Mod Structure

The mod structure for published and unpublished mods is similar, but has certain differences.

Published Mod

A published mod is fully packaged and playable by the game.

├── 📁 Documents\id Software\activemods
│   ├── 📁 [id-number]
│   |   ├── 📁 dvdpc (optional)
│   |   ├── 📁 virtualtextures (optional)
│   |   ├── base.pk5
│   |   ├── manifest.json
│   |   ├── modinfo.json

Unpublished Mod

An unpublished mod has not been packaged and can only be opened by idStudio. It may contained packaged elements created by the Mod Packer which are then consumed downstream by the testing and publishing workflow.

├── 📁 Documents\id Software\idStudio
│   ├── 📁 doom-mod-[id-number]
│   |   ├── 📁 dvdpc (optional)
│   |   ├── 📁 virtualtextures (optional)
│   |   ├── 📁 base
│   |   ├── modinfo.dev.json

Item	Type	Description
dvdpc	Both	This directory is only produced if the mod contains map(s). It contains resource and streamdb files. This directory is produced by the Mod Packer.
virtualtextures	Both	This directory is only produced if the mod contains map(s). It contains lightmap files. This directory is produced by idStudio's Map Build Wizard.
base	Unpublished	This is the primary directory for all modified and newly created assets in the mod. It overlays the base file system present in the wads that idStudio loads at startup. It is also the directory that idStudio watches for changes.
base.pk5	Both	This is the packaged version of the base directory but only includes the files the Modder has chosen for inclusion. The file is produced by the Mod Packer and is mandatory for playing the mod.
modinfo.dev.json	Unpublished	This contains metadata about the mod. Some of that data is provided by the Modder when creating the mod. You should never have to modify this manually.
modinfo.json	Published	This contains the final meta data for the published mod. This data is read by both the Launcher and the engine for loading the mod.
manifest.json	Published	This is an internal file that the Launcher uses to manage the mod on disk. It should not be modified manually.