[Outdated] The Proper Way to Install Mods

Discussion in 'Starbound Modding' started by SethKipz, Dec 8, 2013.

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  1. SethKipz

    SethKipz Aquatic Astronaut

    There are now better ways to do this. Full guide remains intact within the spoiler below if anyone needs it for some reason.

    I've seen quite a few people just overwriting the assets instead of taking advantage of the incredibly simple mod loader that is already built into the game. Hopefully this will help people kick that bad habit.

    Step 1:
    Open up your Starbound folder:
    [Steam directory]\SteamApps\common\Starbound​


    Step 2:
    Create a new folder in your Starbound directory. This folder can be named whatever you want, but the remainder of this guide will assume you have named it "mods" without the quotes.
    [​IMG]

    Step 3a:
    If a mod author has distributed their mod with this method in mind, you should simply be able to open the archive you downloaded from them and drag and drop the folder contained within into the mods folder. If this is the case, do so and continue to step 4, otherwise open step 3b.

    Step3b:
    If the mod author has not distributed their mod with this method in mind, a bit more work needs to be done here. Lets say you download a mod that changes something about the diamond pickaxe. The diamondpickaxe.miningtool file is usually located at
    [Steam directory]\SteamApps\common\Starbound\assets\items\tools​
    in order to load the mod using this method you create a new folder within your mods folder with the name you wish to assign to the mod. For this example I will simply call my folder "DiamondPickaxeMod".
    [​IMG]
    Now within this folder you just created, you will need to mirror whatever the path to the original file was after the \assets\ portion. Continuing the same example from earlier, this would mean I would need to create a folder inside my DiamondPickaxeMod folder called items, and then within this items folder create a folder called tools. You would then drop the modified diamondpickaxe.miningtool into the tools folder you just created.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]


    Step 4:
    Now that we have our mod set up, we need to tell the game to use it in place of the default assets. This is extremely simple. Go back to your main Starbound directory:
    [Steam directory]\SteamApps\common\Starbound​
    and open the folder corresponding to your operating system. Now, within this folder, locate the bootstrap.config file, and open it with Notepad or some similar software. You should see a relatively small amount of text here, all you need to do is add an additional assetSource for the mod you just added. Continuing on from the example I used in part 3b, I would add a comma after the last assetSource currently on the list, then enter "../mods/DiamondPickaxeMod". This makes my boostrap.config look like this:
    [​IMG]
    Be sure to include a comma after each assetSource other than the final one, or things will break. Save the boostrap.config file, and you're done.

    Now when you launch Starbound, the game should automatically look at any modded files you included in place of the default assets, and you can even include entirely new files in your mods.

    To disable a mod, simply remove it from your bootstrap.config.

    Distributing Your Mod With This in Mind:
    Simply follow the instructions in step 3b, but instead of placing the folder your mod is contained in within the mods folder, compress it into a ZIP archive and distribute the archive. People will just be able to open the archive and drag and drop the folder that holds your mod into their mods folder, then add it to their bootstrap.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2013
  2. MorpH

    MorpH Subatomic Cosmonaut

    Have you tested this to see if it works? I don't know if it works with overwriting existing files with changes. When I try this my log throws me duplicated entries and the game doesn't even load.
     
  3. SethKipz

    SethKipz Aquatic Astronaut

    I've tested both modifying the diamond pickaxe to mine 5x5 and changing some quest dialogue. Both worked.
     
  4. MorpH

    MorpH Subatomic Cosmonaut

    Ok I messed up on my part lol. I forgot to include the correct sub-directories. Awesome find by the way, will make it much easier. Now we need someone to make a manager using this method instead of the other.
     
  5. Axothor

    Axothor Void-Bound Voyager

    Nice find.
     
  6. Shamyi

    Shamyi Big Damn Hero

    thanks for the info, good to know there is an easier :D

    any idea what this is about tho? pops up when i try to launch the game :/

    [​IMG]
     
  7. MorpH

    MorpH Subatomic Cosmonaut

    Make sure your directory and folder names are right, and that the folder in bootstrap.config actually exists.
     
  8. Shamyi

    Shamyi Big Damn Hero

    well then.. I put in b rather then d for vmMod <.< haven't gotten much sleep the last few days. thanks again for the find :D
     
  9. Herdo

    Herdo Pangalactic Porcupine

    Hey great guide, thank you. I've made a mod that allows you to build a chair that you can sleep in. I had to modify the player config file to add my chair to the default blueprints. I obviously can't distribute the player file because it will overwrite others. Is there an easier way to do this?
     
  10. Xuhybrid

    Xuhybrid Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    You can just put /mods in, no need to be specific.
     
  11. Shamyi

    Shamyi Big Damn Hero


    you can place the player.config with the other files like so

    ( ignore the install.txt )


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2013
  12. MorpH

    MorpH Subatomic Cosmonaut

    As long as the mod directories point to the original asset directories, any files can be overwritten and used. So yeah :D
     
  13. Herdo

    Herdo Pangalactic Porcupine

    Ah ok, I just realized that the player.config file had nothing specific in it that would overwrite a players character or anything. So if I wanted to put my object and the recipe in the game, I would create a folder with the correct directories and then have them install it into their "mods" folder? For example mods/HerdoMod/objects/generic/newitem.object and mods/HerdoMod/recipes/ starter/crafting table/newitemrecipe.recipe? And then I would just place the player.config file in the "HerdoMod" folder correct?
     
  14. MorpH

    MorpH Subatomic Cosmonaut

    That's basically it. If there are files in the root folder of Starbound, they go in the root folder of your mod folder.
     
  15. Herdo

    Herdo Pangalactic Porcupine

    Alright awesome, thanks so much everyone!
     
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  16. Black--snow

    Black--snow Cosmic Narwhal

    Only problem with this is people will have to manually change the bootstrap, otherwise this is pretty handy.
     
    themegazork likes this.
  17. MorpH

    MorpH Subatomic Cosmonaut

    edit: nvm
     
  18. Dagomani

    Dagomani Space Spelunker

    Or wait for someone to make a "mod controller" which will edit and update the bootstrap for you ;)
    I bet there must be a tech genious in here somewhere with the proper knowledge to make one :)
     
  19. SethKipz

    SethKipz Aquatic Astronaut


    If no one has done it by next week I will look into it. Would do it sooner, but next week is finals for me.
     
  20. Dagomani

    Dagomani Space Spelunker

    Good luck on those :)

    I would love to do it.. buuuuuut, i have never really coded anything but Jquery, HTML, PHP and a biiit of XML :p
    Tho, if anyone know where i should start reading to get the hang of this, i would to give it a try :p
     
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