ModCore makes it easy to append, replace, or merge files without editing the game's code.
Kade Engine's ModCore is powered by Polymod. Polymod is what handles loading the relevant assets, ensuring they are injected properly. It also handles ensuring mods are loaded in the proper order.
Example mod created by Master Eric > here <
To install a mod, place the folder inside the mods folder. To disable or uninstall a mod, take it out of the folder.
One day, we'll probably have a modloader that lets you control what order mods are loaded in.
You will want several pieces of metadata in order for Polymod to identify and display your mod. Note that only one of these is mandatory.
- _polymod_meta.json
- This file tells Polymod all about your mod, such as name and description. This file is MANDATORY.
- Learn more about how to write this file below.
- _polymod_icon.png
- This icon will be used by mod browsers in the future. Make sure to provide one, 256x256 should be pretty good.
- LICENSE.txt
- This is the general sofware license used by the mod. Without a license, your mod is under All Rights Reserved.
- ASSET_LICENSE.txt
- This is the license specifically for the mod's assets.
- Creative Commons is recommended.
- CODE_LICENSE.txt (for code/script-specific licensing terms.
- GPLv3, Apache, or MIT are recommended.
- _polymod_pack.txt
- Used for modpacks.
Here is an example of a valid mod metadata file.
Note that both api_version and mod_version should use valid Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 values.
{
"title":"Daisy",
"description":"This mod has a daisy",
"author":"Lars A. Doucet",
"api_version":"0.1.0",
"mod_version":"1.0.0-alpha",
"license":"CC BY 4.0,MIT"
}
Asset replacements are simple; just place the assets in the relevant subfolder.
Here's what the mod folder might look like for a simple "XXX over Boyfriend" mod.
<modRoot> (name this anything)
|- _polymod_meta.json
|- images
|- characters
|- BOYFRIEND.xml
|- BOYFRIEND.png
By the way,
Appending to assets is only slightly more involved. Appending is used when you want to add to the end of a particular text file without getting rid of what's already there.
For example, using replacement on introText.txt will get rid of the base game's intro text values, as well as any that other mods may have added. This may or may not be what you want. Appending will put your values at the end of the file for other mods to add to.
To perfrom asset appending, place the assets in the relevant subfolder under the _append folder, like so. Note the underscore before it.
<modRoot> (name this anything)
|- _polymod_meta.json
|- _append
|- data
|- introText.txt
Merging is the most convoluted. Use it only if you can't use replacement or appending.
Merging locates a given key in a file and replaces it with the intended value.
- For
CSVandTSVfiles, the value in the first column is assumed to be the ID. Each ID in the merge CSV is located in the base CSV, and that row is replaced with the row from the merge CSV. - For
LINEStext files, Polymod will check - For
PLAINTEXTtext files, Polymod will throw a warning that merging is not supported. - For
XMLfiles, you need to add a child key calledmergewhich specifies the key and value to match on. All other values will be replaced. See here for more info. - For
JSONfiles, create a single top-level array namedmerge. Each element is an object with two keys: A keytargetlikeabc.d[3].e, and a valuepayload.
If you have a mod with several parts that you want people to be able to install separately, the best way to do that is to make them separate mods, then make a modpack. This is an empty mod containing only a file defining the other mods that the game should load.
To create a modpack, make a mod containing a _polymod_pack.txt file with the following text:
foo:1.0.0,bar:1.*.*,abc,xyz
ModCore will search for, and load, the mods with the IDs foo, bar, abc, and xyz, in that order. It will fail any mods that fail the version check (foo must be exactly 1.0.0 while bar allows any 1.x version) and only load the mods which don't fail.
Coming soon...