Author Topic: What comes up with creating your own mod? Read here!  (Read 8561 times)

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Offline Gokiller

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What comes up with creating your own mod? Read here!
« on: February 27, 2013, 05:55:15 pm »
Hello Napoleonic Wars Community!

Looking to start a mod? But have no idea what comes with it? And where you will have to deal with? Take a look here! It might just help you out in having a better idea how to create a modification. And how to handle it! And the steps into it? I hope this will help you!
Though!!! I made and shared this from my own experience, to help new lads to create modifications! And create the choice for the community in modifications! So for the more experienced peeps in the modding world, that are hanging around here. : Don't be to harsh.  :-[

Have fun with modding! :)

Take note! This "tutorial" isn't made for actually modding, though it is for the theory and information that you will need to know for making an actual modification! If you wish to learn more on the actual modding in practice, look at this thread. - https://www.fsegames.eu/forum/index.php?topic=3481.0

If there is anything, that you know and would like me to add to this page, please send me a PM, and I'll do so!


Starting up: The Idea

It's very simple, every modification starts with the idea. As in, what will the mod be about? Will it be an historical setting? Or completely fantasy and randomness? Will it be Multiplayer? or Singleplayer? And then, which opportunities, and holdbacks will come look with an Historical accurate modification like for example the seven years war? or the perhaps even the American Civil war!, or a fantasy modification like something like Lord of the Rings? or Game of the Thrones??!

Well, a lot of people may think that it's really easy to just pick a random subject for their modification and start, and I've quit some people, perhaps even including myself, who picked a subject for their mod, but the job got impossible as soon as I/they started. So I could say it's really important that you make the right decision! You must be sure that you will enjoy the progress yourself, so starting by picking a suitable subject that is interesting you a lot is a step to the good direction! After all! You should have fun with modding, and creating your own masterpiece! Getting bored during the development get's you to easily quit the project, and of course you would disappoint your followers! As you most likely made a good bunch of people interested already who are desperate waiting for your modification to be released!

What is probably even more important, is that you are sure that you can actually work, and make a good bunch of progress yourself on your own modification, if you don't know anything about modding you probably shouldn't even be busy with creating a modification. Instead you should go learn the very basics of modding, and take your time. Instead of rushing things, rushing is never good. It's most likely boring to learn things, instead of starting a fancy thread, and then just hope something happens. But it doesn't work that way. And some people may think like that, but it truly isn't. Short said, be sure of your case.


Getting started! : Setting up a suitable, and effective Developer Team.

While the people who are starting on their own mod, want a quick team gathered, asking people they know, and hope that they can do something. It is important, as starter and head of the mod, that you take an effective, and suitable team for the job. And a search for experienced, and good modders will be needed. Who can help you with creating the modification as soon and good as possible. First of all, if you aren't it yourself. (Though it is recommended that you do know something about it) It is important that you have a good coder, who is well known with the Module System. (MS) Without a coder, you will not get anywhere. So that should be a first priority with gathering your team.

After that, you probably should first be looking for some experienced textures, and modelers. The best will be someone who can do it both. So they can start creating models and add textures to them for your mod! After all, you want to have new weaponry, uniforms/armory, helmets/hats etc! To create unique units for your mod. In all fairness, the pubbers and community are looking for fancy models, and units to play around with! All they want is to look awesome! And who can blame them?!

Also, not to forget! Animator's may not be the first thing you need. But to add more features to your mod, you might as well search for one! What is not better then a fancy animation to play around with in the mod!? Then you have the mappers, though everyone can make maps. It's not hard, and rather easy to learn it. Though you want quality, and creativity in the maps that are for your mod. So experienced mappers, who are good with creating scenes that give you quality, and area's for proper gameplay (creativity)! After all, this is where the players will go play on, and if the maps are poorly designed, and barely playable. Then the players will easily quit the game, or worse quit your mod! The maps may be therefor pretty important in the part to make your mod successful!

Now a point about the "Graphical designs" and "researchers". As you may see, a lot of mods have people in their actual developer team, while the only thing they do and can do is research - where are some point they will be out of work, and use the fancy title but though they are not adding any productive speed into the development of the mod. Actually you can research most likely just as good as the people you would think are useful to your team. Or make some fancy designs for the thread, (who the textures and maybe yourself can make just as good or even better!) Don't forget! Your team needs to be so effective as possible, to create quality work, and work fast. (as possible). Basically un-organised and huge developer teams don't work out.


