Table of Contents

Modding

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WIP: Guides for creating mods for the game

Topics

Pick a category for what type of modding you want to do to the game:

Animation Replace animations attached to 3D models
Data Table Guide Modify various game rules and item/equipment properties
Level Editing Edit the game's rooms; object and enemy placement
Modelling Replace the game's 3D models and textures
Sound & Music Replace the game's sounds & music

See Also

Basic Concepts

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a game built in Unreal Engine version 4.22.3. Unreal Engine provides a built-in way for developers to update their games after release, we utilize this to mod the game.

Game Assets - When I use the word asset from this point forward, it means anything the game uses to work - 3D models, animations, sounds, blueprint scripts, etc. We want to replace these assets during modding.

.pak files - Unreal Engine stores all of the game's assets in large files with the .pak extension. Bloodstained automatically loads all .pak files that are placed inside the BloodstainedRotN/Content/Paks folder, in alphabetical order according to the file and folder name. During modding, your ultimate goal will be to create a new .pak file which can be placed in this folder in order to override the assets in the game's other pre-existing .pak files.

.uasset files - A .pak file holds multiple .uasset files. Each of the game's assets are stored in individual files with the .uasset extension. It is possible to store more than one asset in a single .uasset file, however it is usually 1 asset = 1 uasset file. A .uasset file could hold anything, such as a 3D model or a DataTable that defines weapon stats. Depending on what type of asset you're modifying you will use different tools to extract that asset from the .uasset file, modify it, then rebuild the .uasset file with the modified asset.

The basic process for creating any mod is as follows:

  1. Unpack the .pak files containing the game's existing assets.
  2. In the unpacked directory, locate the .uasset file containing the game asset you want to modify.
  3. Modify the .uasset file depending on what type of asset it is. Pick one of the categories above for tutorials based on what type of asset is being modified.
  4. Set up a blank project in Unreal Engine and import the modified asset, package (cook) the project to generate new .uasset files.
  5. Use one of the modding tools such as UnrealPak to generate a new .pak file that contains your modified .uasset files.
  6. Copy your new .pak file into the game's Paks folder.
  7. Run the game to test.

This is just a high-level overview. Choose a category above for detailed tutorials on modding the game.