Skip to content
gregCore Wiki

Player Getting Started

This page is for players (mod users). No programming required. If you want to write mods, start at Developer Getting Started instead.

What gregCore is

Section titled “What gregCore is”

gregCore is a framework mod for the game Data Center. It does three things for you as a player:

  1. Loads other mods — Lua scripts, C# mods, and multi-language extensions all run through gregCore’s registry (GregModRegistry), with dependency checks (GregModDeps) so missing requirements are reported instead of crashing.
  2. Gives you one control center — press F1 anywhere in game for the Mod Hub (GregModHub), which lists every registered mod and its menus.
  3. Protects your saves — the SaveGuard (GregSaveGuard) backs up vanilla saves before writing and keeps mod data in separate sidecar files, so uninstalling a mod never corrupts your save.

What you need

Section titled “What you need”
Requirement Notes
Data Center (Steam), version 1.0.50.15 The supported game version for gregCore 1.2.3
Windows x64 or Linux x64 macOS is not supported (no Apple test device on the team — contributors welcome)
MelonLoader 0.7.2+ or BepInEx 6+ Exactly one loader; both are supported
gregCore 1.2.3 release ZIP From the GitHub Releases page, matching your loader + OS

The 3-step path

Section titled “The 3-step path”
  1. Install — Player Installation (extract one ZIP into the game folder, launch once).
  2. Verify — launch the game, check the MelonLoader log for HWID SYSTEM ACTIVE and the [DynamicPatcher] lines, press F1 to see the Mod Hub.
  3. Add mods — Player Mod Users Guide (where Lua mods live, how the HUD key bar works, how to open mod settings, how to report issues). The fastest source is the GregCore Collection on Steam — subscribe to what you want, no manual file handling.

Key bindings (defaults)

Section titled “Key bindings (defaults)”
Key What happens Implementation
F1 Opens/closes the central Mod Hub GregModHub (MenuId = "greg.hub")
F12 Opens the Lua console (REPL) LuaRepl in gregCore.SDK
Backquote (`) Opens the gregCore console (greg.console: help, clear, mods, menus, keys, version) gregCore console module
F8 Legacy mod-config panel (compatibility layer) ModConfigSystem in gregCore.Compatibility

Mods can register their own hotkeys, which appear automatically in the key bar on the right screen edge (GregHud). Pressing a mod’s key opens its panel; the Mod Hub always shows what is available.

Where things live after first launch

Section titled “Where things live after first launch”

First launch creates the working directories automatically:

  • Mods/gregCore.dll + game_hooks.json + greg_hooks.json — the framework itself (MelonLoader layout; BepInEx uses BepInEx/plugins/gregCore/).
  • UserData/gregCore/Mods/Lua/<modId>/ — Lua mods (each with main.lua, optional mod.json, sandboxed data/ folder).
  • UserData/gregCore/Mods/Scripts/ — general script directory.
  • Documents/DatacenterBackups — automatic save backups (pre-greg/ permanent copy + timestamped folders, max 3 per save; Linux: ~/Documents/…, fallback ~/…).

Getting help

Section titled “Getting help”
  • In-game first: Mod Hub (F1) → mod entry → Settings tab; console (`) → mods, menus, keys, version.
  • Logs: MelonLoader log (look for [gregCore], [gregCore][HwId], [DynamicPatcher]).
  • Still stuck: FAQ Troubleshooting → Discord (discord.gg/greg) → GitHub issue (include version, loader, log excerpt).