I'm wanting to learn how to mod Rimworld but any tutorials I've found are several years out of date. Is there an updated one out there or did everyone either learn awhile ago or already understand how to mod the game?
Thank you,
Xyntak
Depends on what you want to do. Easiest thing is to look at something in game that functions the same way, look up the definitions for it in the core mod files, and make your additions / adjustments to your own mod.
Here is a copy/paste of a pm I sent to someone asking me the same questions.
Quote from: kaptain_kavern on October 07, 2016, 12:01:11 AM
So about starting to mod,
First : I only know about XML modding, I barely understand C# if I try very hard but I'm far for being able to write something. So I obviously only speak about that (XML).
All the tutorials from the wiki (all linked here (https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=3283.msg150332#msg150332)) are worth you're time. That's basically where I learned. Don't be afraid by the fact that they were write around a prior version of the game. You'll still learn all there is to know. The way some pieces of code are write may have changed a bit in newer versions (and in fact not that often) but the thinking and the way you mod still remain the same.
After that you could try to tweak some other mods in order to get in touch with the modding practically. Basically you'll get better and better by looking at other code, Tynan or other modders code :p Some of us are leaving comments in the code (Tynan does too in some files) that are handy for understand more easily (I try to also, you can find all my mods on my github and view code). So finding github repo and looking what changes modders do can be handy to learn too.
Last : don't be afraid to ask for help on the forum. Most of the time , unless it is a "please do my mod for me" thread, someone reply in less than a day.
Some links that can help (I hope so)
- XML Auto-Documentation (https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=21440.0) : It contains a listing of all Core (ie. vanilla) uses of RimWorld's XML code
- A zip containing all textures of the game (https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=2325.msg265704#msg265704)
- XML Documentation Database (https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=26498.0) : Dingo have made a lot of XML dummy files, with integrate help on how to use them -
it's a work in progressIT IS AWESOME AND EVERY MODDERS SHOULD HAVE A LOOK - [Data]Modder's Spreadsheets (https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=25433.0) : some spreadsheets with extracted data from the XML files of the game
Best regards,
Hope it will help you a bit ;)
You would do well to first have a look at the wiki, the files in RimWorld/Mods/Core and of course download some SIMPLE mods (not EPOE / Rimsenal, please, save that for later) and have a look. Once you have a general grasp on how these are made you can start to dig in a bit further.
Like kaptain_kavern said, personally I've been working to make fully commented XMLs which explain every function possible for every def. You can find it in his quote or in my signature. It's not complete yet but I think I got over 50% of the defs in Core so far, make sure you take a look!
Thank you so much to the both of you! I've looked through Core and some other mods and I think my main issue was I just couldn't figure out how to make the mod actually work or register or have the game understand it etc. Hopefully those links that kaptain_kavern posted will help me loads.
The best way to begin learning any kind of programming/script is to start by looking at simple examples of other people's code and change them to do different things. While RimWorld really only has variables and definitions exposed to script (no functions), it still works the same way in terms of learning how things work.
QuoteHow did you learn to mod?
1) Books are your friends.
2) Manual, standard and official documentation are your best friends.
3) Every time some kind of "tutorial" is created, author of tutorial include his misunderstanding and errors into text, downgrading quality of original documentation, this also apply to books, but in somewhat different way - books likely to contain outdated information.
Final decision is up to you, some individuals "learn" from youtube videos...
Where would I start to make a mod that makes crematories only work for bodies that have no use (Can't butcher for meat) and a vat system that allows you to grow your own colonists?
Quote from: adtrl on October 09, 2016, 08:11:34 PM
...
Crematoriums can be defined in game to only allow certain types of bodies, whether by species or whether or not they are rotten (rotten also encompasses dessicated afaik). As for a vat that lets you grow colonists I would look into production buildings and recipedefs.
Quote from: Thirite on October 10, 2016, 01:02:21 PM
Quote from: adtrl on October 09, 2016, 08:11:34 PM
...
Crematoriums can be defined in game to only allow certain types of bodies, whether by species or whether or not they are rotten (rotten also encompasses dessicated afaik). As for a vat that lets you grow colonists I would look into production buildings and recipedefs.
Does that include stopping people from using good bodies that can still be used for meat? Say, you kill a wild boar then someone takes it to the crematory instead one that's already a skeleton?
As for the vat, would I need someone to make the texture for it and how would I go about making this Vat? I'm new to all of this, I had Dingo help me with a custom trait I made.