Print

Add to Reputation:  

What do you think of this post?

I agree I disagree  
Comment:

[novax druid]

Just extending my hello to everyone. This mod has caught my eye and is obviously the reason I joined this forum. I wish the best of luck to everyone working on it. I am glad to join this forum. Huzzah

[Mark [lodle]]

Well hello there. Hope you enjoy your time here as well.

[novax druid]

I don't know if this is the right spot to ask, but where would be a good place to ask questions about mods (both yours and creating ones)?

[Mark [lodle]]

What you want to know?

[novax druid]

Tools necesary for modding. That and what kind of people you would need in a modding team. I do however thank you for answering my response.

[Mark [lodle]]

The main tools that i use for source modding are:

Visual studio 2003 (can get 2005 for free as well) for all coding related stuff
3dsmax for modeling stuff
hammer (valve tool) for making maps
photoshop for image editing (with vtf plugin)
vtfedit for quick viewing image files
gfcscape for looking at valves files


Um and thats basically it.

[novax druid]

Thank you for your advice. Are most of these programs free or is there a price I will have to pay? Also, is Zbrush 3D any good for modeling stuff (I have heard it is a good program as well, but I'm unsure of the credibility)? I apologize if these questions annoy you. I am a noob.

[Mark [lodle]]

Visual studio 2003
3dsmax
photoshop

Are all commercial programs but i get most of them from uni (special licensing agreement). But there are many free programs (except for visual studio you can get the 2005 express edition) that will do the same thing. Best place to look is on the valve wiki as it should state what programs have exporters for source. Also ask on the steam forums because im one out of many mod devs and every one uses something diffrent.


All the others are free (google them)

[novax druid]

I thank you very much for all the information. It is much appreciated. My last question for tonight. I am thinking of producing/creating a mod of my own. Would you be interested in helping me out any with it (of course, when you are not busy with your own mod and other things)?

[Mark [lodle]]

Well i cant i got to much on my plate as is.

Atm there is a big lack of good coders and animators willing to work on mods. So good luck finding people.

[fonfa]

it's better to join an existing mod than creating your own. at least the way things are now

[Loafie, Hero of Dreams]

you can get the PLE version of maya for free to make models. any renders will have a watermark but it can export obj and smd files just fine

[fonfa]

or you can get xsi mod tool for free

[novax druid]

I understand Mark. fonfa and Loafie, thank you for the advice. However, I would still rather create my own mod than join (at least at the moment).

[Sean [Baron]]

The programs that Mark listed are the 'big boy' programs for game developers. There are free programs that do the job decently as well. GIMP is a good replacement for the costly Photoshop, and XSI Mod tool is a free program that XSI released specifically to work with Valve's Source Engine.

Of course if you have the money to dish out for those other programs, I would urge you to do so because they will get the job done a lot easier, and also because they are the programs that game developers use and it would be best to get familar with them if you plan to study game development.