Publishing on the ModHub

Abstract

You have now successfully created six mods and should feel confident in bringing your own ideas for mod creations to life. In this chapter, we will explore how to publish your creations to the ModHub for others to download and play while potentially earning revenue with your mod’s success.

You have now successfully created six mods and should feel confident in bringing your own ideas for mod creations to life. In this chapter, we will explore how to publish your creations to the ModHub for others to download and play while potentially earning revenue with your mod’s success.

Technical Requirements

You will not need any software or additional materials for this chapter as it will mostly cover information. However, you will need an Internet connection and web browser available to you to search any topics covered in further detail or visit any websites mentioned.

What Is the ModHub?

The ModHub is where you will publish your mods for all players to be able to use. The ModHub has different categories including maps, many different types of vehicles, and different buildings or farm technologies for players to include in their game.

The best-performing and highest-quality mods can appear in several algorithmic categories, including Latest and Top Downloaded. These categories are then featured to players on the front page of the ModHub. We will be referencing the ModHub website often, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.farming-simulator.com/mods.php

When users download your mod, they can leave a review on a five-star scale. Naturally, mods with a higher rating are more likely to be downloaded by other players and find their way into the sorts shown earlier. With dedication, your mods can also see wide usage and be shown at the top of these sorts. To get started, you will need to create an account, which we will do in the next section.

Creating an Account

To create your ModHub account, go to the ModHub website and click the login button highlighted in Figure 11-1.

Figure 11-1

You can log in to your ModHub account by clicking the login button on the front page

Note that this account is different from the account you use to access the GDN. Once on the login page, click the Register new account here button and follow the instructions presented to you. Make sure you accept the “Terms of Use” checkbox. Once you enter your basic information, your login information will be sent to the email you provided. Log in to your account once you receive this information, and you should arrive on your personal Mods page. The link to this page can be found here:

https://www.farming-simulator.com/modHubBEMain.php

On this page, you will find several different sections shown by tabs.

The first tab is the Mods page, which shows you a list of all your submitted mods.

The Rewards tab shows the rewards you have earned for your submitted mods on a per mod basis. If you reach a certain amount of rewards, you can enter your bank details to receive the rewards, or you can decide to donate them to a charity. If donated, GIANTS Software will match your contribution, doubling the amount.

The Awards section shows the progress on your awards of which there are four types: the Console (red) award, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. On this page, you can see if you have already reached the milestone and request that the reward be granted. Note that this tab will not become visible until you reach your first milestone.

The Messenger tab is where you can get in touch with the GIANTS ModHub team. Keep in mind that the team will not answer questions about modding itself but will assist with questions and issues with the submission process and other inquiries directly related to the ModHub.

Lastly, the Help section provides you with resources regarding the ModHub, Farming Simulator, and the GDN.

In the next section, we will cover the content guidelines of the ModHub.

ModHub Creation Guidelines

Not all types of content are allowed on the ModHub. In this section, we will explore what type of content is and is not permitted on the ModHub as well as the potential consequences of violating these restrictions. Throughout this section, we will reference the official ModHub guideline document, which can be found at the following link. The most current version of the guidelines can always be found in the Data subsection of the Upload page:

https://farming-simulator.com/modhub-guidelines

After passing all of the tests of the TestRunner tool (see the next section), you are ready to submit your mod for manual review. We will cover the submission process in more detail in the “Uploading Your First Mod” section of this chapter. Your mod will again be checked against the TestRunner, and if all tests are passed, your mod will be tested in game. If all tests are passed, the mod will be ready for release on PC. Mods must go through additional tests to be made available on the console. After the in-game test on PC, your mod will be tested on the console. If all tests are passed, your mod is ready for console release, and you will receive the red Console award once it is downloaded 250K times. You can see this whole process outline in the diagram shown in Figure 11-2.

Figure 11-2

Your mod must go through a manual review process to be approved for the ModHub

Remember to read all of the requirements set by the guidelines carefully to ensure that your mod is able to be approved quickly.

In the next section, you will learn how to ensure your mod is ready to be uploaded to ModHub.

Using the TestRunner

The TestRunner is a piece of software created by GIANTS Software used to verify that your mod is in a state that is ready to be uploaded. For example, it will check for issues such as duplicate files, texture formats, XML validation, and more. To download the TestRunner, navigate to the Downloads page of the GDN and search for the Farming Simulator 22 Test Runner download link. For convenience, you can find the Downloads page of the GDN at the following link:

https://gdn.giants-software.com/downloads.php

After downloading, unzip the folder and put the TestRunner_public.exe executable in the directory containing all of your mods. To test a specific mod, grab the mod directory for a single mod and release it while hovering over the executable as shown in Figure 11-3. The TestRunner will then be executed on your selected folder.

