How to start creating a mod - dredmor-com/dungeons-of-dredmor GitHub Wiki

Mods are modifications to Dungeons of Dredmor created by the player community. There's a number of things that every mod requires.

1. Directory Structure
2. Files
   2.1. XML
   2.2. Sprites
   2.3. Animations
   2.4. SoundFX

All files should be placed in the "Gaslamp Gamesothers Games\Dungeons of Dredmor\mods" directory, which depends on the operative system being used:

• On Windows 7+, the user can press Win + R, and then input "%AppData%" on the subsequent prompt. This will lead them straight to the Roaming folder of their system's profile. From there, you'll just need to find the Gaslamp Gamesothers Games folder.
• On any Windows version, the user can use the File Explorer to navigate to the next route:
  C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Gaslamp Gamesothers Games\Dungeons of Dredmor\mods
• On MacOSX, it is located in:
  ~/Library/Application Support/Dungeons of Dredmor/mods

Inside this directory, you can create a new directory with the name of your mod. This example, also featured in How To Package A Mod, shows the basic directory arrangement. "%mod folder%" represents the mod directory you've navigated to and "%modname%" must be replaced by your mod's name.

%mod folder%\%modname%\        <- Your mod's root folder
%mod folder%\%modname%\mod     <- Your mod's code, in XML
%mod folder%\%modname%\sprites <- Your mod's animations
%mod folder%\%modname%\items   <- Your mod's spritework
%mod folder%\%modname%\soundfx <- Your mod's sound effects

Dungeons of Dredmor mods are created by using Extensible Markup Language (XML) files. These all go in the "\mod" directory of your mod's folder. This directory must contain a file called "mod.xml". The presence of this file alone makes a mod "valid", but it wouldn't do much except annoy anyone that expects it to do something. :)
Apart from this file, there's a number of other XML files that you might wish to add on the \mod directory. These are, in alphabetical order:

itemDB.xml - For the items you wish to add
monDB.xml - For the monsters and their routines
rooms.xml - For the patterns of your custom rooms
skillDB.xml - For the skills and how they evolve
spellDB.xml - For the spells that players and monsters can use

The links above contain additional information about formatting and how to build them.

Static images for items and other in-game arts. They should be stored in PNG format, since BMP and JPG images lack transparency.

Similar to sprites, but with multiple PNG files and an XML that explains how, when and for how long a sprite is loaded.

Sound effects can't be used in mods as of yet.