Modding version 50.01+

Mods

Downloading a mod

Mods can be acquired using the steam workshop (if using Steam version), a manual download from Bay 12 Forums or third party websites (like DFFD), or by creating one yourself.

When using the Steam workshop, all you have to do is to "Subscribe" to a mod and it should be available when creating a new world automatically. Install mods manually, require to download the mod, then placing the mod zip or the unzipped mod folder inside the mods folder (if this folder doesn't exist, you can create it.)

Using Mods

Mods are installed when you create a new world. When creating a world and choosing its initial parameters, if you have a mod available, there should be a Mods button at the bottom of the screen. Pressing this will let you select which mods you'd like to enable and what the load order should be. You should put mods at the end of the mod list after the vanilla objects if you don't have any further information, so that they can reference vanilla objects after those are loaded.

Note: Unlike the previous versions of Dwarf Fortress, mods no longer live inside save files and must be installed on every computer where saves using those mods are going to be loaded.

Modding

Dwarf Fortress supports mods in the form of new objects and tiles. Each mod is a zip file or unzipped folder with the required format (see below.)

Mod Format

Mods contain an info.txt file and either an "objects" folder or a "graphics" folder (or both.) All of the vanilla objects in the game now use this format.

Mod Name
  info.txt
  preview.png
  objects
  graphics

Mod info

Each mod has a info.txt. It has a few fields defining basic information about the mod and can be edited using any text editor (like notepad++). See Example:

[ID:vanilla_items]
[NAME:Vanilla Items]
[NUMERIC_VERSION:5001]
[DISPLAYED_VERSION:50.01]
[EARLIEST_COMPATIBLE_NUMERIC_VERSION:5001]
[EARLIEST_COMPATIBLE_DISPLAYED_VERSION:50.01]
[AUTHOR:Bay 12 Games]
[DESCRIPTION:These are the default Dwarf Fortress items.]

[STEAM_TITLE:Test Descriptors]
[STEAM_DESCRIPTION:Some test object definitions for shapes and colors.]
[STEAM_TAG:mod] 
[STEAM_KEY_VALUE_TAG:test:stuff]
[STEAM_METADATA:metadata test]
[STEAM_CHANGELOG:Made some changes. Shown in 'Change Notes' tab.]

[STEAM_FILE_ID:#########]

Only ID and NAME are required to appears in the in-game mod menu.

STEAM tags are only used by Steam.

• They are used to The STEAM_FILE_ID used to identify the mod in the Workshop. This is automatically managed when uploading to Steam the first time. And required if you wish to update an existing Steam Workshop mod.
• You can use as many STEAM_TAG and STEAM_KEY_VALUE_TAG entries you want, use a separate STEAM_TAG for each one.
• You can also create a thumbnail for your mod by creating an image called preview.png in the same level as your info.txt file. This image will become the thumbnail when the mod is uploaded to steam workshop. The image should be less than 1MB in size.

Objects and graphics folder

objects folder contains objects exactly the same as objects from previous versions of Dwarf Fortress. It's beyond the scope of this short guide to go into what specific tags do, but the vanilla objects and previous mods by members of the community will give you plenty of examples to work with.

Publish on Steam Workshop

To upload a mod to Steam Workshop, you need to add STEAM tags to the info.txt file (see above.) Afterward, you put the unzipped mod folder in the "mods/mod_upload" folder. Then select Mods from the title menu, and upload your mods using the button you'll see there. Other Steam users will be able to subscribe to your mod immediately once it is uploaded.

Once the upload process is completed successfully, you'll find a [STEAM_FILE_ID:#########] appended to your info.txt. Make sure this entry is included for future uploads if you want to make changes to your mod and have it overwrite the existing entry on the workshop. Otherwise you'll create a new entry every time you upload.

Notes

• Offical https://bay12games.com/dwarves/modding_guide.html and an example: Vanilla Items mod.
• Once a world is created that uses mods, then the game will copy the mod to the data/installed_mods folder. That is the version that the game actually uses.