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Contributions to SpawnTracker are welcome! This guide will help you set up your development environment and understand the contribution workflow.

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Development environment setup

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Prerequisites

  • .NET 6.0 SDK - Required for building the mod
  • Visual Studio 2022 or JetBrains Rider - Recommended IDEs with C# support
  • MegaBonk - The game must be installed via Steam
  • BepInEx IL2CPP - Mod loader for Unity IL2CPP games

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Required libraries

The project references these assemblies from your MegaBonk installation:
MEGABONK_SIMPLE_MOD.csproj
<ItemGroup>
  <Reference Include="Assembly-CSharp" Publicize="true">
    <HintPath>Libs\Assembly-CSharp.dll</HintPath>
  </Reference>
  <Reference Include="0Harmony">
    <HintPath>Libs\0Harmony.dll</HintPath>
  </Reference>
  <Reference Include="BepInEx.Core">
    <HintPath>Libs\BepInEx.Core.dll</HintPath>
  </Reference>
  <Reference Include="BepInEx.Unity.IL2CPP">
    <HintPath>Libs\BepInEx.Unity.IL2CPP.dll</HintPath>
  </Reference>
  <Reference Include="Il2CppInterop.Runtime">
    <HintPath>Libs\Il2CppInterop.Runtime.dll</HintPath>
  </Reference>
</ItemGroup>
All required DLLs should be copied to a Libs/ directory in your project root.

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Project configuration

The mod targets .NET 6.0 and uses unsafe code for IL2CPP interop:
MEGABONK_SIMPLE_MOD.csproj
<PropertyGroup>
  <TargetFramework>net6.0</TargetFramework>
  <AssemblyName>MEGABONK_SIMPLE_MOD</AssemblyName>
  <Version>0.1.0</Version>
  <AllowUnsafeBlocks>true</AllowUnsafeBlocks>
  <LangVersion>latest</LangVersion>
</PropertyGroup>

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Unity assemblies

You’ll also need Unity engine assemblies from your MegaBonk installation:
  • UnityEngine.dll
  • UnityEngine.CoreModule.dll
  • UnityEngine.IMGUIModule.dll - For GUI rendering
  • UnityEngine.PhysicsModule.dll
  • UnityEngine.UI.dll
  • Unity.TextMeshPro.dll
These are typically located in: 
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Megabonk\BepInEx\unity-libs\
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Megabonk\BepInEx\interop\

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Building the mod

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Via Visual Studio

  1. Open MEGABONK_SIMPLE_MOD.csproj in Visual Studio
  2. Ensure all assembly references are resolved
  3. Build > Build Solution (or press Ctrl+Shift+B)
  4. The compiled DLL will be in bin/Debug/net6.0/ or bin/Release/net6.0/

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Via command line

dotnet build MEGABONK_SIMPLE_MOD.csproj -c Release

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Installing your build

Copy the compiled MEGABONK_SIMPLE_MOD.dll to: 
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Megabonk\BepInEx\plugins\

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Testing approach

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Manual testing workflow

  1. Build the mod with your changes
  2. Copy DLL to the BepInEx plugins folder
  3. Launch MegaBonk from Steam
  4. Check BepInEx console for load confirmation: 
    [Info: SpawnLogger] Loading SpawnLogger v0.5.3 by Antiparty
[Info: SpawnLogger] SpawnLogger loaded successfully!
  5. Start a game and verify tracking behavior
  6. Check logs in BepInEx/LogOutput.log for detailed output

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Debugging techniques

Use liberal logging: 
Plugin.log.LogInfo("[YourFeature] Debug info here");
Plugin.log.LogWarning("[YourFeature] Something unexpected");
Plugin.log.LogError("[YourFeature] Error occurred");
Check Harmony patches applied: 
public override void Load()
{
    var harmony = new Harmony(GUID);
    harmony.PatchAll();
    
    // Log all patched methods
    var patches = Harmony.GetAllPatchedMethods();
    foreach (var method in patches)
    {
        log.LogInfo($"Patched: {method.DeclaringType?.Name}.{method.Name}");
    }
}
Verify tracker values: 
Plugin.log.LogInfo($"Trackers - Chests: {ChestTracker.totalChests}, ShadyGuys: {ShadyGuyTracker.total}");

