Someone new around, big ideas but little experience.

[Docnessuno]

First of all, i want to say hi to evryone arount this board.

I have been playing RTW for a while and i enjoy the game, however i have found a bunch of things i don't like in the game.

At the beginning i started searching the net for mods, tryed some of them and i noticed improvments on the gameplay, but still i wasn't satisfied.

So i started to think about realizing a new mod, and i begin to look at the various FAQs about editing the game to get a 'culture' on RTW modding.

I realized that i will hardly be able to create the mod that i have in mind all by myself, so i'm here.

I think it's rude to ask 'is someone going to mod the game the way i want it?', so this topic is here to ask if someone with a good experience in RTW editing is willing to start a new project along with me.

To clear things out, i don't know how much time will be needed to fully develop and test the project i have in mind, but i have up to 2-3 full months to dedicate to it. If i will recieve serious answers i will put all of myself in this thing and try to do evrything i can to create a full and enjoyable mod. I'm not a quitter.

I hope the experienced users don't find this post 'offensive', 'ridicolous' or think i'm just another noob that will quit after some days, wasting other guys hard work. i'm not.

As i have already sayd i have anout 2-3 months to develop this mod so if from an expert point of view this is not enough time, please let me know.

If someone is intrested contact me at: claubaro@tin.it

[dark_shadow89]

I suggest you go out and learn to mod, epecially skin and model, if your mod is goin to have graphical changes/new units. That way, you can make progress on your mod by yourself, and once the community sees that you can progress by yourself, some modders will surely join your mod.

[King of Atlantis]

well tell us your project. Learning to text edit is the easiest and then you can probably get on a team. If your doing a whole conversion then knowing to model is best. But good luck

[Stuie]

well tell us your project.

What KoA said.... what do you have in mind??

[Atheist_Peace]

Yes why did you post this without even saying what the idea is? Why would anyone join if they dont know what it is?

Anyways, as KoA says learn to text edit, its easy, use the tutorials in the Scriptorium, they will be a big help to you.

[Duke John]

2 to 3 months is hardly enough to learn enough modding skills to make a decent mod let alone actually making one. If you have a conversion in mind like N:TW or Blue Lotus then stop now since it will cost you at least a year. A mod like EB or R:TR who expand the current game but add considerable new content takes between half a year and a year.

Anything smaller means that you are looking for a few units and some changes in code. Since you can't make new models you are basically asking to have someone else making a mod for you. There is little chance that an experienced modder is still available, but if your idea is excellent and if you are willing to let the other modders have a big influence on the project then you might be able to succeed. If your plan is to be one of many ambitious modleaders who don't have skills then there is zero chance that you will deliver something in 3 months.

Good luck,
Duke John

[Bwian]

Come on man!! Spit it out

TELL US WHAT YOUR IDEA IS

no way anyone is going to just volunteer their time if they have no idea what your idea is. You should laso get some feedback that tells you what skills will be needed to achieve your goal, who could offer advice, and what your chances are of making it happen.

[Docnessuno]

Thank evryone for replying, Duke John's post was very helpful.

I don't plan on adding new units to the game, here's a brief list of what i want to include in my mod:

Units rebalancing (stats, cost, building time, abilities)
Traits and ancillaries redesigning (both on effects and gaining method)
Buildings redesigning (effects, cost, building time)
Map modding (expand map, change starting positions, change provinces borders, slightly modify overall geography)
Wonders and resourcse redesigning
Tech tree redesigning
Varyous tweaks that i have enjoyed in other mods (like being able to fight battles for wonders), those will be either re-coded or (with the ovious original developer permission) includes as they are in the mod (giving credit to the developer)

also, when i say i have 3 months to work on this project, i mean that in this time i can dedicate up to 20-40 h each week to the mod. When next university year will begin (after the listed time) those will drop to 3-10 h each week.

[Epistolary Richard]

Well, I have to say that this has been one of the most polite approaches by a completely new modder suggesting a project that I've seen in the last few months.

Docnessuno - so long as you have something like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro for the map work, I would say that all of these things would be within your technical abilities to accomplish or at least start on your own. I certainly believe that with commiment you would be able to gain modding abilities in all those areas within your timescale.

I would strongly suggest you read some guides and tutorials and start cracking on your own. Mods in development tend to recruit new members either by having a strong central theme which has its own enthusiasts (such as an LOTR or a Warhammer mod) or by producing impressive screenshots of new models and troop types.

If you want to produce a mod that is essentially a gameplay mod then I would recommend that you concentrate on learning and developing the core stuff that you want to achieve. Once you actually have a product that you've released - even if it only does half of what you want it to - you'll find that other people take you more seriously and will be more inclined to help you out.

Another excellent way of getting people to help out, if you only know how to mod certain areas is to help them out. Learn how to mod a couple of areas in detail, join a team which has people with complementary skills and when you're working together you'll find they're a lot more willing to work with you in the future.
.

[Bwian]

Looks like the tools you need for the job would be Photoshop and Notepad :D

Modifying the map should be fairly simple since you are not really changing that much. There are some tutorials on map building the Tutorials and tools section. Also, you might like to check out the 'Trivium Map Editor'. You can download this from www.twcenter.net

It might shortcut some of the map-building issues.

The rest will be down to Notepad alterations of text files, and a whole heap of playtesting!

You might need some custom models to fight actually around the Wonders, but that has already been done by someone. You should be able to borrow that if you ask the guy who made that mod. That should save you a bit of time!

Lots of stuff for you to do, but altogether, there is nothing there that requires any specialist skills, otehr than hard work, determination, and the willingness to spend a lot of time getting things right!

Good Luck :D

[wlesmana]

For the map, I suggest you just use Mundus Magnus (sp?) since that would a LOT of time. Then the rest can be done in notepad. It's good that you know what you want and you actually took the time to learn what CAN and CANNOT be done. This is extremely important since many mods' so-called leaders started mods when they don't even know the limits of the engine.

Since what you're doing is just stat and gameplay rebalancing, you should check out Darth Vader's Mod, SPQR, Europa Barbarorum and RTR for ideas on what changes they made and the effect. You could also use skins and models which are made to be public downloadable (some of which are the excellent Carthage reskins and many roman ones). There's a ton of them at TWC and you just need to ask permission from the creators, which would be quite easy.