Mods

Mods are in development! This section is a work in progress!

Setup

Creating a mod

1. If it doesn't already exist, create a Mods folder inside %userprofile%\appdata\LocalLow\Codebyfire Ltd\The Colonists\
2. Create a folder for your mod inside the Mods folder, e.g. codebyfireTestMod
3. Everything then goes inside codebyfireTestMod. You can use subfolders to organise content or keep it all in the main directory, the mod loader in the game will just look at the name of the file to determine what it is.

Steam Workshop Integration

1. With a new mod placed in the folder %userprofile%\appdata\LocalLow\Codebyfire Ltd\The Colonists\Mods start The Colonists
   1. Selecting Mod Manager will show 3 tabs:
      1. Available Local and Steam Workshop subscribed mods - Enable active mods here
      2. Workshop Subscribed and unsubscribed Mods on the Steam Workshop - Subscribe/Unsubscribe to Mods here
      3. My Mods Published and unpublished Mods in your local folder - Publish/Unpublish and change Mod Workshop visibility here
2. There should now be 2 files within the %userprofile%\appdata\LocalLow\Codebyfire Ltd\The Colonists\Mods folder of your mods
   1. meta.json - enter the Mod Title and Description for Steam Workshop in this file
   2. thumbnail.jpg - the image file for the mod on Steam Workshop (a default will be provided if omitted). File size recommended = xxx
3. When a Mod is published the file PublishedFileId.txt containing the Mod ID will be created
4. Subscribed mods will be in the folder ``C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\677340\0123456789`` `where 0123456789` is the Mod ID

Enabling a mod and in-game reloading

1. Enable mods per above via Steam Workshop Integration
2. Create a sandbox game and the game will process all other content in your mod, i.e. json files, images etc.
3. You can update your mod and reload the codex mid-game using the button in the top left info panel.

   Some things may go wrong when reloading the codex mid-game, depending on the changes you make! For example, removing a building or resource may not go down well.

Codex

Base Codex File

Generate default files using the Export Base Codex button in the Mod Manager window.

Building and Structure footprint rendering

The render.json file can be used to change the building, structure, and track footprint shown when they are placed.
The file floor_buildings.png contains the graphics for the current buildings, structures, and tracks.

The file floor_base.png can be used to modify buildings, plots, and tracks with ID under 200 (existing)
The file floor_extra.png can be used to modify buildings, plots, and tracks with ID over 200 (new)

These files are size: 2048 x 2048 pixels
Building footprints are a 64 x 64 tiled grid with 0,0 being in the bottom left.
Structure footprints are a 68 x 68 tiled grid with 0,0 being in the bottom left, with a 2 pixel "bleed" border.

Structures Footprint

AnimalField, PlantableField, and TreeField footprint can be controlled in render.json