Make data moddable

[BuerVassago]

It would be very beneficial, I think, to pull all the data that's currently baked into the source code out into json files that could be modded or edited by users. There's many possibilities such a thing would unlock!

Either way superb work on the project and I look forward to the next update, as every update improves things!

[binary-knight]

That's a good idea...and a humongous effort, haha. But I agree, it's a very cool idea--especially as I lean into making this a bigger community built game versus solo dev one. Would be cool to see modded/edited versions of it out in the wild though.

I'll put this on my list after I get done with localization.

Thanks for the kind words!

[binary-knight]

Alright, phase one of this is coming out! From the release notes for upcoming 0.53.13:

Moddable Game Data System (Phase 1)

Game data can now be loaded from external JSON files, enabling modding without recompilation. Run the game with --export-data to generate editable JSON files in a GameData/ folder next to the executable.

Six data sources are now moddable:

• npcs.json — Town NPC templates (names, classes, races, personalities, romance traits)
• monster_families.json — Monster families and tier progressions (16 families, 80 tiers)
• dreams.json — Narrative dreams and visions with trigger conditions
• achievements.json — Achievement definitions with categories, tiers, and rewards
• dialogue.json — NPC dialogue lines with personality/context matching
• balance.json — Combat balance constants (crit chance, backstab multiplier, boss tuning, daily limits)

How it works: If a GameData/ folder exists next to the exe with any of these JSON files, the game loads them instead of built-in defaults. Missing files fall back to defaults. Bad JSON logs an error and uses defaults — never crashes. Enum values in JSON use human-readable strings ("Warrior" not 10) with case-insensitive matching.

Precedence: Built-in C# defaults < balance.json < sysop_config.json

For modders: Run UsurperReborn --export-data to generate all default JSON files as a starting point. Edit what you want, delete files you don't need to change. Restart the game to apply.