Can you install backgrounds in the mod folder instead of replacing the default skybox

eve-onlinespace-engineers

In Space Engineers, it is possible to download a lot of various backgrounds for the game, such as skyboxes from the famous . I know that you can just replace the default background texture, but there is also a folder "mods" inside of 

%appdata/SpaceEngineers

What directory structure must I create to make a background work from there without overwriting any files from my installation?

Best Answer

To install a mod the new way, you first have to go to 

%appdata/SpaceEngineers

Create a new folder with the name of your mod, e.g. MyEveOnlineSkybox. Then copy BackgroundCube.dds into that folder. Within this folder, create a new folder called "Data".Create a file called 

Environment.sbc

in this folder and paste this content into it:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Definitions xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
  <Environment>
    <SunDirection x="0.339467347" y="0.709795356" z="-0.617213368" />
    <EnvironmentTexture>BackgroundCube</EnvironmentTexture>
    <EnvironmentOrientation Yaw="60.3955574" Pitch="-61.1861954" Roll="90.9057846" />
    <EnableFog>false</EnableFog>
    <FogNear>100</FogNear>
    <FogFar>200</FogFar>
    <FogMultiplier>0.13</FogMultiplier>
    <FogBacklightMultiplier>1</FogBacklightMultiplier>
    <FogColor x="1" y="1" z="1" />
  </Environment>
</Definitions>

As you can see, there is also an option to disable fog without changing the shader file. This has fog disabled, if you want to toggle it on, replace false with true between the EnableFog tags. The color and density of the fog can be edited here as well.

In the end, it should look like this:

Screenshot of Folder

Next time you load up Space Engineers, it should display the background installed this way.

Bonus Video Tutorial: