Custom character mod: BIG Questions

[Crykov]

 

 

 

hi! my name is mata, i'm working on a custom character mod for my character: crykov! crykov is half cat, half enderman, which are a mob type from popular indie game minecraft.

 

you can find the mod in it's current status here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=504987058

 

my original goal when i made this mod was just to shove my own character into the game so i could be unique, but i want it to be a mod that others can be able to use, that is also well-balanced

 

here's what my character has so far

 

*a starter item called "blink" with a place-holder inventory icon which was taken from the Pearl mod, i had trouble scripting my own item, due to an error that pointed out something that wasn't even in the script, so i used the pearl mod as a base.

*low stats to balance out her ability to teleport (100 hunger, 150 health and 150 sanity)

*slightly faster walk speed

*70% custom dialogue

 

here's what i want her to have in the future:

 

*slightly faster swing speed with all items

*The ability to generate her own stable source of Nightmare Fuel. (1 every 3 days?)

*No sanity boost for prototyping unless it's from the Magic tab.

*Small sanity loss when near a Science Machine

*a small, purple glow that serves almost no purpose other than to keep Charlie away.

*Small sanity boost at night

*Heavy health loss when wet.

*custom recipes for custom weapons and items for the Magic tab (a few ideas i have is a custom campfire/fire pit, which gives off a very large and long-lasting glow (perhaps it lasts 2-3 days) but is only powered by nightmare fuel.

*ability to eat purple gems, which boosts max stats.

 

what i know how to do:

 

*Add components from other items to make custom items work like them. (added the component "blinkstaff" to my teleportation item)

*change walkspeed

*reskinning and custom art (i have trouble with items, for some reason they do not appear on the ground or in my hand, and the arm disappears when the item is used)

*VERY experienced in animation as seen here and i know how to make playable avatars with Flash scripting, as seen here, but no idea how to add custom animation to DST

*renaming items, adding things to the prefab files and PrefabFiles code in modmain.lua

*everything this guide describes how to do

 

 

SO basically all the questions i have is how to do everything under "stuff i want my character to have in the future"

 

if anyone knows ANYTHING on how to add ANY of this stuff, i'd appreciate a guide or tutorial link, or any primary-source help you can provide !

 

thank you!!

 

[Crykov]

posted this in the wrong section, not sure how to remove. can a mod close this for me?

[keraunoscopia]

That's a lot of questions, but my general advice is: start with an item, creature, etc. in the game that has properties similar to what you want and use that as a template.  For instance, if you want to change the "swing speed" of an item, pick a simple item, open its prefab file (in the "data\scripts\prefabs" subdirectory) and see if you can figure out which settings affect the swing speed.  Now, using that item as a template, create a new game item with different settings.

 

To take another example, you want your character to eat purple gems.  There are already a couple of creatures that eat purple gems: rock lobsters and slurtles.  Examine their prefab code and see if your can figure out how their food preferences are determined.  You're probably looking for something like "foodtype".

 

If you want to modifying existing items, you'll typically need to use the PostInit family of functions, like AddPrefabPostInit, AddComponentPostInit, etc.  Try examining code from other mods for examples.

 

The easiest parts to start out with are the character and an equippable item.  There are good tutorials for both of these - just do a web search for "Don't starve character mod tutorial" and "Don't starve equippable item tutorial".  Once you gain experience, things will become easier.  Expect to spend a few weeks playing around before you feel proficient.