Basics of modding

Structure of a mod folder.

A SimAirport mod can contain many different types of content. Each type of content is housed in it's own folder within your mod. These folders are:

• placeables
• textures
• i18n
• TerrainTool
• ConstructionMaterial
• scripts

Each type of content is optional and you can have a mod without any content, however it wouldn't do very much. For example:

• You can have a mod which provides new objects with just the placeable, textures and the i18n folders.
• You can have a mod which provides additional scripting with just the scripts folder.
• You can have a mod without any of the folders!

Where to test your mod.

Place your mod at:

Windows: C:\Users\(YOUR USERNAME)\AppData\LocalLow\LVGameDev LLC\SimAirport\Mods

Linux: ~/.config/unity3d/LVGameDev LLC/SimAirport/Mods/

MacOS: <saveDirPath>/../Mods

Infomation on each folder:

"placeables" folder:

Placeables are another name for objects you can build in the game, such as vending machines and benches. Each object in your mod requires it's own json file, which contains information about what the object does and how it interacts with other objects. For more info on how to create a placeable, see creating a placeable.

Keep in mind that if your mod contains placeables, it also requires an i18n folder and textures folder.

"textures" folder:

Textures are graphics used in your mod. For example, the visual appearance of a placeable or ConstructionMaterial. This folder houses the image files of such appearances for use by the game. For more info on textures and how to make them, see Textures

"i18n" folder:

This folder contains a file for each language you would like your mod to support. In this file, you define the name and description of placeables, construction materials and anything else the user of your mod will see. For example, English only mods would only contain 1 file. For more infomation on i18n files and how to name them, see Translations

"TerrainTool"

This folder is similar to the placeables folder but for terrain tools, which are objects that don't fall under the "placeables" category, such as walls, floors and taxiways. For more information on TerrainTools, see Terrain Tools

"ConstructionMaterial"

This folder is similar to the placeables folder but for construction materials, which are objects like brick and cement used to construct other objects, like placeables. Placeables without construction materials linked are simply delivered whole and then installed, whereas placeables with construction materials linked are constructed by workman using the construction materials. For more information on custom materials, see Custom Materials

"scripts" folder

Scripts are a more complex content type because they require coding to create. They can modify the game's behaviour and add additional behaviour too. In this folder all of your compiled .net framework files will be stored and read. For more information on script modding, see Scripts

Making your folder ready for Steam

If you're not familiar with working on a command line or want to tag your mods yourself, please use the in-game upload system in the main menu.

The in-game system will let you create tags and set visibility. It will always make a vdf file for you. If you'd like to automate your updating using the SteamCMD check the [Automatic Uploading](Automatic Uploading) page.

Requirements:

• SteamCMD
• Some text editor (Notepad++, VSCode, Sublime ... whatever you like; if you use vim don't ask me how to exit it though).
• A mod (preferably your mod) you want to publish

If you want to present your mod, you can add a preview image. The preview image can be any size, (preferably anything 16:9) but it cannot exceed 1mb. It can have any name you want and can be a .png or a .jpg

Add a new file to your mod folder, on the same level as all the other folders are. The file will be <ModName>.vdf (replace with your mods name) and make sure it's not named <ModName>.vdf.txt. Depending on the OS you use the extension may be missing or they are hidden by default! (On Windows 8 and newer this can be changed by going to the view tab of the file explorer and ticking the File name extentions box to true.)

This file will define what your mod is to Steam, paste this example into the file and change the items in < >.

Warning, you cannot set tags using steamCMD. Any mod uploaded using steamCMD will have no tags at all

"workshopitem"
{
        "appid"                 "598330"
        "publishedfileid"       "0"
        "contentfolder"         "<path to the folder of your mod>"
        "previewfile"           "<path to the preview image (in your mod folder)>"
        "visibility"            "0"
        "title"                 "<title of your item>"
        "description"           "<description of your item>"
        "changenote"            "<changenote for the next push to Steam>"
}

Leave the publishedfieldid to 0, it'll be set by Steam on the first upload!

To upload your mod to Steam open the SteamCMD and login with your Steam account using login <username> <password>. You may need to input your two-factor authentication code if you have enabled it. Now you can upload your mod using the command workshop_build_item <path to .vdf file> (Path to .vdf file cannot contain any spaces.), wait for it to finish uploading and afterwards quit SteamCMD (or do something else with it).

You can now change the properties of your item on the workshop page and once (if not already) set to visible people can subscribe to it.