• 1Quick Navigation
    • 1.1Step 1 - Unpacking Assets
    • 1.2Step 2 - Modding
    • 1.3Step 3 - Setting Up Your First Mod
    • 1.4Step 4 - Packing your mod
    • 1.5Step 5 - Publishing
Modding


This article will show you the steps you need to take before you can start actually modding, and also the steps you can take after you are done modding, to pack and publish your mod.

This mod adds a ceiling mounted water sprinkler that is meant to match futuristic style builds. It covers 8-10 blocks and constantly waters. It can be turned on/off with wiring and is a great solution to those who don't want to make holes in their crop fie.

You will need a text editor that is not the Windows included notepad.exe, as it does not support UNIX line endings. Do not use a word processor such as MS Word instead of a text editor. Only UTF-8 is supported, other encodings are likely to cause crashes. Optionally, for easier packing and unpacking of mods and assets, you may use ModPackHelper (available for Windows and Linux) or PAK GUI.

Step 1 - Unpacking Assets

Adding steam workshop mods to your Starbound server is very easy. There are two ways you can get a file for a mod: Be a registered user on the Chucklefish Community forums at playstarbound.com and download it from there; From the Steam Workshop. If you download the file from the Starbound forums, save that somewhere you know you will be able to. Jun 12, 2020 Need more info on Nodepanel? Check out our Knowledgebase! Looking for game. Well if you run the server from the exact same files as you run your game as usual the mods are automatically in, due to the files which are used are the same for client and sevrer, on your localmachine! However if you'd run a serevr on a 2nd machine different from the one you're playing with, then you'll have to add the mods there aswell. Starbound has been built from the ground up to be multiplayer and easily moddable. You have the tools to make the universe your own and modify the game to suit your play style - add new races, biomes, dungeons, and quests - the possibilities are limitless.

Furious Koala introduced a .pak format which improves loading times and eases mod distribution. This means we need to unpack the assets before we can start modding.

Note - This step will not remove or change your packed.pak file, but simply extract its content for use as reference material. Unpacked assets may be safely left in .assets and changes you make to the unpacked assets will have no effect on your game as Starbound will prioritize the use of assets.pak (unless the unpacked _metadata is deleted).

Windows

Current as of Version 1.4.3, June 27th, 2019

  1. Open up the main directory folder for Starbound.
  2. Shift + right-click within the folder and select Open Command Prompt/Windows Powershell or equivalent (depends on Windows version).
  3. Type the following into Command Prompt/Windows Powershell: .win32asset_unpacker.exe '.assetspacked.pak' '.assetspacked'
  4. Command Prompt/Windows Powershell will do nothing until asset_unpacker.exe has finished, this will take a while on most computers.. There are no progress updates.
  5. Once Command Prompt displays a message equivalent to this, 'Unpacked assets to Packed in 250.063s,' you can close the program and move on to creating mods.
Starbound Add Mods To Server

Notes

  • If purchased from Steam, the location of the main Starbound directory folder typically looks like this: SteamsteamappscommonStarbound
  • The text typed into Command Prompt are three directory locations:
    1. The location of asset_unpacker.exe, which is the program that does all of the unpacking.
    2. The location of Starbound assets, or Mod assets, to be unpacked.
    3. Where you want the unpacked assets to be dumped. This third string can be changed to whichever location or name you prefer. However, dumping into .assetspacked will make assets more readily available to Tiled.
  • The command can be stored as a batch file for faster unpacking whenever a new game version is released.

It is advised to read the Unofficial Modding E-book instead, available on Chucklefish Forums. http://community.playstarbound.com/resources/unofficial-modding-ebook-2-0.2930/

Mac

Current as of version 1.3.0, June 13th, 2017

If you have purchased Starbound from Steam, then these instructions will work. Otherwise you will have to find your Starbound assets folder and apply the file paths to these instructions.

  1. Open Terminal.app in OS X (hopefully you have 10.7 or higher)
  2. Type cd ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Starbound/assets Now you are in the assets folder.
  3. You need to create a new folder here where you want your unpacked assets to end up. Type mkdir unpacked
  4. Now you need to navigate to the asset_unpacker. Type cd ./osx
  5. Type ./asset_unpacker ./assets/packed.pak ./assets/unpacked (The asset_unpacker should finish anywhere from 1 to 500 seconds depending on your computer, so let it work. If it takes longer than 20 minutes, quit Terminal.app and start over. If retrying doesn't work, then you have an issue external to the asset_unpacker.)
  6. In Finder browse to your unpacked folder by clicking on 'Go' on the menu bar, holding the [alt/option] key on your keyboard (this will show Library, which is usually hidden), clicking on Library, then browsing to -> Application Support -> Steam -> steamapps -> common -> Starbound -> assets -> unpacked (sound familiar?).

