What it takes to be a Co8 modder.

Discussion in 'The Temple of Elemental Evil' started by Thirteen, Aug 31, 2016.

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  1. Thirteen

    Thirteen Member

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    This is probably a dumb question, but I'm curious as hell. Are you guys in the IT field as a career or is all this stuff just a hobby for you? Did you have any training to do everything you do or are you self taught? I wish I knew how to do some of this programming stuff...any ideas where to learn?
     
    Thirteen, Aug 31, 2016
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  2. Allyx

    Allyx Master Crafter Global Moderator Supporter

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    Speaking on a personal level, no. I've had no programming training, I work as a night time shelf stacker full time in a supermarket.

    I may not have been the first or best modder at Co8, but I'd certainly like to think of myself as one of the most influential and successful. Many of my ideas have become staple Co8 mod material that has defined our products over the years.
     
    Allyx, Aug 31, 2016
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  3. sirchet

    sirchet Force for Goodness Moderator Supporter

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    Here here, I second Allyx and join the many in sincere gratitude for his contributions.
     
    sirchet, Aug 31, 2016
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  4. Thirteen

    Thirteen Member

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    That's interesting to know...I wonder if modding is even a little different from writing an actual program. Probably not. I used to do stuff in BASIC many years ago and learned some HTML since then. Some of you might not be old enough to know what BASIC is though :p
     
    Thirteen, Aug 31, 2016
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  5. Allyx

    Allyx Master Crafter Global Moderator Supporter

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    Most of the mods made are simple affairs, if you are interested in learning, check out the various modding tutorials on these boards.
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2016
    Allyx, Aug 31, 2016
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  6. WinstonShnozwick

    WinstonShnozwick Established Member

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    What would I do to view existing weapon models in the game, and create a new one, as well create a new weapon data entirely to be added to the game?
     
    WinstonShnozwick, Sep 1, 2016
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  7. WinstonShnozwick

    WinstonShnozwick Established Member

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    Excellent, because I need to do something nearly identical, add a mind blade to the game.
     
    WinstonShnozwick, Sep 1, 2016
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  8. Allyx

    Allyx Master Crafter Global Moderator Supporter

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    I reused the katana model already existing in vanilla toee and made it smaller in the protos.tab entry.

    To make a new model entirely you could use 3DS Max or Anim8or and the conversion tools to take an existing ToEE model, edit it to your liking and convert it back to .SKM format.

    There is a whole subforum for 3d model and animation modding, I'd start there.
     
    Allyx, Sep 1, 2016
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  9. WinstonShnozwick

    WinstonShnozwick Established Member

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    Well I know that the mind blade is very similar in size and shape to a shortsword, I just want to tweak the shape and make it have a different texture so it looks like ectoplasm. Would I also need to remake animations?
     
    WinstonShnozwick, Sep 1, 2016
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  10. Allyx

    Allyx Master Crafter Global Moderator Supporter

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    No for weapons it's relatively easy, other new weapons and armour have already been added to ToEE, the rake and the marauder armour to name but 2.

    AFAIK we have been so far unsuccessful at adding new animations, but weapons are certainly doable. Adding a new skin to an already existing weapon model is even easier than adding a new model though if there is a close enough match.
     
    Allyx, Sep 1, 2016
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  11. WinstonShnozwick

    WinstonShnozwick Established Member

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    Alright, sounds like enough for my needs.
    I'm a bit disappointed though, because I just read a post on the OotS forums describing how Soulknife is a very weak and bad class in 3.5. Which sucks because just reading about it, Soulknife is one of my favorites. I hope it isn't useless/weak in ToEE :(
     
    WinstonShnozwick, Sep 1, 2016
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  12. Allyx

    Allyx Master Crafter Global Moderator Supporter

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    OotS isn't exactly the height of authority in any D&D matters though, if it were, the invisibility spell would have no place on a Bard's spell list, running around stark naked would suffice. ;)
     
    Allyx, Sep 1, 2016
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  13. WinstonShnozwick

    WinstonShnozwick Established Member

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    What about making new creatures in the game? New model, animations, and textures?
     
    WinstonShnozwick, Sep 1, 2016
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  14. Allyx

    Allyx Master Crafter Global Moderator Supporter

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    I've just read the details of the Soulknife class, it seems like you'll need more than one new weapon:

    Shortsword (small, medium and large for enlarged Soulknife characters)

    Throwable Shortsword (small, medium and large for enlarged Soulknife characters)

    Throwable Longsword (small, medium and large for enlarged Soulknife characters)

    Throwable Bastardsword (small, medium and large for enlarged Soulknife characters)

    They will also need to be considered magical even if they don't have the +1 bonus to hit and damage.

    Adding the magical abilities could be problematic, I mean they could be crafted, but I'm unsure how to bypass the xp and gp cost.

    Bladewind is basically just a whirlwind attack.

    The high level ability damage attack could be treated like a poison perhaps?
     
    Allyx, Sep 1, 2016
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  15. WinstonShnozwick

    WinstonShnozwick Established Member

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    I'm under the assumption that I just need the models/textures for those, and I can treat all four of them as the same weapon ID in the game. Making it magical shouldn't be a problem, I think that's just a damage modifier.
    The weapon will never be crafted, it will be impossible to obtain by any means but being in the class and using the class ability to create it.
     
    WinstonShnozwick, Sep 1, 2016
    #15
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