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Modding / Installing Mods - A Simple Guide
« on: November 27, 2016, 12:49:53 AM »Mod Installation Guide
To newcomers reading this: Hello and welcome to Starsector (Fractal Softworks) forums! Starting a modded play through is easy, but requires a few steps and preparation. I've created this thread to help newer players and it has links to all mentioned stuff (updated, unless stated otherwise). I will try to keep it up to date and will include date of modification to the content of this thread.
Be sure to read through every mods page if you intend to use them! They often contain critical information to make the mod work correctly such as dependencies or cross-mod compatibility issues.
Current Core Game: 0.8.1a-RC8
List Updated at: 14/October/2017
Many thanks to:
Tartiflette for revamping this thread from day one!
MesoTronik for pointers and advice.
Starsector Fan Chat Discord for all the encouragement!
Reminder:Please delete a mod's folder before installing a new updated version instead of overwriting/merging it. It's the cause of errors that is commonly reported, so, please I say.
Notes:
- If you are having some problem with a modded game, check the Mod Troubleshooting Guide first.
- Sometimes, a bug could occur due to differences in Windows, Mac OS or iOS, and Linux (because the modder... *** up. Be gentle! Sometimes it's an oversight and they tire themselves too much! ;P).
- You can narrow down the probable cause of the problem by switching on and off the mods one by one and loading the game. Then testing them with each other. It’s tedious, but it works.
- In the case that a problem could not be identified after checking your list of mods, please consult with a knowledgeable forum member or mod author (especially if you found their mod to be root of the problem).
- Additionally, it is advisable to provide the part of ‘starsector.log’ text file from ‘starsector-core’ folder that shows the error. It is usually at the very end portions of the log.
- For those that run the game on Windows, there's a free program called 'Baretail' that allows you to view the log in real time and opens quicker than Word or Notepad. Beware though, it is something you have to read through properly to get an understanding of what it does. Advisable for the very tech savvy.
- If you couldn't find the source of the issue, post a report in the Modded Support Section.
If you want to play older versions of Starsector, you must use the correct version of the mods for that version. Ask around for links to files or a repository for the old mods. Generally speaking, older versions of mods are not supported anymore. Use them at your own risks.
Also, there's the misconception between 'incompatible' and 'not supported'. In simple words:
- Incompatible mods will cause the game to not load/crash if they are active at the same time.
- 'Not supported' stems from mods like Dynasector that supports certain mods and grants them features from itself. A mod that is 'not supported' by another mod usually means that both mods can be active at the same time and the features of the mods would apply only to their respective mods.
First thing to do:
Allocate sufficient memory in for Starsector with mods. Open the 'vmparams' file and change the allocated memory accordingly.
Here's a thread pertaining to that matter and its importance.
Here is a video guide made by a community member of Starsector and a Let's Player:
Some other useful tips.
- For unzipping the downloaded files, I would recommend 7-zip because it can handle almost any type of file format mods are packaged into.
- Sometimes, you have to manually fix somethings. To do that, you need to open files and manually overwrite, remove or add stuff. For a clean and easier time opening and modifying said files, I would recommend Notepad++.
- In rare occasions, it's difficult to fix some things broken by yourself even if you have the tools for it. For that situation, I would advise just to wait for the author of the mod to take action.
Due to some circumstances:
- I have labelled mods that may cause issues with * at the end of their names.
- This is usually bugged, imbalanced and/or have issues that could crop up.
I also have:
- Some mods are supported by the mod Dynasector, thus, I've given them a DS superscript at the end of their names.
- Added this download for an alternate/newer xstream file. It is to be used in the case your game has crashes while saving a lot. This reduces that basically as well speeds up saving entirely. To use, just replace the xstream file that is in starsector-core folder with this one.
Second thing to do: Non-Faction mods.
Required libraries:
- LazyLib: Library adding coding functionalities commonly used by other mods.
- GraphicsLib: Library adding graphical functionalities commonly used by other mods as well as enhancing the base game's graphics.
Warning: GraphicsLib can cause issues with older GPU or outdated drivers, consult the Mod Troubleshooting Guide if you are experiencing graphical glitches with this mod enabled.
Gameplay changing mods:
- Dynasector: Diversifies the load outs of ships in fleets. Only applies to Vanilla (and ships added to Vanilla fleets) and DS supported mods though.
- Nexerelin: Want to conquer the stars!? Want a random sector!? Here you go!
Miscellany mods that add stuff:
~ Musical & Sounds:
~ Visual:
~ Ships and/or weapons:
- Arsenal Expansion
- Disassemble Reassemble
- Hegemony Expeditionary Auxiliary Fleet
- Project ATX*
- Rebalanced Pilums*
- Ship/Weapon PackDS
- Someone's Discount Shipyard*
- UNITINU - Odyssey Derivatives
- Useable [REDACTED]*
- Wriath's Ship Additions*
~ Extra Spice:
- Better Beginning (This is overwritten if Nexerelin is active)
- Combat Chatter
- Common Radar
- Degenerate (Anime) Portrait Pack
- Portrait Pack
- Safety Overrides for Capital Ships
- Simulator Overhaul
- Target Leading Pip
- Target Practice
- Weird Anime Portrait Pack
~ Unsung Help:
Third thing to do: Faction mods!
Now we move on to faction mods, the ones players will, admittedly, look at first. I’ll be using some terms that Dark.Revenant uses in his description for supported factions in Dynasector. This is to describe factions in this list in a somewhat similar fashion.
