Debriefing > Off-Topic Lounge

Getting Started

<< < (2/4) > >>

Wake[of]theBunT:
Read my post again, I edited.

I'm sorry if you want your list of criteria answered. I just won't do that. I won't tell you that there is a path to making your idea a reality. Because that's not fair on you and the journey you may face in tackling a huge task without learning the knowledge through experience.

novax druid:
Then I'll wait till someone does. Look, my idea is my own. I don't honestly have any skills. That's why I'm needing to know what I need to do to set up and be on my way. Personally, you're being rude and offending me because you won't answer questions. I don't see what's wrong in answering them.

coolDisguise:
Wake is right about that - there are some things you're better off figuring them out by yourself, as you will have your own experiences and preferences. Just using things others recommend to you is very rarely the right decision, because they might work for them, but maybe not for you.

Nevertheless I'd like to try and give you some general answers.


1. What does one need to do to be able to start beginning their mod?

First of all a mod is work. Work is the sum of each person's (knowledge * time). That means it basically CAN be done alone, but you'll need more time - and a lot of patience of course.

You need:
- an idea
- very much time
- knowledge
- dedication to the project
if you have several people working on it, of course you need to communicate a lot and distribute tasks, therefore you need
- milestones (plan what should be done by when)
- a very good structered idea of what you want to do and what you need for it

2. How does one obtain a server for their mod? (if it's needed)
Running a good server will cost you - you've got to check offers around the internet for that, there are several providers you can rent servers from. Pick the offer that most suits you and your needs.

3. Where is a good site to start up a forum? (any free sites?)
Again, this depends on your needs and you should check this yourself.

4. How does one gather team members on sites other than Mod DB? (any tactics or the such?)
To gather a team you should mention your vision (once it's clear and structured enough) to others, RL contacts help a lot here. (since you know these people in real life, it's easier to communicate)

5. What tools should one work with to jump start their mod?
Standard tools that are used very often include Hammer (map editor), Visual Studio C++ (for coding work) and Blender (for models, because it's free) but you might find that other software suits you better.

6. Any tutorials that will also jump start one's mod? (beside this site, no offense)
What 'jumpstarts' your mod the most would be people doing your vision FOR you. But as you admit you have no experience, there's no other way to jumpstart it, since you'll always have a learning curve and trust me: it's not like we think you're an idiot or something but developing your knowledge, own style and structure will certainly take you a fair amount of time. (On a sidenote: I think Wake is trying to protect you from giving yourself too much trouble trying to to figure it out all at once, that's why he's giving you the helpful advice to gather experience in different subsections of a mod's work by contributing to another mod first)

7. How do I go by distrubting the mod to those who don't have a Source/Valve game?
That's a point every modder comes to sooner or later - you're building for some piece of software not everyone has access to. People will have to accept it. Yet I recently saw there were mods being build on the free Alien Swarm SDk ~

novax druid:
The thing is, I've been plagued by this idea for a long time. I'm learning to finish the model. All I want is to be able to finish the simple mod and then possibly take it a step further. I just feel like there are answers people withhold from me. All in all, it's rather a simple goal, but no one is just going to jump off and join my project. People are too busy with their own work to help others. That's why I find it pointless to go into someone else's when it won't really benefit mine. I understand it'll teach me teamwork and how a mod team works, but ultimately, it won't teach me things I really want to know. In the long run, I know my goal will be solo work or with just a couple of people. I just want to get it done with.

major:
Here is the thing. If you have very limited skills, then you need to find someone that has enough skills to get a rough template of your idea out there. Then you can propose this idea to people so they can see what your working for. This show you have the drive to finish the job. People are hesitant in joining a team where there is nothing to show for it.

This is where being in a already existing mod is helpful. You'll pick up friends that can help you on the side with your project. That is how this mod started. Enzo and Nickster were in a already existing mod, then they branched off and created this game. By then they had friends to help them. Also helped they were creating a recreation of one the greatest games ever.

But personally your first thing you need is someone that is good with code. Cause typically those people are creative, and can do a lot of things extra. Take Killermonkey as a example. He's a coding god. But he is also a 2d artist. Can create 3D models. And rough out maps.

So how do you find these people? Well this is the hardest part IMHO. Its a sort of who you know, and luck. If you have someone you know IRL, or online that can help you thats your best bet. Could also scout and advertise on Moddb or similar. If your really passionate, try nosing around a university. Young coders and artist will be eager to use there new skills, and build there resume. I might look on moddb for dead mods and such, then contact the devs and see if there in new projects. Some might be looking for some work. So if you can pitch your idea well, you might be able to pick up some devs with minor experience.


2. How does one obtain a server for their mod? (if it's needed)

I would not worry about this till you have a pretty polished mod. Till you get ready to push out a release, a local user created server will be enough for testing. Then once you feel you have a finished product. You can pick up a small server for cheap(typically around $1-2 a slot). But if you are very tight in cash. Look for smaller server hosts and offer for them to supply a handful of server for your mod. While you supply them with advertising for there company(ex. have the server names be -=YOUR MOD NAME= Awesomeservers.com-). We did this for Beta4, and worked pretty damn well.

3. Where is a good site to start up a forum? (any free sites?)

There are plenty of free forum system. http://www.niceboard.net/ is one if you need a free forum. But should really look into a dedicated site for your self. There reasonably priced (maybe $40 year). And this will allow you to Host a site, host a forum, host a dedicated official download for your mod, a official email for your mod(just to make seem most professional), and much more.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page