Update - working with version 0.35aTo get mods to work with the 0.35a preview release, add "gameVersion":"0.35a" to the descriptor. And actually make sure the mod works, too. The main issue is some stock ship variants have different ids now, and if your mod was using those, it'll need to be updated with the new ids.
Another issue is a bug with the CSV loader - it won't handle quotes correctly in the first row. - this is fixed in RC2, which is now out.
OverviewMods can either modify existing entities (ships, weapons, missions, etc) or add entirely new ones.
The directory structure of a mod mirrors that of the game itself. In addition, each mod has a mod_info.json file at the top level which specifies its id, display name, version, and a brief description.
You can look at a mod as being a copy of the game, but containing only the parts that are different from the vanilla version.
Example ModsSome simple mod examples to get you started:
- Example 1: simple mod that adds one mission to the game.
- Example 2: slightly more involved mod that adds a ship hull + variant, modifies a weapon, and adds a mission that uses the new ship. Behold my fearsome art skills on display as I boldly color-shift a sprite to create the Red Tempest. It's safe to say David was not involved in this.
Note on Adding Ships/Weapons/etc (Important!)Anything your mod adds (a ship, a ship variant, a weapon, a mission, etc) has an id.
Please use a prefix specific to your mod for these ids. For instance, in the 2nd example mod, you'll notice that the new ship's id is "ex2_red_tempest", with "ex2_" being the mod-specific prefix.
Also,
put graphics your mod adds in a separate directory. If your mod name is "my_mod", you could put your ships under graphic/my_mod/ships, weapons under graphics/my_mod/weapons, etc.
If you don't do this, other mods and future versions of the game might have unintentional conflicts with your mod. That would be very, very bad.
Note: DO NOT put weapon and ship data files in a different directory. The game expects to find those under data/weapons and data/ships respectively, and these already have IDs to help tell apart. Multiple mods having the same filename for a weapon/ship is fine as long as the ids are different (see first point above).
Installing ModsTo install a mod, download it and unzip it into the "mods" directory. On Windows, it's in the installation directory. On Mac, it's right inside the application package - right-click on the application and select "Show Package Contents" to see it. On Linux, it's in the starfarer directory.
You can select which mod(s) you want to run with in the launcher.