It is highly recommended that you make a backup copy of your original, working packed.pak before you mod and pack.

To pack, do exactly the same steps as mentioned above (minus making a new folder 'unpacked'), but when you get to step 5, where you actually unpack the packed.pak file:

  • Type ./asset_packer ./assets/unpacked ./assets/packed.pak

Starbound How To Add Mods To Server

Linux

Current as of version 1.2.3b, May 26th, 2017

  1. Open the main directory of starbound in your shell (i.e. ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Starbound if purchased on steam)
  2. Type the following into your shell: linux/asset_unpacker assets/packed.pak unpacked_assets
  3. linux/asset_unpacker is the path to the executable
  4. assets/packed.pak is the path to the packed assets
  5. unpacked_assets is the name of the directory, where it'll extract the files in. If the directory doesn't exist, it'll be created.
  6. There is no progress bar while unpacking, but after completion, it'll print something like this: Unpacked assets to unpacked_assets in 70.0567s
  7. After that message appears, you can close the shell and start creating mods.

Step 2 - Modding

Tutorials

Reference Pages

If you did everything right, Starbound should load your new mod the next time you run it. If the game crashes, or your changes are not found in the game, check your starbound.log file.

Step 3 - Setting Up Your First Mod

Starbound

_metadata file

Full Article: Metadata file

The metadata file (usually named _metadata) is a completely optional file that contains your mod's name, description, and more. If using the Steam Uploader Tool, a basic metadata file will be generated for you. While optional, it is recommended to have at least have a name set in the metadata in case a companion mod ever needs to require or include your mod, and to make your mod more easily identifiable within the game log should any errors occur.

Step 4 - Packing your mod

Before publishing your mod, it is recommended to pack it as a single <modname>.pak file. This simplifies installation (drop the file in the Starbound/mods/ folder). The alternative is to just put all the files into an archive for distribution which will need to be unpacked by end users to install.

Steam

The mod uploader included with the Steam version of Starbound will automatically pack your mod into a pak file when it uploads to the workshop. If you subscribe to your own mod, you may copy this pak from the workshop folder for redistribution through other channels, or you may follow standard packing methods. Linux users may use Proton to launch the mod uploader.

Alternately, all users may use the SteamCMD method as per this guide by The Suit. This is the only reliable option for Mac users.

General

To pack your mod into a pak file, you may either manually use asset_packer.exe as included with Starbound, or you can automate it with PAK GUI or ModPackHelper.

Manual Method

Starbound Add Mods To Server
  1. Create a metadata file for your mod if you intend to include one.
  2. For ease of use, ensure your mod folder is in .Starboundmods
  3. Open a command prompt as described in Unpacking assets.
  4. Run the following command: .win32asset_packer.exe .mods<mod folder name> .mods<modname>.pak (substitute <mod folder name> with your mod's folder and <modname> with whatever you wish)
  5. Once finished, your .pak will be in the .Starboundmods folder and is ready to publish.

PAK GUI

  1. Create a metadata file for your mod if you intend to include one.
  2. Extract PAK GUI anywhere and run it.
  3. Point the 'Path to Starbound' to the base Starbound folder.
  4. Either click 'Pack..' or drop your mod's folder onto PAK GUI and follow the prompts.

Windows/Linux with ModPackHelper

  1. Unpack ModPackHelper directly into .Starboundmods and run it.
  2. When script is launched, choose action 1.
  3. Then select the mod you want to pack (If your mod folder does not contain a _metadata or legacy .modinfo file, it will not show as a choice).
  4. Press Enter. The mod is available in the Starbound/mods/ folder as <modname>.pak.

Step 5 - Publishing

Only one thing left to do - publish your mod!

Steam

Mods

Once you have all desired fields filled in the uploader, hit 'Upload to Steam'. When the status bar vanishes, you're done!

Chucklefish

Starbound add mods to server

Go to the official modding forums, select 'add mod' in the upper right hand section, select the category of your mod, fill out the information form and hit save. It is that easy.

Other Services

Publishing methods for other services, such as NexusMods, may vary. Please refer to the individual service for more information. Otherwise, your mod's folder or pak file may be distributed as you choose.

External links

  • Chucklefish Forums: How to successfully pack and unpack .pak files
  • Chucklefish Forums: Getting started in making mods for Starbound
  • Chucklefish Forums: Unofficial Modding Ebook 2.0
  • Chucklefish Forums: ModPackHelper
Retrieved from 'https://starbounder.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Modding:Modding_Basics&oldid=187823'

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In this guide we will be covering the process of installing and updating mods on your DayZ Standalone server using our newly updated Steam Workshop installer.

