Standard Revision 2.2

Deltamod Modding Standard

This file includes information on how a Deltamod-compatible modpack should be structured.

This type of pack is recommended for usage as it is compatible with the most popular mod managers: Deltamod (by the Deltamod & GM3P development team) and partial support on G3M (formerly Deltahub, by Y114).

Additionally, with the newest additions to Deltamod, this format may be the best one for creating GameMaker modpacks, as Deltamod is implementing more GameMaker games alongside DELTARUNE, the main game it was made for.

Basic rules of the format.

There should be 3 files (1 of which optional) dedicated to mod metadata and patching data.

• meta.json is a file dedicated to storing the mod's name, authors, version and target game. It is mainly used in UI and compatibility checks.
• modding.xml consists of tags, which have three fields: patch, to and type. It is used to define what Deltamod should do to apply your mod.
• icon.png is an optional icon the modder can include in their modpack. It must be a 1:1 image (256x256 reccomended but can be any size). It isn't included in this example folder. It is recommended to add one, as it is used in the Deltamod UI and helps the user distinguish mods.

meta.json

Note

You can use the MiscTools to generate this file.

{
    "metadata": {
        "name": "example",
        "version": "1.0.0",
        "color": {
            "r": 255,
            "g": 255,
            "b": 255
        },
        "description": "Lorem ipsum",
        "author": ["Mod Developer 1", "Mod Developer 2"],
        "packageID": "website.mod.author",
        "game": "toby.deltarune"
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "mergeSupport": true,
        "tags": ["other", "customization"]
    },
    "deltaruneTargetVersion": "1.04",
    "neededFiles": [
        {
            "file": "data.win",
            "checksum": "YOUR CHECKSUM HERE"
        }
    ]
}

This is an example on how a meta.json should be structured. Deltamod checks the file is valid and has the most important parts of it before loading the mod.

mergeSupport

If set to false, this variable will disallow the user from merging your mod with others.
We highly recommend turning this on only if absolutely neeeded! Users like to use multiple mods.

game

Supported game IDs (which can be added in the game field) are:

• toby.deltarune (DELTARUNE)
• toby.deltarune.demo (DELTARUNE Ch1&2)
• toby.deltarune.demolts (DELTARUNE Ch1&2 - LTS version)
• fans.utyellow (UNDERTALE Yellow)
• toby.undertale (UNDERTALE)
• other.pizzatower (Pizza Tower)

More games may be added as time goes on. Deltamod will update mods with the demoMod field automatically for legacy support.

packageID

You can format your packageID like so:

websitename.modname.authorname

Remember that dots cannot be entered in any of the fields as they are a reserved character. Only use them for separating the blocks.

If you don't want to specify one or more of the package parts (like your username, website name or mod name) just replace the values with und. If all three parts are und, making a package ID und.und.und Deltamod will consider the ID invalid.

If an ID is invalid or missing, Deltamod will generate one based on the already present information.

deltaruneTargetVersion

If your mod is not for DELTARUNE, leave the space empty. This is used by G3M to distinguish mods between DELTARUNE versions.

A future version of Deltamod will also implement this to distinguish Ch5 mods from Ch3+4 mods.

neededFiles

In the neededFiles array, you can make sure your game files are the same ones as the ones on your user's computer. Every element in the array is one filename + hash combo.

For example, you can specify the SHA256 checksum to look for in the Chapter 4 data.win. You can use checksumming to check, for example, if your user has the same game version as you.

To get a file's SHA256 hash, you can drop it here.

modding.xml

Note

You can use the MiscTools to generate this file.

Note

override also acts as the copy command. If you need to copy, not replace a file, use override.

<patch type="xdelta" patch="./example.xdelta" to="./chapter3_windows/data.win" />
<patch type="override" patch="./example.win" to="./chapter4_windows/data.win" />

This is an example on how a modding.xml should be correctly structured. There are currently 2 types of patch: xdelta (which inputs the file through the patcher in order to patch the requested file) and override (which simply replaces the file or copies it)

Every patch tag has three necessary fields: type, patch, and to.

• type is either xdelta or override
• patch is the relative path to your patch (relative to modpack)
• to is the relative path to the destination file (relative to game folder) If there are any missing/invalid fields, Deltamod will invalidate that specific patch.

xdelta type supports the following file extensions: '.xdelta', '.vcdiff', '.csx', and '.win'

override type supports all files except the following: '.xdelta', '.vcdiff', and '.csx'

The screenshots folder

Starting in a future version of Deltamod (TBD), you will be able to put a maximum of 10 screenshots in your modpack's screenshots folder. The format must be PNG, and preferrably of a 4:3 aspect ratio (640x480 ratio or higher). The image might get squished if not of the size here indicated.

Preparing your archive

Deltamod supports .ZIP (Preferred format for compatibility with most websites), .7Z, .TAR.GZ and .LZMA archives. They must be packaged like so:

.
└── (root of the archive)/
    ├── meta.json
    ├── modding.xml
    ├── icon.png
    └── (any needed patch file)

Caution

One of the most common errors modmakers make when creating modpacks are creating a ZIP with a subfolder in them, and then putting their mod's contents in it. Your modpack will not work if you make this mistake! Make sure every file is at the root of the ZIP.

You're done!

Your mod is now ready to be used in Deltamod. Everybody, go home!

























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