Figure 11-3

You can execute the TestRunner on a mod by dragging the mod folder to the executable

Note that your mod folder does not need to be in the same directory as the TestRunner, but it may be convenient for this interaction. A command-line window will open displaying the current progress, and if something went wrong, an error message is displayed giving details on the problem. All outputs from the TestRunner are saved in the “TestRunner.log”. An XML and HTML file will be generated in the same directory as the TestRunner. The files are named after the directory name of the tested mod and contain the results of the test. The HTML file only contains all the found errors (per module), and the XML contains all errors and more detailed (meta)information. The generated HTML report should be automatically opened in your web browser. Errors are outlined in red, explanations are in italics, and instructions for correcting the errors are colored green.

For more general information about the TestRunner and troubleshooting, you can view the announcement thread linked here:

https://forum.giants-software.com/viewtopic.php?t=187502

In the next section, you will upload your first mod to the ModHub.

Uploading Your First Mod

When you are ready to upload your first mod, navigate to the Mods tab of the ModHub once you have logged in. Click the Add New button and select the new Untitled Mod option that appears. At the top of the page, you can see the status of your submission which will show whether you have uploaded the required materials to submit your mod for review.

If you encounter an issue uploading your mod, you can create a ticket from this page to get in contact with the GIANTS ModHub team. The ModHub team can neither answer mod requests nor help you with modding questions in a private ticket. If you have questions about modding, please visit the forum and send your questions to other members of the modding community.

You can see this section of the page in Figure 11-4.

Figure 11-4

You will need to upload files and information about your mod for it to be submitted

You are first asked to upload the files for your mod. At this point, you will be asked to confirm that your mod passes the TestRunner application and is compliant with the modding rules set out in the “ModHub Creation Guidelines” section of this chapter. Next, you are asked to include metadata for your mod including the icon, mod version, and the title and description in English, German, and French. Most or all of this information can be automatically extracted if you select the load from modDesc.xml or prefabDesc.xml option seen in Figure 11-4. Lastly, you must include at least three screenshots of your mod for the team to review. Once all materials have been uploaded, you are ready to return to the top of the page and submit your mod for review. Mods are usually reviewed within a few business days, but it depends on the amount of mod submissions currently being processed.

Note that you should not upload any of the mods you created in this book as they are not original and will be denied by the GIANTS ModHub test team.

Getting Feedback and Updating Your Mod

Once your mod is accepted, it will be released by the ModHub team and millions of players will be able to see and download your mod. This also means there will be a lot of feedback. This feedback may come from the official forum, Facebook, Discord, or other social platforms. You can find the link to the English-speaking section of the forum here:

https://forum.giants-software.com/viewforum.php?f=478

Feedback can be helpful when considering how to improve your mod. Do keep in mind that you may sometimes receive negative feedback, but you should not be discouraged. If feedback is not constructive, do your best to ignore it and continue doing what you enjoy as a creator.

By updating your mod, you may see an increase in positive feedback from the community who are happy to see new content and their suggestions incorporated into the mod. By creating more content, you will also become more notable in the community and gain the recognition of other creators. And of course, with more mods and consistent updates, your mod will become more popular, resulting in more downloads and additional rewards. Note that mods that are updated are more visible on the in-game ModHub and as well as on the ModHub website. In the next section, we will look in more detail at rewards and awards you can earn as a mod creator.

Rewards and Awards

As mentioned in Chapter 1, “Introduction,” there are ways to earn money by creating mods and making them available for all Farming Simulator players to use. Once you create a quality mod, it must go through a manual approval process. This process ensures that the mod does what it claims to do and that it is free of any prohibited content. This content can vary, but copyrighted material, such as specific brands or companies, are generally not permitted to appear in your mod. If your mod is approved to be published on the ModHub, you may be eligible to receive payouts from GIANTS Software based on how many times your mod is downloaded. Remember, quality mods that receive the best reviews are more likely to appear in certain categories of the ModHub. When your mod is featured, more users will be able to see it and download, allowing you to earn more money from your mod.

Your mod can also earn awards depending on its performance and content. If your mod is made compatible with consoles, you are eligible for the red Console award. If your mod is widely downloaded, you can also earn the Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards (see Figure 11-5).

Figure 11-5

The red ModHub award is given if your mod achieves 250K downloads on the console

In the next section, we will review what you have learned in this chapter and the book as a whole.

Summary

In this chapter, you learned how to use the ModHub to make your mod available to thousands of other Farming Simulator players. Additionally, you learned how you can earn money by making successful mods.

This brings us to the end of this modding guide. At the beginning, you may have had little to no programming experience but now are able to create and manage complex systems using Lua and XML. You learned about networks, the client-server relationship, and how to efficiently make use of the bandwidth and other limited resources available to you. From your first sample mod to the first mod of your own design you uploaded to the ModHub, you have taken a great leap in your journey as a mod developer. I hope you find these learned skills valuable as you continue creating and approach new technical challenges throughout your life. I wish you the best on your journey!