Modding tools

Windows installs include companion apps under Tools/ next to Signs of Life.exe. Mod Prep, Content Database, and Terrain Tool require .NET Framework 4.8. Demina has the additional XNA requirement described below. The apps are not included with the Linux build; the mod files themselves can be edited with a text editor.

Tool	Open it	Use it for
Mod Prep	Mods → Create / Edit Mods, or Tools/Mod Prep.bat	Create a starter project, validate a pack, install a local test copy, and stage a Workshop upload.
Content Database	Tools/Content Database.bat	Browse content and edit supported fields in the files the tool indexes.
Terrain Tool	Tools/Terrain Tool.bat	Open world-generator JSON, preview terrain, edit passes and flatness, and save those files.
Demina	Tools/Demina.bat, or Tools/Demina/Demina.exe	Edit and pack the Demina animations used by held and melee item examples.

Creating new Spriter creature animations uses separate authoring software. Spriter is not included under Tools/; see the Spriter creature guide for the Pro atlas-export workflow and a first test using the already exported Jacked Kangit. Players loading a finished Spriter creature mod do not need Spriter installed.

The tools work with files on your computer. Workshop uploads happen through the game's Mods menu after staging in Mod Prep.

Start with a separate mod project

Follow Getting started to create a project in Mod Prep. Keep that project as your editable source. Install Test Copy copies it to the game's user Mods folder; after editing the project, install the test copy again. Mod files and folders explains the pack layout and the filenames the game loads.

Edits to the installed game's vanilla files change that installation. They do not create a separate mod, and a game update or Steam file verification can replace them. Copy the content you want to adapt into your project first.

Content Database

The database shows content from the game folder it discovers. In a source checkout it also reads the C# classes that define compiled content. A Steam install has no C# sources, so those compiled-class rows are absent. Source atlas images used by the inventory sprite picker may also be absent from an install. Runtime JSON, available XML tables, and Lua files can still be browsed.

Supported edits show a diff before writing. New item…, New projectile…, and New pack recipe… currently write into Content/LoadedContent/VanillaContent/. They do not choose a Mod Prep project as their destination.

For your own mod, use the database as a reference, then copy a suitable item_*.json, projectile_*.json, or recipe pattern into your project and edit it there with a text editor. Use your mod's unique name and your own content identifiers, and copy any required artwork or scripts. A compiled registration row is not a complete custom item definition; use the supported pack formats in Mod files and folders.

Terrain Tool

1. Set Game root… to the installed game folder, or the Signs of Life/ project folder in a checkout. This resolves stock passes and prefab paths.
2. Copy the WGD you want to adapt and any custom passes into your mod project's WorldGenerator/ folder. Use Open WGD… to open that copy.
3. Give modified custom passes new UUIDs and update the WGD's WorldGenPassUUIDs or OreGenPassUUIDs to match. Stock pass UUIDs resolve from the game's vanilla WorldGenerator folder before the mod folder.
4. Choose a seed and size, then Generate. Skip prefabs is on by default; the preview is for terrain iteration rather than a complete in-game world. The stock New Earth WGD needs a preview size of 3072 × 1536.
5. Save WGD saves WGD fields and enabled terrain/ore pass lists. Save pass saves only the selected pass's values. Save all saves both. Disabled passes stay available in the open draft so you can enable them again; reopening or resetting uses the saved WGD's active lists.

Saving warns when a pass comes from the shared stock folder, because that edit affects every WGD using the pass. Save into your project copies when making a mod. Unsaved changes to other passes stay in the draft after an individual save.

Save copy… exports the WGD and pass files under Content/JSON/WorldGenerator/ inside the folder you select. It does not create a complete mod pack. Move the exported generator files into your project's WorldGenerator/ folder, give custom passes their own UUIDs, and include any referenced background, spawning, or parallax files separately. Add a worldprofile_*.json that points to your WGD, as described in Custom worlds and Detailed world building.

Validate the project in Mod Prep, reinstall its test copy, and generate a fresh world in-game before staging it for Workshop.

Demina animation editor

Demina requires Microsoft's separate XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0. The game's MonoGame runtime and .NET Framework 4.8 do not supply XNA for this editor. Install that prerequisite separately before opening Demina; the tool launcher does not install it for you.

For the held/melee examples, open the animation source in Demina and use Pack Animations to produce compiled.png and .tdict files. Keep the animation paths in your item definition consistent with the files you include in the mod. Inventory PNG art uses the game's runtime packing and does not need this step. The editor's license is included under Tools/Demina/.