XML Modding ‐ Meta Sequences

Meta Sequences

Chairloader mods can include special attributes in XML files. They will be processed by Chairloader when merging.

Wildcards (expression evaluation)

Modders can add arbitrary Lua expressions into XML attribute and element values. For example, they can reference values in the mod config, perform math calculations or string concatenation.

Wildcards are expanded before everything else.

Wildcards must be enclosed in {{ and }} tags.

Examples:

<Element something="{{ 2 + 2 }}" />
<Element something="{{ valueFromConfig }}" />

Patching/Replacing/Deletion (ch:action)

You can add ch:action attribute to specify how XML node should be modded. This attribute replaces ch:patch_mode from previous versions of Chairloader.

• patch (default)
  Mod node will be merged into the original node. Specified attributes will be update, while non-specified attributes will stay the same. Child nodes are merged as well.
• delete
  If node is found in the original file, it will be deleted.
• replace
  Mod will completely replace the original node.
• replaceChildren
  Attributes are merged like in patch. Child nodes are replaced like in replace

Conditionals (ch:applyIf)

You can add ch:applyIf attribute to any XML element. If that attribute is set and contains a "true" value (e.g. true, yes, 1) after wildcard expansion, the element will be merged. If the value is false, the element is ignored (as if it doesn't exist in the mod).

Example (from Touch-Up):

<ArkHacking>
    <DifficultyLevels ch:applyIf="{{ Hacking_TimeChanges }}">
        <DifficultyLevel minTravelDistance="1.0" maxTravelDistance="1.5" timePerPuzzle="12.0" chainLength="1" pathObstacles="2" pathStunObstacles="2" otherStunObstacles="4" />
        <DifficultyLevel minTravelDistance="1.0" maxTravelDistance="1.5" timePerPuzzle="20.0" chainLength="1" pathObstacles="2" pathStunObstacles="2" otherStunObstacles="4" />
        <DifficultyLevel minTravelDistance="1.0" maxTravelDistance="1.5" timePerPuzzle="25.0" chainLength="2" pathObstacles="2" pathStunObstacles="2" otherStunObstacles="4" />
        <DifficultyLevel minTravelDistance="1.0" maxTravelDistance="1.5" timePerPuzzle="30.0" chainLength="2" pathObstacles="2" pathStunObstacles="2" otherStunObstacles="4" />
    </DifficultyLevels>
</ArkHacking>

Based On (ch:basedOn)

ch:basedOn allows your mod to create a copy of an existing element (with changes from all other mods) and patch in your custom changes. This attribute used to be called ch:copy_sibling.

Value format: "queryAttribute1=value1,queryAttribute2=value2"

Example:

<EntityPrototype
    Name="Mimics.Mimic.TopHat"
    Id="{A6574C2A-284F-4B39-812B-F777ECEAEEAB}"
    ArchetypeId="4932200438019026768"
    ch:basedOn="Name=Mimics.Mimic">
    <Properties
        fileModel="Objects/characters/Aliens/Mimic/TopHat/Mimic_top_hat.cdf"/>
</EntityPrototype>