Getting Started
This guide will give you a setup to start projects with ScrapComputers via the Computer API
Before you do anything
If you do NOT have any Lua 5.1 knowledge, Then you must learn Lua 5.1 if you want to code in ScrapComputers. There are many ways you could learn 5.1, From messing around with the files of Lua games (Scrap Mechanic is one of them!), using YouTube tutorials, or learning Lua from Roblox Studio. Whatever makes you learn Lua 5.1!
If you do not know where you can learn Lua 5.1. Then click this (Flashbang alert!) to start learning Lua 5.1.
For the people who know modding in Scrap Mechanic. Yes, we know that Scrap Mechanic uses LuaJIT and NOT Lua 5.1. But really, LuaJIT is Lua 5.1 but faster in short/simple terms.
If your going to use ScrapComputers, but your unable to learn lua, or. Do not use ScrapComputers then! You are guranteed to have to ask help for nearly everything!
We don't want you to help you for literally everything that are super easy to notice if you knew lua, things like variable's, if statements and for loops.
Right now you must have to learn lua if you want to program in this mod. Theres no alternative to it.
Choosing the correct Code Editor
You might have already got a code editor but some features are required and your code editor may not have them.
These are the required features that your code editor needs.
- Able to understand Lua code
- Add definition files.
In this case. We are going to use Visual Studio Code with the Lua Extension by summneko as that is what we use.
The world to code our Computer project in.
We need a world where we can go and test our projects. Open our Scrap Mechanic and create a new world with the ScrapComputers mod. Then go and place a computer. That's where our code will go in.
Creating a Computer Project
We are going to create a project. We already have a template set up for you. The templates are stored in our mod.
These are the methods you can use to set up a project
Github (Recommended)
Go to our GitHub Repository and download our mod, Go into the Templates folder and clone the Computer folder. Name it whatever you want and that's it! You can go move the project's location somewhere else like your Documents folder
Type copy and paste
Most users have the same path installation but since it is configurable. This method might not work.
Open File Explorer and go to this path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\387990\3238484039\Templates, Copy the Computer folder and folder and rename it to whatever you want and that's it! You can go move the project's location somewhere else like your Documents folder
Point and click
What you have to do is to open Steam and go to your library, Then right-click on Scrap Mechanic and press Properties. Go to Installed Files and click Browse....
On the File Explorer window. Go back to 2 directories and go into workshop > content > 387990 > 3238484039 > Templates. Clone the Computer folder and rename it to whatever you want and that's it! You can go move the project's location somewhere else like your Documents folder
How to use our Template
You might get confused with our template so this section would help you.
The folder structure should look something like this:
.vscode/
└── settings.json
Main.lua
Main.lua.template
ScrapComputers.lua
SM.lua
These are what the files/folders are used for:
- .vscode/*: These are just configurations for Visual Studio Code
- Main.lua: This is where the source code of your project would be
- Main.lua.template: This contains the script template we suggest you use.
- ScrapComputers.lua and SM.lua: These are definition files and should NOT be modified!
Mess around!
Now you know all of this, A way you could learn to work with ScrapComputers via the Computer is to mess around with our examples or look through the documentation and try using them.