Loading...
Loading...
Modding and Mods
February 22, 2026 at 01:00 PM
Major expansion: May 2026 roadmap details, Workshop sharing, creator tools specifics, anti-cheat removal, SMF community project
Starsand Island does not have official mod support in its current Early Access build (launched February 11, 2026). The developers at Seed Sparkle Lab have committed to adding mod support and Steam Workshop integration in May 2026, one month before the planned 1.0 full release. In the meantime, a community-driven modding framework is in early planning stages.
The Early Access roadmap (published February 13, 2026) lays out a monthly content schedule. The May update reads: "Initially introduce MOD support and provide basic creator tools. Enable sharing through the Workshop, allowing players to enrich the warm and creative content ecosystem of Starsand Island together."
The full roadmap for context:
March 2026: New purchasable items (Sun Wukong outfit, firework-themed items, Rednote collaboration items).
April 2026: Expanded NPC voice content and dating system improvements.
May 2026: Mod support, basic creator tools, Steam Workshop integration.
June 2026: Full 1.0 release with multiplayer co-op.
Developer posts on Steam and Discord suggest a phased rollout: the May update introduces initial support with basic tools, and the full release in June broadens Workshop access to allow everyone to freely create and share.
Steam Workshop support is confirmed for the May update. Players will be able to upload, browse, and subscribe to mods directly through Steam. The developers confirmed Workshop support on Chinese community forums and in multiple Steam discussion threads.
No details have been shared about mod size limits, approval processes, or whether an in-game mod manager will be included at launch. These specifics are expected closer to the May release.
Seed Sparkle Lab will provide what they call "basic creator tools" alongside the mod update. As of February 2026, the studio has not publicly detailed what these tools will include. It is unknown whether they will offer a visual editor, a scripting API, an asset importer, or some combination.
The game's extensive built-in customization systems (clothing, furniture, vehicles, house decoration) suggest that item-level mods like custom furniture, outfits, and decorations will likely be the first wave of supported content.
An unofficial, community-driven modding framework called the Starsand Modding Framework (SMF) is in development on GitHub, created by Erik Pfortner. Inspired by Minecraft's Fabric and Forge frameworks, SMF is currently in the planning and research phase with no functional code released yet.
Planned SMF features include:
A mod.yml metadata format for mod packaging.
A dynamic event bus system for mod-to-game communication.
Safe game system access through public interfaces (IPlayer, IWorld).
An optional StarUI library for in-game mod menus.
A plug-and-play /mods folder for easy installation.
SMF is MIT-licensed and not affiliated with Seed Sparkle Lab. A community Discord server and modding site are listed as coming soon.
An unofficial translation mod already exists, adding community-made German, French, and Spanish localizations through a one-click patcher. This works outside the official mod framework.
Starsand Island originally shipped with an in-house anti-cheat system and an encrypted global-metadata.dat file. The community pushed back quickly, questioning why a single-player farming sim needed anti-cheat protection. Seed Sparkle Lab responded by officially removing the anti-cheat system and updating the User Agreement to remove restrictive clauses.
Key policy commitments from the developer:
No microtransactions, confirmed repeatedly.
Anti-cheat officially removed after community feedback.
The studio will "never restrict players from using mods or other custom content."
The EULA was revised to remove all clauses considered unreasonable, including inherited language about "Virtual Goods" from an outdated template.
Before official mod support arrives, modding Starsand Island is difficult. The game uses Unity 6000 with IL2CPP compilation, and the global-metadata.dat file remains encrypted. Standard modding tools like BepInEx 6 and MelonLoader cannot initialize properly. Community modders have documented these issues on GitHub (BepInEx issue #1198).
Memory-level trainers (WeMod, PLITCH, Cheat Engine tables) do work for basic cheats like infinite stamina and coin editing, but content-level mods that add items, clothing, or furniture will need to wait for the official tools in May.