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Common testing scenarios

  • Round start: Verify all trackers reset to 0
  • Object spawns: Check counts increment correctly
  • Interactions: Verify interaction counts update
  • Round end: Confirm tracking disables and overlay cleans up
  • Scene transitions: Ensure overlay persists across level changes
  • Multiple rounds: Test tracker reset behavior

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Code style

Match the existing code patterns to maintain consistency:

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Naming conventions

// Static tracker classes: PascalCase with "Tracker" suffix
public static class ChestTracker

// Patch classes: PascalCase with "Patches" or "Patch" suffix  
public static class SpawnInteractablesPatches

// Public fields: camelCase
public static int totalChests = 0;

// Private fields: camelCase
private static bool overlaySpawned = false;

// Methods: PascalCase
public static void Reset()

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Harmony patch structure

Follow this pattern for consistency: 
[HarmonyPatch(typeof(GameClass))]
public static class GameClassPatches
{
    [HarmonyPostfix]
    [HarmonyPatch(nameof(GameClass.MethodName))]
    public static void Postfix_MethodName(GameClass __instance)
    {
        // Always check tracking flags first
        if (Plugin.disableTracker && !ChargeShrineTracker.IsRoundActive)
            return;

        // Update tracker state
        YourTracker.count++;
        
        // Log the action
        Plugin.log.LogInfo($"[YourTracker] Event occurred (Count: {YourTracker.count})");
    }
}

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Logging format

Use consistent log prefixes: 
Plugin.log.LogInfo("[TrackerName] Message here");
Examples from the codebase:
  • [SpawnLogger] - General mod events
  • [ChestTracker] - Chest-related events
  • [ShadyGuy] - ShadyGuy events
  • [ShrineTracker] - Shrine events
  • [OverlayManager] - Overlay lifecycle

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Comments and documentation

// Section headers
// --- Static Chest Tracker ---

// Inline comments for complex logic
ChestTracker.unopenedChests = Mathf.Max(0, ChestTracker.unopenedChests - 1); // Prevent negative

// XML comments for public API (future enhancement)
/// <summary>
/// Resets all chest tracking counters to zero.
/// </summary>
public static void Reset()

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Submitting improvements

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Before submitting

  1. Test thoroughly - Verify your changes work across multiple rounds
  2. Check logs - Ensure no errors or warnings are introduced
  3. Follow style - Match existing code patterns
  4. Add logging - Include appropriate log statements for debugging
  5. Update trackers - If adding new tracking, update SafeCleanup() and overlay display

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Pull request checklist

  • Code builds without errors
  • Tested in actual game environment
  • Follows existing code style
  • Includes logging for new features
  • Updates overlay UI if adding new trackers
  • Adds appropriate Reset() calls for new trackers
  • No errors in BepInEx console during testing

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Contribution ideas

Here are some ways to contribute: New trackers:
  • Track additional interactable types
  • Monitor enemy spawns
  • Count item pickups
Enhanced features:
  • Configurable overlay position
  • Toggle overlay visibility with hotkey
  • Export tracking data to file
  • Statistical summaries (averages, best runs)
Code improvements:
  • Refactor duplicate code patterns
  • Improve error handling
  • Optimize patch performance
  • Add configuration options
Documentation:
  • Improve code comments
  • Add usage examples
  • Document undocumented game classes

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GitHub repository

The SpawnTracker source code is hosted on GitHub: Repository: github.com/AntiParty/SpawnTracker
  • Issues: Report bugs or request features
  • Pull Requests: Submit code contributions
  • Discussions: Ask questions or share ideas

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Getting help

If you encounter issues while developing:
  1. Check BepInEx logs - Most issues show up in LogOutput.log
  2. Review Harmony docs - https://harmony.pardeike.net/
  3. Inspect game assemblies - Use dnSpy or ILSpy to examine MegaBonk’s code
  4. Ask in discussions - The community can help troubleshoot

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License

Ensure your contributions are compatible with the project’s license. By submitting a pull request, you agree to license your code under the same terms as the project.

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