So I’m reading about all these amazing mods but I noticed there’s no sticky explaining to newbies or those of us who are ‘technologically challenged’ exactly how we get these mods in our game. Is there a text file we need to edit or a tool that we can download that will put these mods in for us? Sorry to be the dumb one here but thanks in advance for any and all help. =)
First of all, welcome to the forums 
Because the mods are created through indiviual efforts, the install instructions are usually left up to the author.
In general the format of a mod is something like this: (i am going to use the mod Unity as an example)
Unity.zip (contains 2 folders)
- data
- unit <- Holds all the mod data.
if we explore the data directory we shall see
installs <- in here is a little text file to let GSB know the mod exists
packages
sounds
Now that we understand the directory format of a mod, lets look at the installation.
If you follow your GSB install directory (on a PC the default is Program Files) you will see the following
C:\Program Files\Gratuitous Space Battles
data
directx
nomads <-DLC Directory
order <-DLC Directory
tribe <-DLC Directory
swarm <-DLC Directory
So when extract Unity.zip into C:\Program Files\Gratuitous Space Battles\ you will get this:
data <- the unity activation files will be placed in their appropriate directorys in here
directx
nomads <-DLC Directory
order <-DLC Directory
tribe <-DLC Directory
swarm <-DLC Directory
unit <- MOD !
Please note that this is for PC and who have bought the game directly, the install directory change depending on the platform and whom you bought it through (ie Steam)
I cant say for sure, but i think this is where you will find the directories on other platforms (if someone could confirm plz)
Apple: GSB\Contents\Resources
Steam: program files/steam/steamapps/common/gsb/
Confirmed that Steam directory, You’ve got it right.
also, Should you find yourself lacking the text-file that tells the game that a mod exists, You can make one quite simply.
all you need to do is put your desired mod (or mods) in the main GSB directory. as Darkstar says, most mods will come all ready to be dropped into the main directory once unpacked. once this is done, make a note of the directory name for the mod (I’ll use Darkstar’s mod, for convenience,) open up notepad, textpad, or whatever, and type the first line as:
[config]
the second line looks like this-
path = unit
“unit” being the name of the folder containing the Uni-T mod’s data folder.
Save to Path to GSB directory\data\installs
DinG! done.
Easy peasy.
(oh, and welcome to the forum! there aren’t a whole lot of really active members, and there’s others (like me) who drop in-and-out, but most of us are pretty dumb-question friendly, especially those (me, darkstar, and a few others) who were playing around with modding back in the dark days of '09 ETC, before much of our accumulated know-how was… well… accumulated.)
Greetings, Sharpshade, and welcome to Gratuitous Modding.
Please feel free to ask questions. We won’t necessarily do something for you, but we will help you to do it yourself, which is a much better outcome for all parties. Be sure to check out the stickied threads at the top of this forum – they’re the best place to find +95% of what you’ll need to know about either playing a mod or making your own mod. This forum’s archive of threads is also a goldmine of data – make sure to sift thru it sometime. 
I, like everyone else back then, didn’t yet know much of anything about the new game. It was a joy to discover how modder-friendly Cliff’s creation was. One can spend as much or as little time on it as one desires. Some of the best mod packages have been in development for nearly an entire year, and their quality attests to that.
Some wise words from my “old” mentor
While it is true that we prefer to “help you help yourself”. It is worth to mention that on occasion the members of the Mod Squad have been known to go the extra mile and make hulls, turrets, etc to help budding modders. . .
I feel the need to mention that if anyone has trouble and is having white squares show up in Mac, then the mod is not compatible under it. Feels significant to add. Mac cannot open dds files.
Confirm the Mac address. I am no longer on mac, but I remember the… complications that could arise. First off, if you are on a mac, as newbcake said, dds doesn’t work. You need to convert ALL of the .dds into .png. Also, in all of the text files of the mod, you need to change all of the references from EpicPwnShip.dds to EpicPwnShip.png. Its a long process to convert mods to mac (unless you have a script to do it… hmm…), but it can be worth it
The hard part is pretty much converting DDS to png’s. I might be able to do conversions of all Window’s mods however and post them. That is, if that’s allowed.
If your interested in the DYI side of things.
There are a few programs out there that can do bulk conversions for .dds to .png
Then you use a bulk text editor to change all the *.dds references to *.png
Please note that some modders have also taken the liberty of creating mac versions of their mods:
- Unity
- Union
- Clasic Dreads
To name a few
There is also a thread that has done exactly what your thinking about
Mac Friendly Mods
Didn’t we establish that the text editing wasn’t necessary? i.e. you can convert the file to a PNG but leave the .dds filename in the text file, and the Mac version of GSB will automatically look for the PNG anyway.
(Yes, I’m still alive, real life has been hitting me hard for the last… however long it’s been. Hopefully will be back a bit more now.)
Edit:
Confirmed in one case here: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=6352&start=15#p48142
Yes - that is correct for 99% of the cases where do not need to change the references from *.dds to *.png
However, when i created the Mac Version for the Unity mod, I came across one person that needed that reference changed.
(it wouldnt work until then - They were using the PC version on the mac under an emulator or something)
Considering that it only takes 5 minutes to make the conversion, I believe its worth the effort.
(please note that this is only my personal opinion and should be regarded as such)
Ah, those crazy Macs, eh?
That’s fair enough, I was thinking from the point of view of only needing to maintain one set of files. If it reduces the tech support that people need (by solving that 1% of cases before they happen) then I’d say it’s worth it Also, no need to defend having an opinion, I’m sure we know you well enough to know that your opinion is a useful thing to have 
Heheh - thanks
Sorry if it sounded like a defence - i just wanted the modder to understand that its up to them how far they would like to go to resolve this issue. (I realise that sometimes my suggested solutions can be rather “extreme” in the legnth they go to)