After three years of playing and making mods, it is time the Mod DB shared some of the wisdom and knowledge we have picked up along the way. Our getting started with mods feature is done and contains input from many game developers including Valve, Ravensoft etc.. It contains the basics right from 'what is a mod' for people who think a modification is something you do to a 1967 Chevy to get it running at top speed. To advanced topics covering how to lead mod team, the people you will require, how to build it, launch it, promote it, sell it, finish it etc etc... It also includes 'how to install and play mods' but chances are if you know how to turn on a PC, well you already have this topic covered.
We have included plenty of tips and tricks, (some obvious, some stupid) but all relevant and ALL important. There is a reason why only 10% of mods make it to release - and that is because mod making is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences you can have, and yet also one of the most underrated and difficult.
There is a hell'of'alot to do, so read on and learn what you are up against when it comes to playing and making mods.
* Mod DB Team
:D
@ Cheapalert: LOL
and it even sparkles for added pleasure!
That is just to draw attention to the article. It will be reverted back to the non-sparkle version in a week or two :)
Enjoy your reading!
big spanner
Woot!
Moddb.com
haha he's masturbating
Fab. Well written on all accounts :D
Nice!
Excellent stuff! A good way to cover ground for the new players and new modders alike.
Congrats on the feature of the site. Glad to see you guys got it done, and with some class work, too.
Hope you guys expand on it in the future, as well.
I'm sorry but the first thing I modded was Red alert (custom maps, anyone?). For me this came well before any FPS modding, as did changing the units' speed, rate of turn, rate of fire, display, etc. After a bit of FPS modding, I stumbled across some text files for the demo of GTA (the original) and realised I could move bonus crates and pretty much anything I wanted by altering this file. You're right, tough, FPS games did enjoy a lot more modding than other genres.
I don't think that Webmaster and Public Relations Officer are synonymous.
There's a bit more to be said about starting a mod, and not all mods need to be TCs, you know. There's no rule that you should need a 10 man team to make a mod. I'd say the best introduction to modding is not working on an industrious 10 man project, but making a map/model/story, etc.
"Mappers really have to know a bit of everything. You have to be solid at art, understand architecture / structures, know a bit about scripting and most importantly know what works from a players perspective. The best levels are really balanced and complicated enough that people don't mind (even want) to play them again-and-again." You've forgotten the importance of economy and optimisation. Your map can be as beautiful as you like but if it lags like a **** nobody will play it.
I might take a look over it when I'm not twatted! :P
Your feedback is spot on cripsy, all of the points you mentioned are notable omissions from this article. It is a living document and will be constantly refined and updated as we receive feedback and mod making evolves.
Having said this, modding is an incredibly broad topic with many paths that can be followed and ideas that can be raised and discussed. It would get too long, and too detailed if we discussed every idea around. Rest assured though that we will as best we can attempt to keep the most relevant points and ideas in this piece of work :)
cant wait to read this section,I have been waiting for it
as a 3d modeler I thin www.3d-palace.com should be on the links section! the site contains a lot of video tutorials for many 3d applications! everyone plz check it out
Nice article and I hope it does what it was made to do.
very nice read, some very good stuff in there, well done
wow, this is realy a great guidline and it fits 100% to the experience i´ve made during my 7 years modding "career".
wow that is shiny way 2 go!
I have lots of C&C for you guys...
b>Corrections:
"Cut to the chase" (in the play. section)
Definition: To attend to the matter at hand.
Origin: This cinematic idiom originated in Hollywood in the 1920s and refers to the process of cutting from a dramatic scene to an action scene. This is not to be confused with "cutting the cheese," although both can be equally distasteful (see Howard the Duck or Police Academy 4 to 7 ).
Use it in a sentence: "Does this dress make me look fat?" asked the husky wife. "Let's cut to the chase;" her soon-to-be-single husband replied, " air makes you look fat."
