I'd like to start modding but..

[Project 06]

I lack the experience with C#(or XML i dont know which one you create mods in), but i'd like to learn as i want to try contributing to this game through mods. I tried using the wiki tutorials but they seem to be out of date because the information wasnt accurate. Does anyone know where a Alpha 15 modding tutorial is, and if not then could someone direct me to what software i need to be able to mod easier(or at all)?

[CannibarRechter]

The best way is to download various XML-only mods, and then analyze what they do. You can also go through the Core, which is modelled as a mod, pretty much. Stay away from mods that use C# to learn the basics. You can tell that a mod uses more than XML to work itself if it has a populated Assemblies directory. Mods like that will be beyond a beginner, mostly.

[Master Bucketsmith]

Yeah, compare an XML mod to vanilla's XML files.
And once you grasped that enough to try and tinker with the files, perhaps grab an out of date mod (doesn't matter if it's already updated to A15) and try and update it yourself.

[Project 06]

Alright, thanks alot for the tips you guys!

[kaptain_kavern]

While doing as others says try to stick to little mods that adds only one or few features in order to easily spot what XML tag is doing what.
Stickied in the help section you'll find Milon XML auto documentation post, go bookmark/download that (it list all XML tags used by the and where they are used)

Also there are tutorials (written by Alistaire) alongside in the same section (with links to the wiki) don't be afraid by the fact they were written for previous version, tags may have changed, but the reasoning still the same. So if you don't have previous modding knowledge you'll still learn a lot with them (that's how I learned)

And don't be afraid to ask for help, most folks here are always willing to help motivated ones ;-)

Keep up

[Kilroy232]

Ya I have to say that I have never used a tutorial, just knowledge from computer programming courses (less relevant than you might think), comparing modified and unmodified code and a ton of trial and error.

The fact that the core games XML files are available to be viewed is a great asset and I would suggest using that to the best of your ability.

Finally the address your question, XML is the more common and simpler for of modding while C# is less common and requires more knowledge while being far more useful for creating whole new functions in game

[CannibarRechter]

> just knowledge from computer programming courses (less relevant than you might think),

There's some relevancy there, but as someone with ~25 years experience in the field, and having worked with C, C++, Java, Lisp, and Python all professionally, the experience that matters isn't the languages per se, but rather not being easily overwhelmed by new symbols, and being able to comfortably detect structure. Another way of saying this is if you stare at a it a while, and really just try to find the structure, you probably will. The experienced programmer knows this right away, but people who don't have this experienced become overwhelmed, not knowing it's true.

[theubie]

The only real difference between programming languages is the syntax.  Everything else is programming theory and practices.  Ones you can "think in code", you can usually write what you want to write in any language with just a reference manual/api documentation.

[Kilroy232]

> just knowledge from computer programming courses (less relevant than you might think),

There's some relevancy there, but as someone with ~25 years experience in the field, and having worked with C, C++, Java, Lisp, and Python all professionally, the experience that matters isn't the languages per se, but rather not being easily overwhelmed by new symbols, and being able to comfortably detect structure. Another way of saying this is if you stare at a it a while, and really just try to find the structure, you probably will. The experienced programmer knows this right away, but people who don't have this experienced become overwhelmed, not knowing it's true.

I completely agree with you! I wasn't sure just how to work it but that's exactly it