Starting Modder; Where the hell do i start?

[Flashlight]

Hi. I'm positive this has been asked before, but i'll ask anyway.

I've got a few ideas for a hl2 mod, but i have no idea where to start, what programs to use, or how to use them. I'm doing a course this year in multimedia so ill learn how to use programs like photoshop and studio max at an industry standard. I was wondering what exactly i need to be able to:

a) create maps
b) create skins
c) edit source code

And whatever else goes along with modding.

Thanks.

I was told this question is a little vauge, im not sure how much more specific i can be, i dont know enough to ask specifics. Right now i only have a few imaging programs. I basicly want to be a solo modder, not have to rely on a team, but to do that i need to know a little about every aspect of modding. I think this topic could help alot of other people like me who are astounded by the mods being produced, but want to know how to do it themselves. I'm constantly writing short stories that i want to adapt to mods, creating the atmosphere that words cannot do alone.

 

[Crispy]

Check out the Valve Developer Wiki. Read any stickies in the relevant forums and, most importantly, pick one of those areas. Getting good in any modding discipline is difficult, it would be highly inadvisable to try to learn all three of the ones you mentioned because they're all very different.

Making a mod isn't a piece of cake, and mod's using current generation engine technology (such as Half-Life 2's 'Source' engine) will easily take the average team over a year to complete if they include new maps, new models and new code. I'd suggest maybe downloading Garry's Mod and other mods to give you an idea of what the Source engine can and cannot do well before you even concept a mod for the Source engine.

 

[crackhead]

i think you should start the list in the order you have it. start with mapping. follow as many tutorials as you can so you learn how to do lots of stuff. then think of an idea for a map. plan it out and work on it and try and use everything youve learnt in the map but also make it looks nice visualy. thats what i usualy do when i learn a new editor.

 

[Crispy]

Psst! (but we need more coders!)

 

[63]

Yeah, become a coder if you have the patience/skill/drive.

 

[crackhead]

its all very well saying that but have you ever tryed learning c++? considering the fact that you dont yet know how to make maps and must be very unfamiliar with the source engine i suggest you start with level design.

 

[Crispy]

Mapping (which incorporates level creation + design) is the a good place to start. For a start it has the most amount of documentation to guide you through, and also great communities that are in the habit of helping newbies out with Valve Hammer Editor. It will quickly introduce you to the physics engine, as you can test out your work and play with ready-made enemies and 'props' at the same time.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Coding pulls the chicks. Or blokes, if you prefer.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[NoNe]

Yes, I can already imagine how many chicks this coder has
http://www.chelm.gda.pl/lan/ludziki/coder.jpg

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Can't say I've ever had any problems.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[armanguy]

ewwww whos that looks like a rapist?

 

[crackhead]

Yes, I can already imagine how many chicks this coder has
http://www.chelm.gda.pl/lan/ludziki/coder.jpg

ill have you know he is a babe magnet.

 

[Crispy]

ill have you know he is a babe magnet.

Yes, he increases his external body temperature by sitting in a stuffy room with no ventilation, secreting a thick, sticky ooze from his pores. This is usually a small room which is heavily populated by 'females', such as the ladies' toilets/bathroom (if necessary, air vents and conditioning units are disabled - the noxious fumes produced from his various orifaces have a numbng effect on female cortex functions). His prey almost always enter in groups of two or more, thus increasing his chances of success. When the time is right, usually when their thoughts are occupied with the tricky and time-consuming operation of applying paints and inks to their faces, he whips of his clammy T-shirt and pounces on his prey, trying to entrap as many as possible on his adhesive bodily secretion. He exclaims in victory: "You can scream as much as you want sweethearts, but you'll never get away from the babe magnet!"

 

[crackhead]

for more information see www.channel4.com/babemagnet or call 09016 345 369 thats o9016 345 369.