编辑“模组制作”（章节）

== Guidelines ==

* '''Create a mod for your modifications''': use a [[#Mod structure|personal mod]] even for small changes, and never directly modify the game files in the Steam Stellaris folder, as they may be overwritten without warning.
* '''Use a good text editor''' (recommended: [https://vscodium.com/ VSCodium] or [https://code.visualstudio.com/ Visual Studio Code]) to edit files and search into multiple files. A good text editor can also format the displayed text so that braces can be collapsed if complete, and complete/incomplete pairs are highlighted.
* '''Use the error.log file to get execution errors''': The log folder can be found right next to the mod folder. Good Editors usually have the ability to track changes to files from outside the program and prompt for a reload, thus showing you errors with one glance at the file. Note that some modifications need a game to be loaded or even the option to be used on screen/in the back-end before their code will run.
* '''Use CWTools for advanced validation and auto-complete''': CWTools is a syntax validator for Stellaris modding, developed as an extension for Visual Studio Code and also available for Sublime. Read the [[forum:1066033|forum post]] by the developer for more info.
* '''Minimize overwrites of vanilla files''', unless that is your main goal or somehow necessary (on_action triggers). Adding separate files and use [[#Game structure|loading from folders]] whenever possible, to improve mod compatibility and maintenance. Your files can have any name, all files in the folder will be loaded by the game. So choose a prefix no one else will ever use like the name of your mod. Even DLC follows that pattern.
* '''Use a proper merge tool''' (like [http://winmerge.org/ WinMerge], or the Visual Studio Code Extension [https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=L13RARY.l13-diff L13 Diff] ), to [[Merging guide|merge between folders]], and update modified vanilla files to a new vanilla patch.
* '''Backup your work''' to avoid losing everything. Consider using a source control system like [https://git-scm.com/ Git] and a collaborative forge like [https://github.com/ GitHub] to manage team collaboration.
* '''Use UTF-8 encoding''' for text and .mod files.
* '''Use UTF-8 with BOM''' for localization and name list files.
* '''Indent properly''' and, again, use a good text editor, to easily spot unclosed curly braces. Vanilla uses 1 tab for indentation rather than spaces.
* '''Use comments''' starting with a # character, to remember your reasons for writing tricky stuff.