Rain World Modding

Character selection art

3 min read

Give an existing SlugBase character a selection-screen image by defining a scene and assigning its ID to select_menu_scene. Begin with one image so file discovery can be checked before adding depth effects.

Package one scene

  1. Make an original PNG named portrait.png. A 1366 × 768 canvas matches the canvas used in the SlugBase guide.
  2. Put it at slugbase/scenes/lanternwren/portrait.png inside your mod.
  3. Save the scene definition below as slugbase/scenes/lanternwren.json.
  4. Add "select_menu_scene": "LanternWren_Select" to the character JSON’s existing features object. Preserve its other features.
  5. Load the mod with its SlugBase dependency and open that character’s selection page. Check the log if the image is missing.
{
  "id": "LanternWren_Select",
  "scene_folder": "slugbase/scenes/lanternwren",
  "images": [{ "name": "portrait", "pos": [0, 0], "depth": -1.0 }],
  "idle_depths": [2.0]
}

The scene’s id is a registry identity. The character feature must match it exactly. name identifies an image without the .png extension, while scene_folder supplies its directory. Explicitly setting the folder avoids relying on defaults that differ between the guide’s wording and the inspected loader implementation.

This original JSON matches the inspected parser at SlugBase commit dac3433. The image itself is yours to supply. Loading and appearance have not been tested in game.

Add layers after the image loads

The images array determines drawing order. Earlier entries are behind later entries. pos locates the image’s bottom-left corner in menu coordinates. Those coordinates differ from a gameplay room camera position.

An image with depth: -1 uses the ordinary menu illustration path. A different depth selects a depth illustration, where parallax, shader choice, and depth artwork affect the result. Start with a background and one foreground layer, then test motion and focus before adding more. Changing depth alone is not a way to reorder the array.

idle_depths supplies focus depths for an interactive scene. Optional glow_pos, mark_pos, select_menu_pos, and slugcat_depth control selection-screen placement. Add them only when the base image is positioned correctly.

Provide a flat-mode alternative

flowchart TD
    A[Menu requests scene] --> B{Flat mode and flat artwork exists?}
    B -->|yes| C[Use flatmode true images]
    B -->|no| D[Use flatmode false images]

In AssetHooks.MenuScene_BuildScene, flat-mode artwork is selected only when the menu requests flat mode and at least one image has flatmode: true. Otherwise the normal entries remain selected. A separate flattened composition can therefore use flatmode: true, alongside normal layered entries. Test both display modes so one is not blank.

Check the selected identity

SlugBase scans scene JSON during mod initialization. Reopen the menu or restart the game when checking changes rather than assuming an already-created menu illustration refreshes its texture.

For an existing campaign, a saved scene override takes precedence over the ordinary select_menu_scene feature. An ascended character can also select select_menu_scene_ascended. If the correct files exist but another scene appears, inspect those choices before changing the image path. See campaign save data and testing a mod for separating existing-save behavior from a fresh test.

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