This is a Stardew Valley mod called Child To NPC. Child To NPC is a modding tool which converts children into full-fledged NPCs, allowing them to be patched by other mods in the sames ways that NPCs can. This mod is newly released, so please let me know if you run into any issues using it.
The main purposes of Child To NPC is to make Content Patcher packs possible, so I recommend you look over the links below for instructions on how to make Content Patcher packs editing NPCs. There's an example Content Patcher pack to download on the Nexus page which shows you simple examples for how to create new child NPCs. (I'd also recommend looking over some of the Custom NPC mods that are already out there.)
The Readme for Content Patcher, which explains how to make Content Patcher packs: https://github.com/Pathoschild/StardewMods/blob/9c5d557b9591721ea34dd162da25e21c19b22ba0/ContentPatcher/README.md
The page from the Stardew Valley Wiki about NPC data: https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:NPC_data
MissCoriel's template for making Content Patcher NPC mods: https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/3446
Once you feel comfortable with making Content Patcher mods for NPCs, then you're ready to mod!
(Also, remember to download Spacechase0's Custom NPC Fixes to avoid schedule issues for NPCs: https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/3849)
Child To NPC generates a config.json the first time the game is run. The default config.json looks like this.
{
"AgeWhenKidsAreModified": 83,
"DoChildrenWander": true,
"DoChildrenHaveCurfew": true,
"CurfewTime": 1900,
"ChildParentPairs": {},
"ModdingCommands": false
}The field "AgeWhenKidsAreModified" determines the age (in days) when your child is replaced by an NPC. By default, this is set to 83, which is 28 days (one season) after they become a toddler.
The field "DoChildrenWander" is either true or false. When set to true, children wander around every hour like vanilla children when at home.
The field "DoChildrenHaveCurfew" is either true or false. When set to true, children will have a curfew, the time of which can be set in the "CurfewTime" field in 24-hour time. By default, there is a curfew, and the curfew time is 7:00 pm, or 1900. At curfew time, children will stop whatever they were scheduled to do and start walking home. Once they arrive at home, they will go to bed for the night.
The field "ChildParentPairs" allows you to customize the parentage of your children. Normally, it's assumed that the parent of a child is your current spouse, but if you'd like to have your child customized based on a previous spouse after divorce (or whatever reason you have), you can enter their parentage here.
For example, if want your first child Violet to have Shane as their parent, but your second child Lily to have Elliot as their parent, your config.json would look like this.
"AgeWhenKidsAreModified": 83,
"ChildParentPairs": {
"Violet": "Shane",
"Lily": "Elliot"
}The field "ModdingCommands" is either true or false. When set to true, Child To NPC will add console commands to the game which make generating new children a little easier. (Changes to the config file aren't implemented until the game is next loaded, so if the config has generated for the first time, you will need to close the game and re-open it before console commands are added.)
Inside the manifest.json, be sure that you list "Loe2run.ChildToNPC" as a required dependency. Not only does this allow Child To NPC to run first when generating NPCs, but it also allows you to make use of the Content Patcher tokens this mod creates.
Child To NPC makes use of the Content Patcher API to create custom tokens. These tokens take the form of:
"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/<Token Name Here>}}"While all the examples below will be using the "First" prefix, which indicates the first child born, these tokens are also available for up to four children. In addition to FirstChildName, there's also SecondChildName, ThirdChildName, and FourthChildName. This extends to all tokens.
"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildName}}"This is the token you will use the most. It gives you access to the name of the NPC, so wherever you would normally use an NPC's name, like in a Target field, you can instead put this token.
Here's an example entry from your content.json:
{
"LogName": "Child Portraits",
"Action": "Load",
"Target": "Portraits/{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildName}}",
"FromFile": "assets/FirstChildPortrait.png"
},"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildBirthday}}"This token returns the child's birthday in the form of "day season year". For example, you can use this value when creating the NPC Disposition.
{
"LogName": "Child NPC Dispositions",
"Action": "EditData",
"Target": "Data/NPCDispositions",
"Entries": {
"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildName}}": ".../{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildBirthday}}/..."
}
},"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildGender}}"This token returns the child's gender in the form of the string "male" or "female". This is also useful for the NPC Disposition, or as a condition.
{
"LogName": "Child Portraits",
"Action": "Load",
"Target": "Portraits/{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildName}}",
"FromFile": "assets/FirstSonPortrait.png",
"When": {
"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildGender}}": "male"
}
},"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildBed}}""{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildBed:7 7}}}"This token by default returns a tile position in the form of "x y" where the child will go to bed. It's generated in the same way that Family Planning generates bed spots, so that if there are more than two children, they will share beds.
This token also takes input if you'd like to choose where your child goes to bed, as you'll see above.
"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildParent}}"This token by default returns the current spouse of the player, but this value can be customized in the config.json for each child. This can, for example, let you customize the appearance of your child by spouse.
{
"LogName": "Child Sprites (Penny)",
"Action": "Load",
"Target": "Characters/{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildName}}",
"FromFile": "assets/sprites_Penny.png",
"When": {
"Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildParent": "Penny"
}
},"{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/NumberTotalChildren}}"This token is slightly different than the rest because it's independent of any particular child. It just tells you how many children the family has, including children under the age cutoff. This will return the value "0", "1", "2", "3", or "4" as of now. ("3" and "4" are available for players using the Family Planning mod.)
{
"LogName": "Only Child Sprites",
"Action": "Load",
"Target": "Characters/{{Loe2run.ChildToNPC/FirstChildName}}",
"FromFile": "assets/sprites.png",
"When": {
"Loe2run.ChildToNPC/NumberTotalChildren": "1"
}
},To uninstall ChildToNPC, all you have to do is remove the ChildToNPC mod (and the other associated CP mods) from your mod folder. I've designed ChildToNPC so NPCs never get saved with the save data, so you shouldn't run into any issues when you get rid of them. (If you do run into a bug which corrupts your save data, please let me know!)
This mod uses Harmony, so it could run into issues with other mods which patch the same methods. If you notice any issues, let me know!
This mod is currently only compatible with singleplayer.
If you have questions about anything, feel free to get in contact with me! One of the best ways to talk to me is through the Stardew Valley Discord. I'm Loe#4013 there. https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Community#Discord