Tips for a First-Time mod leader (That'd be me) Thread

I've only been in the modding community for a few years, and in that time I've seen what must be hundreds of projects crash and burn, including many I've participated in. More often than not it seems that the ultimate dissolving of a mod is because of an inept or just plain stupid leader. Since my current mod, "Mercury Sky" (see sig) is the first mod I've ever attempted to lead, I'd like to know if any leader vets have any tips or hints to divulge about administrating and organizing a mod team to me, or any other wanna-be leaders for that matter.

In past projects I've participated in, I've almost always been something of a 'right-brained guy', leaning radically towards art as opposed to the technical stuff, and even then most of my expertise is in 2D graphics, web design, advertising, and PR. I'm a people person, and like to think that I'm naturally inclined to lead a mod team (if that's not the case, please shatter my disillusionment now before I send my little brainchild to that great hard drive in the sky). So, naturally, I'd be looking for someone to point me in the direction of some resources I could use to learn exactly how a mod gets put together (from what coding languages are used, scripting, creating an .exe and wtf is a RAR???)

So... have at it!

1. Be active and keep good comunication with your team.
2. Dont be an egoist. remember do not think of your self as the most important person.
3. Listen to your team
4. Dont piss of your team with out them you have nothing
5. Keep a clear goal on what you are trying to do.

There are alot more these are just some of the basics.

1. Keep the teams work flowing. Never let one say that they are doing the work, which most like they aren't doing. Always get proof of alpha/beta work from them.
2. Keep true to the design document. Usually its a bible what all modders/game developers must follow. By creating a design document, this will relieve alot of stress and most the time keeps the team from getting bored and keeps them focus.

Anyways, best of luck EvilFish. I see a good future in your mod.

Be innovative. Try new ideas. Remember, you're not a developer, so you don't have commercial restraints, budgets or pressures, so you can afford to experiment. Also, don't just use an engine because everyone else is.

A co-leader can help to relieve alot of management stress. If you ever get busy or have to go away for any reason, a co-leader can step in and keep people on track. But it is important that this person (in no order of importance)

a) Is as passionate about making the mod as you are.
b) Does not attempt to lord over you especially in regards to development, but also vice versa.
c) Gets along with you fairly well and you and him (or her? Damn political correctness) are not likely to fall into hissy fitting bitch fights against each other.
d) Is mature in all regards.

Having a co-leader can also be a bit of a bane because you generally don't want to make some decisions without first consulting them, overall slowing down some areas. The above criteria should also be considered when selecting profession leaders (Lead Coder, Lead 2D-Artist etc). If these guys are chosen wisely they will relieve you of having to follow every section of mod development, which is especially hazardous when you have no idea on the technical details of those professions.

You said you feel you are only strong in the areas of "2D graphics, web design, advertising, and PR". Well maybe it's time to learn some technical details. As I'm a coder, I have had to learn rudimentary knowledge of HL models, maps, sprites and sound formats. I can also produce basic (mainly for testing purposes) models, maps and sprites. Whether or not this has lead to me being a better leader, I am unsure, but it does help me understand when people are having a problem with something.

- Edited By NuclearFriend On Sat 7th, Aug 2004 @ 9:07:51am

i would say it helps a lot. i'm new into this too and currently trying to build up something but i noticed already yet that knowing about the profession of the different sections is helpfull... you know what you can expect from others and you can judge a bit it somthing is going wrong.

- Edited By Dragonlord On Sat 7th, Aug 2004 @ 3:11:00pm

Maybe I worded my original post incorrectly. What I meant was, those areas are the ones that most of my applied skill is in, but I DO have a substantial comprehension of modelling and mapping, and know the limitations that 3D artists are bound by. The only area I really don't understand is how all of the seperate components fall together into a finished product... in the past, I've just handed in work and the leaders did their devilish little work. If anyone with technical experience could explain to me (or point me to a resource that shows it) how the mod actually gets put together, I would be most grateful.

Aaaaahuh. This of course differs from game-to-game. What game is Mercury Sky intended for?

And really, if you use the internet you should be familiar with the rar file format. It is simply a compressed file, much like a .zip. There should be plenty of programs to use to uncompress them but I personally use WinRAR.

It's being developed for Half Life 2.
And what does Aaaaaaaahuh mean?

- Edited By Evilfish On Sat 7th, Aug 2004 @ 2:27:35pm

I'd always advise keeping an FTP which people can upload to, but NOT delete or replace files ! Security and file transfer ability is key.

Keep your staff busy, but don't pile work up on 'em. To be realistic, I've found it's better NOT to apply time limits to work, or deadlines for stages. It never works.

It's mostly in how you treat your staff (you should be autocratic but open to advice, democracy fails) and how your staff treat eachother - so never employ spamtards/flametards regardless of their skills, lol.

well... i guess the Open Source Principle seems to be the right one to apply to those projects then... kind of self dynamical workflow... but with a supervisor keeping an eye open.

otherwise. putting all together is mostly a programmers work because he has to make use of all the artistical material handed in by the members.

In past mods I've worked on the technical department had coders staffed specifically for the compillation purposes and creation of the installer. Is that generally a good idea? (Again, I wouldn't know since most of these projects never finished.)

i'm new myself, like i said but i would personally put in charge one person that does fit together the pieces to one unit. this has to be a coder and somebody which knows about the different parts he fits together. the section leaders would then give their work over to this person to get it included. this person would then also be the first product-tester, because he knows how it is fit together and can find problems the first.

would like to hear what a pro thinks of this aproach.