Import, replacement, and reload

Much of the game uses Import instead of ordinary Lua require. The implementation contains replacement, append, module cache, dependency, and reload code.

Replace a file

An active mod can provide the same relative path as a base .lua or .santp file. If several active mods replace the path, the last replacement in load order wins.

Append to a file

An active mod can place code at append/<original path>. The importer joins that text to the selected source and executes both in one Lua chunk. Appended code can change exported globals and refer to locals declared earlier in the chunk.

Module behavior

The importer accepts .lua and .santp paths.
Each file runs in a module environment that falls back to _G.
Globals assigned by the file become fields in the returned module table.
Imported modules are cached, and the importer records dependencies.

Reload code is not a dependable workflow

File-event processing can invalidate a changed module and its dependants. The default debug settings disable the file watcher, and template reload inside OnFileChange is commented out. Treat reload as unfinished until a runtime test proves otherwise.