Vanilla content catalog
This section is a catalog of what already happens in vanilla X4. It’s not API documentation — it’s a player-facing description of every storyline, subscription, terraforming project, and game start that vanilla ships with.
Use this section to answer “will my mod conflict with vanilla content?” before publishing.
For technical how-to-write-missions, see Game API → Missions and Architectural overview: Mission framework.
Why this catalog exists
Section titled “Why this catalog exists”When you add a mod that touches faction relations, sector ownership, NPC spawning, mission templates, or economy — your changes may conflict with vanilla content. Symptoms:
- Vanilla story arc breaks (NPC despawned by your mod / sector ownership changed)
- Vanilla subscription mission can’t complete (your mod hostile-flags the target)
- Terraforming projects unlocked when player hasn’t earned them
- Your custom faction can’t subscribe because vanilla expects specific factions
A mod that respects vanilla content is a mod that ships without bug reports. This catalog helps you check before pressing Upload.
The vanilla content landscape
Section titled “The vanilla content landscape”| Category | Pages | What’s there |
|---|---|---|
| Story arcs | Story arcs catalog | 7 hand-authored arcs across base + DLC (Paranid civil war, Buccaneers, Ventures, Welfare research, Embassy research, Xenon research, Diplomacy intro) |
| Terraforming | Terraforming catalog | 99 projects across 13 categories — water/atmosphere/biosphere/economy/amenities/training/Xenon/etc. |
| Faction subscriptions | Faction subscriptions catalog | 4 subscription types (War / Trade / Pirate / Mentor) with per-faction content |
| Game starts | Game starts catalog | 8 starts (Wayward Scion / Young Gun / Trader / Warrior / Scientist / Explorer / Boso Ta / Workshop) |
| Mod-conflict checklist | Conflict checklist | Practical “what to check” for common mod categories |
Quick conflict matrix
Section titled “Quick conflict matrix”If your mod does X, check vanilla coverage Y:
| Your mod does… | Check vanilla… |
|---|---|
| Adds new generic missions | Generic mission catalog — don’t duplicate gm_* templates |
| Adds faction subscriptions | Faction subscriptions — vanilla wars + trade routes |
| Touches sector ownership | Story arcs (sector references) + Game starts (starting territories) |
| Adds new factions | Story arcs (hostility hooks) + Faction subscriptions (subscription registry) |
| Spawns persistent NPCs | Story arcs → Persistent characters |
| Adds terraforming features | Terraforming catalog — 99 projects already cover most cases |
| Changes economy / ware values | None directly — but see Architectural overview: Reward calculation for mission-reward implications |
| Adds custom game starts | Game starts — module= naming conventions |
| Modifies relations | Story arcs — many arcs check specific relation thresholds to fire |
The vanilla content scale (lines of MD code)
Section titled “The vanilla content scale (lines of MD code)”Just to set scale on what you’re working alongside:
| Content | LoC |
|---|---|
Paranid story arc (story_paranid.xml) | 20,236 |
War subscriptions (x4ep1_war_subscriptions.xml) | 17,050 |
| Trade subscriptions | 6,574 |
Terraforming system (terraforming.xml) | 5,616 |
| Pirate subscriptions | 3,851 |
All gm_* mission templates (combined) | ~50,000 |
All rml_* reusable libraries (combined) | ~30,000 |
Vanilla has been built and refined over 8+ years of release. Your mod’s challenge isn’t writing new content — it’s not breaking what’s there.
Related
Section titled “Related”- Game API → Missions — how to write missions technically
- Architectural overview: Mission framework — layered composition
- Wiki: DLC handling — content-presence checks
- Wiki: Mod compatibility — broader compatibility discipline
A mod that respects vanilla content is invisible to vanilla. A mod that breaks vanilla content is the mod you see in negative Workshop reviews. The catalog helps you become the former.