Modding Engine Thread

Hi, im new here and i was just wondering if anyone knows of a very powerful (possibilities wise) engine that fits for rpg games with good story and gameplay. One where i can make Total Conversions in the true sense of the term.
So if anyone knows, please tell me, i wanna start making a mod and maybe one day even be a game developer myself (With the idea of then developing a very powerful game engine which allows you to easily modify things in the game).

hehe... sounds like the plan i have at the moment: creating an engine for heavy modifiability.

if you are looking for an already made engine for rpg like games i think something like MW or similar games would be something to look into.

Google is your best friend.

Ok, yeah, morrowind is a great game for modding but one of the only things i hate about morrowind is its dice rolling system (Well, only the combat part is affected by it, thats why you dont always hit...).

Oh, i have a question regarding a game engine: Do you people know of Torque? The GarageGames game engine? Do you recommend it for flexibility (I.E: Creating whatever is in your mind, even rpg games)? And if you know of the game engine, is there any forum for it?

Apparently it's fairly visually appealing, easy enough to mod and very flexible. For this type of mod, I can't really comment, but if you look up their website at Garagegames.com I'm sure you'll find the information you seek.

Also there appears to be a few RPG mods already produced or in production so some people out there obviously think its well suited.

Garagegames.com

Edited by: Nemor

XVampireX wrote: Hi, im new here and i was just wondering if anyone knows of a very powerful (possibilities wise) engine that fits for rpg games with good story and gameplay. One where i can make Total Conversions in the true sense of the term.
So if anyone knows, please tell me, i wanna start making a mod and maybe one day even be a game developer myself (With the idea of then developing a very powerful game engine which allows you to easily modify things in the game).

So do you actually know any C++? If so how much, because that is the ultimate thing that decides which engine to mod.

Yeh ultimately if you do not know how to code well, I wouldn't recommend purchasing an engine. If you recruit coders they'll come and go, it's very difficult to find coders in the first place and even harder to keep them on your team.

If you can't code, you've wasted your money. If you can code, you'll be on a very steep learning curve and you're gonna have to be commited to keep up.

I dont know any C++ or any programming, but i intend to learn

My suggestion to you, sir. Learn it, get some experience and then consider purchasing a license for an engine. Otherwise you're going to waste alot of money and time.

My advice is to first off mod an engine like Quake to learn programming, since there is plenty of support pretty much everywhere there are gamers. It doesn't have to be pretty or unique, since it's just a learning project. Once you've done that, move onto C++ and go from there. Good luck

Life sucks... hehe. Yeah, i know its harder than it looks like. But i sincerely wanna be either a game developer or a martial artist (teacher), both are my hobbies.

Be easier to be a Martial Arts teacher But good luck with both.

Well, my thoughts were to make a 3d/isometric rpg which is in the same genre as Dungeon Siege/Diablo/Sacred that has alot more to offer, well, too much to offer, is it even gonna be possible with torque? From what i hear most people make their own engines... so should i learn C++ (take courses)

You should take courses if you can afford it and have the time.

As for the engine, like I said alot of these types of games are using Torque so it must be pretty good.

I've gotta just give my two cents, and say I think you are making a big mistake here. You shouldn't buy an engine and make a game as your first project when you haven't got any knwoledge of programming at all. I still think you should try a modding project first. That way, you can learn a lot of C++ and it won't cost you a dime, (well, not including hard work and determination )

Edited by: mr.spammer

Sort of to pull this topic all together, if this is your first project, and lacking someone who knows how to program that can assist you, as well as possessing the thought of mind that you could learn it, I would suggest beginning with Quake and getting a handle on c++ and such to work towards skills in programming, as those are the essential basis of all games. Especially in this case if your idea is to create an engine which is highly moddable and usable, then realistically you only need yourself and perhaps a modeller, or some basic modeling skills yourself, to create something of that sort, albeit it is fairly further off.

Torque and T-Shader Engine, the ones which are purchasable from Garage Games, are moving much more towards professional materials, albeit only costing $100-350 (if you purchase TSE later that is a total I believe for now), still requires that emphasis on resources. These would be a true hobbyists utilities or indie developers, and because for the beginner there are is on hand freeware engines to be used, start there.

I'll add to what Vangor and mr. spammer said. I would suggest you join an existing mod team and learn a lot of the fundamentals of what goes into it before undertaking your own mod project. There are way too many inexperienced people who start mod teams, find a modeler who can make weapons and that's as far as they get. You've got to learn to walk before you can run.

Edited by: Balr14

The Quake engine isn't C++, it's C. If you have your heart set on Torque and don't mind spending $100, then go for it. Learning the basics of programming can be done in a matter of days with free tuts on the internet. After that, it's just a matter of familiarizing yourself with the code for your game of choice. Learning Quake's functions won't carry over to any other engine (except Q2), so it's better to start learning with the engine you plan on using.

I'd recommend checking out DevMaster and researching which engines have the features you're looking for. You should certainly learn to code before you do anything to make sure that programming is something you want to commit yourself to.

I suggest mucking around with any engine that uses a scripting language for its gameplay code. And that would be Quake 1, any of the Unreal Games, Neverwinter Nights, Painkiller, FarCry, and there is some others, just can't think of them off the top of my head.

XVampireX wrote:

Oh, i have a question regarding a game engine: Do you people know of Torque? The GarageGames game engine? Do you recommend it for flexibility (I.E: Creating whatever is in your mind, even rpg games)? And if you know of the game engine, is there any forum for it?

Moddb.com

go for morrowind. There are mods out there that fix the dice rolling thing to melee combat. You could specify that the mod requires those mods. The morrowind community seems to be very open to people trading code and including each others mods in various packages.

Oh, really? Ill look at Morrowind.
But for now i have yet another question:
If anyone here lives in israel, do you know any good course/class for programming somewhere near the center?

You're in israel? Then you might want to study in the U.S. at one of the colleges here or Even in The U.K or some educational establishment that offers those as classes. Under Computer Studies, and Science, Programming and C# and Visual C++ and C++ stand alone. I'm a old fart and even I have hard time understanding some of the inner workings on the code side of it. Stick with Tourqe nothing wrong with it. Their site and Dev Section is way helpful.

Edited by (in order): Leonardo-DiVinci, Leonardo-DiVinci

check out reality factory

What's the website of the reality factory? is it that: Artificialstudios.com ?

I need to know of some good engine which i can make rpgs like Diablo, Dungeon Siege, Sacred, etc... Im into these rpgs, And heck, even things like morrowind (I.E: Open Ended game).
Whenever Im done with learning and ready to make games (Refer to paragraph below) ill just hire a really good book writer to make me a really good story and just give him around 30% of the money if it'll come around as being really really good (Personally, i like games that blend together all the elements together perfectly)

Though, i've started learning C++ and i find it very very fun! And yes i would commit alot of time to it. I think a good way to practice is to create around 100 of really simple programs (I.E: Calculator, Quiz's, etc...) when done with the 100 simple programs move on to slightly harder 100 programs and so on and on until completely familiar with everything and know how to mix all the different commands together to create something efficient Well, im one of those people who learn fast.