[1.7.2] Run another mod in dev environment

[Tuhljin]

I have my Eclipse workspace set up and have successfully added new items which show up in-game but I haven't seen any up-to-date information on how to run other mods at the same time in my dev environment. I'd like to have a few helper mods like NEI running if at all possible but more importantly, I'm currently attempting to make an addon to another mod so I need that mod to run for me to properly test it out.

 

I've seen a few tutorials on the subject (like this: http://www.minecraftforge.net/wiki/Developing_Addons_for_Existing_Mods ) but they are all out of date and/or incomplete. I haven't found any that tell me where to put mod files. I tried numerous places and in different formats (jar files, folders extracted from those jar files, folders of decompiled code). Most attempts resulted in nothing happening -- the dev environment launches the game fine but the mods aren't there, neither listed nor adding any items. When I tried putting the jar files in "[Forge]\eclipse\mods", the game would load a bit but would crash before reaching the main menu. (And yes, I used the correct version of the mod file, one that is for 1.7.2, and it worked fine with the non-dev 1.7.2 client.)

 

I also tried various places for the API files which the mod author provided. I assume "[Forge]\src" is the right place but I tried others just in case because that was just an educated guess since, as is the case with the other mod files, I haven't seen any instructions on where to them. That location allows me to access the API's classes from my own files but the API is just that, an API; there are no actual items or anything like that included for me to work with.

 

What is the proper place to put mod files for mods you want to run as well as those for mod-provided APIs? And if simply placing the files in the right folder isn't enough, how do you get Forge/Gradle and Eclipse to use them as desired? Finally, will this add complications when it comes to release time (perhaps needing to remove the mods I added) and what's the best way to work around any such complications?

[Tuhljin]

I grabbed CodeChickenCore for 1.7.2 and stuck it along with the other mods jars into "[Forge]\eclipse\mods" and it worked brilliantly. Thank you!

 

Now, just to be sure... with this method, nothing special will need to be done when it comes to release time, right? Those files shouldn't be included in any way when it's all packed up for the end user.

[Tuhljin]

Thanks. Now I assume I still have to have the API code in place so I can reference those classes etc. and have the thing compile, so was I right in placing the API files where I did? (Just in their own folder alongside my mod's in src/main/java .) Are they going to be built into the release and could that be a problem or become one in the future since the API is also included by the main mod and other addons (and later on, possibly different versions of it)?

[GotoLink]

If you have the API sources in src/main/java, they will be included by default in the gradle build. You can change this by editing the build.gradle file.

jar{
exclude 'external/api/*.class'
}

 

A different take on this is nicely detailed in coolAlias tutorial.