Gothic

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2019 or later
• Union SDK v1.0m
• nlohmann/json library (included)

Build Steps

1. Clone this repository
2. Copy ZenGin folder from Union SDK to FriedMeat/ZenGin/
3. Open FriedMeat.sln in Visual Studio
4. Select "MP x4 MT Release" configuration
5. Build the solution
6. Find the compiled DLL in the Bin/ folder

Credits

Development

• Plugin Author - Raster96
• Union Team - For the excellent Union SDK framework
• nlohmann - For the JSON library
• Gothic Community - For continued support and testing

License

MIT License

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Loading

• Ensure FriedMeat.vdf is in the correct folder: [Gothic]\Data\Plugins
• Check that Union is properly installed
• Verify Gothic version compatibility
• Check that SYSTEM/FriedMeat.json exists and is valid JSON

Meat Not Converting

• Verify the plugin is enabled in Union menu
• Ensure creatures are dying from fire damage (look for fire visual effects)
• Check that the raw meat names in JSON match your game/mod exactly
• Confirm the creature is not human (plugin only affects animals/monsters)
• Archolos Note: Some creatures like Trolls and Molerats don't catch fire from certain spells. Enable the CheckSpells option in Union menu to also detect fire spell damage directly.

JSON Configuration Issues

• Validate JSON syntax using an online JSON validator
• Ensure raw and cooked meat instance names are correct for your game/mod
• Verify total meat pairs don't exceed 128 limit

Game Crashes

• Ensure you're using the correct plugin version for your Gothic version
• Check that all referenced meat instances exist in your game/mod
• Try reducing the number of meat pairs if experiencing issues

Contributing

This is a community project. Feel free to:

• Report bugs in the Issues section
• Submit improvements via Pull Requests
• Share feedback and suggestions
• Add support for new mods by contributing JSON configurations
• Test with different Gothic versions and mods
• Discord: raster96

Version History

• v1.0.1

  • CheckSpells option & JSON fire spells
  • Added CheckSpells option for mods where fire spells don't trigger burn effects
  • Fire spell IDs now configurable in JSON (separate for Gothic 1 and Gothic 2)
  • Easy to add custom fire spells for mods

• v1.0.0 - Initial release

  • Fire damage detection system
  • Automatic meat conversion on death
  • JSON configuration support
  • Multi-game compatibility
  • Union menu integration
  • Human NPC protection

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