New to modding ?

[Drackard]

Hey Guys, i am currently doing my GCSE Examinations which will last for the next two weeks, the thing is me and some friends have been wanting to make a HL2 single player mod once they have finished as we will have lots of free time on our hands. The only problem is we are not sure where to begin, e.g. is there anywhere we can learn/study basic skills ? If so could ya help me out please ?

P.S

I wasn't too sure where to actually begin this thread so please don't have a go at me for sticking it in here. If it's in the wrong location that is.

 

[Ti133700N]

The best thing would be to read those forums and especially use the search feature, you'll get tons of informations and the answer to that question.

Basically, what do you want to do? What kind of MOD? What will be your job? What will you need, coders, modelers, musicians? You should learn C++ if you don't already know it. Write a good design doc. If you manage to get to that point then it's already a good thing. Then show us what you've done and we'll give you some feedback

 

[Drackard]

Cool, well i'll start looking up information on C++ and see what i can do, any specific programs i need to use or download ?

 

[Ti133700N]

For coding you would need Visual Studio .NET but it's very expensive, if you can get it cheap or for free then it would be the best program to choose (Valve use it). I think there is also a free version of the Visual Studio compiler, you might want to look for that. There are also some free compilers but you'll probably get a hard time trying to configure them to use the solution, BloodShed is one of em.

You will also need a graphic editing software for textures, GUI etc... Photoshop is of course the more popular. Then you'll probably need a proggy to help you build Websites (I use Dreamweaver).

Then a 3d modeling package like 3dsMax or XSI (free) or Maya...

Something to edit, make music and sounds.

Everything else can be made with the SDK (Hammer, face poser) and the little tools in the bin directory (vtex to convert textures). I also made some GUIs for those little apps wich might help you.

 

[Drackard]

ok cool, i have photoshop and dreamweaver which i am ok with but i have a friend that is excellent with Photoshop so im ok there....how much is this editing program that valve uses roughly in UK £ if possible ?

 

[Ti133700N]

Hum... I don't know about the price, the version I have is Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect 2003. It's £2,199.99 on www.amazon.co.uk but you don't need all that. There is probably an educational version. Oh I see Visual C++ .NET Standard 2003 for £88.99. The best thing would be to get it free from your school if they teach programmation they must have it.

I'm from Canada so I don't know much about the prices in UK. Sorry.

 

[Drackard]

LMFAO, your kidding right ....... £2200 for a piece of software :O

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Oh I see Visual C++ .NET Standard 2003 for £88.99

That's the version I use, and you all know how well I get along.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Drackard]

I don't lol, explain ?

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Well, I'm working alone on my mod, and I've almost got something releasable.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Ti133700N]

If you have any questions about coding, Angry Lawyer is the guy to trust.
btw, Your new avatar is... wierd, Angry... :|

 

[NonStopableForce]

If you have any questions about coding, Angry Lawyer is the guy to trust.
btw, Your new avatar is... wierd, Angry... :|

Second that, he is the guy to trust, and his Avatar is wierd. Im not use to it!

-NSF

 

[Drackard]

I'll bare that in mind if i become stuck

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Second that, he is the guy to trust, and his Avatar is wierd. Im not use to it!

-NSF

It's actually my own face, pasted onto a modified G-Man mesh. I look about 20 years older than I actually am, though, due to the G-Man's mesh being odd, and the fact I don't have receeding hair.

But yeah, I'm pretty competent with coding. I can't do anything excessively cool - I'm not up to the standards of the Sven-Coop team, or the guys on NS, but I know my way around.

-Angry Lawyer