One Rule to Ring Them All

I am new to the Stonehearth community as in I made a discourse account today and I have played stonehearth for a little while and what I am really wondering is, is there a written (I have problems with not being able to cite words when it comes to a video so preferably written) explanation on how to mod on the forums that takes you step by step explaining how to mod something and then a quick tutorial on how to mod an actual item just so you can figure it out. I really want to get into modding but no idea where to start.

Welcome to the forum, @huskysniff :slight_smile:

I’m not sure that we have a written tutorial that is up-to-date, but maybe you can take a look at this GitHub - stonehearth/startermod_basic: A most basic starter mod to get you going! and this GitHub - stonehearth/startermod_items: a sample mod showing how to create different types of items

They are small mods to get started. To mod an item, we usually copy-paste an existing item from the game, and modify some values to our convenience. The startermod_basic is the best example to figure out how to add an item with its recipe.

For advanced (but possibly outdated) tutorials, you can search inside the Modding category:
http://discourse.stonehearth.net/search?q=tutorial%20category%3A2

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So what are Team Radiant’s thoughts on incorporating features from mods into the base game? For example, Mojang has worked with mod creators to add many interesting features to minecraft, like horses, slime blocks etc, migrating these features from mods into the unmodded game.

Do you see Team Radiant following this example of drawing from the community to enrich the base game?

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I’d like to try out modding, if anyone can guide me it would be awesome. PS: I’m not even a beginner, so don’t even bother asking me what I know

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Heya. There’s not really any guides out there that teaches you how to mod Stonehearth, though there are some other threads here in the discourse that have asked similar to what you want to know. I’d suggest that you check them out and what answers are available there. :slight_smile:

http://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/teach-me-to-mod-blush/14144

http://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/teach-me-how-to-smod/21138

http://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/how-to-start-modding/21814

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there is also
@Tuhalu positional guide
Reference: Positioning Placeable Items
An online app that checks your .json files for consistency.
http://jsonlint.com/
@MelOzone palette guide and a website for getting color information.
More lights from Mel (and other modelling stuff)
http://paletton.com/

A website to check out other folks mods
http://praisedb.x10.bz/

Free downloadable voxel editors
Such as MagicaVoxel https://voxel.codeplex.com/
and Voxel Shop
VoxelShop (Voxel-Editor) | Terasology

I hope this helps

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Is there any precedent for reviving an “abandoned” mod - one where the owner hasn’t been online in a notable amount of time and does not respond to any means of contact?

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I think it’s pretty clear from that statement. That said, you can’t “reserve” an idea.

Otherwise you could create a post proclaiming you were going to make a number of mods with every possible category known to man.

For example:

“John” creates a Lord of the rings mod, but after a few weeks, months, or years he abandons the mod and does not respond to any queries regarding someone else continuing the mod.

There is nothing stopping you creating a LOTR mod yourself, you just cant use that persons models and/or code. Just look at what is happening right now… there is a Viking mod being created, despite the Norsemod existing for a number of years.

I could also, for example create my own auto-harvesting mod, archipelago biome mod, or create a mod with my own implementation of fishing - as long as I didn’t steal or butcher the hard work that Bruno or Pawel had produced and I created them both from scratch.

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Personally, if I ever get to releasing mods, I’m going to post them with a contingency plan to allow anyone to update them if they’re abandoned for long enough (a specific amount of time), and I think it’s something modders should at least consider. But barring that or direct permission, there’s not much anyone can do.

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That’s usually called a “Zombie license”.
Note that if you post your content under a suitable free license, you’ve already given your explicit content to anyone interested (usually that includes copying and modifying).

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@froggy is correct (and cites the appropriate passage) – even if a given mod is seemingly abandoned, if the original creator does not grant permission (and lack of response = doesn’t grant permission) then you cannot update/modify/whatever the mod.

You can, as @coasterspaul observes, release a mod with permission to modify without contacting you. But few, if any, of existing Stonehearth mods have such permissions attached.

And, as @froggy also wisely observes, while mods themselves should not be messed with without creator permssion, the idea behind a mod isn’t protected. So you’re free to create a mod which bears a resemblance to others… you’ll just have to create it from the ground up.

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“And, as @froggy also wisely observes, while mods themselves should not be messed with without creator permission, the idea behind a mod isn’t protected. So you’re free to create a mod which bears a resemblance to others… you’ll just have to create it from the ground up.”

Well, that totally answered my question. Thank you all for clarifying!

Do it. Please. I need them cleric armors.

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If it existed I may not have made it tbh, but it was someone who made something back in 2014. Just nothing actually… Functional. Personally I’m more in favour of "share what you have, splinters and all and just UPDATE OFTEN.

FOR POSTERITY: IF I ever drop off the face of the planet, people with the know how have the right to continue my stuff, as long as they give credit and try to keep it vaguely in the spirit of things :stuck_out_tongue:

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I suppose this belongs here as well?

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Maybe? But the modding rule from this thread is mostly for people using other modder’s stuff. Always ask for permission.
You can work with in-game content for your Stonehearth mods, of course :slightly_smiling_face:

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Yeah, but way earlier in this thread it said to not use unreleased features/content (probably dating back to the water mod controversy.) How times have changed!

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So…
Hypothetically, if I were to figure out how to “fix” an abandoned broken mod, I understand that I CAN NOT upload that fix or anything related to it. CAN I, though, explain HOW to fix it so others could do it on their own? On the original mods page? It is about a dozen typo’s in the various .json files.
Thanks!

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@tacocat yes thats fine. you dont nick anything without asking so its fine.

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One more question, then. Can I download that mod and repost it WITHOUT ANY CHANGES? In the same thread? The reason for this is google+ is going away and the .smod file that works is on the authors google drive. I don’t know if that will be affected also but I want to preserve this mod!

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