Loading Texture2DAtlas using ContentPipeline - Building data .json as .xnb?

[romato18]

I'm having difficulty loading a Texture2DAtlas using the ContentPipeline by following the docs. I've configured my setup according to the Getting Started page, so I've added the reference to the Pipeline .dll in my MGCB file and the snippet to my .csproj file. I have a datafile spritesheet.json and a texture file spritesheet-texture.png. I load as such

Content.Load<Texture2DAtlas>("spritesheet");

But I get a runtime error since the ContentManager expects the content file in OpenStream() to be an .xnb file, but my data file is .json. How do I build the data file as a .xnb? I don't see any instruction on how to do this in the docs.

Currently I'm using Martenfur/NoPipeline so it should just be a matter of specifying the importer and processor. I've tried TexturePackerJsonImporter and TexturePackerJsonProcessor, but my MGCB won't build if I do that - perhaps I haven't properly imported the .dll after all?

Edit:

I've done some more research and answered some of my own questions, but I still can't resolve TexturePackerJsonImporter or TexturePackerProcessor in my MGCB file.

I now know that if the MGCB action is set to build, then part of that pipeline is building the file as a .xnb in the output dir. So my issue has been simplified to "The content pipeline can't resolve the correct importer from MonoGame.Extended.Content.Pipeline.dll.

I reproduced this on a brand new Monogame project.

.csproj

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
    <PropertyGroup>
        <OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
        <RollForward>Major</RollForward>
        <PublishReadyToRun>false</PublishReadyToRun>
        <TieredCompilation>false</TieredCompilation>
    </PropertyGroup>
    <PropertyGroup>
        <ApplicationManifest>app.manifest</ApplicationManifest>
        <ApplicationIcon>Icon.ico</ApplicationIcon>
    </PropertyGroup>
    <PropertyGroup>
        <MonoGameExtendedPipelineReferencePath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)pipeline-references</MonoGameExtendedPipelineReferencePath>
    </PropertyGroup>
    <ItemGroup>
        <None Remove="Icon.ico"/>
        <None Remove="Icon.bmp"/>
    </ItemGroup>
    <ItemGroup>
        <EmbeddedResource Include="Icon.ico"/>
        <EmbeddedResource Include="Icon.bmp"/>
    </ItemGroup>
    <ItemGroup>
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Extended" Version="5.3.1" />
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Extended.Content.Pipeline" Version="5.3.1" />
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Framework.DesktopGL" Version="3.8.1.303"/>
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Content.Builder.Task" Version="3.8.1.303"/>
    </ItemGroup>
    <Target Name="RestoreDotnetTools" BeforeTargets="Restore">
        <Message Text="Restoring dotnet tools" Importance="High"/>
        <Exec Command="dotnet tool restore"/>
    </Target>
</Project>

I can indeed see the pipeline-references dir being built and populated with the correct .dll.

.mgcb

#----------------------------- Global Properties ----------------------------#

/outputDir:bin/$(Platform)
/intermediateDir:obj/$(Platform)
/platform:DesktopGL
/config:
/profile:Reach
/compress:False

#-------------------------------- References --------------------------------#

/reference:<absolute_path_to_project>/pipeline-references/MonoGame.Extended.Content.Pipeline.dll

#---------------------------------- Content ---------------------------------#

#begin spritesheet-texture.png
/importer:TextureImporter
/processor:TextureProcessor
/processorParam:ColorKeyColor=255,0,255,255
/processorParam:ColorKeyEnabled=True
/processorParam:GenerateMipmaps=False
/processorParam:PremultiplyAlpha=True
/processorParam:ResizeToPowerOfTwo=False
/processorParam:MakeSquare=False
/processorParam:TextureFormat=Color
/build:spritesheet-texture.png

#begin spritesheet.json
/importer:TexturePackerJsonImporter
/processor:TexturePackerProcessor
/build:spritesheet.json

I generally don't use the MGCB editor, but when I do open it I see the correct absolute path in the references section.
But I get the build failure

Failed to load assembly '<absolute_path_to_project>/pipeline-references/MonoGame.Extended.Content.Pipeline.dll': Unable to load one or more of the requested types.
Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline, Version=3.8.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.

...

<absolute_path_to_project>/Content/spritesheet-texture.png
<absolute_path_to_project>/Content/spritesheet.json
0>spritesheet.json: Error  : Failed to create importer 'TexturePackerJsonImporter'
0>MonoGame.Content.Builder.Task.targets(142,5): Error MSB3073 : The command "dotnet "mgcb" /quiet /@:"<absolute_path_to_project>/Content/Content.mgcb" /platform:DesktopGL /outputDir:"<absolute_path_to_project>/Content/bin/DesktopGL/Content" /intermediateDir:"<absolute_path_to_project>/Content/obj/DesktopGL/net8.0/Content" /workingDir:"<absolute_path_to_project>/Content/"" exited with code 1.
0>------- Finished building project: MonoGameProject1. Succeeded: False. Errors: 2. Warnings: 0

Seems like I am missing System.Runtime somehow?

[romato18]

I found the root cause to be version mismatches. When I updated my .csproj to use MonoGame version 3.8.4.0, it built without errors.

    <ItemGroup>
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Extended" Version="5.3.1" />
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Extended.Content.Pipeline" Version="5.3.1" />
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Framework.Content.Pipeline" Version="3.8.4" />
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Framework.DesktopGL" Version="3.8.4" />
        <PackageReference Include="MonoGame.Content.Builder.Task" Version="3.8.4" />
    </ItemGroup>

Hope this helps someone in the future!