Thread - Community - Promoting your modification!

The most important to promote your modification to the community. Is to have your own thread on the forum! Here you can share with the community what you've done. And how the mod is progressing, how you're idea is looking, how your development team is looking, and any credits! (If needed) It also can be a handy source for advice, suggestions, and idea's for your modification! Which can be fatal to create a successful modification. After all, they will be playing it, and it's better that you're sure that they will like it! Also the thread can be used a lot for promoting your modification! Getting people to take a look, and once it's done to download it! Nothing is more fun as a developer is to see people enjoying the work you've done! Though, it's really important for your thread that you be sure that there aren't coming any discussion, or off-topic spam that could ruïn your thread! After all it's your thread! So be sure to report anyone that is putting **** on your thread, before it's to late and half of your thread is full of spam!

Also! Other way's of promoting your mod is to create your own signatures! To use them on the forum and to spread the word! You could also create video's, and open a YouTube channel, just for your modification! Though be aware that you don't spam people, and keep it on a proper level of promoting. People should know about it, not hate it! In the end, just be creative!


Open Source Project + Credits!

Open Source Project items, rather called OSP are to be found on the taleworlds forum Link. These items have been created by experienced modders within the warband community. And released them for everyone to be used in their own mods. These sources of material could be for really good use in your mod! And the quality will add a nice touch to your mod! It could be maps, scripts, codes, items and more that you could use to progress your mod. Though don't make an over use of this! Think about it that the qualities will be different and that it might not fit all as good to gather as you may think, and wish!

Though, with using these fancy materials. You might want to think about it to add credit to the actual creators of the items!? They obviously putted quite some time in the items to be used by other person. And to prevent any conflicts between the actually owner and developers is to just do give the creators credit on your mod thread-page. And show that you are 1. Using their work, and 2. Appreciate that they made it OSP. Overall, this can be very useful to get started with modifications. In matter of fact you could even create modifications just from OSP items! Just be sure to credit the original makers in any case!

« Last Edit: January 22, 2016, 05:13:33 pm by Gokiller »

Offline Ronan6793

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Nice very Helpful for people Thinking about making a mod and how to begin

Offline Betaknight

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Very Nice thread!
The first modder for NW.

Offline Hinkel

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Good idea Gokiller!

Goot luck for those, who get up in the footsteps of those, who are leaving..  :-[ :)

Offline SeanBeansShako

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Here it is. It is going to update soon as well :).

Offline Willhelm

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Don't really like the emphasis on teams in this tutorial, it almost says you should get a team who can do everything while you sit back and command them. Screw that, just learn to do it all yourself, no one else will want to see your vision come to life as much as you, they won't work as hard as you on it, and they will be unreliable. Most mods you see which are dead are because they spent months saying "I couldn't find a coder/modeller/texture". In that time they could have learnt all those skills.


Offline Gokiller

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Well everyone obviously has its own way of developing a mod, when you just don't have the time to learn those new skills a team might be come in handy. Apart from that most mods have teams instead of just one guy.

You, Docm and even myself are examples of persons who don't use a team and rather make the mods in our own. However unlike you and Docm I can't model/texture myself. And use OSP's to fill that gap.

It's not that I say "you need a team otherwise you can't create a mod". It's more just a way to do it.  Probably should change that a bit.

Offline Willhelm

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Yeah, I'm not saying never have a team, just don't rely on a team.

Offline Joseph Graham

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Having read through what has been posted here (and browsed through the OSP section that you linked to) I might pursue a little project during my break before university. Cheers!

Offline Josh Faraday

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Re: What comes up with creating your own mod? Read here!
« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2014, 03:13:21 pm »
You should have an team for it alone it is quite hard.
Arminius/Dennis Bergkamp/Tristan Bouvier/J.P. ...

All my life I’ve been fearful of defeat. But now that it has come it’s not near as terrible as I’d expected. The sun still shines, water still tastes good…glory is all well and good but life is enough, nay?