Hard Light Productions Forums
Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: übermetroid on August 04, 2003, 07:48:21 pm
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Quick question, if I wanted to get started in modding, where should I go to learn all about it? I have some cool ideas and I want to see if I have any skills to be able to make them.
Thanks! ;)
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*looks for karajorma (Sp?) so he can p1mp his FAQ*
Edit: I found his siggy link: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/freespace/intro.html
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Saved me the trouble of doing it :D
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check also this one http://underworld.fortunecity.com/pacman/106/fs2mods/shipcreationguide/index.html
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I actually linked to that one in the FAQ as I've found it to be one of the best.
Apart from the Turreting tutorial most of the modding section is links to all the tutorials I could find and an explaination of which areas they cover.
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Originally posted by Raa Tor'h
*looks for karajorma (Sp?) so he can p1mp his FAQ*
Edit: I found his siggy link: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/freespace/intro.html
:eek: OOOhhh.... THXS!!! :D
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No Problem. Glad you found it useful :)
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Originally posted by karajorma
No Problem. Glad you found it useful :)
Dont count your chickens before they hatch, I have to be able to make something...
Of course that all depends on my skill... So, how about a borg cube?.. :lol:
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We have enough of those, thank you. :rolleyes:
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Originally posted by Raa Tor'h
We have enough of those, thank you. :rolleyes:
That was a joke, to let everyone know how good my possible modding skills are... A cube should be really easy to make... :nod:
Actually I have been thinking up a design for quite some time now and I am going to try to make it.. As soon as summer school ends!
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I realized it was a joke. Hence the sarcastic eyes rolling. :p
What program are you planning to use to model?
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Also note that completely understanding a tutorial could take days on end. MODding often takes a lot of patience.
I would suggest:
1. First go and change some tables and their ship specifications.
2. Then start with re-skinning ships without messing with the models themselves (IE: UV Coordinates). Just go into PSP or Photoshop and change the textures around. Thus, you can get a hang of what's what.
3. Next, model a bit in trueSpace, but not from scratch. Start with a nice pre-made model and change the locations of several vertices. This will help you to get a hang of trueSpace and modeling in general. [To check out my tutorial on good, solid geometry and other MODding documents, check my siggy. (Two links will take you to Christian websites!!!!)] This process may take from two weeks to two months.
4. Now its time to become familiarized with Freespace 2 model heirarchy. (Read my POST-MODDING Tutorial) This should take about a week or two to understand EVERYTHING.
5. trueSpace isn't really a good program to make models from scratch with. At this time, you're ready to discover the usefulness of LightWave and 3DS MAX in modeling from scratch. These are fairly difficult programs to work with, so do expect the learning process to take up to a year, if you're lucky... [Exaggeration, Really... Depends on the person.]
6. You really can exchange this step with step five. You now should have some ships ready. You will learn to make interface art for them. These include, but are not restricted to, shield animations, SS animations, and loadout icons. (Also, check my siggy and explore around. :thepimp: )
I do want to wish you good luck on your path to MODding. It took me about two years to get half of this material, so don't feel bad if you can't punch out a good model by the end of the month. [Well maybe you can, and it would make me feel bad. :D]
Rampage
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I had max, and I chose not to persue it when I lost all interest and realized I could make models in TS not too badly.
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I also use TS for all my model making. You don't actually need anything else. Some people find that they prefer Max or other modellers some people don't.
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this sounds like a good time to say
I use MilkShape 3D YAY!
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the best 3d modelling package is simply the one you are more comfortable with.
For very single things like game models truespace is good enough, and since you ave to use it anyway at some levels for fs2 modding,you can just try it and see if you like it.
Some people, like me, found it very simple and intuitive, others just hate it.
I learned the basics, without having used before 3d progs and without using program manuals, in few weeks; to find most of the hidden secrets and speed up your work, well there isn't really a limit (you never stop learning) but you can expect to reach a good level in about 6 months- 1 year, it just depend by you and by how much you use it
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just be sure you get LithUnwrap for UVmapping, ubermetroid (cool name btw)
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No one remembered... :D
(http://members.cox.net/~wmcoolmon/images/welcome.gif)
PS: Make sure you get the latest version of the FSSCP :thepimp:
Someone else give him teh intro™, I haven't kept up with it.
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Whoa!!! Do you not realize that all the uber-modelers use max. Namely Shrike, Venom, Aldo, and that it is indeed uber-awesome!! :D :D :D
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Milkshape 3D is pretty good. You should check that out, only 20 bucks.
Also, for your first mods, try learning how to FRED and edit tables, those will both come in handy down the road ;)
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Originally posted by WMCoolmon
Someone else give him teh intro™, I haven't kept up with it.
Exits are to the sides and rear, Flamethrowers and shotguns are under the seats, if you see any spikey red and black things in the air vents it's probably just Carl, give him your lunch or lunch money and he'll go away. Thank you
that sounds about right :nod:
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Where is the weapons officer around here? My shotgun keeps jamming and I want a new one, and what about protective clothing? Plasma cannon proof jackets?
max is to upety for me! (i.e. dont have toutorials (read: never started toutorials)):rolleyes:
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HA! I'm not the only one to forget the "Warming up welcome beam cannon, target: whoever" thingy :D :p
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has that thing ever missfired? or someone fired the wrong one and incinerated the new guy?
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dunno any specific incidents, but if ever anything like that had occured, it probably was Shrike's fault.:p
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Originally posted by Deepblue
Whoa!!! Do you not realize that all the uber-modelers use max. Namely Shrike, Venom, Aldo, and that it is indeed uber-awesome!! :D :D :D
well, tomcat for example is one of the best artists of the community-if not the best- and he use only truespace
And I don't consider myself exactly at the end of the list, and I use only truespace too..
The point is that 3d progs don't do things, YOU do things, using 3dprogs as instruments, so the best 3dprog is not the most pro or whatever, but the one that lets you do things better.
Obviously a more powerful prog will give you more possibilities, but with something so simple like game meshes, the differences are somehow minimal, and therefore the choice between 3d progs will depend by how you feel the workflow and therefore how fast it let you obtain what you want/need.
We are not talkin about the most powerful/complete/ideal/professional program, in this case we should probably talk more about Maya or XSI than max and lightwave, we are just talking about programs to create game models for fs2
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Dark was the best. What did he use???
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his fingers?:nod:
Actualy, anyone MOD in clay?
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Max was primarily built for games.
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Originally posted by LAW ENFORCER
has that thing ever missfired? or someone fired the wrong one and incinerated the new guy?
No, no I am still here. Just trying to understand what you are all saying (and I think I have!) :rolleyes:
Quick question, where can I get Truespace at? I looked on google and there was only a $$$ one. Do I have to get that one? Version 6.0? If there is somewhere else I can get it can some one send me a link?
Thanks! :lol:
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Check the FAQ again. There should be several links there :)
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Originally posted by karajorma
Check the FAQ again. There should be several links there :)
My bad. I will come back when I really start to have problems....