Guides
How modding actually works
Every one of these answers a question people ask after something has already gone wrong. Written from what the index knows rather than from memory, and true across games rather than about one.
Across every game
- How to get an older version of a game on SteamYour mods work on last month's build and Steam has already replaced it. The three ways back, what each one costs you, and which one actually survives.2 min read
- How to read a dependency chain before it ruins your eveningMost install failures are one missing library nobody told you about. What a dependency is, why authors rely on them, and how to see the whole chain before you start.2 min read
- Mod managers, and when you actually need oneDragging files into a folder works until it does not. What a manager buys you, what it takes away, and the point where doing it by hand stops being reasonable.2 min read
- Steam Workshop mods and file based mods are not the same thingOne arrives through Steam and you never see it. The other is a file you put somewhere. Why some games have both, and why that decides everything else about modding them.2 min read
- What a mod loader actually does, and why you need oneGames do not load mods. A loader does, by getting between the game and its own code before either notices. What that means for which mods you can run and why they stop working.2 min read
- Where a mod download actually comes from, and how to tellEvery mod you install is a stranger's executable code running inside your game. Who is hosting it, what the checksum is for, and the sites to walk away from.2 min read
- Why a game update breaks your mods, and what to do about itUpdate day is the same story in every modded game. What actually breaks, why the fix is never instant, and the three options you have while you wait.2 min read
For particular games
- BepInEx, and why half the games you mod use itOne loader turns up in hundreds of Unity games, from Lethal Company to Valheim. What it is, how it patches a game that was never meant to be patched, and how to tell when it is the thing that broke.2 min read · lethal-company, valheim, risk-of-rain-2
- Factorio mod versions, and the one field that tells you the truthFactorio does compatibility better than almost anything else. Every mod declares the game version it targets, in a field, and the game reads it before you can make a mistake.2 min read · factorio
- Installing Lethal Company mods without breaking your lobbyFifty thousand mods, one loader, and a multiplayer game that checks what everyone is running. The order to install in, and why your friends need the same list.2 min read · lethal-company
- Starting with Valheim mods, and the two that change everythingValheim's scene is smaller than Minecraft's and better organised. Where to begin, what a dedicated server changes, and why your world file deserves a copy first.2 min read · valheim
11 guides, in order of their titles. The ones across every game hold for anything indexed here; the rest name the games they were written for.