Plans for mod manager/Steam workshop?

[etheric42]

Are there any plans for adding a mod manager or using Steam workshop?  When I was playing around with re-balancing earlier I didn't back up properly and when the next update came out things were broken and I had to just reset back to factory (which is fine because I hadn't gotten very far).  Any mods that change core ships/balancing (instead of just adding minor factions/ships) affect core files and it would be nice to have a system to load/unload those mods either in game or pre-launch (especially for more casual mod users).

[BadgerBadger]

There is a way to have your own local overrides of the XML, and to instruct the game to use those. See the XMLMods directory for some examples, and then set the game to use them in the XMLLOadingOrder.txt file. I'm sure Keith can give more examples if desired. I personally don't worry about it because like a sensible person ;-) I keep all of my code in git and just use side branches for such things. 

[keith.lamothe]

The simplest way to have your side changes in a non-overriden fashion is to add an extra file next to the one you want to modify, and have partial records in that extra file that only mention the records and fields you want to change. They're then overlaid on top of the "vanilla" data by the game.

If you want something that's actually distributable, then you put it in a separate mods folder entirely, as Badger alluded to, but the actual data in your mod files would potentially be exactly the same.

[Asteroid]

New to these forums, just wanted to mention how cool it is that the community has at least partial access to the source code (not sure to which extent) - Civ IV exposing a big part of the gameplay code in a separate DLL is what let to such amazing mods as Fall from Heaven II, so - good move.

Regarding mod distribution, it would be interesting to do the same thing as Cities Skylines and allow the loading of plugin .dlls. Just like in the C:S, RimWorld and Kerbal Space Program communities, modders would presumably use https://github.com/pardeike/Harmony to inject their code in the functions of their choice for easier compatibility between mods.

Steam Workshop support for those dll and xml mods similar to the game communities mentioned above would be pretty awesome. While some mods will undoubtedly be integrated into the game, not everything will fit, and the volume will eventually exceed the integration capability if the game is at all successful.

[Draco18s]

New to these forums, just wanted to mention how cool it is that the community has at least partial access to the source code (not sure to which extent)

Decent hunk. There's definitely some core engine stuff that isn't available, but a lot of the game mechanic logic is accessible in some manner. That is, the behaviors that define how game-things operate (ships, AI behavior, structures, AIP...).

modders would presumably use https://github.com/pardeike/Harmony to inject their code in the functions of their choice for easier compatibility between mods.

Keith worked out his own system, I think. I hadn't heard about Harmony before now, but that looks like a great resource.