Wanting to learn How to Mod for Stellaris

[Farli]

Hello all

I would love to learn how to write mods for Stellaris , But i don't know were to start i have programming experience. in Stos (back in the day of the Atari ST) throw to pascal and html so i have the basics. but would love to step it up. as this has always been something i would love to get into more and writing a mod for a game that looks this good.

I don't know if I need any special programs or were I can find out the language it uses etc.

Any help would be greatly accepted.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this post

 

[Marchallmo]

They did a dev. diary(last one) about stellaris modding which will get a second part next monday!

 

[ahhheygao]

I don't know if I need any special programs or were I can find out the language it uses etc.

Notepad can handle most of the text files (triggers, scripts, defines, events, etc.), but ideally you should use something like Notepad++. Clausewitz Engine uses its own language that's pretty self-explanatory to anyone with programming experience; since you indicated you have past experience, you shouldn't have any trouble.

For scripting, the quickest way to learn is by studying PDS base codes and using them as examples/templates. Reverse-engineering is usually sufficient for modding modifiers and simple events.

Eventually, the Stellaris modding subforum and the Stellaris wiki will have helpful compilation of info and explanations, much like the EU4 and CK2 ones. For example:
http://www.eu4wiki.com/Commands
http://www.eu4wiki.com/Conditions
http://www.eu4wiki.com/Scopes
http://www.ckiiwiki.com/Modding

^ Don't be overwhelmed when you see all this stuff--you only need to focus on the ones relevant to what you want/need for any given task.

Obviously, if you want to do something complex or something the base game doesn't have mechanics for, then you'll need to get creative and probably seek help. In the CK2 and EU4 modding subforums, there are designated threads where modders of ANY LEVEL can openly ask questions (no such thing as dumb question) and receive help from other modders... some of whom are extremely experienced and have worked on complicated overhaul mods. I imagine the same will apply for the eventual Stellaris subforum.

 

[Kaochi]

Here's the dev diary mentionned by Marchallmo.
This structure is what to except on the grand majority of the things you'll be able to mod.

Aside from the game, the minimum you need to mod events, traits, AI comportements, techs and all theses things is a text editor allowing you to creating (and edit) .txt files. So gedit, notepad++, sublime text and the like.
For images, well, that's another story, but I'm almost sure than you can just move static images in relevant folders and point to them in your code. Dynamics images (for races portraits), I have no idea, but someone asked to the dev if After Effect was used. Last time I checked, he received no answers.

 

[Surimi]

Honestly, if you have programming experience you will probably pick it up very quickly. I had none so it was a bit a headspin at first but even I've made some pretty extensive mods for CK2 by just looking through example scripts to figure out what they do and reapplying the same principles else where. Initially, I just used notepad, but after switching to notepad++ I've encountered far fewer problems.

Basically, just start making mod files, copy over text files from the game and tweak the variables. If it breaks, you've done something wrong, but you'll learn all kinds of stuff this way.