Hello there !
After months in development, we're finally ready to release the Helium Rain mod support we initially promised during Early Access. Mod support is always a pretty great way to enhance a game's lifetime - speaking as a former mod developer.
Installing mods
Players shouldn't see much change today, and will have an easy process to install mods through Steamworks. Browse the workshop on Steam, subscribe to mods, and once Steam has downloaded them, the game will automatically install them !
Our only guideline for players is that game saves should be tied to mods - please don't remove mods once you've started a game, as this might cause corruption of the game save. Adding mods should always "just work", but removal is not so easy.
A small update was released today to enable installation of mods. Please tell us if anything goes wrong !
Using the modding kit
The Helium Rain Mod Kit is freely available on the Epic Games Store today - no purchase necessary. We're releasing our full Unreal Engine 4 editor, complete with some of the game's content - a collection of ships, stations, and other game content that you can study to create your own. Look at the instructions on our Wiki !
What exactly can you do with the mod kit ?
- Add new ships or parts - weapons, engines, or other internal components
- Add new stations or resources
- Add new sectors, technologies or scannable artifacts
All of these types of content can easily be made and redistributed through Steamworks. We expect that most modders will be happy with this.
Of course, there's is also stuff that can't be done through the Mod Kit : adding new questlines or contracts, changing the UI or gameplay mechanics, or editing existing content. There is however a way to do this anyway.
Here are some legal guidelines on using the Helium Rain Mod Kit.
- Modders will be using Unreal Engine 4 and will need to comply to the UE4 EULA. If you decide to sell a Helium Rain mod, please check the legal requirements in the UE4 EULA.
- Our game content is provided for documentation only. Do not use our content for new game projects, or total conversion mods for Helium Rain, without our written consent.
- No support is promised for modders, though we'd love to see you talk about it on the community forums & the unofficial Discord .
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Source code mods
On top of the mod kit, we also want to state that we're okay with source code mods. This is how you can accomplish the above feats that the Mod Kit doesn't cover.
Source code mods would work by updating the game's C++ code, which is freely available on GitHub under a permissive open-source license, and redistributing compiled executable files to Helium Rain players. This gives you full power on the entire game.
Of course, source code mods are a bit less straightforward too. You won't be able to publish source code mods on Steamworks, as various source code mods would override themselves, so you will have to handle distribution yourself.
The most ambitious modders might want to create a brand new game with Helium Rain as a basis - maybe in a different universe, or different gameplay. This is also completely acceptable ! Again, however, we ask that you use none of our content in such an endeavor.
We want to thank all of you for helping us get Helium Rain where it is today. It's been almost exactly five years since the project started, and though it's been a very long time, getting to the point where new developers can get their hands on our work is awesome. Do us proud !
