Mods in Steam Workshop
Steam Workshop is a convenient way to share your mods with every Steam player. Uploading a mod to that platform allows players to enable it with a single-click subscription through the Steam client: no need to manually download anything.
This tutorial is available directly in the SDK under
PB Mod SDK/Getting Started/Tutorials/Steam Workshop. The SDK version can include interactive elements such as buttons automatically selecting project assets. Make sure you are in the right scene (game_main_sdk or game_extended_sdk). You should see DataModel and ModManager in the Hierarchy window. If you're unsure how to find the right scene, use the scene buttons in the Getting Started window.
Before you start, make sure your computer has Git installed: without it, this Unity project would not be able to download the Steamworks.NET library. You will see Package Manager errors in your Console and won't be able to upload your mods to the Steam Workshop if this dependency fails to install.
If you used a GUI client to download this project, you might not have a globally available Git executable installed, leading to failed package download. Please download and install Git from the link below and restart the editor if you experience this issue.
To start, add the Workshop data to your mod project. Click the "workshop" option in the bottom right component dropdown.
The new block has everything Steam needs to process your upload. The two important fields to set for now are "Changes" (where you must enter something to describe your upload for the changelog) and "Tags" (to allow the upload to be categorized). You can also optionally customize name, description and version, but we recommend keeping the default toggles that pull them from parent metadata.
If no custom image is provided, each workshop mod will get a default thumbnail you can see here. If you'd like to customize it, there are a few ways to do that. You can start by pressing the "Create custom" button next to the default thumbnail: this will copy it to the mod project folder, letting you make changes.
The preview must be a 512x512 PNG called workshop_preview.png, placed into your mod project folder. The quick copy method above will give a file you can start from. Click the folder icon next to the project path on top of your mod to navigate to that folder. From there, you can modify the image in the editing software of your choice and click "Reload" under the Workshop preview field to refresh the loaded texture.
If you'd prefer not to spend time making a custom image, consider using the quick tinting option. Use the "Create custom" option if you don't have a workshop_preview.png file. Simply choose a hue using the slider to the left, click "Set Hue", then click "Save". This is a quick way to make a unique thumbnail.
Once you're ready to upload, confirm the visibility of your mod and press "Export to Steam Workshop".
The upload is facilitated by Steam client API. You must have Steam running on your PC, logged into an account with Phantom Brigade. If the SDK fails to connect to Steam, you'll see the message above in the Console tab of Unity Editor.
Once you fix the issue (e.g. start Steam), restart the SDK or force a code reimport (right click any code file in the Project tab and select "Reimport") and try exporting again.
If the initialization is successful, you should see a popup asking you to confirm the export followed by a progress bar for upload progress. The first upload might take longer.
Give Steam a few minutes to process your upload and you should see the mod on the Phantom Brigade portal and/or in your private Workshop file list.
Once the mod is published through the SDK, you can make a number of changes directly through the Workshop browser. From there, you can delete your mod, change visibility, upload additional screenshots etc.
After a successul upload, your mod config should gain a published ID. You'll notice the same number in the URL of your Workshop Steam page. The SDK should auto-save your mod project to preserve it, but we recommend manually saving this number just in case. If you lose it, your upload will create a new, separate mod with a newly generated ID.
You're done! You and other players (assuming the mod is set to Public) can now subscribe through the Workshop portal and enjoy the mod the next time they launch Phantom Brigade!
Steam might not always immediately download your Workshop subscriptions. Check Steam Downloads page and verify a download has occurred if you can't see your new subscription in game.
Steam might also confuse the SDK with the game and think you are running Phantom Brigade, preventing launch or Workshop downloads. Close the SDK and restart Steam if you encounter this issue.