Mods and Languages
The tool I wrote and use internally to create the data for the game is pretty much the perfect mod tool for it. My hope is to provide this tool and a bit of the core data so that the community can reskin the game, change game balance, and add new buildings, professions, and workplaces.
The tool knows how to deal with all the data in the game, and would allow users to change and add to the game data. That includes textures, models, animations, string tables, audio, music, fonts, character sets, user interface configuration, user interface graphics, sprites, vertex and pixel shaders, and render state. It also compiles game data that configures all the objects in game - workplaces, trees, plants, resources, animals, buildings, citizens, weather, environment, lighting, professions, toolbars, general game balance, and more.
In addition to being able to change almost anything in the game, the tool can also package a set of compiled resources into a single file which would be great for distributing mods.
I've had many people ask about translations for the game. The code for supporting multiple languages in Banished is only partially complete and could use some work. I also don't have any plans for official translations yet. However the mod-kit would allow for community made translations distributed as mods.
I would love to see mods that extend the game. You could add an apiary that has beekeepers and produces honey, a miller that grinds wheat into flour, milk production could be added to cattle, and then a baker could take honey, eggs, milk, and flour and produce honey cakes. Or you could reskin the entire game for different time periods or locations. Or add a lumber mill and add a new class of houses and construction. Or make better character models and animations. I can think of so many directions to take Banished that I can't do them all myself - but I think the community could do some amazing things with it.
As I wasn't thinking about modding when I started coding Banished, there are some things the modkit won't be able to do. You won't be able to change behaviors or add new ones, and you can't make new UI behaviors. You can't make soldiers that fight off packs of wolves or change the AI of the people, or change the deer simulation. All that is in C++ code, and at the moment I don't have a good way to allow plug-ins with new code to extend the functionality. This is something I'm considering, but I haven't really examined the effort or implications this sort of code change would require.
There are a few things I still need to resolve for the mod kit, like making an interface to load multiple mods at once, and dealing with mods that override the same base resource. I also need to think about mods in relation to patches - if I make a patch for the game or extend the game with new functionality, the binary data formats may change, which will require mods to be recompiled with a new tool that goes with that particular data version.
When?
I don't know when all this will actually happen. As its obvious from the rest of Banished's development I'm not good at estimating how long it will take to get things done.
I'd like the mod support to be available soon, but the game needs to ship and I'm sure I'm going to have bugs and crashes and compatibility issues to deal with first. I may also take a bit of a break after these three years of development on a single project - A short break and some part time work on some new tools, tech, and game prototypes might be nice.
