Clarification Needed

[Matthias]

Stonehearth Modding FAQ

hey folks! as more and more of you are joining the modding ranks, it seemed fitting to provide a starting point to answer some of the more basic questions floating around… below is an initial list comprised primarily of questions from @RepeatPan and @sdee… this is a first pass however, and the format may be adjusted a bit over time… we will of course supplement the FAQ as more material presents itself… we’ll leave the thread open, so feel free to pose any suggestions you may have (in q&a…

One Rule to Ring Them All

Hey Everyone, As the Stonehearth Game Engine solidifies beneath us, we’re nearing the point in our development plans where making and playing mods will become an increasingly important part of everyone’s experience. We’ve seen some truly inspired creations already – and we fully expect the world of modding to explode in the coming months. So what better time than now to establish some rules – okay, really just one rule – to guide your efforts. We want everyone who wants to mod to feel able t…

These two posts by moderators have very different points of view. Can anyone from Radiant clarify about modding multiplayer? I want to try but don’t want to get in trouble…

[Fornjotr]

Hi @Matthias, if you want to get a hold of the team and dont know the specific persons tag, you can use the tag: @moderators And you will get a hold of one of them at least.
I hope you recieve an answer soon.

[8BitCrab]

@Matthias

These two posts by moderators have very different points of view.

the thread and rules laid out by @Brad are the current modding rules, the other thread by Steve is already 3 years old and as such, many of the things in the thread may no longer apply.

hope this helps clarify things, someone from the team will probably have some more to add to this.

[jomaxro]

Hi @Matthias, the “One Rule to Ring Them All” supersedes the original FAQ (which is older), and should be followed. Brad is a member of Radiant and is the “last word” on a subject.

I’ll do a read through later today, but would you mind sharing what you see that conflicts, or are they just “different”?

Thanks for reaching out!

[Matthias]

@jomaxro

@SteveAdamo

Q: Can I mod in-progress features?
A: Yes. We really do want people to feel free poking around in the codebase, experimenting with stuff. If it’s in there, we want it to be fair game. However, modders who want to mod in-progress items should understand that they will be working with an unsupported, shifting sea of APIs. Such modders should also mark their work as SPOILERS. People who don’t want to be spoiled for future features should avoid downloading mods (or reading threads about!) things that aren’t released yet. Finally, everyone should be transparent and give credit where credit is due.

differs from

@brad

You are completely free to use our (Radiant’s) stuff, with one caveat. That is, you can use any item that is in the game, or any playable feature – but we ask that you not modify or otherwise use unreleased features or content. We know that in some cases code for an unreleased feature may be present in a given release, though in a dormant state. Please wait until something is official and playable before, um, playing with it.

You don’t need to ask us for permission to use our stuff… but we’d appreciate a credit when you let your creation loose upon the world.

What I’m unclear about is if I’m allowed to mod in LAN support so my friends and I can play together.

[sdee]

Hey @Matthias! I really appreciate the fact that you’d like to try modding in multiplayer, but in this case, I ask that you do not, as it’s a planned feature that we’d like to explore ourselves, and is, in fact, partially-implemented in the core of the engine. I respect the fact that you’d like to do this enormous amount of work for your friends, but honestly, it’s SO much work that I think you might have more satisfaction out of it if you made your own whole game.

Edit: In the case above, I’d say that the original modding FAQ was true when it was written, when 99% of the game was an in-progress feature, but as the engine coalesced, we’ve decided to be more careful with stuff that’s available to play with. I’ll go back and change Steve’s original modding FAQ to match Brad’s later post.

Thanks for digging into it and asking about it!

[jomaxro]

OK, thanks. I’ll update the old FAQ when I’m at a computer.

The rules about modding in-progress features did indeed change with the “One Rule”. LAN support is an interesting question, though, as it is something very far off in the plans. I’m honestly not sure. @brad or @sdee will be able to give an answer with certainty.

Edit: Ninja’d by Stephanie

[Matthias]

@sdee Thank you for giving me a final answer. I am a bit disappointed, but it makes sense. I know the game is built for multiplayer from the ground up. Again, thank you, I’ve been searching for this answer for a few days.

p.s:I actually am starting my own game this summer!

[jomaxro]

@Matthias

p.s:I actually am starting my own game this summer!

Let me be the first to wish you the best of luck . Once you’re ready to share it, please post in Other Games!