SnowRunner:

Console Requirements for Mods.

Optimization
Version 0.9.6 of Feb 2, 2022

Contents

1. Introduction 2
2. Primary Requirements 2
3. Technical Requirements 3
3.1. Naming of Textures. Format of Textures 3
3.1.1. Correct format for all textures 3
3.1.2. Correct naming scheme for all textures 3
3.1.3. Textures for Color Customization 4
3.2. Polycount: Suggested Average Values 4
3.3. Size/Texel of Textures: Suggested Average Values. Mapping. 5
3.3.1. Correct mapping of a dashboard and gauges 6
3.4. Number of Physical Bones Synched in COOP 8
3.5. Reuse of Standard Resources 8
3.5.1. Higher amount of standard models 8
3.5.2. Higher amount of standard sounds 9
3.6. Instanced Rendering for Custom Models 9
1. Introduction
Mods on consoles pass a selection and approval process before we make them
available for consoles.
This guide provides some requirements and recommendations that can help in making
mod approved for consoles and in its optimization in general.

2. Primary Requirements
The basic list of requirements for a mod to be eligible for mods on console:
• No offensive or inappropriate content.
• Mod titles need to be in English
• Special characters are not allowed (such as ^ / % etc.)
• A mod cannot surpass 1GB in size.
• A mod must have no visible glitches or render bugs.
• A vehicle mod must allow the player to progress through the game to some
extent and must be possible to play without any blocking issues. Before making a
mod available, we will test this on our side.
• In regards to licenses and branded vehicles, we will provide a list of the brands
that allow the modding of their vehicles. All other mods of licensed vehicles are at
risk of not being accepted. This list is not intended to be final and should grow
over time.
Link to the post with these requirements on the official forum:
https://forums.focus-home.com/topic/55567/modding-in-patch-10-and-beyond
However, along with these basic requirements, there are a lot of technical requirements
and recommendations, see below.

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3. Technical Requirements
3.1. Naming of Textures. Format of Textures
Textures used for custom trucks and custom models must follow the requirements
described below.

3.1.1. Correct format for all textures

All texture files must be in the .tga format.

3.1.2. Correct naming scheme for all textures

All textures must be named according to the correct naming scheme. Particularly, the
naming of textures is strictly defined, postfixes in their file names indicate the type of
data inside them. The Editor and the game itself use these postfixes to correctly convert
the initial texture and pack the mod correctly.
The name of the file is formed according to the following pattern:
name__postfix.tga (e.g. azov_4220_antarctic_front__d.tga)
Where:
• name – any appropriate name that does not include two underscores in a row
(no “__” inside it).
• postfix – defines the type of data within a texture according to the table below.

__postfix Type of Texture Parameter in XML

__d Albedo Map AlbedoMap
__d_a Albedo Map + Alpha AlbedoMap
__n_d Normal Map NormalMap
__sh_d Shading Map ShadingMap
__em_d Emissive Map EmissiveMap

WARNING: The naming scheme for textures described above is mandatory. This
naming scheme is necessary to enable streaming for textures of the mod, which may be
essential. Particularly, mods with the wrong naming of textures result in memory leaks
on consoles and will not receive approval for them.
For descriptions of XML parameters and other details, see "7.2. <Material>" in the
“Integration of Trucks and Addons” guide (Integration_of_Trucks_and_Addons.pdf
in the same documentation package).

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3.1.3. Textures for Color Customization
Textures used for color customization of the trucks (base color and tint) are diffuse maps
and, because of that must have __d postfix. However, for easier identification of these
textures, we recommend adding auxiliary suffixes (_wt and _cc) to their names, as
shown in the table below.

_suffix__postfix Type of Texture Parameter in XML

The map with the base
_wt__d AlbedoMap
color of the surface.

The map that defines

_cc__d TintMap
the paint zones.

For details on these textures, see "15. Color Customization" in the “Integration of
Trucks and Addons” guide (Integration_of_Trucks_and_Addons.pdf in the same
documentation package).

3.2. Polycount: Suggested Average Values

Values of the polycount for mods of trucks should have 200K triangles as the upper
limit.

Particularly, approximate values of polycount for different parts of the truck model are
the following:
• External part of the truck (without wheels) – up to 100К triangles and not more.
• High-res interior of the truck (for the cabin view) – up to 40К triangles and not
more.
• Other elements (including wheels, visual customization, etc.) – up to 60К
triangles and not more.

As you can see, the total value for all parts of the truck should be lower than 200K
triangles. If the polycount of a truck mod exceeds this value, this may be the reason for
not receiving approval for consoles.

TIP: Keep the polycount small for parts of the model that cannot be seen or are
hardly visible for the player (e.g. engine).

Polycount of custom models can vary greatly depending on the model. However, in
general, you should not use a large amount of custom models for the level. The less is
the amount of custom models, the better the level is optimized for consoles (see 3.5.
Reuse of Standard Resources below).

