Modding

What is a mod?

Asset Modding was added in November 2024, in the "Asset Modding Major Update" (v1.13.0). Asset modding allows you to replace/edit many game files, such as terrain, shaders, physics constants, and some aspects of components. You can also create new components, with a major caveat; you cannot create new functionality, such as custom logic, physics, etc., but you can create copies of blocks already in the game with different 3D models, sounds, size, weight, cost, and other changes.

Component Modding was added in July 2025, in the "Components, Physics, and Gameplay modding update" (v1.15.0). Needs continuation.

NOTE: some people may refer to vehicles or addons (sometimes called "environment mods") as mods, although they are not.

Creating Mods

Before beginning a mod, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the layout of the game's ROM folder. This can be located by going to Stormworks in your steam library, pressing the gear icon, "manage", and "browse local files"

Tools:

there are many tools available to help with Modding, here are some (in no particular order)

NOTE: None of these tools have any affiliation with SWWiki, and few have any affiliation with Geometa Blender - For editing and creating 3D models

Blender - For editing and creating 3D models

Official SDK (Included in game files) - The "official" method of converting between Stormworks' proprietary file formats and more common ones

StormworksData by CodeLeopard - An alternative community-made file conversion tool

StormworksEditor by CodeLeopard - A community-made 3D Map and Mission Editor

Txtrmap by Dheix - A tool for viewing and converting between Stormwork's proprietary image format

SWToolkit by Nika - A Blender add-on for color conversion, mesh preparation, and modification of .anim file geometry

World Machine - A realistic procedural terrain generation software

Folder Structure:

• mod folder
  • mod.xml
  • mod.png*
  • audio*
  • data*
  • graphics*
  • meshes*

Files marked with an asterisk (*) are optional

Creating a mod.xml file (steps 1 and 2 may be slightly different on systems other than windows 11):

1. create a new text file in your mod folder, name it mod.xml (make sure you are changing the file type, not naming it mod.xml.txt)
2. right click > edit with notepad
3. paste the following:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <mod name="[NAME]" author="[AUTHOR]" desc="[DESCRIPTION]"/>
   

4. Edit the [NAME], [AUTHOR], and [DESCRIPTION] fields as you wish
5. congratulations, for most mods that's all the "coding" you will do

Creating a mod.png (Optional)

• This will be used as the thumbnail if you choose to upload your mod to the steam workshop
• It's out of the scope of this page to explain what makes a good thumbnail, but it must be a 512 x 512 px PNG

NOTES:

The mod folder can be named whatever you want.

If you intend to replace a base game asset, the names and folder structure of everything lower in hierarchy of the mod folder must match the base game exactly, as if your mod folder were the "rom" folder of stormworks.

Asset Modding

Block/Component* Modding

*Many people call the building blocks in Stormworks "components", not to be confused with Component Mods, explained below.

Modding building blocks is generally quite easy, with no coding (unless you are creating a Lua component), mostly changing values in a blocks definition XML file.

Terrain Modding

Terrain Modding is more advanced than block Modding, and requires at least a basic understanding of command line tools and 3D Modeling in Blender.

Component Modding

Component mods have one major difference from asset mods; they are compiled into a .bin file

This page is primarily written by Kezrah, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, via Discord or Steam