SML
The Satisfactory Mod Loader provides framework for all the stuff you as modder might encounter but Unreal doesn’t provide help with.
Mod "Types"
All Satisfactory mods are full Unreal Engine plugins. There are three main ways to create a mod with this approach, each with advantages and disadvantages.
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- Blueprint Mods
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Blueprint mods consist of Unreal Blueprint assets which can contain data (like meshes, sounds, textures) and code written in Unreal Blueprint scripting. SML provides a number of utilities and entry points to enable blueprint mods to function. Blueprint mods can do a lot, but they can generally only access fields and methods have been made blueprint accessible from the C++ side.
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- C++ Mods
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Writing a mod in Unreal C++ provides deep access to the Satisfactory runtime and is usually more performant than blueprint code because it does not need to go through the overhead of the blueprint VM. However, it’s a pain to reference blueprint assets (a frequent requirement for working with base game content) in a non-brittle manner, and working with widgets is agonizingly verbose. Performing delayed actions is also much more involved than in Blueprint scripting.
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- Hybrid Blueprint and C++ Mods
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Writing a mod with C++ does not mean replacing all of your Blueprint assets with C++ code. The best mods are implemented with a careful combination of both C++ and Blueprint code since each side covers for the other’s disadvantages. For example, you can implement references to blueprint assets and widgets on the However, changes to your mod’s class C++ structure will require closing the editor and rebuilding Development Editor for the blueprint side to recognize the changes.