How to use this project

This repository comes as a Unity project that you will use to add content to the game. As such, you will need the Unity game engine to create a mod. The current Unity version that you'll need is 2021.2.7f1

You can download Unity here.

After your download is complete, use the installer to install Unity. Once you have Unity, you will need to download this project. To do so, at the top of the main page, click the green "Code" button, and select "Download ZIP".

Unzip the project wherever you want to, but note where the folder is located. Run the Unity editor, and in the menu bar at the top, select [File > Open Project...]

Then select the folder you unzipped; it should be called "Velocity-Redux-Mod-Creator".

[!NOTE] If you have Unity Hub, you will have to add the project through that; just click "Open" and select the "Velocity-Redux-Mod-Creator" folder.

Unity: How to use and basic functionality

Unity can be a very complex program. However, to make a mod, you don't need to know everything about how it works. This section will go over the basics that you need to know to continue. Even if you already know how to use Unity, you may want to skim this section for some helpful tips that you may not know.

The editor

When you first open Unity, you should see a screen that looks like this:

Inspector: At the right, highlighted in green, is the inspector. This is the most important widget you need to create a mod. It shows you all the information you need about the selected item. If, for some reason, you do not see the inspector, you can open it by pressing [Ctrl + 3] or through the menu at the top. Just go to [Window > General > Inspector].

Project File Explorer: At the bottom, highlighted in blue, is the project file explorer. This will show you all the files in the project. Clicking an item will show you all the relevant properties in the inspector and the full file path at the bottom of this widget. There are multiple ways to navigate through the folders; you can double click folders to enter them, you can click a path item at the top to go back to a folder, or you can use the side bar to the left.

Project Hierarchy: At the left, highlighted in yellow, is the project hierarchy. This will be used for certain mods to create a game object that will be imported into Velocity Redux. Clicking on an object in the list will show you its properties in the inspector. If an object has an arrow to the left, it has child objects. You can see the children by clicking on the arrow. If an object has an arrow to the right, that object is a prefab instance (See: Prefabs). The object at the very top of the hierarchy is referred to as the "root".

Scene: In the middle, highlighted in red, is the scene. This will display a 3d rendering of the currently open scene, which could be a prefab. As you make changes in the project hierarchy, you will see the effects (as long as the effects change the appearance of the scene) here. For example, you may use this to make sure you place all the necessary objects on a car (such as wheels) in the correct position. Controlling the viewport in the scene may be necessary. Here are the basic controls:

• Right click and drag: rotates the camera
• Middle click and drag: pans the camera
• Right click and hold + WASD: move the camera's position
• Scroll wheel: zooms in and out

[!NOTE] On a trackpad, the controls are a little different. Select the view tool in the upper left, and then the controls are as follows:

• Hold alt + left click and drag: rotates the camera
• Left click and drag: pans the camera
• Arrow keys: move the camera's position
• Scroll: zooms in and out

[!TIP] You can double click an object in the project hierarchy to focus the viewport on that object.

Menu Bar: Finally, at the top, highlighted in purple, is the menu bar. This contains a ton of useful actions, but for Velocity Redux modders, the majority the needed actions will be in the "Assets" menu option.

[!IMPORTANT] Whenever you need to access the assets menu, there are two ways to do this. You can either access it from the menu bar (labeled "Assets"), or you can right click in the project explorer. This is often notated as [Assets > ...]

Prefabs

Prefabs are game objects that are saved as an asset, which means they are a file in the project. Prefabs are used to create multiple independent instances of the same object. They can be edited in the same way as a scene: open a prefab by double clicking the file, and then edit the objects in the hierarchy and their components. To close the prefab editor and return to the main scene, just click the arrow next to the prefab name in the hierarchy.

[!TIP] In some cases, it can be useful to have a scene in the background while you edit a prefab (such as for creating events). To do this, access the menu item [Edit > Project Settings...]. This will open a window like this.

Go to the tab labeled "Editor", scroll down if necessary until you see the "Prefab Mode" header. Change the "Regular Environment" option to the scene that you want in the background while you edit prefabs.

Importing files into Unity

Importing assets into Unity is simple. Find the files you want to import on your device's file manager. Select any files you want to import, then drag and drop them into Unity's project explorer. This will create the assets and their related metadata for you, making the assets available to use in your mod.

[!NOTE] Make sure that any assets you are using in your mod are located within the correct folder. This is usually the "Mod" folder!