Compiling ModAPI core DLLs

How to use the latest, non-released ModAPI features.

Mods made with the ModAPI SDK only work using a specialized launcher; among other reasons, that's because ModAPI mods require an additional set of DLLs that are responsible for communicating your mod with the Spore code. Those are called the core ModAPI DLLs.

Often, some of the new features added in the SDK require a new version of those core DLLs. Those features cannot be used in public mods until the launcher itself updates its core DLLs (because otherwise, players won't be able to play the mod); but you, as a developer, can try them out.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to compile the core DLLs so you can test new features. Keep in mind that you cannot release mods you create with these new features until the ModAPI Launcher Kit updates its core DLLs as well.

Compiling the core DLLs

In order to compile a development version of the core DLLs:

  1. Open the project [Spore ModAPI SDK folder]\Spore ModAPI\Spore ModAPI.vcxproj
  2. In Visual Studio, open the file SourceCode\stdafx.h. There, you will have to edit the value of the #define EXECUTABLE_TYPE line: set it to 0 if you have a disk version of Spore, 2 otherwise.
  3. Set the compile configuration (below the menu bar) to Debug DLL. Now compile the project.
  4. If there are no errors, the files will be at [Spore ModAPI SDK folder]\dll\Debug. Copy the files SporeModAPI.dll and SporeModAPI.lib to [Spore ModAPI Launcher Kit]\coreLibs\; make a backup copy of the files there before, so you can always restore them.
  5. If you have a disk version of Spore, replace SporeModAPI.disk.dll (remember to backup first!) with the newly generated SporeModAPI.dll; otherwise, do the same but to the SporeModAPI.march2017.dll file.