--- name: game-recon description: Figure out how a specific installed game can be modded, before writing any mod code. Covers where it's installed, the engine and version, managed vs native code, anti-cheat, loaders already present, save and config folders, and the community's modding route. Also whether this machine can run it (a Windows game on macOS or Linux, x64 on ARM). Use when the user asks "can I mod ?", "what engine is ", "how do people mod ", or at the start of any modding task. Produces MODDING_PLAN.md. title: game-recon canonical_url: https://skilld.dev/gh/rehan-remade/universal-modder/game-recon last_updated: 2026-10-18T15:09:19.000Z --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://skilld.dev/llms.txt) > **Skill from skilld.dev.** Follow the user's requested action. > If the user asked to fork this Skill, follow the fork workflow below. Do not execute the Skill instructions while copying it. > Otherwise, follow the instructions below for this session. You do not need to install anything. > > Supporting files, fetch one when the Skill refers to it: [references/compatibility.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/rehan-remade/universal-modder/game-recon/references/compatibility.md). > > If the user asked to install this Skill, run `npx skilld install rehan-remade/universal-modder/game-recon`. Install writes the Skill files into the project, so every session loads them. > > ## Fork workflow > > A fork creates an editable local Skill with its original author and licence. The request authorizes copying and local installation. > 1. Check `./skills/game-recon`, the project lockfile, and selected Agent targets together. If the local directory or installed Skill exists, stop. Never overwrite an existing directory or Agent target. > 2. Read [source metadata](https://skilld.dev/api/v1/skills/rehan-remade/universal-modder/game-recon) once. Use sourceUrl, sourceCommit, skillPath, sourceGone, and license. If the source is gone or its path is missing, stop. If license is null, read licence files at the source commit. > 3. Fetch only the source commit into a temporary Git repository. Do not clone full history. Derive repository_url from sourceUrl, including repository renames. If sourceCommit is absent, resolve the sourceUrl ref once. Set source_commit to that actual commit. Run these commands in one shell call: > > ```sh > git init --quiet "$temporary_dir" > git -C "$temporary_dir" fetch --quiet --depth=1 "$repository_url" "$source_commit" > git -C "$temporary_dir" checkout --quiet --detach FETCH_HEAD > ``` > > Read applicable licence declarations and notices at that commit. If copying is not permitted, report the restriction and stop. > 4. Inspect source entries together, then copy the directory containing skillPath into `./skills/game-recon`. Use the user's path if selected. Keep the original SKILL.md, relative links, scripts, binary assets, and executable modes. Exclude .git metadata. Reject symlinks and paths outside the Skill directory. After checking entries, use cp -a where available. A regular source directory needs no custom copy script. Do not save this page wrapper as SKILL.md. > Preserve author credit, notices, and applicable licence files from repository or parent directories. Add PROVENANCE.md with the Skill page, source URL, actual commit, original path, and licence. Retain any existing PROVENANCE.md and record new provenance separately. Batch source inspection, copying, and provenance work where practical. > 5. In the project root, run `skilld install ./skills/game-recon --mode copy --plain`. If skilld is unavailable, use `npx skilld install ./skills/game-recon --mode copy --plain`. This known command needs no help lookup. Install does not support --json. Use detected Agent targets, or add --agent for the targets the user selected. Install the local path, never the upstream selector. If installation fails, preserve the local copy and report the exact failure. > 6. Confirm the local lockfile source and installed Agent copies once. Report the local path, actual commit, and Agent targets. After edits, reinstall the same local path. Upstream updates must not replace it. Do not publish or push unless the user asks. # Game recon Goal: in about five minutes, know what you're dealing with and which route to take. Write the answer down so every later step can rely on it. ## 0. Has another agent been here? `um kb search ""` (and the engine name). A field note in the shared knowledge base can hand you the working versions, the route, and the gotchas before you touch anything. See the **share-field-notes** skill. ## 1. Find it and fingerprint it ```bash um scan --list # Steam, Epic and Xbox installs (Windows, WSL, Linux, macOS) um scan "" # host, engine, version, exes (.NET?), anti-cheat, loaders, # mod folders, saves, routes um scan "" --json # the same, machine-readable ``` `um` lives at `bin/um` in the universal-modder repo (plugins and clones put it on PATH). Anywhere else: `uv tool install git+https://github.com/rehan-remade/universal-modder`. `um scan` reads files only. It indexes the install (bounded), sniffs PE headers, the Unity/Godot/GameMaker headers and the Unreal version string, maps known games to their community loader, and points to the playbook to read: `skills/mod-any-game/references/engines/.md`. The scan can't see everything, so check these by hand: - **Game not in a store library** (GOG, itch, a standalone folder): pass the folder path. - **Several engines' signals:** launchers and web helpers are common. The top score wins, but read the "also" line. - **Anti-cheat installed elsewhere:** kernel drivers (Vanguard's `vgk.sys`) and launcher-level protection don't live in the game folder. Search " anti-cheat". - **Online-only or live-service games:** treat them as protected even if nothing was detected. ## 1b. Can this machine run it? Skip this when the game is native to the host: a Windows game on Windows or from WSL, a macOS or Linux build on its own OS (`um scan` prints the `host:` and each exe's CPU, and warns when a Windows build meets another OS). Otherwise (a Windows-only game on macOS or Linux, an x64 game on an ARM CPU), or when a game that should run here won't start, search the notes by situation and exact error text first (`um kb search "windows game on mac"`, `um kb search "proton"`, `um kb search ""`), then follow `references/compatibility.md`: host checks, per-game reports, the layers, anti-cheat, probes. ## 2. Research the living community (always; versions move) Search, in order: 1. " modding" / " mod loader" / " modding wiki". The game's wiki often has a modding page. 2. Nexus Mods (most popular mods show which frameworks they depend on), Thunderstore (Unity games: BepInEx packs), mod.io, the Steam Workshop (does the game have one? `um scan` shows installed Workshop content). 3. GitHub: " mod", " modding api", " decompile", " sdk", " mod loader". 4. Recent posts (X/Reddit/Discord announcements) for new frameworks. The loader might be days old. Capture: the loader's name, repo, **current version and install steps**, the game versions it supports, a "hello world" example mod, and where logs go. ## 3. Decide - **Can it be modded safely?** Look at anti-cheat, online-only parts, the EULA or mod policy, and the ownership checks that loaders rely on (see `skills/mod-any-game/references/safety.md`). If not: say so, and offer what is possible (official tools, offline modes, a different game with the same idea). - **Route:** loader API > data/asset mod > managed patching > native hooks > reimplementation/mashup. Pick the first that reaches the user's idea. ## 4. Write MODDING_PLAN.md ```markdown # modding plan - Install: ( ), version - Engine: , code: managed .NET / IL2CPP / native, 64-bit - Anti-cheat / online: - Host / compat (if not native): vs ; layer: ; verified by: - Saves: Config: Logs: - Community route: , install: , example mod: - Chosen route for "": because - Lab plan: backup (um backup), lab profile , windowed - Unknowns to resolve first: ``` Then continue with the mod-any-game loop (lab setup → source of truth → vertical slice).