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3.3. Size/Texel of Textures: Suggested Average Values.
Mapping.
Suggested sizes/texel values of textures used for the standard are the following:
• External part of the truck and its low-poly cabin
o For a regular truck – 1 texture, 2048х2048.
o For a large truck (e.g. Pacific, САТ745, etc.) – 2 textures, each of
2048х2048 size: one for the front part of the truck (selected part on the
picture below) and one for the rest of the model (non-selected part on the
picture below, i.e. chassis, and so on).

• Glass (all glass part of the truck) – 1024х1024 or 2048х1024 (depends on the
format of the glass)
• High-res Cabin – 2K.
• Gauges – 1024х1024 or 2048х1024 (depends on the number of elements).
• Glass of the gauges – 512x512.
• Tire – 1024х512.
• Rim – 512x512.
• Addons – may vary (depends on size/complexity), texel is ~230

The size of textures for custom models can vary depending on the model. However, in
general, you should not use a large amount of custom models for the level. The less is
the amount of custom models, the better the level is optimized for consoles (see 3.5.
Reuse of Standard Resources below).

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3.3.1. Correct mapping of a dashboard and gauges
It is important to make a correct mapping for the dashboard and gauge elements,
otherwise the text on the dashboard will be hardly visible and unreadable. To avoid that,
you need to map all text elements with the large texel. As a rule, all these elements are
mapped within the gauges texture, along with a steering wheel. The gauge texture is
typically 1K; if necessary, it can be increased to 2x1K.

Small elements of the cabin are mapped taking into account the typical camera position.
I.e., elements near the camera should have large texel, distant elements (or hardly
visible elements) – with lower texel.

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The process is typically as follows. First of all, using photo references, determine areas
of the dashboard with graphical information (buttons, car radio panels, switchers, etc.).
Use the corresponding texture for them in the 2K resolution for better readability. Or,
stick to the minimum value of texel near 1500 for 2K.

After that, arrange the corresponding UV shells on the map.

Use the following texel values for the steering wheel (see red areas in the picture below).

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Various gauges, displays, arrows are mapped within the separates gauges texture,
along with a steering wheel. Then, you need to duplicate gauge faces/displays to imitate
the protective glass (with an appropriate offset to avoid z-fighting).

3.4. Number of Physical Bones Synched in COOP

When creating an XML description of the truck or addon, and, particularly, the
description of its physical model, one should take into account the synchronization of
these bones in the COOP mode of the game.
By default, positions (position) and speeds (velocity) of all bones of the physical model
of the truck are synchronized. However, using the "Legacy" attribute of the NetSync tag
(<NetSync Legacy="false" />), such total synchronization can be disabled. In this
case, only the bones (Body) with the "pv" value of the NetSync attribute of the Body tag
(NetSync="pv") will be synchronized.
NOTE: For details, see "8.4.1. <NetSync> " in the “Integration of Trucks and
Addons” guide (Integration_of_Trucks_and_Addons.pdf in the same
documentation package).
The number of synchronized bones affects the network performance of the truck mod in
COOP. The impact (and network conditions that result in issues) may vary greatly,
however, in most cases, the 15 is the approximate upper limit for the number of these
synchronized bones. I.e., when their number is higher than 10, the issues may occur
sometimes; when their number is higher than 20, you can be almost sure that some
issues will appear.

3.5. Reuse of Standard Resources

To optimize your mods during their creation, you should try to reuse standard resources
provided by the game and Editor. All standard resources are already optimized and less
frequently cause issues.

3.5.1. Higher amount of standard models

The lower the number of custom models used by your map, the better your map will be
optimized for consoles and the less size it will have.
Try to use standard models provided by the SnowRunner Editor more frequently,
combining them in different variations.

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3.5.2. Higher amount of standard sounds
The usage of standard sounds for your map or truck will also make your mod more
optimized for consoles.
Standard sounds are available within the shared_sound.pak in the installation folder of
the game. They are available there in the PCM format. However, when you are using
standard sounds you do not even need to extract them, all you need is to link to
standard sounds that are available with the game.
I.e., you simply need to specify correct paths to them in the corresponding fields, see
“5.12. Adding Sounds” in the “SnowRunner Editor Guide” guide
(SnowRunner_Editor_Guide.pdf in the same documentation package).
The same method is valid for the music and ambient sounds.

3.6. Instanced Rendering for Custom Models

If you are using custom models in your map mods and the number of instances of these
models is large, you need to use instanced rendering (instancing for these models).
For details, see “2.3.1.1. Rule #1: Attributes for Instanced Rendering” in the “Custom
Level Entities. Models, Overlays” guide for details, available as
Custom_Level_Entities_Models_Overlays.pdf of the same documentation package.