My Summer Car Mod Tool: A Beginner's Guide to Creation

Creating mods for My Summer Car can significantly enhance your gameplay experience, from adding new vehicles to tweaking game mechanics. If you’re looking to dive into the world of My Summer Car modding, understanding the right tools and how to use them is the first step. This guide will walk you through the essentials, focusing on the indispensable My Summer Car Mod Tool – the Developer Toolkit, and other resources you’ll need to get started.

So Where Should I Start with My Summer Car Modding?

Embarking on your modding journey might seem daunting at first, but with the right direction, it becomes an exciting and rewarding process. This guide aims to simplify the initial steps and provide you with the essential knowledge to begin creating your own mods for My Summer Car.

Essential Tools for Modding

To begin, you’ll need to equip yourself with the necessary tools. These are fundamental for developing and implementing your mods effectively:

Visual Studio: This is your Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Visual Studio provides the environment where you’ll write, edit, and manage your code. It’s crucial for coding your mods and handling project files. You can download the Community version for free from the official Visual Studio website.

https://www.visualstudio.com/thank-you-downloading-visual-studio/?sku=Community&rel=15
MSCLoader Wiki: This is your go-to resource for understanding and setting up your modding environment. The MSCLoader is essential as it allows your mods to interact with My Summer Car. The Wiki provides comprehensive documentation on installation, setup, and basic usage of the MSCLoader.

https://github.com/piotrulos/MSCModLoader/wiki

Note: When downloading Unity, remember that My Summer Car is built on an older version of Unity. While the documentation might suggest specific versions, newer versions of Unity Hub can generally manage and install the necessary components for building mods. Reading both player and developer documentation for Unity can also be beneficial for a deeper understanding.
Developer Toolkit Plugin: This is the ultimate my summer car mod tool for real-time game object manipulation. Created by the community, this plugin is a game-changer. It allows you to find, inspect, and modify game objects directly within My Summer Car while the game is running. This drastically reduces development time by eliminating the need to rebuild and restart the game for every small change.

http://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/plugin-developer-toolkit.17214/

Image showing the location of the Post-Build Event Command Line in Visual Studio project properties.

Note: Some components, especially those related to vehicle mechanics like drivetrain, require a reference to the Assembly-CSharp.dll file located in your My Summer Car game directory (SteamsteamappscommonMy Summer Carmysummercar_DataManagedAssembly-CSharp.dll). This is crucial for your mods to interact correctly with the game’s core functionalities.

Making In-Game Changes: Basic Techniques

My Summer Car is built using the Unity engine, which opens up a wide range of possibilities for modding. Understanding basic Unity concepts is key to manipulating the game environment. Transforms, for example, control the position, rotation, and scale of objects in the game world. My Summer Car also utilizes PlayMaker, a visual scripting tool for Unity, which adds another layer of complexity but also powerful possibilities for modders.

Let’s look at some fundamental code snippets to get you started with making changes in My Summer Car.

Accessing Game Objects

To modify anything in the game, you first need to access the game object you want to change. For example, to work with the Satsuma car, you need to create a reference to it in your code:

GameObject satsuma; // Declaring a GameObject variable

This line of code declares a variable named satsuma that can hold a reference to a game object. Now, you need to assign the actual Satsuma game object from the game to this variable:

satsuma = GameObject.Find("SATSUMA(557kg, 248)"); // Assigning the Satsuma game object to the variable

This line uses GameObject.Find() to search the game scene for an object named “SATSUMA(557kg, 248)” and assigns it to your satsuma variable. With this reference, you can now manipulate the Satsuma, such as changing its position, activating or deactivating it, and much more.

Modifying Components

Components are scripts attached to game objects that define their behavior and properties. To modify a component, you first need to get a reference to it. For example, to access the drivetrain component of the Satsuma:

satsumaDriveTrain = GameObject.Find("SATSUMA(557kg, 248)").GetComponent<drivetrain>();

This code finds the “SATSUMA(557kg, 248)” game object and then retrieves its drivetrain component. Once you have this reference (satsumaDriveTrain), you can access and modify variables and functions within the drivetrain script, allowing you to alter the car’s driving characteristics.

Working with PlayMaker FSMs

PlayMaker Finite State Machines (FSMs) are used extensively in My Summer Car to manage game logic and states. To access and modify PlayMaker variables, you can use the following approach. This example demonstrates how to iterate through global float variables to find player stats:

// Accessing PlayMaker Global Float Variables
foreach (var flt in PlayMakerGlobals.Instance.Variables.FloatVariables) {
    switch (flt.Name) {
        case "PlayerCurrentVehicle": // Note: This is actually a string, not a float
            _carCurrent = flt.Value.ToString();
            break;
        case "PlayerFatigue":
            _fatigue = flt;
            break;
        case "PlayerThirst":
            _thirst = flt;
            break;
        case "PlayerHunger":
            _hunger = flt;
            break;
        case "PlayerStress":
            _stress = flt;
            break;
    }
}

This code snippet loops through all global float variables in PlayMaker. It uses a switch statement to check the name of each variable (flt.Name) and assigns its value to corresponding variables in your mod, such as _fatigue, _thirst, etc. Note that “PlayerCurrentVehicle” is actually stored as a string, despite being in FloatVariables.

