I want to explain and show off why I believe there hasn't been mods for Unreal and what I think is the reason why there isn't that many mods. Other then the theme of Unreal... the alien world with futurist weapons mixed with a few fantasy elements which people seem to have settled. I think the coding is so hard pressed that it's put people off coding.
Progress wise... I've re-evaluated what I want from the mod and the entire project I've set myself, so I'm getting to that and it's slowly being made however I do want to explain what it changes to make this mode.
Coding wise for the mod is actually every easy. you can take a file, copy it and just change a few line of code, add a model from Studio 3D Max or Milkshape and you have something that looks different but in this case... it was every challenging because the amount of files that I had to find and change taken some time just to make what I want happen.
If anyone wanted to take what I've done to make what I've put into this mod more accessible and to get away from Unreal Gold... this is what it takes coding wise. My plan was to make a total conversion however my best guess is that there's not much going on or I'm not doing enough to make this more of a mod... this is why I've started posting articles about coding and posting them up, because there's load of things that code that for when modding for Unreal/Unreal Gold. If I would write up a manual... it would be long then this.
Here's what I've changed. I've allow the mod to have it's own executable then Unreal. Unreal used to have a mod section in it's client but it's been removed in Unreal Anthology which features Unreal Gold. Having said that... it's makes me seriously think what I should give out there as a mod and for modders to download. Unreal Tournament caters for Modders better maybe because they had much more success making add-ons for that game after it's release.
Here's what I've changed to make more of a total conversion. I've given my mod the ability to run a new game with it's own tab, here's the screenshots:
Original Unreal Gold version of the New Game Menu
My Modded Version of the New Game Menu
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Here's the download if anyone wants to see it and compare them to the original Unreal:
Client Edit Demonstration
Not the best screenshot... folks maybe wondering where there's a picture of a gun in the desert with a title on the original download. I posted an article up over a year ago to better explain this, which can be viewed here.
Here's all the files I've pasted to make that happen:
I had to find the files in the original Unreal Gold code, copy them in another folder and change the code. Thankfully this taken me around 3 days but it's still very challenging. That's almost every file to make that box change and to run another file for my mod.
For those that what to know, coding is based on inheritance on files and keywords. When a name of a file across the entire game code appears in a file and they can match each other anywhere to make the game appear what it appears to be.
I've had friends who've coded for me but they have trouble explaining it. For example.. if there's a file titled 'Explosion' and it was written up to include all the graphics and how it appears on screen and the world 'Explosion' appeared in another file in a line of code. When that file is running and reads line of code to contain the word 'Explosion'... an explosion would appear. It's the same principle for all the program languages out there. For video games it deals with graphics and how they behave.
Coding wise, it's putting everything together like a bunch of bricks that makes this easy but it simply takes long to do. The compiler is nice enough to explain where I went wrong and this is how coding it made easy but that means getting errors is looking back at the code and trying to re-read and understand what is going on to make the game work.
Why anyone doesn't want to explain or why people give up? Unlike the coding tutorials back in the late 90s... this process is more challenging because you just don't take one file and change it... the coder has to write up 5 or 6 files to code and make sure that it flows and there are no errors when running the program. This is what makes the really big programs everyone wants. It's having the time and effort to do this all and making sure it pays off. It's scary. However with a good plan and time to make it all happen, makes it worth while. This is why I chosen to code for Unreal Gold because it was easy for me to code and to make the mods work. There's still room to make more mods... so I'll stick around.
Modding wise, as much as the coders have it easy, it's still challenging because I have to backtrack to one file... take that file and copy and paste everything to make what I wanted work. So I had to copy those files and change them and run the program.
Here's some of the classes in the UnrealEd and where they appear. This can be accessed in the UnrealEd program when making maps but they cannot type up code.The classes menu appear on the right here... which I've highlighted:
The GameInfo and files after it, is the set of classes I've screen-printed and posted below which makes the maps in my mod work on it's own and this isn't the graphics like textures and character models. Before... the original Unreal weapon will always show up as default, so I had to copy and make these files to make my weapons show up in another file that I had to copy.
This class 'SSModGameChooser' is parked alone in the UnrealMenu in the original Unreal Gold class of code. This is used to make the text appear and work to access my mod and gets rid of the 'Unreal' and 'Return to Nali Pa' game headings, which I've posted both on the top.
There comes a time when the engine reaches it's limit. I tried coping and pasting every code but it turns out that some of the games code is linked to the source code and I get this error.
It's asking if I would want to access the Unreal 1 source code to change or make what I want but the Unreal Editor doesn't allowing it maybe because it cannot access the files or the files aren't there and I don't have the original files so I can't change anything else. I can't change the HUD... the block green writing to change the game
Yep this is the limit modding for Unreal Gold. Even if I do change it to make my own HUD... I may aswell make my own game with a new engine with everything from physics and being error-free but I have to remember that my coding experience for a game started all on here on Unreal Gold.
I do want to get this all across because I wish there was alot more coders for the first generations of UnrealScript to make mods and flood moddb.com with mods to get everyone playing Unreal and actually make a mod that stands out or useful. Maybe not this one... hence why I will be sticking around. I admit it's not easy but the best way to get it done is to think of it's like a giant jigsaw puzzle and it should work then tested. This is why the gaming industry is full of artists and musicians because they help make the games look and feel the way they do however coding is just as strong as the other roles in the industry.
Maybe not that many people would of want to play this mod or I missed the that huge train back in 1999 with loads of people on it like the folks who've played Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror for Unreal Tournament but I have walked away with loads of experience and a good insight on what people really want and how to achieve it It's something I want to achieve because at the end of the day I know if that I can apply my coding skills on another project such as this and maybe get some help (which I'm planning to do) then maybe I'll give the Unreal modding community something amazing that's worth a download.
