We’ve heard your requests for things like mod support and, to be honest, we always wanted to do this, it’s just never been realistically possible until now. Over the years, we’ve seen so many Metro mods or themed levels created with other engines, but now we give you a chance to fulfil all your Metro wishes in the very engine where Metro was born.
We’re thrilled to pull back the curtain and release Exodus SDK for you all to play with for free! To run it, you just need to have Metro Exodus (2019) or Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition installed on your machine. This isn’t just simple mod support – we’re giving you our full Editor as it was the day we released the Metro Exodus, with the ability to create standalone content run from a basic executable. We’ve integrated Mod.io support, so it’s really easy to manage and share your content. If you also know visual script, our Visual Script Editor leaves the doors wide open with possibilities, so get creative! Along with some tutorial levels and as an example of a fully featured, shipped level, we’ve included a full unpacked Metro Exodus sandbox level for you to tear apart using our tools. Feel yourself a 4A Games team member – we’ve provided you with everything our Designers, Artists, and Animators have access to!
There are a few things to note in the EULA (boring), but the main stuff you must keep in mind includes this – you can’t use it for commercial purposes, share it behind a paywall, or sell anything you make with it. We’re not looking to enter the engine licensing business, this is purely something meant for the community, and we hope you get inspired to create some really wild things.
We’ve been building this engine since the studio opened in 2005, and it’s seen a lot of iteration and improvement over the years. It’s still not perfect, and we continue developing it daily, but we’re really proud of our team’s efforts and we hope that you’ll enjoy getting your hands dirty with it.
Documentation, tutorials, and additional information can be found in public documentation.
Plus, 4A Games have posted a larger studio update, including some news on operations during wartime, current projects and what to expect in the future, check it out here.
SDK Features
Scene Editor
• The Scene Editor is the main tool you use while working on a level. It is mainly used for adding and manipulating all kinds of objects, from NPCs and weapons to patrol points, restrictors, and proxies.
Model Editor/Viewer
• The Model Editor allows you to change collision properties, textures, materials, add locators and texture presets, edit animation tags and other animation properties.
Navigation
• The Navigation Mode allows you to create/edit the navigation mesh (aka: AI map) of the level. This is required for the AI (enemies, friends, etc.) to move through the level.
Particles
• The Particles Mode allows you to create/edit particles in the game.
Terrain Tool
• The Terrain Tool allows you to edit terrain for your level. Valleys, mountains, caves, uneven or sloped ground, etc. You can easily modify both shape and appearance by using a range of tools.
Weather Editor
• The Weather Editor allows you to create weather presets to use within weather volumes. There are several options to adjust: Skybox, Sun, Clouds to Post Process, Snow/Water Levels, etc. You can create different types of weather, Day/Night Cycles, or Modifiers.
Camera Track Editor
• The Track Editor is used for creating cutscenes, camera spans, camera shakes, and screen effects.
Visual Script
• The VS (Visual Script) Editor allows scripting complex gameplay features and AI behavior without writing a single line of code. The main advantages of visual scripts include their simplicity and clear visual feedback to the user. Their logic is founded upon so-called events which are produced in the scripts by specific triggers, and further processing of these events.
How to get the Exodus SDK
1. You must own a copy of Metro Exodus (2019) or Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition on Steam, GOG, or Epic Games Store, and have it installed on your PC.
2. Download Exodus SDK as a Tool (for Steam) or Additional Content (for GOG and Epic Games Store).
3. Then:
• Steam: you will now be able to access Exodus SDK as a Tool and launch it from Steam.
Other Platforms: Please see the metrothegame.com blog
4. Make all you want and share your fantastic creations with the world at Mod.io here!
5. Learn how to use the tools by reading up on the public documentation.
System requirements (minimum)
OS: Windows 10
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770k or equivalent
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: GTX 1070 / RTX 2060 / AMD RX VEGA 56
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 31 GB (in addition to 70.1 GB for Metro Exodus (77.95 GB with all DLCs) or 79.6 GB for Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2069150/Exodus_SDK
https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus