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Steam Workshop

The Steam Workshop is how a finished mod reaches other players. You upload from inside the game, players subscribe on the Workshop page, and Steam delivers the mod to them. Players who do not use the Workshop can still install a mod by copying its folder by hand.

Workshop page for Ground of Aces: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2308690/workshop/

Steam version only

The Workshop needs the Steam version of the game, started through Steam. DRM-free builds (for example from a store without a Workshop) have no Workshop at all: they list no Workshop mods, and the Upload button only reports that Steam is not available. Mods in your own Mods folder work the same in every version, so players of a DRM-free build install by hand.

Uploading your mod

  1. Make the folder exactly what you want to ship. The whole mod folder is uploaded as it is - config.json, preview.png and every content subfolder. Remove test files, backups and notes you do not want to publish first.
  2. Give it a name and a picture. The Name in config.json becomes the Workshop title on a first upload. preview.png at the root of the mod folder becomes the Workshop picture on a first upload. It must be a PNG of at most 1 MB; a larger file makes the upload fail with an error.
  3. Open Main menu → Mods and press Upload on the mod. Only your own mods (from your Mods folder) have this button; Workshop items you are subscribed to do not.
  4. Pick the target. A window lists New Workshop item followed by every Workshop item you have published before. Pick New Workshop item for a first upload, or one of your existing items to replace its contents with this version.
  5. Confirm. The game asks once more - "Do you want to create a new Workshop item for ...?" or, for an update, whether to use the existing item - and you answer Yes.
  6. Wait for the upload. The window shows a progress bar. When the upload is done, the window shows the item's Workshop link.

What the game sends with the upload:

Part New item Update of an existing item
Files the whole mod folder the whole mod folder, replacing the old files
Title the mod's Name left as it is
Description none left as it is
Picture preview.png, if there is one; without it the item has no picture until you add one on its Steam page left as it is
Visibility public public
Workshop tag Mod Mod

The description is always written on the item's Steam page; the game never sends one. An update replaces the files only: to change the title or the picture of an item you already published, edit them on the Steam page too.

Tip

Steam may ask you to accept the Workshop legal agreement the first time you publish. Until you do, the item stays hidden. Open the item's Steam page and accept the agreement there, and the item becomes visible.

Uploading a single map

A map on its own does not need a mod folder. Upload it straight from the map list in the Map Editor; the game creates the config.json for you during the upload. Build a mod and upload it from the Mods window only when the map comes with its own missions, quests or other content - see Maps.

Keep working after you publish

Your own copy in Mods always wins over the Workshop copy of the same mod (see Which mod wins). So you can stay subscribed to your published mod, keep editing the local folder, test, and upload again when you are happy. Pick your existing item in step 4 so players get the update instead of a second item.

Before you upload an update, think about players who are in the middle of a playthrough with your mod. Removing a quest, renaming a mission id or changing the order of quest steps can strand them. The Quests page explains what happens to quests in a running save.

When the upload fails

What you see What to do
Steam not available Start the game through Steam. In a DRM-free build there is no Workshop.
An error while fetching your items Check that Steam is online, then press Upload again.
An upload error naming the preview image Make preview.png smaller than 1 MB (a smaller resolution, or fewer colours).
Any other upload error The message includes Steam's error code. Try again later; if it keeps happening, ask in the Discord modding channel.

Installing a mod from the Workshop

Subscribe to the item on the Steam Workshop. Steam downloads it into its own Workshop folder - nothing lands in your Mods folder - and the game lists it in the Mods window the next time it starts, or after you press Refresh. It is switched on by default and marked as a Workshop item. An item that Steam is still downloading does not appear until the download has finished.

The Workshop button in the Mods window opens the game's Workshop page in the Steam overlay, so you can browse and subscribe without leaving the game. Press Refresh afterwards.

Unsubscribing removes the mod again. Saves that used the mod keep loading. What happens to the content the mod added depends on the kind of content; for quests, see Quests.

Installing a mod by hand

Copy the mod's folder into your Mods folder so that its config.json or its content subfolders sit directly inside it:

Mods/some_mod/CSV/...            correct
Mods/some_mod/some_mod/CSV/...   wrong - one folder too deep

A mod you downloaded as a .zip usually needs to be unpacked first; check that unpacking did not add that extra folder level. Then press Refresh in the Mods window or restart the game.

Where the Mods folder is on each platform is listed on How mods work. The quickest way there is Main menu → Mods → Open folder.

Warning

A mod can contain Python scripts, and scripts run whenever the mod is enabled. Only install mods from people you trust, and read Python mods and safety first.