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C# Programming
Aspiring mod authors, check this out!
Assuming you are interested in being a Coder type modder, most Unity games' dll mods are coded in C#. C# is a programming language, like English but with very simple grammar and fixed vocabulary, that we use to tell computers what to do.
Here I will list the steps you may take to learn C#, in order to read game code and to write dll mods. You will need a computer, preferably Windows.
First, head over to C#'s owner, Microsoft, to get your feet wet:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/
Follow the "Get Started" section until you completed "Create C# apps with Visual Studio", because Visual Studio is the easiest way to write and build dll mods.
Do not read other official tutorials, because they draw you toward the latest .Net technologies that you cannot use in your mods, at least not easily. .Net Core, C# 8.0, and UWP are just tips of the iceberg.
After Hello World, you can switch to tutorial point for a crash course on language features:
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/csharp/index.htm
Language features are like prepositions, and are critical for reading real code. At least "finish" the Advanced Tutorial, because you will see those features in game code and in many mods.
You also need to "finish" Linq, which tutorial point does not include:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/tutorials/working-with-linq
I quoted finish, because it is ok to not master all the new concepts. The important thing is have an idea of them and know where to look, what terms to google, when you are lost.
Also check out the "Key Concepts" at the end of this page, which you'll need to know for making real mods.
After you learned for and foreach, `?:` and `?.` and `??`,
interface and class and structs, fields and properties, delegate and event,
reflection and collection, and that ()=> is not an ice-cream scope,
you may want to practice your .Net skill a bit, to consolidate the learnings.
https://www.w3resource.com/csharp-exercises/
Doing exercise is a tried and proven way to learn programming, ever since computer was invented.
At any point, you can read game code to see how much you understand. To see game code, you need a .Net decompiler. There are a few, but I prefer dnSpy.
https://github.com/0xd4d/dnSpy
After you downloaded it, launch it and open "Assembly-CSharp.dll"
in the game's PhoenixPointWin64_Data\Managed folder.
Press Ctrl+Shift+K to start searching the code. For example if you search "Hearing" you can find code memebers whose name contains "Hearing", and are likely used by the perception subsystem of tactical combat.
Select any member and press Ctrl+Shift+R to find who use it or overrides it. This is the primary way to navigate the code and learn its logic.
If the code looks like alien speaks to you, re-learn C# and do more exercises. Practice make perfect.
When you can understand how a part of the game works, you can start thinking how to modify it.
Most mods modify the game with the Harmony patcher.
https://github.com/pardeike/Harmony/wiki
It can adds *your* methods as "Prefix" to run before existing (game) methods, and/or as "Postfix" to run after existing methods, including property setter and getter (but not fields), to change its input/output or even totally overriding it. (Leave transpiler for masters. Like when you think you've transcended human and claim to be an AI sheep.)
Many people find it easier to copy than to create. If so, go read existing mods and modify them. Mods are open sourced for a reason.
Alternatively, start from a easy DLL Mod Quick Start to build a easy, painless mod step-by-step.
Happy Modding!
Assuming you've installed Visual Studio and built your Hello World, here are some .Net programming concepts, that few C# tutorials would explain.
(In alphabetical order)
- Assembly
- Compiled .Net code, usually a EXE or DLL. Each assembly is its own little country, a little world.
- Example: Each mod is an Assembly. They can have same named code without mixing up, like many real countries have their own Newcastle.
- Once an Assembly is loaded into a program, it cannot be unloaded or reloaded until the program exits.
- CLR, Common Language Runtime
- The name for all "environment" that runs .Net code, such as .Net Framework, .Net Core, Mono, etc.
- DLL
- A Dynamic Linked Library, with the .dll extension. Users cannot run it, but other programs can load it and run its code.
- Example: The mod loader is a dll. When user runs a modded game, the game loads it and calls it, which in turn loads and runs mods.
- EXE
- An EXEcutable file, with the .exe extension. Users can double click it and run it.
- Example: Modnix installer is a exe. When a user runs it, it launches a setup window.
- To see extensions, open Window Explorer, click View tab > Options > (Folder Options popup) View > Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types.
- Mono
- An open source version of .Net Framework that can run on Linux.
- Does not support all modules, such as WPF, which Modnix's mod manager depends on.
- .Net
- Microsoft's attempt to ride the waves of the interNET and eat Delphi, Java (and later, Flash) for breakfast.
- Generally refer to .Net Framework, but can also encompass .Net Core and Mono, and related technologies such as decompilers.
- .Net Core
- A new cross-platform CLR intended to replace .Net Framework.
- Not installed by default. Apps need to bundle their own Core, which also happens if you use Core packages in a Framework project.
- .Net Framework
- The "default" CLR installed on every Windows, partly because of its long history.
- Has Framework-only features like WPF, used by Modnix, not supported anywhere else.
- NuGet
- Microsoft's official library manager that let you download and use .Net libraries easily and without mess.
- For example, you can add a Lib.Harmony dependency with a few clicks, no need to download or manage reference.
- Package
- Have many meanings, but here I'll say it means a NuGet Package, a library you can get from NuGet. Example: Harmony.
- Project
- A set of code and resources to build an Assembly. Also specify which CLR the code "targets", i.e. depends on.
- Have the .csproj extension, for C# projects.
- Reference
- A Project may reference a library to learn and call its code. Right-click "References" in a Project in Visual Studio to add them.
- Example: Add a reference to the game's Assembly-CSharp.dll allows you to call the game's code.
- Solution
- A set of related Projects in Visual Studio. For example the Modnix solution contains the Loader, LoaderTest, and Manager projects.
- Have the .sln extension.
You will get stuck. A lot. Sometimes you need more than Google.
The most popular programmer's Q&A network is stackoverflow. Just make sure you search for your questions first, before asking a new one.
If it is modding related, try the #mods channel on the Phoenix Point Discord.