System 3.x Extension for Visual Studio Code

This extension adds support for AliceSoft's System 3.x language.

Features

• Syntax highlighting for .ADV source files
• Documentation appears when you hover over a command name
• Go to Definition for functions
• Decompiling and compiling (using the bundled xsys35c)
• Debugging (using xsystem35-sdl2)

Prerequisites

• To view command documentation, you'll need the System 3.9 SDK.
• To use debugging features, you'll need xsystem35-sdl2 (version 2.0.0 or higher).

Getting Started

After meeting the prerequisites, follow these steps to get started:

1. Install this extension.
2. Open a folder containing System 3.x game files (*.ALD).
3. Open the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or F1), and enter system3x. Select System3x: Decompile from the list that appears. Decompiled source files will be saved in the src folder, and this extension will automatically open the first .ADV file.
4. If you want to use the debugger, you need xsystem35-sdl2.
   • On Windows, copy xsystem35.exe to the same folder as the *.ALD files.
   • On other platforms, follow the installation instructions for xsystem35-sdl2.
5. Press F5 to start debugging.

Feature Details

Decompiling

The System3x: Decompile command decompiles System 3.x game files (*.ALD and System39.ain) located in the workspace folder. This command generates decompiled source files in a src subfolder.

Compiling

By default, the Start Debugging command (F5) automatically rebuilds the game using source files in the src folder.

To build the game without running it, use the Run Build Task command (Ctrl+Shift+B) and choose xsys35c: build.

Running

If a launch.json file doesn't exist, pressing F5 will start xsystem35 (the game engine) with default settings. But this works only when an .ADV file is open in the current tab.

To make F5 consistently functional, or to customize launch settings, select Add Configuration from the Run menu. This will generate a launch.json file as follows:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "type": "xsystem35",
            "request": "launch",
            "name": "Debug",
            "program": "${config:system3x.xsystem35Path}",
            "runDir": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "srcDir": "${workspaceFolder}/src",
            "logLevel": 1,
            "stopOnEntry": false,
            "preLaunchTask": "xsys35c: build"
        }
    ]
}

Mouse hovering over the attributes will display their descriptions.

For example, to launch the game without building it, comment out the "preLaunchTask": "xsys35c: build" line.

Debugging

Refer to the Debugging documentation in VS Code to learn how to use the debugger.

The System 3.x debugger supports the following operations:

• Breakpoints
• Conditional breakpoints
• Step-through execution
• Data inspection
• Debug console REPL
• Color palette viewer (in the Run and Debug View of the side bar)

Extension Settings

To access your settings, open the Settings editor (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,) and search for system3x.