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Setup

This document provides instructions on how to set up a modding environment for the game Enshrouded using the Enshrouded Mod Loader (EML).

Prerequisites

  • Ensure you have a legal copy of the game Enshrouded installed on your system.
  • Download the latest version of the Enshrouded Mod Manager CLI from here.
  • A text editor or IDE of your choice, preferably with lua_ls (e.g., Visual Studio Code).
  • Basic knowledge of Lua programming.

Creating a Mod

The mod manager cli can be used to create a new mod template.

emm.exe create -g <game-dir>

You will be prompted to enter a few details about your mod which will be placed within the mod.json manifest file.

After the command completes, a new directory named after your mod id will be created in the mods directory of your game installation. It will also generate definition files for the Lua language server to provide autocompletion and type checking. They are located in <game-dir>/.cache/lua.

Mod Structure

<mod-id>/
├── mod.json
├── README.md
├── .luarc.json
└── src/
    └── mod.lua
  • mod.json: The manifest file containing metadata about your mod.
  • README.md: A markdown file where you can provide a detailed description of your mod.
  • .luarc.json: Configuration file for the Lua language server. If you don't use lua_ls or use another language server, you can safely delete this file.
  • src/mod.lua: The main Lua script file where you will write your mod's code

Mod Manifest

The mod.json file contains metadata about your mod and is essential for EML to recognize and load it. Below is a detailed explanation of each field in the manifest:

  • id (string, required): A unique identifier for your mod. The id may only contain lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). It must start with a letter.

  • name (string, required): The display name of your mod. This is what users will see in the mod manager.

  • version (string, required): The version of your mod, following semantic versioning.

  • capabilities (string list, required): A list of capabilities that your mod requires. Valid capabilities include:

    • patch (lua): Allows the mod to patch game data.
    • export (lua): Allows the mod to export arbitrary data into an export directory.
    • runtime (WIP): Allows the mod to run code at runtime.

  • description (string, optional): A brief description of what your mod does. A detailed description can be provided in a separate README.md file.

  • authors (string list, optional): A list of authors who contributed to the mod.

  • license (string, optional): The license under which your mod is released (e.g., MIT, GPL-3.0). You may also include a LICENSE file in your mod directory.

  • icon (string, optional): Path to an icon file (e.g., icon.png) that represents your mod. This icon will be displayed in the mod manager.

  • dependencies (WIP): A list of other mods that your mod depends on.

Writing Your Mod

The main script file for your mod is located at src/mod.lua. This is the entry point for your mod's code.

Refer to the definition files in <game-dir>/.cache/lua for available functions and types provided by EML and the game or check the examples in the examples directory of the repository.