What tools do I need to make my mod?
- Any text editor. You can use whichever editor you like, from Notepad, to Sublime. It's better if the text editor has features that help with programming, such as highlighting syntax, etc, but you can simply use the default editor that comes with Windows (Notepad).
That is the only required tool, actually, but depending on what your mod does, you will want more tools:
If you want to add your own models to the game, you'll need a voxel editor. There are free ones, like MagicaVoxel, VoxelShop or Goxel; and paid ones like Qubicle. It must have the option to export files in .qb format. Additionally, if you want to animate those models for the game, it'll need to have the option to export to another 3D format (.obj, etc.), and also be able to use "matrices" or different layers in the model, so that you can separate the different parts for animating.
For animation, you can use free programs like Blender, or paid programs like 3ds Max or Maya (these ones have free versions too). You'll need some kind of add-on or plugin that allows for skeletons and animations to be exported to the JSON structure that the game uses.
For checking JSON syntax, there's a convenient online tool called JsonLint, and there's also another tool for comparing the content of two JSON files: Json Diff.
For faster mod creation, there's WIP official SHED. It now includes a user-friendly particle effects editor, auto-complete for campaigns, and a recipes editor. It comes bundled with the game, but the version on Github can be more recent sometimes.
For easier translation of existing mods to other languages, there's thk's tool.