DoD Modding and Mod Installation Guide (Updated 6/5/2012)

Discussion in 'Modding' started by Daynab, Dec 1, 2011.

  1. Daynab

    Daynab Community Moderator Staff Member

    http://dredmod.com/wiki/

    To Create a Mod

    Check the link above, silly!

    To Install a Mod

    Just drop the .zip file into the correct directory.

    For Windows:
    XP and lower: documents and settings/<user name>/gaslamp games/dungeons of dredmor/mods
    Vista and 7: users/documents/gaslamp games/dungeons of dredmor/mods

    For Mac: username/Library/Application Support/Dungeons of Dredmor/Mods
    For Linux: $HOME/.local/share/Dredmor


    For properly packaged mods, it should work automatically and you'll see them in the mod launcher. If it doesn't work, skip to the bottom of this post and make sure the directory structure works.

    To Package a Mod

    mod.xml

    mod.xml contains information on what your mod is all about - a name, a version number, some flags, and a description.

    Code:
    <dredmormod>
    <revision text="0.9.9"/>
    <author text="Dirk Diggle"/>
    <name text="Dirk Diggle in the Blink Curse Trap Fiasco"/>
    <description text="Seriously, this Dredmor mod is unsuitable for consumption by anybody. Ever. Banned by the Dwarven Mod Council."/>
    <info totalconversion="0"/>
    <require expansion="1"/>
    <require expansion="2"/>
    </dredmormod>
    Here, the lines

    <require expansion="1"/>

    and

    <require expansion="2"/>

    indicate that you require both expansions - Realm of the Diggle Gods (ROTDG) and You Have To Name The Expansion Pack (YHTNTEP).

    Note: you must include *one* of these files in every mod you distribute. One mod can, of course, have multiple things in it (skills, items, blink curse traps, etc.) but you probably only want to document it once.

    Packaging a mod as a ZIP file

    Packaging a mod for distribution is simple. Essentially, you want to create a ZIP file with your mod in it. Suppose you decide that you want to package a mod, Dirk Diggle in the Blink Curse Trap Fiasco. You've created your mod by placing it as a folder in your Gaslamp Games/Dungeons of Dredmor/mods directory, you've built the mod, and you're ready to try distributing it to everybody.

    To do this, your first step is to create a new ZIP file containing your mod. Your ZIP should be created from *inside* the mod directory - so that if, for instance, you have:

    Dirk Diggle in the Blink Curse Trap Fiasco
    -- mod
    -- sprites
    -- items
    -- soundfx

    You want to create a ZIP file which has this local directory structure:

    blinkcurse.zip
    -- mod
    -- sprites
    -- items
    -- soundfx

    Most programs, such as 7zip, will do the right thing if you just try to create a new zip file from within the directory. Be sure to preserve the directory structure.
     
  2. r_b_bergstrom

    r_b_bergstrom Will Mod for Digglebucks

    I see Windows and Linux instructions up there, does anyone know where the mods folder is on Mac?

    I've checked in Library/Application Support/Dungeons of Dredmor with no luck (there's no mod folder there). Also no obvious mods folder visible within the application using "show package contents".
     
  3. ker-

    ker- Member

    you need to create a "mods" folder inside the folder where your savegames are stored.
    it does not exist by default.
    once you get it to work, please post instructions here.
     
  4. r_b_bergstrom

    r_b_bergstrom Will Mod for Digglebucks

    It's now working for Macs (on at least the Steam 1.0.8 version with DLC, not certain if any of those updates are what did the trick).

    The directory path is: Library/Application Support/Dungeons of Dredmor

    As described above, you need to create three folders nested one within another, the middle one having any name you'd like, the other two being named "mods" and "mod".

    Library/Application Support/Dungeons of Dredmor/mods/your_mod_name_here/mod

    Note that many Macs have more than one "Library/Application Support" directory. The one in question is (in OS X 10.6.8 at least) located within your user name or home under "Places" (and thus _not_ the one you get to by clicking on your hard drive under "Devices").
     
    Daynab likes this.
  5. Brock

    Brock Member

    I really needed this, Thanks
    I am having the skills show up twice, anyone know a fix for this they could explain to a newb?
     
  6. r_b_bergstrom

    r_b_bergstrom Will Mod for Digglebucks

    Brock,

    If it's the skills from the main game that are showing up twice, that probably means that you copied over the skillDB.xml file, per the instructions above. One of the first things you should do to that file upon starting your mod, is to delete all the unnecessary content (just about the whole file, but I'd say look it over first to figure out how things work) from that file (_not_ from the version that's in the game itself, just the version in your mod folder).

    At this point, modding allows you to add stuff to the game, but not change the default material. Hopefully soon the "total conversion" option will work properly, and replace the main game files via the mod launcher, but at the moment it doesn't do so. (Assuming that I'm not operating on out-of-date info there.) Until then, trying to add modified versions of the default material will probably give you duplicate sets of everything in-game.

    So anything you put in your mod folder will be added to the end of the current lists, if I'm understanding the way things work.
     
