Build your first mod

In this track you make a small, complete mod for FINAL FANTASY XIII: a cheaper Potion in the shops. It touches every part of the workflow once, so the bigger guides make sense afterwards.

You need: CrystalWorkshop installed, a Steam install of FINAL FANTASY XIII, and PulseDepot for step 5. About 15 minutes.

1. Create your projectOpen the game; CrystalWorkshop keeps your work beside it.

2. Make an editChange the Potion's price in a sheet, or with one SQL statement.

3. Review your changesSee every changed file and undo what you do not want.

4. Export a .cws shardName, version and changelog; build the shard.

5. Install and test itAdd the shard in PulseDepot, apply, and check in game.

What happens to your game

Nothing in the game archives changes, at any step. CrystalWorkshop keeps your pending changes in its own work folder (ff13_studio/ in the game folder) until you export. The shard you export stores your edit as a patch against each player’s own game files, and PulseDepot installs it through Crux. Your saves are never written.

When you are done, continue with the editing guides in the sidebar: they go from simple data and text edits to models, effects, scenes and scripts.