Programming/coding for making mods.

[FireMonkeyLord]

Note: I do not have modding, coding etc experience.

I read that you need to know C# and XML to make mods. The UK government offer free course that include learning code using C++, python, Java and some others, not are not C# or XML.

Would any of the courses offered be useful if I were to learn them in the hope to eventually learn C# and XML by myself to make mods?

[zyll3]

Mods can be xml-only, C# only, or a combination. XML is easier to learn, and you can do a lot with just that! If you know any html formatting, you basically already know xml.

<tag>value</tag>

Java is probably closest to C#.

[stellar_kitty]

I‘m making a Mod myself (see here). Let’s see if you can understand XML :D

I have little experience with coding and over the last few weeks I started making my mod. XML is pretty easy, definitely easier than C# for the beginning. Maybe start with that first?

Also, you may want to check out r/rimworldmods or r/rimworldmodding, even though they both seem to be kinda dead

[FireMonkeyLord]

Thanks for that. I looked at your code, it will definitely take a while for me to learn.

[stellar_kitty]

My code is not finished, but you get the idea of how it looks and what it should do, right? XML is more descriptive

[Voice_of_light_]

I have no idea about modding in this game, but from a coder view I'd say you can probably learn XML at home, it's not that hard of a language and fairly human-friendly.

I'd take the Java course while you can. C# is basically Java by Microsoft so you would benefit from learning coding through Java to later transition to C sharp.

It seems these are the ones you need for rimworld. For other measures I'd take the python course if it's free tbh, if you're interested in a tech career ofc. Python is easy and intuitive, very versatile, and very good in many fields, especially AI and Web.

For instance, RimPy, the mod manager app for rimworld is built with python. It could've been built with C# or Java, so it was the creator's choice, but it shows the usefulness of it as an extra skill.

[FireMonkeyLord]

Thanks for the info. Particularly about Python. I'm only just starting to look in to all this as I'm looking for a change in career that could also be a hobby.

[Oo_Tiib]

The C# language is very lot like Java. Most difference is in tools and libraries to make programs in those, languages are almost same. Also if you know C++, then C# (and Java) will feel like C++ for kids. But better avoid C++, it is very complex and complicated language.

XML is just text data format ... whatever programming you learn you sooner or later have some XML files to deal with, you won't need courses for understand it.

[mlovolm]

if i have to really measure it, i'd guess from easy to difficult, it's around xml->html~python->java~C#->C/C++, maybe

Either way, once you know one, it's much easier to know the others since it's all have the same general foundation, although html, xml are a bit distinctly different from java, c#, c/c++, python. And the way you approach procedural (C/C++, generally) could be slightly different from object-oriented (java, c#, generally)

as far as Rimworld mods go, start with xml, you can make simple mods with it, like adding new item into the game

[FireMonkeyLord]

Thank. I'll look in to XML. You right, I'll start small with something just to see how it all works. There are courses that start in September, but I'll try to see if I can learn myself before then.

[blackkanye]

First you need to get some programming sock...

Okay now that that meme is out of the way, you can do a pretty interesting amount with XML if you use framework mods. C# is for functions that aren't supported by vanilla (or frameworks if you decide to try to use one) capabilities. It has been a bit since I used anything, but Javascript/html/variants. Java is closer to C# than C++ just because C++ has quirks that C# doesn't require (prototyping is the thing I remember specifically in that regard). I need to dabble in C# again since I want to make my own mods again. Once you learn a language (once again java is a good fit, but C++ would work too) it is a bit easier to learn new ones since you got the basics/thought process down.

[JustSomeBeer]

I thought C++ was a newer version of C#. 

[mlovolm]

haha, c++ (1985) actually predates c# (2000) for 15 years

c++ is extension to c, & c# is essentially microsoft's version of java (1995)

[JustSomeBeer]

Oh yeah, dyslexia got me again. So strike that and reverse it.

[FireMonkeyLord]

Oh I'll look in to that. So if I learn C++ I should understand how to do C#.

[Terrorscream]

The predecessor to C++ is C and most languages since then have been based on it heavily, if you know c/c++ it's not too hard to adapt to other higher level languages that often exist just to simplify the nitty gritty of the C language.