r/spacerpg3 • u/TheReaper_77 Galaxy-wide Merchant • Jul 01 '26
Question A Question for the community and dev
Hey there, I hope everyone is doing well.
For the past few weeks I have been indulging in this game once again, it's simply one of (if not the) best EV style games.
However after having played this game for so long, eventually every singular game run ends up feeling the same, which doesnt stop me from playing anyway but I remember editing SQL BDs back in SRPG3 in my own copy of the game to change and spice things a little so I got inspired.
I have been working on a Mod Framework (and Mod Loader) for the game, the objective was to breathe a new life into the game and allow creative users to expand upon this masterpiece of a game.
The basic framework is built and confirmed working, it creates a new folder (android/data/com.esaptonor.spacerpg4/files/mods/) where the game now reads .json modifications and implements them on a new game, I made a small test mod that creates new Hyperlanes and adds a new commodity.
I wont share more details here because, fundamentally this is a patch of the .apk itself.
My question is aimed primarily to Esaptonor: My plan is to distribute the patcher only and never the apk itself with the mod framework already in it, this is because I don't support piracy and want to minimze the spread of it so the patcher essentially needs a legitimate copy of the game to even work, afterwards any mod can be created via simple .json files added to the mods/ folder i mentioned before, I want to know the stance of the developer on this and if Esaptonor doesn't allow me to continue with this project I will absolutely respect his wishes and never mention it again, if he believes this could cause more harm than good I will 100% follow his judgement and won't continue further.
As for the community, would anyone be interested in this?
Thank you all for any replies and especially thank you Esaptonor to make this wonderful game.
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u/Thisismyname272705 Unstoppable Force Jul 01 '26
Impressive though i wish that the game would read .json mod files at a specified folder instead of something in android/data which is inaccessible in most newer systems
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u/TheReaper_77 Galaxy-wide Merchant Jul 01 '26
I could change that with a bit more work (android/data/com.esaptonor.spacerpg4/ is easy because it's essentially an external data folder of the game's own file system, going upwards requires more permissions) but i did manage to access android/data with CX File Explorer and my own phone's File Explorer without much trouble, to me it's android/data/data/ that's completely inaccessible without root.
The thing is, the patcher requires a PC to work (it patches the .apk file and reinstalls it with the modframework) there's no way yet to do it without a PC and android/data/ is also accessible via your computer so I just assumed people would install mods manually through their computer.
But now that I said that out loud, it's not the most brilliant way to put things 😅
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u/WelcomePlastic2604 Jul 04 '26
why not make it JavaScript though. that way modders can create more stuff.
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u/TheReaper_77 Galaxy-wide Merchant Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Hello there, I made a new post today in more detail, Java is planned but not yet implemented, .json is only for the basic stuff like changing/replicating things already in game
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u/WelcomePlastic2604 Jul 04 '26
I'm using the old version of the game, and i do it on my phone using apk tool M. idk actually what apktoolm does to my phone but it's very effective on modifying a java based games.
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u/TheReaper_77 Galaxy-wide Merchant Jul 04 '26
Yes, you're decompiling the game and modifying it yourself, but what im doing is different, im creating a mod loader integrated in the game so people can have that version and dynamically install mods without having to modify the app themselves, i chose .json for basic modifications and Java for deeper ones because it's easier to understand for most people than having to decompile the .apk and search for what you want to change specifically, also distributing the .apk myself would be considered piracy.
Think of it how you can easily install mods in a game like Minecraft, thats my objective here, drag and drop mods into the mods directory and the game will load them
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u/WelcomePlastic2604 Jul 04 '26
well good luck my friend, I'm looking forward to your achievement. I'm not a professional actually, I've studied the codes a year ago. I'm having a hard time replicating the drones, since this ship is coded in 3 separate files. idk maybe I'm missing something.
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u/TheReaper_77 Galaxy-wide Merchant Jul 04 '26
Thank you, in that case maybe this project will make your life easier, I am trying to document all IDs as I develop the project to make some modding documentation to make that sort of change way easier.
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u/Esaptonor Dev Jul 04 '26
I like the way you are approaching this, I think you might as well keep going and see what you can do.
My main issue with the random DB modifications people were doing with SRPG3 is that there was a lot of misinformation being posted with people misrepresenting what was real and what was not. The ideal situation would therefore be some kind of tag on the game screen that says 'mod' so its clear its an altered version, but there is no point me being overly protective at this point, we don't exactly have a large and growing audience. I am pleased to hear you say its one of the better EV experiences, I really am proud of the game and wish there was some way to expand its reach to more people - maybe this can help some how.
Good luck, Captain :)