Mod: an addition or subtraction of a feature done by a person or group that is not part of the game development team.
There are a couple of types of mods for 7 Days to die. I am going to discuss the various types in hopes of giving you a better understanding of the types of mods and their function.
Modlet:
A modlet is a mod that adds, subtracts or tweaks the basic (vanilla) game on a small scale.
Modlets can be an xml only mod that is uploaded to the servers Mods folder and pushed to the players game. A simple modlet could change stack values, add a new recipe to an item that isn’t currently craft-able, or remove an item from the game.
A modlet can also be used to bring in new items into the game like a custom block, new vehicle or other new item as well. In the case of adding one of the aforementioned items requires the player to download them and put them in their games mod folder. Again these are a small mod or group of mods that slightly affect the game.
Overhaul Mods:
An overhaul mod is a large mod that overhauls the base game. The most common and popular overhaul mods currently are Ravenhearst and Darkness Falls. Respectively Jax and Khaine have added things like new workstations, new zombies, new perks/skills, as well as a myriad of other things and challenges. Overhaul mods tend to be, but not always, DMT mods. The DMT mods inject new code into the csharpassembly.dll used by 7 Days. DMT mods are not EAC friendly and that must be disabled to run them.
Admin Tools:
Lastly I will talk about admin tools. These are server side tools used by admins that help with server administration. The most common admin mods are Alloc’s server fixes, Bad Company Manager (BCM), CSMM Patrons Mod (CPM), and Server Tools (ST), these are also known as API’s.
Each of the above mentioned admin apis all help with admin-ing your server by adding in commands to manage the server.. While most have some overlapping features each one also tends to have their own unique features as well.
Alloc’s Server Fixes are done by Fun Pimp developer Alloc. This is the original admin api. These add in functionality that seemed to have been overlooked in early development of 7 Days. This mod as well as the others add console commands to teleport players, give players items or experience. You can also buff or de-buff players as well. Alloc’s is also the cornerstone for all the server managers as well due to an included API used to access the server instead of over the dreaded telnet.
In addition to the aforementioned tools, there are what are known as server managers. These work in conjunction with the previously mentioned api’s. Server managers tend to be, but not always, graphical interfaces to manage your server. The most popular are Botman, CSMM and RAT. CSMM and Botman have web interfaces that you can issue commands through to the server, while RAT is installed locally. Again like the api’s each manager has its own set of feature while some also overlap. There are a lot of generic features like allowing teleporting, having a shop so players can buy various items through the server manager. You can check out the various server managers by going to their associated websites: Botman, CSMM, RAT.
I hope this has been informative to describe the different types of mods currently out there for 7 Days.
