Creating And Uploading Mods

HomeModdingTutorialsCreation & Upload

beginner

Learnings

How to create a basic folder to contain your modded files.

How to upload your mod to the Steam Workshop / mod.io.

How to edit files to change the game.

How to make a specific mod.

Overview

Related

Introduction to Modding Space Engineers

Setting Up a Modding Environment

This tutorial explains how to create a basic folder setup which is recognized by the game as a mod and into which modded files can be placed, as well as how to upload a mod to the Steam Workshop / mod.io. This mod will not actually do anything by itself, this tutorial simply demonstrates how to create the foundation on which a mod is then built.

You should never edit game files directly. Always copy game files you wish to change to a local mod and edit them there. For more information refer to SBC modding

Create a Mod Folder

Step 1: Finding the Space Engineers Mods-folder.

Open your file browser and type %APPDATA%/SpaceEngineers into the address bar, then hit enter.

This is where Space Engineers saves things like savegames, blueprints and, of course, mods. Navigate to the Mods-subfolder. If it does not exist, simply create it.

Step 2: Creating a folder for your mod.

Create a new folder in the Mods-directory and name it what you want to name your mod.

Within this folder, create a new folder and name it Data.

Every mod must have a Data-folder. The game will not load a mod if it doesn’t contain such a folder, even if the Data-folder is completely empty.

Step 3: Ensuring it works via the game's mod browser.

Start up Space Engineers and go to Load Game, select any savegame and then go to Edit Settings > Mods. Your mod folder will now appear in the left-hand list.

You can now add it to your mod list like you would any other mod.

Note the different icons that are present for the mods in your mod list. The Steam-icon means that you’re subscribed to this mod via the Steam Workshop. If there is a mod.io-icon, you’re subscribed to it on mod.io. The House-icon means that this is the local version of a mod, i.e. the version on your own PC.

Mods are loaded from the bottom to the top meaning the mods at the top have the last say when it comes to overriding things (usually SBC definition IDs, for more info see the SBC modding).

Upload Your Mod

Step 1: Upload the mod via the game's mod browser.

Once you have added the modded files to your mod and tested the changes ingame, it’s time to upload your mod. To do so, select your mod in the mod list and hit Publish.

Now you can select which Tags most fit your mod and where to upload your mod to. Make your selection and then hit Ok.

Step 2: Finding your mod on the workshop.

After publishing, you will be prompted to open up the mod page. Either confirm that, or navigate to your mod via your own Profile on the Space Engineers Workshop page.

It works similarly with mod.io.

Step 3: Customizing your mod's workshop page

On your mod’s workshop page, you have various options to customize it. Be sure to include a clear overview over what your mod does at the top and some good images showing your changes. Also a link to the mod.io version if applicable.

There are Visibility options for your mod:

• Public - everyone will be able to see your mod on the Workshop.
• Friends-only - only your friends will be able to use the mod. Dedicated servers have no login, therefore they have no friends.
• Hidden - only usable and visible by you or Steam Workshop moderators. Anyone else trying to use it (either joining a server, loading a world that has it, etc) would get failure to download the mod.
• Unlisted - same as public except it does not show up on the workshop or your profile. This works on servers too but also means the page can be accessed through the server info window.

If anything but public is chosen, a yellow banner is shown at the top but only for you, other people won't know the visibility status of the mod, up to you if you wish to inform them through the description.

Also you should subscribe to your discussions page ("Discussions" tab then "Subscribe to forum" on the right) otherwise you won't be notified when someone posts there.

Step 4: Updating your mod.

Updating your mod is simple, though somewhat unintuitive: Simply make the changes in your mod folder and then start up the game, go to the mod list and hit Publish on your mod again, as if you were uploading it for the first time. It will then update the existing, already uploaded, mod and you will be asked to confirm overriding the existing, published, mod.

Step 5: Uploading a thumbnail. (preview picture)

There is unfortunately no way to upload a thumbnail for your mod through the Steam Workshop interface. You have to instead place the thumbnail in your mod folder named as thumb.jpg:

Ensure your thumb.jpg is no larger than 1MB in size, else publishing / updating the mod may fail.

Finally, simply update your mod as explained in Step 4.