Modding Guide

In this guide we'll explain all the nuts and bolts of modding Stonehearth, how to make mods from scratch and how to speed up your modding using tools.

Modding

As defined by Wikipedia, modding is "the alteration of the program code of a video game in order to make it operate in a manner different from its original version." Stonehearth was developed to support modding, although the APIs themselves are still undergoing changes. As long as Stonehearth is in Alpha, expect that mods may not work between versions.[1]

Starting Advice

Before delving into the particularities of modding, it is always a good idea to plan carefully what you want to add to your mod. Sometimes there are so many ideas that one wants to include, that it's hard to know where to start. Then, after some hours, days, or weeks, real life gets in the middle and you either lose interest, or don't have time anymore. By planning your desired features and organizing them in small bits, you will have more chances to finish your mod successfully. It's always better to start small and expand onto that.

Everything begins by designing and planning. So take a moment to write your ideas down, express how do you want the game to behave, and once you've taken a look at the several systems of the modding API, think of different ways to achieve your goals, and split those into small tasks.

If you feel overwhelmed by all that you want to do, you can get help from fellow modders. For example, some users know how to make nice models or animations, but have trouble with the programming side, and viceversa. Some of the best mods out there were started by teams of two or more modders. So feel free to share your ideas or ask questions at our forums: https://discourse.stonehearth.net/c/modding

Table of Contents

  1. Modding Essentials : The must-read topics for beginners.
  2. Basic Modding : How to make simple mods to get you started.
    • Art Workflow : The workflow for creating 2D and 3D art for your mods.
  3. Intermediate Modding : More complex modding topics.
  4. Advanced Modding : Scripting-heavy topics.

References

[1]: From http://stonehearth.gamepedia.com/Modding