I've taken all those hard-coded enumerations and turned them into JSON files that the game can load in and link together. Right now, I'm doing the final big sprint of converting all the module type information.
Then I'll be moving through the code and patching up cases where things are still going wrong - where it can't find graphics anymore, or where it tries to load in some resource too early, or fails to refresh it when the data is re-loaded.
By dev 8, you will be able to change and add to the following kinds of information:
- Crew types and animations
- Armour types
- Module types and categories
- Particles
- Bits of background landscape
- Birds
- Heraldic charges
- Clouds
- Times of day and weather
There's also a few things that will be not moddable because each type requires custom code:
- Bonuses
- Achievements
- Heraldic layouts
- Spy actions
The nice thing about putting mods into data files that can be reloaded on the fly is that you can install and toggle mods without having to restart the game. Mods will also be multiplayer-compatible, allowing the creators of combats to specify which mods they want to use.
Going over all of this game content has also given me some new ideas for cool things to add, which I'll be adding to releases over time. As you may have seen, I've decided to split the next release into two to get a new major release out faster - so stay tuned.