Modding:Setting up your Development Environment: Difference between revisions

VintageStory is developed in C# and since version 1.18.8 we switched to .NET 7.

There are several applications that aid you in the development of mods and the following Software is supported by our modding template:

* [https://code.visualstudio.com/ Visual Studio Code] is a free, lightweight and versatile source code editor developed by Microsoft. It supports numerous programming languages and offers a wide range of extensions to enhance its functionality. There are extensions to support C# and thus can be a good choice to start out making mods. It is a lot used by our modding community.

While you can use any text editor to edit source code files we highly recommend using any of the above tools to make your experience much more manageable.

Choose one of the above IDEs or other alternatives. We suggest using '''Visual Studio Community''' for Windows. For Linux you may want to use '''Visual Studio Code''' or '''Rider'''.

Note: If you are on Linux and plan to install Visual Studio Code or Rider using '''Flatpak''' or '''snap''' be aware that there might be some issues with using system tools like .NET 7 or the environment variables. So if possible please use a native installation method if possible.

Next, you will need to install the [https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/7.0 .NET 7 SDK] (Software Development Kit) this will also include the .NET 7 Dekstop Runtime which is needed to run the game since version 1.18.8-rc.1.

Verify that the .NET 7 SDK is correctly installed by running the following command in a Terminal:

''On Windows open the Application Windows PowerShell which is preinstalled on all modern Windows versions (10 / 11).''

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dotnet --list-sdks

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It should return a list of installed SDK's and should contain a line with <code>7.0.xxx</code>. If that is the case you are good to continue.

Our Mod template makes use of the environment variable <code>VINTAGE_STORY</code>. Which we will set up to contain the path of where your game is installed. The use of the environment helps to keep the setup and the template simple so we recommend using it and will cover it in this article.

The <code>VINTAGE_STORY</code> Environment Variable simplifies reusing your Vintage Story game installation path and helps if multiple modders work on the same project to reference the <code>VINTAGE_STORY</code> Environment Variable and have their game installed where ever they want.

Here you have two options to set the environment variable:

* Use this short PowerShell script. Open the ''Windows PowerShell'' Application and paste the following into it and hit ''ENTER''

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Change <code>$Env:AppData\Vintagestory</code> if you used a custom installation path for your game.

* Follow these manual steps to set the Environment variable

Search in Windows search for <code>Edit the system environment variables</code> > <code>Environment Variables...</code> > User variables for USER > New > Add insert the Variable name: <code>VINTAGE_STORY</code> and add the path to your Vintage Story installation.

[[File:Win env.png|400px|center|frameless|alt=Setup Windows environment variable]]

For example, the default installation directory would be <code>C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Vintagestory</code>, (replace <Username> with your username) if you are not sure where yours is type <code>%appdata%</code> into the URL field in the File Explorer and hit ENTER. It will take you to your AppData\Roaming folder where Vintage Story should be installed if you haven't changed the default installation location.

[[File:Win appdata.png|400px|frameless|center|alt=find the default installation path of vintage story]]

Note:  

Do not confuse the <code>AppData\Roaming\VintagestoryData</code> directory with the <code>AppData\Roaming\Vintagestory</code> folder. The <code>VintagestoryData</code> directory only holds your Settings, Logs, Savegames and Mods.

To set an environment variable in Linux/Mac you need to add the following to your shells startup file:

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export VINTAGE_STORY="$HOME/ApplicationData/vintagestory"

Replace the path with the one where your Vintagestory installation is located. The above path should point to your install when you installed Vintagestory using the install.sh script.

Run <code>echo $SHELL</code> in a terminal to see what shell you are using.

* For Bash place it in: <code>~/.bashrc</code> or <code>~/.bash_profile</code> at the end

* For Zsh place it in: <code>~/.zshrc</code> or <code>~/.zprofile</code> at the end

The first and recommended option would be to use the ''template package''.

Install the mod [https://github.com/anegostudios/VSdotnetModTemplates Mod template package] using the following command on the Terminal:

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dotnet new install VintageStory.Mod.Templates

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This will download the latest mod template package from [https://www.nuget.org/packages/VintageStory.Mod.Templates nuget.org]

Once the template is installed you will see it inside Visual Studio and Rider. From there you can use the templates to create a new Project.

We advise you to check the option  <code>Place solution and project in the same directory</code> for Visual Studio

This will flatten the project tree by one folder and make it easier to navigate.

If you don't want the log output to show up in a separate window you can check the option <code>SuppressWindowsConsoleWindow</code>. When enabled the log output will still be shown inside the Visual Studio Debug Output.

Open Visual Studio and click on ''Create a new project''. If you installed the ''VintageStory.Mod.Templates'' you can then select '''Vintage Story Mod'''.

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We advise you to check the option <code>Put solution and project in the same directory</code> for Rider.

This will flatten the project tree by one folder and make it easier to navigate.

Open Rider and click on ''New Solution''. If you installed the ''VintageStory.Mod.Templates'' you can then select '''Vintage Story Mod'''.

