Upgrading from SML 3.8.0 to 3.9.x

In previous SML versions, servers were able to reject client connections if the client was missing required mods installed on the server. SML 3.9 now implements this check for clients. Clients will refuse to join servers that are missing mods present on the client side. The existing RequiredOnRemote and RemoteVersionRange uplugin fields control this behavior. Read more about them in the uplugin Special Fields section.

SML 3.9.1 enables mods to make use of some of the game’s Wwise sound system. See the Audio page for more information.

The Quick Launch Script is once again capable of launching local multiplayer games to test with. Additionally, the -loadLatestSave and -multiplayer options are now compatible, and the -clientAutoJoin option has been added to make the client automatically connect to the host.

The Blueprint Hook Helper has been extended to enable easier access to FProperties, FMapProperties, and FStructProperties. See BlueprintHookHelper.h for more details.

ExampleMod has been enhanced with additional examples:

This editor utility allows you to easily change the parent class of multiple assets at once.

Read more on the SML Editor Utilities page.

This utility loads all FGMessage assets in the project and compiles data about them into one string. It can be useful for viewing what speaking patterns ADA and the Aliens use when speaking without having to hunt through lots of separate message assets.

Read more on the SML Editor Utilities page.

The Alpakit Release window now has a button to open the output directory that contains packaged mod files for upload.

SML now reimplements the Unreal Engine ExecCmds launch argument (normally excluded from shipping builds). It enables automatically executing Unreal Console Commands after the game loads.

You can read more about it in the Unreal documentation

The Quick Launch Script uses this argument to implement the -clientAutoJoin flag.

Added in CL382498, the -CustomConfig= allows you to override an additional layer of configs compiled into the game. Using exactly -CustomConfig= (specifying an empty string as the value) enables local multiplayer testing by giving the host a consistent GUID/playername and clients random GUIDs that persist as long as their game client stays open (game instance).

Added in CL382498, the -ini:Config:[Section]:Value= argument allows overriding ini config values via launch arguments.

This behavior was previously possible using the -EngineINI= argument, but that approach requires creating an ini file to pass in and the engine would fill it with unrelated values on launch.

For example, the Quick Launch Script now uses this instead of the EngineINI argument:

-ini:Engine:[/Script/EngineSettings.GameMapsSettings]:GameDefaultMap=/Game/FactoryGame/Map/GameLevel01/Persistent_Level.Persistent_Level,[/Script/EngineSettings.GameMapsSettings]:LocalMapOptions=?skipOnboarding?loadgame=saveGameFilename

Another example - this argument can be used to raise the multiplayer max player count:

-ini:Engine:[SystemSettings]:net.MaxPlayersOverride=10

Mircea has created a standalone mod to address one of the causes of the Reliable Buffer Overflow issue. See its mod page for more information.

Mods can now alter vanilla content to unlock-depend on modded content without breaking its registration. See this github issue for more info.

This base-game bug has been fixed. Source.

The Session Settings page explains how you can create your own Advanced Game Settings. However, their values are not currently saved with the save file. Session Settings still function correctly - their values are saved.

The optimal way to add modded content to the game world (like ore nodes, deposits, etc.) is to use the Content Bundle system, but Unreal currently refuses to cook content bundles unless the world is also cooked. This is a known bug and will be fixed in a future SML release.

The next best way is to use sublevel spawning. Here is an example from Kyrium of how to do that:

In addition to the new blueprint hooking features, the handling of blueprint hook properties has been unified, resulting in some old methods being changed.

Consider this example from the Faster Manual Crafting Redux mod:

SML 3.8 version:

SML 3.9 version:

Consider this example from SML’s item description widget hook:

SML 3.8 version:

SML 3.9 version: