View source for Creating a Mod

[[category:Mars Engine]]
{{note|todo|We're planning on implement proper Mod Creation workflow. We should have in-engine options for creating a new mod and packaging it up into a <code>.pak</code> file, but for now this is the process. }}

= What is a Mod? =
'Mods' allow you to add or modify Maps, Materials, EntityDefinitions or Assets or Scripting to the base game without having to change the original files. These can then be packaged up and distributed to other people for them to play, with no risk of breaking their existing installation.

You do not need to create a new Mod if you merely want to use the existing game assets in your map, as the <code>.map</code> file can be freely shared and loaded. However if you want to add any new assets, you will need to create a mod in order for them to work.

= Creating a Mod directory =

=== Windows ===

<code>%appdata%\Ironworks Games\The Last Exterminator</code><br/>
or<br/>
<code>C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Ironworks Games\The Last Exterminator</code><br/>
And create a folder called <code>Mods</code>.

In the <code>Mods</code> folder, create a new folder titled whatever you would like your mod to be called (With no spaces).

eg: <code>[...]\The Last Exterminator\Mods\MyMod</code>

And that's it! You can now load this folder as a Mod in-game.

= Loading a Mod =

Simple start the game, open the console with the Tilde (<code>~</code>) key, and type:

<code>loadMod MyMod</code>

and press Enter. (Note that capitalization is important)

Note that you will need to load this mod every time you start the game, otherwise any Asset additions or changes you make will not be added to your Mod.

= Filling out your Mod =

When you go to the [[:Category:Editor|Editor]], any additions or changes that you make to any Materials, EntityDefintions or Assets (Hereby just referred to collectively as 'Assets') will be added to your mod folder. Note, however, that existing Assets cannot be deleted, moved or renamed. If you'd like to keep your additions clean and easy to access, it's recommended to make a specific folder for your mod in each of the browsers.

Make sure that any maps are stored in a <code>[...]MyMod/Maps</code> folder.

{{note|todo|When the proper mod workflow goes in we're going to add something that allows for the creation of a 'Minimal' mod that doesn't inherit anything from the base game apart from a few key scripts to create a basic Menu and GameState, making the base-game-asset pollution less of a concern to people wanting to make a TC mod.}}

= Distributing your Mod =

When you're happy with your Mod and would like to share it with others, you can either share your entire Mod folder with other people, or create a <code>.pak</code> file.

== ModDefinition.mdf ==

A <code>ModDefinition.mdf</code> allows you to specify additional information about your mod, and allows the Mod menu to show that information to the user.

{{note|todo|Mod menu still needs to be created.}}

To create this file, all you need to do is create a text file called <code>ModDefinition.mdf</code> in the root of your Mod folder.

The contents of the file should be as follows:
<syntaxhighlight>
ModDefinition =
{
	; Properties go here
}
</syntaxhighlight>

'''Recommended Reading:''' [[MDF File Format]]

The properties available are:
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Description !! Default Value
|-
| ID || The name that you use in <code>loadMod</code> in order to load this mod. || Defaults to the name of the <code>.pak</code> file or Mod Folder.
|-
| Name || Plaintext name of the mod. Will be displayed on the Mod menu. || Defaults to the ID
|-
| Author || Your name, or the name of your group || 
|-
| Version || The current version of this mod as a whole number. Useful for making sure that people have the right version, or for doing checks in scripting. || 0
|-
| Description || A long-form description of your mod. Will be displayed in the Mod menu once your Mod is selected || 
|-
| Image || The filename of the image to display in the Mod menu, relative to your Mods base folder {{note|todo|Add information about preferred image sizes}} || <code>Image.png</code>
|}

All of these properties are optional, and if not supplied, the default value will be used.

== Creating a .pak file ==

=== Windows ===
Go into your Mod folder, select everything, right click, and select '''Send To -> Compressed (zipped) folder'''. Rename the extension to <code>.pak</code> (You may need to enable 'File name extensions' in Explorer), and you're done!

{{note|warning|Currently, the Windows Zip compressor uses a weird format which does '''not''' work on Linux. It's recommended to use another program such as 7Zip to create a pak file that can be read on any device.}}

== Install your Mod on other devices ==

=== Windows ===
Go to:
<code>%appdata%\Ironworks Games\The Last Exterminator\Mods</code><br/>
or<br/>
<code>C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Ironworks Games\The Last Exterminator\Mods</code><br/>
and put your .pak file or mod folder in there, then just start the game and type <code>loadMod MyMod</code> in the console.