[[File:Rider-cp-template.png|400px|frameless|center|alt=Rider Mod Template|Rider Mod Template]]

Note: Unfortunately as of writing this Rider does not support those template options as Visual Studio in the UI yet but you can check this [https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/RIDER-16759/Support-parameters-in-custom-project-templates issue] for updates.

For now you can make use of those options using the CLI see the  [[Visual Studio Code]] section for how to use it.

To create a new Mod using the template when using Visual Studio Code you have to resort to using the command line for now since there is no UI that supports the options as well.

Open a folder in Visual Studio Code where you want your mod to be. Then open the terminal within Visual Studio code ''Terminal'' > ''New Terminal''.  

* Create a new Mod Project with launch.json and task.json to easily start it and a Solution file. ''Other IDE's create that automatically so that is why we have this additional <code>--AddSolutionFile</code> flag for VS Code.''

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For all possible options run the following in the terminal:

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Once you opened or created a template Visual Studio will prompt you to install the recommended extension, click on ''Show Recommendations'' and install the the pre-release version of the [https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-dotnettools.csdevkit C# Dev Kit] extension. This will also install the required [https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-dotnettools.csharp C#] automatically for you.

These two extensions are recommended and will add Syntax highlighting, Autocomlet and many more much-needed features for writing C# code.

If want to use the Commandline you can use all template options on the Commandline in any Terminal Application with the help of the ''dotnet'' command.

* Create a new VS mod in the folder ''mytestmod'' in the current location of the terminal.

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* or create a dll/code only mod

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For all possible options run the following in the terminal:

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When using the Commandline you can specify these options like so:

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# Will create a new Mod Project with the dependency for VSSurvivalMod

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----

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Finally in <code>mytestmod\mytestmod\modinfo.json</code>

change the <code>name</code>, <code>modid</code> , <code>authors</code> and <code>description</code> to describe your mod.

To update all installed templates you can run:

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But this should not be necessary when creating a new mod, since using the <code>dotnet new vsmod</code> will check automatically if a new version of the template is available and install it.

Here is an overview of where what files in your mod are located.

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Use the [https://github.com/anegostudios/vsmodtemplate Github Mod template] to create a new mod

The Github Mod template provides an easy way to get the basics for mod setup so you can start directly with adding your modifications to the game.

* Without using git and Github account

To get a copy of the template click the <code><> Code</code> button on the GitHub repository site. Then download the template as ZIP file and extract it.  

* Using Github and or git command

You can directly click on <code>Use this template</code> on the GitHub repository site to create a copy of it to your GitHub account.

After that, you can clone your new repository to your computer.

If you do not use GitHub just clone the repo and upload it to your preferred Git hosting provider (Gitlab, BitBucket, ...)

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With a local copy of the template, you can go ahead and open the ''ModTemplate.sln'' either in Visual Studio, Rider or Open the folder in Visual Studio Code. The Template is ready to use for any of the aforementioned IDE's. Now you can already start the mod with the game.

When opened you need to change the following to release the mod since a mod has to have a unique ''modid'' for the VSModDB:

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In <code>modtemplate\resources\modinfo.json</code>

change the <code>name</code>, <code>modid</code> , <code>authors</code> and <code>description</code> to describe your mod.

For a full list of available options see '''[[Modinfo | Modinfo]]'''.

The <code>modid</code> has to contain only lowercase letters and numbers. No special chars, whitespaces, uppercase letters, etc. are allowed.

Next, rename the folder <code>modtemplate\resources\assets\mymodid</code> to match what your <code>modid</code> is.

Finally change in the file <code>modtemplate\modtemplateModSystem.cs</code> the line

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from <code>mymodid</code> to your new modid.

The file <code>modtemplate\modtemplateModSystem.cs</code> can be called whatever you like.

(Optional) Further, you can change the name <code>ModTemplate</code> to whatever you like as long as you change all of the following:

* Folder <code>ModTemplate</code>

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''If you are on linux and used the Github Template'' make sure to update in <code>ModTemplate\Properties\launchSettings.json</code> the <code>executablePath</code>. There you need to remove the <code>.exe</code>

[[File:Vs-cp-start.png|600px|frameless|center|alt=Visual Studio Launch Mod|Visual Studio Launch Mod]]

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File:Rider-cp-start-new-ui.png|Rider Launch Mod (New UI)

If you are having trouble, you might be able to learn from the [https://github.com/anegostudios/vsmodexamples vsmodexamples project]

With the new template, we are using the [https://cakebuild.net/ Cake] build system. This includes a second Project within the Solution in the template.  

In all supported IDE's you can select from the dropdown that you used to launch the mod the <code>CakeBuild</code> option and run it.  

''When using Visual Studio Code you can also create a package by running the package task. For that got to <code>Terminal</code> > <code>Run Task...</code> and select <code>package</code>.''

It will perform a JSON validation on your assets so they are at least parsable by Newtonsoft.Json and then build a <code>Releases/mymodid_1.0.0.zip</code>. The version is taken from the <code>mymod/modinfo.json</code> file.

Congratulations now you have your mod development environment set up and a ready-to-release mod package.

Note: Make sure you use your own unique <code>modid</code> else you won't be able to upload the mod to the VSModDB.