Assembly Plugins

For C# Developers: How to Use - Assembly Plugin System.

Unlike LuaCsForBarotrauma, the Assembly Loading System allows you to ship compiled assemblies/.dlls with your Steam Workshop addon.

Benefits:

• Allows the use of the [assembly: IgnoresAccessChecksTo("Barotrauma")] / [assembly: IgnoresAccessChecksTo("DedicatedServer")] attribute which allows you to bypass access restrictions (ie. private members) without reflection! All you need is a publicized assembly, which is included in the Refs.zip from a release.
• Enhanced debugging since your IDE can link the assembly error to your code directly, showing you where your errors are.
• Breakpoints and other IDE features work.
• Allows you to ship your own dependencies! Have a Nuget package or library you want to use? Just include it in the same folder as your mod's dll.
• Hot Reload! (Coming Soon).

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Steps

1. Complete the Project Setup Guide.

2. The VS Project Skeleton includes a default plugin example skeleton. If you are not using it, create a plugin by having your plugin class implement the IAssemblyPlugin interface. The Modloader will automatically find and load your mod class at startup.

Example:

using ModdingToolkit;

namespace MyMod;

public class MyPlugin : IAssemblyPlugin
{
    void Initialize()
    {
        //Called the moment your plugin is instantiated.
    }
    
    void OnLoadCompleted()
    {
        //Called once ALL plugins have had their Initialize() functions called.
        
        //Searching all loaded assemblies
        List<MyType> typeList = AssemblyManager.GetSubTypesInLoadedAssemblies<MyType>().ToList();   //Uses yield so call .ToList()
    }
    
    PluginInfo GetPluginInfo()
    {
        //Format: Unique Plugin ID, Version, Special-Case Dependencies (Not Yet Implemented)
        return new PluginInfo("AuthorName.MyMod", "0.0.0.0", ImmutableArray<string>.Empty); 
    }
    
    void Dispose()
    {
        //Called before your mod is unloaded. YOU MUST cleanup all references and instances stored by code from the main game!
        //Any references that persist will halt unloading of your assembly!
    }
}

3. Your compiled mod's DLL MUST end with .plugin.dll! This can be accomplished by setting the Assembly Name in your IDE. The VS Project Skeleton has this completed already.
4. In your Barotrauma Mod's ContentPackage folder, you must store your compiled DLL in one of four locations:

• <ContentPackageRoot>/bin/Client/Standard will load your mod on the CLIENT only if the ContentPackage is ENABLED.
• <ContentPackageRoot>/bin/Client/Forced will load your mod on the CLIENT always, even if the ContentPackage is disabled.
• <ContentPackageRoot>/bin/Server/Standard will load your mod on the SERVER only if the ContentPackage is ENABLED.
• <ContentPackageRoot>/bin/Server/Forced will load your mod on the SERVER always, even if the ContentPackage is disabled.

5. And finally, if using the Steam Workshop, add this mod as a Workshop Dependency.