I have been trying to add mod support into UE4 as a plugin, without requiring a custom-built Mod Editor. I found this ModSkeleton example from 4.15 that was updated to newer build rules:
It successfully mounts the pak as DLC and finds added AssetRegistry.bin file, but due to engine changes since then, UE4 crashes on load in a packaged build:
“AsyncLoading.cpp [Line: 6963] LoadPackageAsync failed to begin to load a package because the supplied package name was neither a valid long package name nor a filename of a map within a content folder”
EDIT: Fixed crash by changing the “Loading Phase” in the plugin from “Default” to “PreEarlyLoadingScreen”
(Alternatively, can just disable “Event Driven Loader” in project settings instead)
Pak mounts in expected location but is still unable to load MOD_SKELETON file…
Another development is mod.io, which seems to have a plugin method working for UE4 that uses authentication/deployment of mods:
mod.io API v1
Example project:
GitHub - modio/modio-ue4-example-legacy: Very simple project using the mod.io UE4 plugin.
Then comes the problem of “Packaging Profiles” to build a mod as DLC. I am not sure if that is solved there-in, or if the profiles have to be released also to cook/build a mod plugin from somewhere else…If anyone can offer help it is much appreciated,