Hi all, I might be biting off more than I can chew, but how hard do you think it would it be to create a set of craftable furniture that look like aquariums, hamster cages, a reptile enclosure, and so on? I am fairly confident that I could create the art, as I've done pixel artwork before, but I've never even worked with sprites, let alone modded anything. I would love if I could give them simple 3-5 frame animations, something simple along the lines of a snake flicking its tongue in and out, a hamster endlessly running on a wheel, or a fish bobbing up and down in its tank. Is this feasible? Hope's craftable fish bowl (http://community.playstarbound.com/threads/hopes-mods.130359/) gave me the idea. I don't think I could create an animation that complex, but I really love the idea of having small pets in my farmhouse. Any and all advice/feedback is appreciated! I've already read through the modding page on the wiki, so I have some idea of what I'd have to do, but I'm unsure on the practical details. Do I have to replace existing pieces of furniture, or can I add to the existing collection if I use something like Custom Element Handler? How do I use Custom Element Handler? Is there even anyone else interested in this idea, or would I be making a mod just for myself - I'd be fine with that, lol, there just would be no reason to post it here if that were the case. And so on. I'll update this thread with art and stuff as I make progress. List of Pets I'd Like to Add -Large reef aquarium with angelfish -Small reef aquarium with a pair of clownfish -Small aquarium with betta fish -Large aquariums with each of the legendary fish -Large aquarium with red-eared slider -Small hamster cage with 2 dwarf hamsters -Large 3-tiered rat cage with 2 rats -Large corn snake terrarium -Large ball python terrarium -Large bearded dragon terrarium -Large chameleon terrarium -Small gecko terrarium -Anything else you suggest! Thanks for reading!
It all depends on how customized you want to go. My very first mod last year; was just a modified version of the furniture file. I even had a terrarium, and a spider enclosure; but it was just a static image overwriting one of the tables. You could probably also add to the XNB files in the same manner as adding new crops. But, at the time that was beyond my skill level; and I haven't had any interest in creating new furniture since. So I've never looked into it further. HopeWasHere's Fish bowl uses both Custom Farming, and Custom Element Handler. Those are SMAPI based modding tools made by Platonymous. It's good for adding craftables(new machines, craftable sized decorations, etc), but more recently he made this mod: http://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1254/? Custom Furniture; it works very similar to Custom Farming. The modder supplies the sprites, and fills in the appropriate data(animation length, sprite size, name, etc) while it handles adding the new item to the furniture category. I'd suggest going with that; judging by the large, and animated furniture items you want to create. It'd be the easiest way to create what you want. He includes an example in the download for users to follow. But, basically. Custom Element Handler handles saving the new items without breaking things. While Custom Furniture handles loading, and using the new furniture. You just replace his example with your own mod inside the Custom Furniture mod folder. And, then run both both the Custom Element Handler, and the Custom Furniture mod to use your new furniture items in-game. And yea, you should go for it! Sounds like a neat idea; it'd be cool to have a wider variation of pets!
Hey, this is a great idea Just so you know, I'm in the process of adding a bunch of new pets to the game similarly to how I made the fish bowl. These are the ones I've already started from the list: -Large reef aquarium with angelfish (Needs more animation, but the angelfish are finished) -Small reef aquarium with a pair of clownfish (Not clownfish, but I could easily edit it to make two versions) -Small aquarium with betta fish (the first fish bowl I made, though it could be made to look more like a beta) -Small hamster cage with 2 dwarf hamsters (currently editing Abigail's cage) -Large ball python terrarium (Done and animated) In addition, I've also done: -Small tarantula tank -Small frog tank -Bird stand (based off Emily's) The current goal is to add a pet store with a new dateable NPC to the game that you can buy these animals for your home (since custom furniture doesn't allow for items to be placed on tables and such at the current moment). The mod is about 70% done as of now. So... Long story short, I think it's an awesome idea. If you would like to make some animals to be sold in the shop, that would be awesome and you would definitely be credited. In my opinion, there can never be too many animals, and it would be great to see different artist's take for the mod. But, if you'd rather not wait on the mod, I can help you add pets as furniture to the game. With the current limitations of custom furniture and custom farming, only large, free standing pet cages and tanks really work. But I would be more than happy to help you figure it out
Oh, I had no idea you were working on a mod like this! That's amazing, having a pet store would be the perfect way to integrate the pets into the game! I'll absolutely wait for your mod, since you're far more experienced and I have no idea what I'm doing, as far as modding is concerned, lol. Thanks so much for the advice and help, I really appreciate it. I'd love to draw some pets/aquariums/etc for your mod if you want, art is by far the part of this idea I was most excited about and am the most comfortable with. I have a lot of experience drawing animals on paper, but less so with pixel art of animals, so it would be a bit of a trial and error experience. If you're willing to bear with me on that, could you give me some advice on where to start? For example, what size aquarium should I start with and do I need to draw it in a sprite format with a program like Tiled, or can I draw in photoshop and then import it? Should I draw a stand for it or is your mod going to allow tanks to be placed on furniture?
I would love to collaborate with you on it, the more the merrier When making any of the sprites, you can use photoshop or other art programs and don't have to worry about Tiled. As for the size, everything works within a 16X16 frame, with anything bigger being 16 X 32, etc. So if you just make things within a grid like that it should work fine. You'll be able to place smaller objects, like the 16 X 16 on tables, but anything bigger will need a stand. I hope that helps!