Steam Workshop Buttons

In your gamepanel you will see three buttons, SteamWorkshop, Steam Workshop (installed) and Steam Workshop (updates). Each of these buttons allow you to have full control over the mods installed on your server, in the next section we will cover what each of these buttons do.
Steam Workshop
Install new mods to your server. Gives you the ability to sort results by popularity over a time period, filter by content type in addition to a search box.
Steam Workshop (installed)
Shows you the mods you have installed on your server. Mods can also be uninstalled from within this window.
Steam Workshop (updates)
Update your installed mods. Allows you to update all your installed mods with the click of a button. This can also be configured to be automatically executed which we will cover at the end of this guide.

Adding Mods to your Server

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With the addition of our new and improved Steam Workshop installers, adding mods to your server is as easy as ever. To help you get started we will walk you through all the steps needed to get mods installed and enabled on your server.

  1. In your game panel, press the Steam Workshop button. A new window will appear where you can begin searching for a mod you would like to install on your server. In this example we are going to be sorting by the most popular mods of all time and installing the WeaponReduxPack. To install a mod, you will just need to press the green Install button.
    A new window will appear displaying the status of the installation process, once this is complete it will automatically close and return you back to the Steam Workshop page.
  2. Now we’ve got our first mod installed, we need to enable it on our server. We can do this by heading into the Command lineManager. In here you will see a list of predefined command lines, if you’re not using DZSA Launcher go ahead and select the Mods command line.
  3. A new textbox will appear that says “Mods” next to it, this is where you will need to insert your mod IDs. Mod IDs have to be inserted in a specific format, especially if you have multiple. Here’s an example of how things should be formatted if you have multiple mods…
    @12345XXXX;@54321XXXX;@67890XXXX;@09876XXXX
    For now, we’ve just got the one mod installed so ours will look like this…

    By default, the name of the mod will always be the same as its SteamID. You can double check the name of your installed mods by going into the File Manager and looking for the folders that start with @ - these will be at the top of the page.
  4. Go ahead and save your changes by pressing the blue Apply button, we’ve now got our mod installed and enabled.
    Note that keys are now automatically managed by the installer, you no longer need to do this manually. If a mod is installed the key will be copied over and if it’s uninstalled it will be removed.
    We can now startup the server – if everything went well your installed mod(s) should be now active. If you experience any errors, please refer to the common errors below…


Common Errors

PID 0 (next to server status)
This indicates that there is a startup error, quite often this is caused by mods, more specifically the server command line has a mod included that it cannot find in your server files. Ensure that all the mods in your command line exist in your files.

Mod Mismatch (when joining server)
This error indicates that the files on the client are not the same as the server. To avoid this error, ensure that you are launching the game through the launcher and have selected all the mods your server is using. Sometimes the error message can give you a hint as to what mod in particular is causing problems.

Updating Your Mods (Manual & Automatic)

In this section we will be covering the process of updating your installed mods through the use of our Steam Workshop tool. Both manual and automatic methods will be covered.

Manual Updates

Starbound Add Mods To Server Ip

  1. In your game panel, click on the Steam Workshop (updates) button.
  2. This will redirect you to a new window where you will see the following buttons.

  3. The button we will want to press is the Update All button. This will go ahead and check if any of your installed mods have an update available, if they do it will then proceed to download the files.


Automatic UpdatesSound card driver download vista.

In order to allow for automated updates, we will need to create a scheduled task. This requires a few options to be configured beforehand, below you can find the steps on how to do this alongside our recommended settings.

  1. In your game panel, at the top of the page you should see a button that says Scheduled Tasks, click on that.
  2. A new window will be displayed where you can see any existing tasks you have set up or create a new one, in this case we would like to create a new one so go ahead and press the New button.
  3. A dropdown menu will appear where we can select what type of task we would like to create, we're trying to update our mods so go ahead and select the Workshop Update task and then press the blue New button.
  4. Now we need to configure our task. A few different areas will need to be setup, this can be tailored more specifically to suit your requirements however here's what we would recommend.
    - Name: Check for updates
    - Type: Daily
    - Start: Set this to one day ahead and a time that's best for you. If you cannot select a time make sure the date is one day ahead.
    - RecurEvery: 1 Day
    This is how our task looks so far.
    At this point you can go ahead and save your newly configured task. This will now check for updates every day at the time you have configured. If you would like this task to be run multiple times a day, please continue to the next step.
  5. In order to have this task executed multiple times a day we will need to perform a few extra steps to get things configured. Firstly, go ahead and check the Repeat Task checkbox. For the newly displayed options, we would recommend the following settings.
    - Repeat Every: 30 Minutes
    - For: 24 Hours
    This is how our task looks up to this point.
    If you're happy with everything, go ahead and press Save. Your task is now all setup and will be executed for the first time at the time you have configured.

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