Development Environment Setup

Before starting development, you’ll need to install and configure a few essential tools like an IDE, Git, and .NET to set up your development environment.

Integrated Development Environment: Visual Studio

Visual Studio Installation

  1. Download and Install Visual Studio 2022
    Go to the official Visual Studio 2022 download page. Choose the Community edition (which is free) and download the installer.

  2. Workloads Tab: Select Unity Game Development
    During installation, under the Workloads tab, choose the Game development with Unity workload. This includes the necessary tools to work with Unity-based mods.

  3. Individual Components Tab: .NET 6.0 Runtime and .NET SDK
    Select .NET 6.0 Runtime (Long-Term Support) and .NET SDK (scroll down for the latter). Our BepInEx uses 6.0, but you will need the SDK as well. Alternatively, you can download from Microsoft’s dotnet site.

  4. Finish Installation
    Complete the installation process and launch Visual Studio. If you missed installing the workload or the individual component, you can always reopen the installer and choose Modify to add these after. You can customize the editor further if you want, but the default setup with Unity support should be enough for mod development.

Additional Resources

  • To get familiar with Visual Studio, it’s recommended to watch a few tutorial videos. You can find official Visual Studio tutorials or Unity-specific tutorials that explain how to use the IDE for modding.

  • IDE Options: Some developers prefer using Rider, an IDE from JetBrains, for Unity development. Rider has integrated support for Unity and C# and includes powerful features such as built-in debugging tools and a decompiler (dnSpy). If you’re comfortable with it, you can use Rider as an alternative to Visual Studio.
  • It can be helpful to have a decompiler such as dnSpy, dotPeek, or ILSpy. You can use these to inspect the files in VRisingDedicatedServer\BepInEx\interop.

Git

Git is a tool that helps you keep track of changes to your code. It makes it easy to collaborate with others and go back to previous versions of your project. Using GitHub, you can show your code online. There are two main ways to use Git: Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) or the command line.

  • Install Git:
    Download Git from the official Git website. Follow the installation steps from the official guide.

    Create a GitHub Account

To store and share your code, create a GitHub account at GitHub’s sign-up page. After signing up, you can create repositories to store and share your code.

Using a GUI (Beginner-Friendly)

If you’re new to Git or prefer a visual interface, you can use a GUI to make things easier.

  • GitHub Desktop: This is the simple option. It provides basic Git functionalities like cloning repositories, making commits, pushing/pulling changes, and switching branches, all in a straightforward, beginner-friendly interface.
  • TortoiseGit: A Git client that integrates with Windows Explorer. It provides a simple graphical interface directly within the file system, allowing you to manage repositories and commits without leaving the file explorer. Suitable for both beginners and intermediate users.
  • Git Extensions: If you want a more powerful tool with advanced features like a visual commit history, you can try Git Extensions. This is a bit more complex than GitHub Desktop, but it’s still beginner-friendly.

Using the Git Command Line (More Control)

For more advanced users or if you want full control over Git, you can install Git and use it through the command line. This gives you access to all Git features, but it can be more complicated for beginners. Follow Setup Instructions

Templates

A Command Prompt or PowerShell window should be opened in the folder where you want your mods to be created. Follow template install instructions from the Template Page.