EnhancedModLoader for Cosmoteer

Automatically loads c# mod dlls from Steam Workshop Mods - Integrates with ingame mod manager.

Installation - How it works - Developing C# Mods - Troubleshooting - License

--- Installation ---

Subscribe to this Mod on the Steam Workshop
Navigate to your Cosmoteer Workshop directory.
Usually it's C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\799600\2937901869\
Note: 799600 is the ID for Cosmoteer, 2937901869 is the ID for this Mod
Copy AVRT.dll from the Mod Folder to your Cosmoteer "Bin" path. This is the path where the Cosmoteer.exe lies.
Example: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cosmoteer\Bin\
You're good to go! Now you can just subscribe to any Workshop EML Mod and it will load automatically
(if it's enabled in the ingame mod manager).
(Optional) If you want to test if everything works you can subscribe to the EML Test Mod. This simple Mod will show a Message Box when you start to play Cosmoteer.

--- How it works ---

AVRT.dll is a Library that Cosmoteer tries to load from it's local path that does not exist. Conveniently the local path is the first one that is being searched for this dll before searching in windows system folders and eventually loading it from there. I'm utilizing this to my advantage by copying the functionality of the original AVRT.dll + adding my own. This is called Dll Hijacking.

I'm using a slightly modified version of StackOverflowExcept1on's .net core injector to manually load a c# helper dll, EML_Helper.dll, to get all current enabled mods (that contain dlls) and pass them back to the original c++ dll which then loads them.

--- Troubleshooting ---

If you get the Error EML_Helper.dll not found check the eml_config.ini in your Cosmoteer installation directory. It must contain the path to the directory containing EML_Helper.dll and EML_Helper.runtimeconfig.json

If your game crashes check the eml_log.txt file in the bin directory and make sure it's not related to a mod you subscribed to. If there is no log file or if you are sure that the crash is not related to a specific mod but the Modloader itself repeat the Installation process (overwrite existing AVRT.dll in bin folder) and try again.

--- Developing C# Mods ---

If you want to make your own c# mod dll, this will get you started:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Cosmoteer uses .NET 7. Because of this, you cannot use Harmony since it does not Support .NET 7 (yet).

Use the .NET 7 Version of EML
Use Visual Studio C# Class Library for .NET or .NET Standard Preset
Use target SDK 7.0.200 (Cosmoteer & EML both use this version), specify this in a global.json in your Project Directory. See more
Use Runtime Framework Version 7.0.3
Change your .csproj TargetFramework to

<TargetFramework>net7.0-windows</TargetFramework>

Allow Unsafe Blocks
Set GenerateRuntimeConfigurationFiles to true

Important:

Use an unique name for your Mod and ship your .runtimeconfig.json together with your dll (they must be in the same folder)
Entry Point namespace MUST have the same name as the dll file (but without the .dll)
Entry Point class MUST be static and named Main
Entry Point method MUST be static, named InitializePatches and have the [UnmanagedCallersOnly] attribute
Add Assembly References for Cosmoteer.dll and HalflingCore.dll from your Cosmoteer Bin Path
- Under Properties, change Local copy to false for both
Since most of the Cosmoteer namespace is private, you need an assembly publicizer. I'm using kraf's Publicizer.
kraf's Publicizer specific .csproj settings: (replace user with your username)

<ItemGroup>
  <Compile Remove="C:\Users\user\.nuget\packages\krafs.publicizer\2.2.1\contentfiles\cs\any\Publicizer\IgnoresAccessChecksToAttribute.cs" />
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
  <Publicize Include="Cosmoteer" IncludeCompilerGeneratedMembers="false" />
  <Publicize Include="HalflingCore" IncludeCompilerGeneratedMembers="false" />
</ItemGroup>

Add this to your .cs at the top:

[assembly: IgnoresAccessChecksTo("Cosmoteer")]

namespace System.Runtime.CompilerServices
{
    [AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Assembly, AllowMultiple = true)]
    public class IgnoresAccessChecksToAttribute : Attribute
    {
        public IgnoresAccessChecksToAttribute(string assemblyName)
        {
            AssemblyName = assemblyName;
        }

        public string AssemblyName { get; }
    }
}

Since we cannot use Harmony, there are some workarounds required to mod Cosmoteer.
Here's an example on how to get a simple loop, keyboard detection and custom window up and running.

--- License ---

Released under MIT License

eamondo2 / EnhancedModLoader