CreatingMods.md

Creating Mods

A mod in continuum is represented as a configuration file containing a series of installation steps and other resources. During installation, the installation actions that are defined will be run in a specialized sequence (not always the order that they are defined in), altering the host game's files. As continuum tracks all file modifications, these mods can also be uninstalled by restoring file deltas that were captured during the installation process.

A mod file structure typically looks like the following:

{mod-name}.mod
┣ config.json (mandatory)
┣ portait.png
┣ background.png
┗ resources\
  ┗ {any files placed here can be access via the [Integration] relative path}

The config.json file must be present in the mod's root folder, if this file is not present Continuum will reject adding the mod. The portrait.png and background.png files on the otherhand can be named anything (and can also be select other file formats), but it is good practice to stick to a consistent naming convention.

Files located within the resources can be referenced and used during the mod installation process. Use the path prefix '[Mod]' to reference any files that are placed inside the resources folder.

Once you have configured the mod files, simply archive (zip) the file and rename from .zip to .mod. From there the mod is ready to be added/installed via Continuum.

Config File

The config.json file should contain the following properties

Property	Type	Description
ModID	String	Defines the unique mod ID (must be globally unique). eg. "Dasorik.ExampleMod". Can only contain alpha-numeric characters and '-', '.' or '_'.
Version	String	Use this to internally track the current version of your mod, shown to users
DisplayName	String	The name of the mod, as shown in the UI
Author	Contributor	This defines the primary author of the mod, only one primary author can be defined, other authors must be placed under 'Contributors'
Contributors	Contributor[]	A list of additional contributors/authors of the mod.
DisplayImage	String	The file path (relative to the root of the mod files) of the image to display fof the mod. This image should be at least 200x200 pixels (or multiples of) in size
DisplayBackground	String	The file path (relative to the root of the mod files) of the large background image to display on the details page of the mod
Description	String	Outlines any information users need to know about the mod. Can use very limited markdown in this description (Use '#' at the start of a line for a header, and '\n' for a new-line)
LinkedIntegrations	LinkedIntegration[]	A list of integrations that the mod is linked to (and the versions of the integration it is available for).
Settings	SettingCategory[]	A list of settings categories (used to group mod settings).
InstallActions	InstallAction[]	A list of installation actions that the mod will execute when being installed.

Example

The end result of a config file will look similar to the example below:

{
  "Version": "1.0",
  "ModID": "SampleAuthor.Sample",
  "Author": {
    "Name": "Sample Author",
    "Role": "Mod author"
  },
  "Contributors": [
    {
      "Name": "Sample Contributor #1",
      "Role": "Contributed to development"
    },
    {
      "Name": "Sample Contributor #1",
      "Role": "Moral support"
    }
  ],
  "DisplayName": "Sample Mod",
  "DisplayImage": "portrait.png",
  "DisplayBackground": "background.png",
  "Description": "#Info\nInclude details about your mod here!",
  "Settings": [
    {
      "Category": "Config",
      "Settings": [
        {
          "SettingID": "replace-icon",
          "SettingName": "Replace Icon",
          "Type": "Checkbox",
          "DefaultValue": true,
          "Description": "When enabled, this will replace the main player icon"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "LinkedIntegrations": [
    {
      "IntegrationID": "example_game_id",
      "TargetVersion": "2.*",
      "MinimumVersion": "1.*",
      "ModCategory": "SampleCategory"
    }
  ],
  "InstallActions": [
    {
      "Action": "QuickBMSExtract",
      "UseAutoMapping": true,
      "DeleteWhenComplete": true,
      "TargetFiles": [
        "[Game]\\assets\\sample_asset.zip",
        "[Game]\\assets\\icons\\icon_bundle.zip"
      ]
    },
    {
      "Action": "WriteToFile",
      "TargetFile": "[Game]\\assets\\main_config.xml",
      "Content": [
        {
          "DataFilePath": "[Mod]\\write_content.txt",
          "StartOffset": 42438,
          "Replace": false
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "Action": "ReplaceFile",
      "TargetFile": "[Game]\\player_icon.dds",
      "ReplacementFile": "[Mod]\\icon.dds",
      "Disabled": "$MOD.replace-icon = false"
    }
  ]
}