How to Package a Mod - dredmor-com/dungeons-of-dredmor GitHub Wiki

Once you're done with your mod, stuffing it with spells, weapons, monsters and/or spell at your leisure, you might want to wrap it up and send it. Before that, we'll teach you how to properly package it, with a nice bow and everything, before sending it on its way to the Workshop.

As we repeatedly stated on previous tutorials, you'll first need a proper directory structure and a 'mod.xml' file so the game can validate and use its data. In this case, though, we'll attempt to make our own preparations for a mod release.

As you know, the 'mod.xml' file contains information on what your mod is all about - a name, version number, some flags and a description.

<dredmormod>
  <revision text="0.9.9"/>
  <author text="Dirk Diggle"/>
  <name text="Dirk Diggle in the Blink Curse Trap Fiasco"/>
  <description text="Seriously, this Dredmor mod is unsuitable for consumption by anybody. Ever. Banned by the Dwarven Mod Council."/>
  <info totalconversion="0"/>
  <require expansion="1"/>
  <require expansion="2"/>
</dredmormod>

Some things to note here:

• The file should start and end with the dredmormod tags.
• revision is useful to keep track of your mod's version.
• The information of your mod can go in description. When we said our mod is unsuitable for consumption, we meant it. Mod cautiously.
• require expansion="..." is needed if you want to use files or resources from any of the game's DLCs, also known as Expansion Packs, by using one of this tag per DLC.
  • Realm of the Diggle Gods (ROTDG) has a value of 1.
  • You Have To Name The Expansion Pack (YHTNTEP) has a value of 2.
  • Conquest of the Wizardlands (COTW) has a value of 3.

As a final note for mod.xml, you must include one of these files in every mod you distribute. One mod can, of course, have multiple things in it (skills, items, traps, etc.), but the whole pack will need a single mod.xml.

Packaging a mod for distribution is simple. Essentially, you want to create a ZIP file with your mod in it. Suppose you decide that you want to package a mod, Dirk Diggle in the Blink Curse Trap Fiasco. You've created your mod by placing it as a folder in your Gaslamp Games\Dungeons of Dredmor\mods directory, you've built the mod and you're ready to present it to everybody.

First of all, every XML file you created for this mod should be in the 'mod' folder. This helps to keep a neat order and the game to recognize them.

Afterwards, your first step is to create a new ZIP file containing your mod. Your ZIP should be created from inside the mod directory, so that, if for instance, you have:

Dirk Diggke in the Blink Curse Trap Fiasco
├ mod
├ sprites
├ items
└ soundfx

You'll want to create a ZIP file which has this local directory structure:

blinkcurse.zip
├ mod
├ sprites
├ items
└ soundfx

Most programs, such as 7zip, will do the right thing if you just try to create a new ZIP file from within the directory. Be sure to preserve the directory structure.