"Batman" (in the develop. section)
"it's a challenging goal" (in the develop. section)
"take it seriously". It's an adverb that describes how you should be taking it. (in the develop. section)
Comma required after "short for modification" (in What is a mod section)
'Replayability', not "replay ability" (in Purpose section)
'Single-player', not "single player" (in Types section)
'to', not 'too' in "it is up too you, to find the mix you like". This part of the sentence should also read without the comma. (in Types section)
'In general' is not hyphenated, nor is 'in fact' (in Are they free? section)
'little things... go a long way', not "goes" (in Are they free? section)
'make their way into a game, not "there" (in Are they free? section)
"more and more games are opening up.", but to what? (in Mod friendliness section)
'game-to-game basis', not "game-by-game basis". For example, you wouldn't say 'on a day-by-day-basis'. (in Mod friendliness section)
'line up' or 'lineup', but not "line-up" (in Mod friendliness section)
"Civilisation is yet another game, which allows settings to be changed...". I'll blame MS Word for correcting you on this, but there shouldn't be any comma in that sentence because it places all the emphasis on the fact that Civilisation is a game.
Generally game titles should be italicised as well as capitalised, in the same way you'd italicise the name of a book or a film in your writing. This is to avoid misinterpretation that could arise by mistaking titles for mere words. (in Mod friendliness section)
'one-stop site'. The hyphen is there to qualify the two words as an adjective. (in Mod DB section)
'fire up', not "fire-up". (in the introduction to the Getting started with mods page)
"Mod's profile" (in Installation section)
"Fortunately, however, especially now that..." (in Installation section)
'All you have to do is click the 'next' twice and you're done!'. No need for italicisation. (in Installation section)
"If you have made it this far, why are you still reading? Get playing!" (in Installation section)
"This is a question you be asking yourself and should already have an answer to" or "This is a question you be asking yourself and should already have an answer, too". (in Why make mods? section)
"I can tell you right now if your reason is fame and fortune, or to own an island, that sort of thing". 'Sort of thing' has no hyphen. (in Why make mods? section)
"So if you believe you have what it takes, read on - Mod DB and the mod community are here to get you started and support your team throughout the development process." A cycle in this sense is something that causes itself to repeat itself. 'Reproduction' is a cycle, but making a mod is not, since you don't return to the beginning to work from scratch again. However, you could describe the cycle (or series) of Quake games. (in Why make mods? section)
"You should also be equally good at old-skool paper-based art / sketching as well as digital design." More of that adjectival hyphenation again :P (in 2D Art section)
"let's not forget" As in: 'let us not forget'. (in 3D Animation section)
"game-to-game" Hyphens not needed. (in Level Design section)
"from a player's perspective" (in Level Design section)
"again-and-again" Hyphens not needed. (in Level Design section)
"languages-specific syntax" Adjectival hyphenation. (in Programming section)
"Besides an extensive knowledge of a games inner workings, programming, various programming languages and mathematics, here is a list of key traits" Add comma after mathematics to structure the sentence properly. (in Programming section)
"King Kong" It's a name. (in Sound Design section)
"distortion / noise can really wreak wreck the immersive experience a game provides" (in Sound Design section)
"it is through there their website that" (in Webmaster (PR - Public Relations) section)
"it is constantly fresh and themed appropriately themed" (in Webmaster (PR - Public Relations) section)
"re-use" (x2) This is hyphenated so it isn't read as 'rayoose' or something similar. (in Choose your game / engine section)
"It really needs to be said, that this could not be further from the truth." Comma not needed. (in Create a mod or join a team section)
"if you have been apart of a few mod teams". = 'a part of' (in Create a mod or join a team
Suggestions:
Describe what a 'total conversion' is, and perhaps what constitutes a mod. Does it include mappacks? Does it include mere model replacements?
Nothing much else. It's good stuff for the beginner, maybe add a bit more about what a mod is (or is considered to be). Perhaps a short paragraph about the history of mods (it'd be interesting to know what the very first mod was).
Because it is too delicious to resist: You need another
excellent read! great work guys!
I was about to comment on all the spelling errors, but looks like someone already got to it. You need a spell-check, or maybe a grammar editor or something. Article was alright.
I did quite a bit of proof-reading. Dunno how many changes made it into the final piece, but INtense! isn't renowned for his grammar ;)
yeah, i do miss the elusive mod award. :(
I can make up whatever award I want :)
Hmm, I did run a spellcheck - better run it again!
A spellchecker won't find many of those errors. Sometimes it's because it's not up to date with language currently in use, especially specialist fringe vocabulary such as that used in games and gaming. One such example is "replayability", it's perfectly alright to have 'playability' and even specialist military terms like 'deployability'. The simple fact is that games are an evolving medium and we are on its cutting edge. Most of all, at times when writing in Word you have to learn to use the 'ignore' button. A spellchecker is no substitution for its human counterpart.
OMG, it looks great! Good work!