Faction mods of normal toughness:
Pretty good overall and good looking ships. Generally not problematic and a good start before diving into the more esoteric stuff.
Blurb: Military green and grey ships with an overall focus on being very mobile and fast active venting. | ||
Blurb: White colored ships (with a few mix colours here and there) with a pristine, blocky appearance and a focus on sharp maneuvers and active venting. | ||
Blurb: Red coloured ships with white highlights. Contains uniquely animated fighters and a unique transforming super frigate. | ||
Blurb: Bricky golden yellow ships with white highlights that fly fast or slow in a fleet focussed playstyle. Also one of the best in stand off poke battles. | ||
Blurb: Dark purple blocky ships with golden dressings. Broadsides like nobody's business with a focus on unique energy based artillery weapons. | ||
Blurb: Grey blue ships with great speed and flexibility. Diverse cast with just about anything a faction would want. Features ships with modular components. | ||
Blurb: Smooth curvy ships with spectacular light cyan and dark green colouring. A focus on high tech like capabilities and mobility with a higher reliance on shields. | ||
Blurb: An assortment of light green ships with red highlights as well as an assorted addition of Vanilla like ships. Lots of content. |
Faction mods for advanced players/tougher gameplay:
These mods are meant as something like boss factions, but their creators made it balanced in a way that they are counter-able and their gear hard to acquire to avoid power creep. Beware, they will destroy you if you are not prepared.
Blurb: One of the balanced boss factions. Scary mechanics, fighters and weapons. | ||
Blurb: Comes with upgrades for pirates and introduces a new faction. Both provide unique features. Difficulty of the Cabal increases with the number of Dynasector supported mods if Dynasector is on. They will extort you dry! Additionally, you as the player can extort cargo/trade fleets too! |
Faction mods that are WIP towards achieving a balanced/complete state:
Blurb: Imagine if zombies came from space. Well, this fulfils the fantasy I suppose. Balance is quirky. | ||
Blurb: Overpowered. A Diable inspired mod with green that's hard to see against most background. | ||
Blurb: Light blue ships with a race car like theme. Fast and powerful, but brittle and very very short operation periods. | ||
Blurb: Fighter wings mostly with only a handful of ships. Inspired by several sources. | ||
Blurb: Faction based around a mining theme. Nice looking ships with some having a bit of a strong ship systems. Balance is quirky at best. | ||
Blurb: Tanky and high techy. Grey-ish dark with harsh lines aiming at the theme of a big mining cooperation. | ||
Blurb: A mod with controversial history, with dark red and blackish brown ships that mostly focuses on heavy shielding while having rather generous amount of weapons slots with very large arcs. A bit overpowered. | ||
Blurb: An old mod revived once more by its original author. Desert like colouration and theme for the ships with a heavy emphasis of a lot of built-in weapons. | ||
Blurb: A rather peculiar mod focussing on old style naval ships. Rather narrow and long profiles. Ships from this mod are added to Vanilla fleets. | ||
Blurb: Lots of galvanised ships that are mish mash of Vanilla ships with a peculiar thing here and there. Rather repetitive is most cases. Whether it's interesting or not depends on you as the player. |
Mods requiring feedback to improve:
These mods are... different. Mostly in terms of art style that just doesn't quite click (for me at least). Or has issues. Up to you as the player to judge however. The * tag applies to all of the mods here.
Blurb: N/a. | ||
Blurb: Dark blue ships revamp courtesy of DrakonST. Give em' feedback I suppose. | ||
Blurb: A mod with crystalline and spiky ships with heavy emphasis and only built-in weapons on their ships bar some odd ones. | ||
Blurb: An older mod revived. Not much has been changed aside from compatibility updates. | ||
Blurb: Rather pleasant set of orange weird looking ships. A new revamp courtesy of DrakonST again, so comment to help with the balance! | ||
Blurb: An old mod revived. Peculiar red and oversized lumpy ships. | ||
Blurb: N/a. |
Here are some very experimental mods. Use with a degree of caution I suppose.
Gameplay modifiers:
- Active Gates: An experiment to make the gates in campaign do something.
- Remnant Autofactory: An experiment to create an expansion based on the Omnifactory
- Thar Be Dragons: Clears out hyperspace clouds from overlapping hyperspace gates and introduces predatory fleet that'll jump a player from hyperspace clouds (very large and very OP fleets, may cause issue with system).
Utility Tools:
- The Infrastructure Mod: Attempt at making markets have interactive trades.
- Starsector Rebalance Mod: someone's opinion on how things should be balanced.
- UTILITY - EZ Faction: Peculiar tool for market creation. Likely unstable.
- UTILITY - Starsector Fx: Modifies some graphical effects of Starsector.
Mods that add factions, ships and/or weapons:
- The Asimov Institute:N/a.
- The Explorer Society: Requires EZ Faction. A sample of what EZ Faction can do.
- Reclaimed Derelicts: Introduces ships made from Derelict parts.
- WH40K - Imperium of Man:A weird Warhammer mod.
- Star Wars Rebalanced: A WIP port of the famous franchise. Experimental.
- Steelclad: The WIP revival attempt for Ironclads. Currently not a Total Convsersion. For more details, please visit the thread.
- Terraformers: Weird blocky and flat large ships.
If you have any problems or questions, don't be afraid to ask!
Hope this helps!
Thanks for reading! Leave your comments if you like!