Detecting Player Vehicle State

To check if the player is currently in a vehicle, you can again utilize PlayMaker FSMs. This code checks the “PlayerCurrentVehicle” global string variable:

// Checking if player is in a vehicle
if (FsmVariables.GlobalVariables.FindFsmString("PlayerCurrentVehicle").Value != "") {
    // Player is in drive mode
}

This code checks if the value of the “PlayerCurrentVehicle” string variable is not empty. If it’s not empty, it means the player is currently driving a vehicle.

Using Custom Assets

To add your own models and assets into My Summer Car, you’ll need to work with AssetBundles. Here’s a basic example of loading a custom asset bundle and instantiating a prefab from it:

// Loading and using custom assets
AssetBundle assets;
GameObject turbo;

// Load assets in OnLoad method
assets = LoadAssets.LoadBundle(this, "turbo.unity3d");
turbo = assets.LoadAsset("turbo_prefab.prefab") as GameObject;
assets.Unload(false); // Unload after loading prefabs

// Instantiate and place the asset
turbo = GameObject.Instantiate(turbo);
// Optional: Set parent object
// turbo.transform.SetParent(GameObject.Find("satsu").transform, false);
turbo.transform.localPosition = new Vector3(0.3f, 0.16f, 1.02f);
turbo.transform.localRotation = Quaternion.Euler(0f, 0f, 0f);
turbo.transform.localScale = new Vector3(0.0005f, 0.0005f, 0.0005f);

This code first loads an AssetBundle named “turbo.unity3d”. Then, it loads a prefab named “turbo_prefab.prefab” from this bundle. After loading, it’s good practice to unload the AssetBundle to free up memory. Finally, it instantiates the loaded prefab into the game world and sets its position, rotation, and scale.

Finding the Player Object

Finding the player object in My Summer Car can be slightly different because it spawns relatively late in the game loading process. The most straightforward way to find the player object after the game has fully loaded is:

GameObject player = GameObject.Find("PLAYER"); // Finding the player object

This simple line of code, when executed after OnLoad is called in your mod, will find the player game object.

Annoyances and Tips for Modding

Modding, while fun, comes with its set of frustrations. Here are a few common annoyances and tips to help streamline your development process:

Manual Mod Copying: Having to manually copy your mod DLL to the Mods folder every time you build can be tedious. Automate this process using a post-build event in Visual Studio. Add the following command to your Post-Build Event Command Line:
```
copy /Y "$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).dll" "C:UsersYOURUSERNAMEDocumentsMySummerCarMods"
```
Remember to replace "C:UsersYOURUSERNAMEDocumentsMySummerCarMods" with your actual My Summer Car Mods folder path. To set this up:

A. Right-click on your mod project in Visual Studio and select “Properties”.
B. Navigate to the “Build Events” tab.
C. Paste the copy command into the “Post-build event command line” text area.
D. Save your project settings.

Now, every time you build your mod in Visual Studio, the DLL file will automatically be copied to your Mods folder.
Game Restarts: Unfortunately, there’s currently no way around restarting the game to test your mods. This is a necessary part of the development cycle.
Negative Feedback: You might encounter negative reviews or comments, often due to incorrect mod installation, pirated game versions, or misunderstandings. It’s best to ignore these and focus on constructive feedback and your passion for creating.

My Experiences and Further Resources

The journey of modding My Summer Car is incredibly rewarding. The community is supportive, and there are numerous resources available to help you along the way. Don’t hesitate to explore and experiment.

Useful Links for My Summer Car Modding:

MSCLoader Wiki: https://github.com/piotrulos/MSCModLoader/wiki – Comprehensive documentation for MSCLoader.
PlayMaker FSM Variables and Events: https://github.com/piotrulos/MSCModLoader/wiki/All-known-playmaker-Variables-and-Events – A list of PlayMaker variables and events for My Summer Car.
zamp’s MSC Mods (Example Mods): https://github.com/zamp/MSC-Mods – Example mods and scripts by zamp.
Roman266’s Plugins for MSC ModLoader: https://github.com/GishaSeven/Plugins-for-MSC-ModLoader – Additional plugins and tools.
tommojphillips’ ModAPI Wiki: https://github.com/tommojphillips/ModAPI/wiki – Documentation for ModAPI.
tommojphillips’ AttachObjectDemo: https://github.com/tommojphillips/AttachObjectDemo – Example project demonstrating object attachment.

By utilizing these resources and the my summer car mod tool – the Developer Toolkit – you’ll be well-equipped to start creating your own mods and contribute to the vibrant My Summer Car modding community. Good luck, and have fun modding!

My Summer Car Mod Tool: A Beginner’s Guide to Creation