Lone Modders group

This is kind of an interesting post in more ways then one, first of all may I say I found what you have to say very absorbing, but at the same time I was at a loss to figure out why you posted it here on the Lone Modders Group forum, as by definition members of this group do all of the work on their mods for themselves, & if they took you up on your kind offer they would no longer be a lone modder, thus no longer be eligible to be a group member, if you see my point.

I think You'd get better feedback if you posted on one of the many other groups on this site, but all the best with your work mate.

That was my reaction at first too, but like Maddieman mentioned, some mod alone by default and will welcome the help that they can get. I guess this group is unique in that members can join for either one of two mutually exclusive reasons; either to assert their independence or to publicize their need for collaborators.

...so I guess some ppl will wind up joining LM because they want nothing to do with it, lol! I think W.C. Fields would find that funny somehow.

Hi guys.

Time to reveal a secret: to be honest, I only mod solo by necessity - as in: "if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself". If someone else is available and better suited for the job (e.g. models), I'll use them -- whatever makes the best mod possible.

Personally, the optimum 'mod' team size for me is 2. Two people can bounce ideas off each other, share a common vision, motivate each other, and keep the mod scope realistic. It worked for Katana, which was easily the most enjoyable (and successful) project I've worked on. Solo is okay, but you can get sidetracked, bored, anti-social, succum to perfectionism, procrastination, or become closed minded ("my way or the highway").

Teams bigger than 2 require excellent project management and communication skills, and thats where I think a lot of teams collapse (or drift) after the excitement dies down. In a team of 1 or 2, communication doesn't become a 'problem' to be 'managed' like it does in a larger team.

But no question: With more people, you can get more done in less time. You can do the same with one person, but it'll just take MUCH longer.

Maddieman has got some great points. I find some solo issues quite prevelant when I'm working, mostly being a perfectionist (but will admit to most ailments listed). I work sporadically on sections and chang mod ideas at will. In the end I get more work done, just less completely finished. Things like that are why Lone Modding is right for me. Feedback is my big issue, fun for me versus fun for others is my concern (I'm having fun modding :-).

BTW, talent & experience are spread thin in every respect, everywhere.

Finally, Lone Modders Logo, Awesome!

Thnx! As with most of my stuff, it was rendered with Illustrate! and touched up in Flash MX.

Well, the group's description was really meant tongue-in-cheek, I wasn't attempting to speak on behalf of all lone modders. ;) The purpose of the group is to further accredit those individuals who, for whatever reason, are currently attempting to create a mod by themselves. I had also hoped that we'd be able to recruit enough ppl to convince moddb.com of the necessity of a "Lone Modders" MOTY award category.

Management can be huge overhead when you're the only one committed to getting the project done. In that respect, I find it faster to work alone. I'm sure it varies by the community scene, but mine (Empire at War) is one that's lacking in both talent and experience (i.e., the people who have it are already spread thin). I've also found that most novice modders with EaW would rather start an unoriginal, bound-to-fail new mod that they can be in charge of than work towards joining an established mod team and learning the "right" way.