Modifications

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A modification (Commonly referred to simply as a "Mod" for short) is a file or any set of files that will alter or Modify the way spore works or add or eliminate content. Spore handles mods as a "Package" file, similar to the Sims 2.

Spore Modding has come a long way over the past weeks with the introduction of the SporeMaster tool, which allows for better modding of Spore. So far there is only around 50 mods available for spore, but that figure is likely to significantly increase over the coming months.

The most prominent spore mod is BetterSpore which brings in sweeping changes to spore.

Contents 1 Mod Tools 1.1 SporeMaster 1.2 History 2 Mod Categories 2.1 Lazy Mods 2.2 Game Overhaul 2.3 Property Modifiers 2.4 Unofficial Fixes 2.5 Balancing mods 2.6 Devil Mods 2.7 God/Cheat Mods 2.8 Adders 2.9 Unlockers 3 Installing Mods 3.1 Windows 3.2 Mac 3.3 Steam 4 List of Mod Sites

[edit] Mod Tools

There is only one released tool for modding spore currently. This tool is called SporeMaster, and has the ability to create new items and to create new parts for creatures, vehicles and buildings.

[edit] SporeMaster

Key Features:

• Unpacking and packing of .package files, with automatic conversion of .prop files to and from .xml. files.xml is no longer necessary.
• Packing of .rw4 (RenderWare 4) model and texture files (from OGRE3D XML format and DDS format respectively) with packages, making part creation possible for the first time.
• XML property files are more user-friendly than in previous mod tools, using names instead of hashes where possible. XML files are order-independent.
• Full text indexing of .xml and .locale files in the unpacked package, to permit very fast incremental search. Search for keywords separated by spaces or “literal phrases”.
• Side-by-side comparison of file tree in Spore and the mod under development. One-click execution of WinMerge to see and edit changes in an individual file.
• Built in syntax highlighting editor.
• Image and model viewers.
• Tools for guessing the original names for hashes and for creating friendly aliases for hashes that can’t be guessed (or that were randomly generated by EA).

Download SporeMaster

[edit] History

v2.0

Added:

• Packing of .rw4 (RenderWare 4) model and texture files (from OGRE3D XML format and DDS format respectively) with packages, making part creation possible for the first time.
• XML files are order-independent.
• Search for keywords separated by spaces or “literal phrases”.
• Image and model viewers.

v1.0

• Unpacking and packing of .package files, with automatic conversion of .prop files to and from .xml. files.xml is no longer necessary.
• XML property files are more user-friendly than in previous mod tools, using names instead of hashes where possible.
• Full text indexing of .xml and .locale files in the unpacked package, to permit very fast incremental search.
• Side-by-side comparison of file tree in Spore and the mod under development. One-click execution of WinMerge to see and edit changes in an individual file.
• Built in syntax highlighting editor.
• Tools for guessing the original names for hashes and for creating friendly aliases for hashes that can’t be guessed (or that were randomly generated by EA).

[edit] Mod Categories

There are many different type of mods.

List of all Spore Mods

[edit] Lazy Mods

A Mod or App, often put on Hacking Websites, to make it easier to hack.

[edit] Game Overhaul

These mods overhaul the game to create an either better to most, more challenging, or silly experience.

• An example of this is BetterSpore which completely changes the balance in many stages and will be added to badges and items in up coming versions.

[edit] Property Modifiers

These modifications alter the behavior of tools, events, etc. in the current game.

• Example of this is the Anti-Piss off Planet Buster Mod which modifies the radius of which the Planet Buster will anger local empires.

• Another example of this is the Improved Interstellar Drive Mod which modifies the range a spaceship can fly in the space stage.

• The Uber Epic Mod, which makes the player's creature in the Creature stage an Epic, can be considered a Property mod.

[edit] Unofficial Fixes

These mods exist as to fix problems within the game that have not been fixed by patches, yet. Like the Improved Interstellar Drive Mod which modifies the range a spaceship can fly in the space stage to fix the grox planets not being reachable.

[edit] Balancing mods

These mods are designed to "balance" the game better by altering certain unbalanced prospects.

• An example of this is the Freelancing Mod Which increases the money paid by missions to help create a more balanced income for the space phase.

• Another example of this is BetterSpore which completely changes the balance in many stages.

[edit] Devil Mods

These mods work like Cheat/God mods, though they make the game a harder experience, giving players a much more "thorough" and somewhat strange experience of the game. They for the most part create a harder version of Spore.

[edit] God/Cheat Mods

The exact opposite of Balancing mods, these mods are designed to make it much easier for the player, at the price of game balance. These are notoriously common and unfortunately have given mods in general a bad reputation as being the sole purpose of mods...

• Superweapon Mod, which cuts the cool down of the antimatter weapons and Planet Busters, as well as giving them infinite ammo, is a prime example of such a mod.

• Another example of this is the Carry More Mod Which increases the amount you can carry to make it better to have more planets.

[edit] Adders

These are mods that add content and/or features into the game. Such examples might include new vehicle parts, new limbs, new tools, Infantry units, etc. These may be balanced or unbalanced add-ons.

• An example of this is the Asymmetry Modification which adds the Asymmetry feature (Although a recent patch allows for the player to use it by pressing and holding "A" when placing and moving parts).

• Another example is the mod that Void, a very well known and respected modder is working on which plans to create new textures.

[edit] Unlockers

These mods unlock features that were taken out of the game, or cannot be normally played, such as Grox parts.

• An example of this is the Grox mod, which allows the player to save Grox parts.

[edit] Installing Mods

Installing mods for spore is very similar to installing mods for Sims 2.

All mods are contained in files called .package files.

To install these mods, simply put them in your Spore Data folder. In a default install, this should be:

[edit] Windows

"C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\SPORE\Data"

[edit] Mac

Right-click or control click on the Spore application, and select "Show Package Contents". From there go to "Contents\Resources\transgaming\c_drive\Spore\Data".

[edit] Steam

This is for people who downloaded spore using steam.

C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\spore\Data

[edit] List of Mod Sites

• Sporedums's Basic Guide to Modding
• Sporedum's Ultimate Modding Page - The largest Spore Modding Site on the Internet!
• A site Devoted to the creation, and distribution, of mods
• The In-Depth guide on how to install mods
• Download SporeMaster v2
• Mod The Spore - Hacks and Mods for Spore.
• SporeModding
• Sporedums's Spore Mod Index - The largest collection of mods
• Sporedums's Spore Hacks
• Sporedums's How to make a part
• Sporedums's How to make a item