Spring RTS Engine

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Please don't just post a link to the Mod development wiki
I think the wiki is more of an reference
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My dream is to have lessons that noobs (including me) can have on the forums, This will result in more mods being made because people will actually know how to mod

>At first it would be good just to have a walkthrough of how to make a mod with 10-12 units

>At first we could use units that are already made from other mods, then later on we could learn how to make our own unit once we can make a mod

>I guess we could start in steps, maybe upload a few templates to get us started, then go through all the different types of file that are required
ex. FBI,BOS,3DO,S3O,GAF,TDF file?

>Maybe 2-3 steps a week

I know I would not be the only one who could benefit from this

Like a LONG ass tutorial...?

Doesn't sound very good, I mean, I slid into developing/modding (whichever is the current term) quite easily. Naturally, I sucked like I don't know what, but I got better... It shouldn't be too hard...

edit: what we need is a basic mod, one with a commander, and all the basic folders, and lots of commented info with nothing else, or with LOTS more commented info but more units... I may even submit to the one they are making currently...

we need a mod development tutorial so people can make TA based rubbish... groans.



Honestly, all of that is here, there are tons of conversations etc. However, posting a long tutorial that would cover all of the idiotic questions and noob mistakes like:"what is 7zip" would be a colosall wall of text of which the noobs would not read. I wrote a generalized guide and many people still just pm me versus reading it. Then I have to point them to it and frankly I am still not sure if people read it.

smoth wrote:Then I have to point them to it and frankly I am still not sure if people read it.

Read what? Lets have a look. I bet its too long text, so noobs dont read it...

that is the point trademark, after getting past all of the idiot questions, then explaining the file formats, how to created a hpi, then how to create a s3o texture etc. it goes on and on. You guys can think I am being mean here but there is a lot to explain and with users who think they can make maps in mspaint we would have to go into a sick level of idiot hand holding. Most of the people who have the intelligence to make a mod or whatever are also capable of using the search feature and when they cannot find it on the forum will ask very specific questions.

Not being rude here but if someone needs hand holding through the whole process it is a bit too far for them. There are 10 years of tutorials and tools for TA based crapola, all of which exist and are applicable in spring. Christ the TAU unit design forums are packed with old info. Then there is the 2+ years of forum stuff here that odds are can explain it to them if they would use the forum search and read a bit.

None of the said data is in an overly technical description or deep in any way. Most of the time it is as simple as: lol, use this tag.

smoth wrote:we need a mod development tutorial so people can make TA based rubbish...

I think it would be easier to start off with an TA mod, once we can make a mod the, most people will try to branch and make real mod

I mod t make a mod with space marines like starship troopers in some way, but want to at least have the basics down

smoth wrote:Not being rude here but if someone needs hand holding through the whole process it is a bit too far for them.

Thats not true
With peoples help, I learned: How to map, a little about modeling in wings, and how to write lua missions-I even wrote a small guide

Yea theres going to be the ones out there that are just not "smart" enough, but theres a few of here that would love to make our own mods, but that sea of tesxt just makes it like its too much trouble then its worth

Snipawolf wrote:edit: what we need is a basic mod, one with a commander, and all the basic folders, and lots of commented info with nothing else, or with LOTS more commented info but more units... I may even submit to the one they are making currently...

That might work if we had any questions, we could get them answered quickly

I'll put this in the only way I can. If you need someone to hold your hand while you make your OTA based mod, then you shouldn't be modding.

Seas of Text? It's organized and easy to find what you need. As far as mods are concerned, there are tons of abandoned mods that the developers will gladly let you work on. BloX was a great example of that.

If I can learn how to make a mod with no OTA content, you can learn how to make a mod. I don't know LUA, nor how to map, consider yourself lucky in that respect.

I personally really like the idea of nice simple tutorials for the basics and exhaustive cross-linked reference documentation for everything else. For example I have yet to come across a tutorial that explains how to script without including the standard not public domain headers so the "tutorial mod" I was working on died after I got my model in game.

It's also entirely possible that I'm lazy or got sidetracked trying to program SDL PacMan.

Or you know... if anyone was REALY driven enough to make a mod they would ask for help. From other more experianced moders. And if they actully can prove there not just bluffin "OMG I GOONA MAKE A MOD11!1!" they will get help. So i can't see why we need to spend good time on writing somthing that will only truly help the "OMG I MKE MOD!!1!!!!1" who will get put off in teh end anyway and will never finish.

Just my opinion anyway...

aGorm

aGorm wrote:blah blah blah..."OMG I MKE MOD!!1!!!!1"...blah blah blah

I get tired of asking people for help all the time... I would probably put myself in the "OMG I MKE MOD" category myself because I am not willing to put the effort necessary into making an entire mod myself but would like to make a cool unit and show it off.

edit: oh, gamer17, if your offering to write up a tutorial I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so... in fact when my attention cycles round to spring again I was planning on doing so myself if I could find the help.

Must I say, there is a channel in the lobby, #moddev where all the smart modders go to help me. Being that nobody really uses it >_<

Ok, if am going to start a mod whats the first step
(I'm using units from other mods at first)

A reference would be nice. You know, a big collection of all the tags for the fbis and tdfs, how to put s3o's together in upspring and how to integrate lua and so on, and all this would be easily editable so that we could update it when necessary. That would seriously kick ass!

Oh, wait...

The planning phase.

two sides: XDF and AEF

One commander
One infantry unit
One Bot
One Tank
One air transport
For each side

The infantry will be able to build just about everything
Bots will be T3 units
Tanks will be weaker then bots
Transports will be very cheap, and only carry 15-20 men

Three factories to build units
One type of wall
One ground defense
One air defense
One metal extractor, and one energy source

We do need some kind of tutorial.

Many of the experienced modders are complaining "oh noes the OTA mods will be made by noobs who suck at modding because it will be easy to make mods now."

But, not really. Many OTA mods are made by noobs because OTA is the most popular set of content available, and the most readily available.

If we were to set up a simple, complete modding tutorial, it would help greatly to increase the diversity of mods out there, as it would ease noobs in with a set of tutorial content.

The only real way to learn to mod for Spring right now is to dissect an existing mod. And, TA mods are the most generic and numerous, so noobs pick them, making more generic mods in the process.

What we need is a simple mod with about four units, and supporting material. We need a commander for a starting unit, a factory that he builds, and a builder and a simple attack unit built from the factory. This would be the basics.

Then, we could have a few sets of tutorials. One would involve putting another unit into the mod. The model for this unit could be bundled with the mod, so that the tutorial deals mostly with the links between files, and what needs to be where.

Then, you could have a tutorial where you edit one of the existing units, to show the tags, the values, and what they do.

Sets of complete, small tutorials like this with material to back them up would do a lot to help newbs who have trouble deciphering the existing tangle of tutorials. The tutorials we have now are too broken up, incomplete, or block-of-texty to actually help much, unless you have a knack for this kind of thing already. There is some good quality stuff out there, but it needs to be condensed into one set of concise instructions as to how to start modding.

The hardest parts of quality modding are creating decent content.

Models, textures, and effects.

Also, if it was all condensed, one would look at it and give up. If I were to write it all down on paper (IRL), it would probably be about 5-6 pages, and I have a fairly small handwriting.

Many OTA mods are made by noobs because OTA is the most popular set of content available, and the most readily available.

QFT.

To bring some more food to the table, why mod an OTA derivative, those things are giant confusing clusterfucks. I mean, seriously, I looked at a few folders and was like "lol, wut does I do now"

It doesn't teach shit. Go through Gundam and Nanoblobs for newb to intermediate tips.