  7. Essence

    Essence Will Mod for Digglebucks

    Confirming that bergstrom does in fact know how things work.
     
  8. Brock

    Brock Member

    Thank you
     
  9. Sooty

    Sooty Member

    Is this how to use the loader? I tried putting in the mod for descriptions for potions and mushrooms, but the Mod Loader from the launcher doesn't say anything different.

    Edit: Still can't figure out how it works. I've tried putting the itemDB.xml

    Documents\Gaslamp Games\Dungeons of Dredmor\mods\Rename Potions and Mushrooms\mod

    and all the lower directories but I still can't see the mod in the launcher hmm...
     
  10. jvarnes

    jvarnes Member

    You have it in the right place (I think), but you just need a mod.xml file in the folder with it. See top post on what goes in that file.

    I only briefly played with it, but it looks like I need to update it quite a bit to work correctly with 1.08, but some definitions were definitely there on the mushrooms (Prince looked right, but Lobster didn't). Also be warned that my itemDB.xml in the original mod has ALL of the items from 1.06-ish in it and that could cause lots of strangeness with the new updates and / or expansion pack. I'll try to update my old mod soon with just the relevant mushrooms and potions descriptions (and probably have an alternate file for wands as well).
     
  11. Sooty

    Sooty Member

    Ooh!~ Hi Modmaker :3 thanks for the reply. I'll try and see if that works!

    Edit: It works! I typed this

    <dredmormod>
    <revision text="1.06"/>
    <author text="jvarnes"/>
    <name text="Mush/Pot descriptions"/>
    <description text="This mod adds descriptions to some potions and mushrooms"/>
    <info totalconversion="0"/>
    </dredmormod>
     
  12. Alobomb

    Alobomb Member

    Hey there, I'm having the same trouble as Sooty was having, as in my mod isn't showing up. I have the steam version (No Realm of the Diggle Gods, just got "Rocksmith" then got home and realized DLC was out) and this is how the folder layout is
    Code:
    Steam/steamapps/common/dungeons of dredmor/mods/Nerdomancy/mod
    then in there I have my mod.xml, my skillDB.xml and my spellDB.xml all of which have only my Nerdomancy stuff now.

    Anyway, I also wanted to ask whether there is a minium number of abilities needed for a skill to work and also if there is will the mod show up if you don't have enough? I only have two at the moment so...
    If anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
     
  13. jvarnes

    jvarnes Member

    Mods need to be under your user folder (see the very top post by Daynab) NOT the actual game folder where the steam apps are.

    i.e. under your "My Documents" not "Program Files" for example:
    Code:
    C:\Documents and Settings\Alobomb\My Documents\Gaslamp Games\Dungeons of Dredmor\mods
     
    or
     
    C:\Users\Alobomb\My Documents\Gaslamp Games\Dungeons of Dredmor\mods
     
  14. BladedBlades

    BladedBlades Member

    Is it possible to add new levels, or types of chambers and make the game go "ok, on Level X, room Y is guaranteed and new monsters Z, ZX, and ZXY are there"? Or is it just adding new skills/items/classes? I'm programming-inept, so I want to make sure what I have in mind is possible before trying to learn to mod.
     
  15. Null

    Null Will Mod for Digglebucks

    You should be able to add new levels (the game names them branches). Adding new monsters and setting their level to the branch number should put them there. If you want a guarenteed room then try setting it as the seed for the branch (first floor does this with starting room). Not sure if it'll work but it's a good chance it would.
     
  16. BladedBlades

    BladedBlades Member

    No way to make "room X" a random generated (I'd rather not have them being the "starting rooms")... ok, thanks... what about setting the "theme" of the level? I know one of them is a frozen level, for example... how would I go about telling it "use this tileset for the map"?

    (I haven't even found where the actual files are yet in order to play with everything... like I said, inept to the point of brain-dead)
     
  17. Null

    Null Will Mod for Digglebucks

    No, you can make them random, but you said that you wanted it guarenteed. It's defined the same as any level in the branchDB.

    Also the files: go to your steam folder, then to steamapps, gaslampgames, game
    Mods should be in Your documents folder / Gaslamp Games/mods
    Don't edit the default game files (actually for branches the mod loader doesn't use them at the moment so you'd need to splice it in manually).
     
  18. magicbison

    magicbison Member

    For the mod.xml do you just copy and convert another .xml file and rename and replace the correct information?
     
  19. Daynab

    Daynab Community Moderator Staff Member

    For the mod.xml just write in what it's in the quote in the OP (with your own info)
     
  20. BladedBlades

    BladedBlades Member

    I'm going through the item db and renaming some stuff and changing values (as a separate file) but keeping the icons/sprites unchanged. Will that wreck things? I seem to recall hearing that things are icon or sprite based, or was that buffs only? Also, I went and modded the main file itself to copy-paste a monster (which I called a McBlobby). Will that wreck things in the case of an update later? Finally, what's the rule on the "tint" value? A negative value is more red, or...?