Modding

[Black Water]

Hey guys, i want to start modding, im not sure if this is the right topic to put it in , i've read some of the modding tuturials and now i want to begin with one, which one is the easiest, Makings Maps, Making Skins, or Making Crosshairs? Oh and could someone tell me the right viedo Settings for swbf, i had to change them so i could play Phobo's map RANCOR, btw nice map Phobos

[Sereja]

Here is my rate, from easy to hard:
1. Making Crosshairs - some paint editor (I am use Paint Shop Pro 7)
2. Making Skins - the same as for skins
3. Makings Maps - BFBuilder & Zeroeditor
Actualy, I may continue:
4. Making Movie - Fraps, Radvideo, Windows Movie Maker
5. ODF Editing - Text Editor
6. Hex Editing (switching numbers) - HEX editor, MSH_TAG_SIZE_VALIDATION_TOOL
7. Making Effects - BFBuilder's ParticleEditor, or Text editor
8. 3D Modeling - XSI (I am use XSI Mod Tool 7,5), MshEx, meshtool, ZEtool; (some people may use some other 3D modeling programs).
9. Making Sound - Text Editor. (For more experience modders - RealPlayer, Audacity)
10. Hex Crafting (add some model parts to another) - MSH_TAG_SIZE_VALIDATION_TOOL... (about others not try yet .)
11. lvl. Editing - many tools, invented by other modders.
12. 3D Animation - XSI, ZEtool.
Warning: the rate is just for beginners. It may incorrect for modders, good in something.

[Unit 33]

Here is my rate, from easy to hard:
2. Making Skins

Although making "good" skins is probably much higher.

[Black Water]

Hmmm, then i will start out with making Skins 

[Unit 33]

Oh oh! You forgot ODF editing.
That's pretty much just switching around numbers randomly and seeing if anything exciting happens.

[SleepKiller]

Although making "good" skins is probably much higher.

Once again modifying skins is easy drawing them from scratch is much harder.

[Black Water]

I'll start with modifying skins first 

[Phobos]

Once again modifying skins is easy drawing them from scratch is much harder.

For me it depends on quality of the modification and complexity of the texture itself. A simple box MSH with a basic texture wouldn't be very hard to make from scratch. Extensive upgrades to an existing skin can take a lot of time and effort to get them to the desired quality level. Simple changes, such as recoloring the hue for example, are easy to pick up on once you grasp how to navigate the interface of your image editor. Although its mostly true that UV mapping a texture you made from scratch is almost always going to be more difficult.

I agree with the difficulty list Sereja posted for the most part (although I think modeling is harder than sound editing). I think the easiest modding of all is probably REQ files, then msh.option, and then TGA.

Hey guys, i want to start modding, im not sure if this is the right topic to put it in , i've read some of the modding tuturials and now i want to begin with one, which one is the easiest, Makings Maps, Making Skins, or Making Crosshairs? Oh and could someone tell me the right viedo Settings for swbf, i had to change them so i could play Phobo's map RANCOR, btw nice map Phobos

Glad you like it. There are 3 finished levels (and 1 started but unfinished) to the underground glitch maze which is a concept I hope to continue in future mod maps. Video settings vary on certain mod maps. For some you will need water quality set to low, other maps set to high. For terrain quality you must set it to low if there is a black circle on the ground around you, this is a bumpmapping error and happens quite often with mod maps. I can guarantee that any new mod maps or reskins I make won't have this particular bug.

here's my advice for starter modding:
I recommend starting with common.lvl changes if you are interested in texture edits (skinning) since crosshairs and most other interface elements don't wrap around a msh. Its a good way to learn the basics of TGA editing with gimp/photoshop/Paint.net. Then move to side skinning and start learning ODFs (weapons and units are fairly complex, vehicles being the hardest imo). Wait on MSH until much later since its one of the most difficult files to mod. Learn hex editing as you go along since it has many uses even outside of swbf modding. Learn mission LUA when you want to start making adjustments to server settings that aren't in the batch or INI. Wait on map building until you have learned most of the other basics, since good mod maps require knowledge in most areas: LUA, ODF, World files (wld, rgn, lyr, etc.), Sky, FX, REQ, and msh.option. Map reskinning is easier than building new maps from scratch. The hardest stuff to learn would be modeling, animation, anything which involves XSI, which is really the only area of modding I am not very knowledgeable at. What time I have to mod I dedicate to all other areas of modding except XSI/Modeling and I plan on learning as much of Tirpider's kitbashing knowledge as possible before moving onto the hardest stuff. Common/Shell LUA is also much more complex than mission LUA and I advise waiting to learn that until you understand the basics of LUA 4.0 language.

[Black Water]

Yea Elite was showing me glitches and maze but i kept getting stuck , and i only understand parts of that paragraph , i clicked the scout ODF and put it on paint, it's suppose to be a layout of the body of the Emp sniper with the head , and other body parts laid out right?

[Sereja]

ODF can be edited, by text editor, and responsible for functionality of the model/ordance/explosion.
I am not sure, it may responsible for layout of the body of the model with the head , and other body parts. It may call only name of texture, or override texture, model, lowrez model, animation/sceleton, addon etc. I may update my rate, wich programm need, for each subject.
By the way, here is my personal rate, what is I learn first:

1. Makings Maps
2. ODF Editing
3. Making Skins
4. Making Effects
5. Making Crosshairs
6. Making Movie
7. 3D Modeling
8. Hex Editing (switching numbers)
9. Making Sound - only easy parts
10. 3D Animation - only try to learn doors.

Everything else almost not try yet.
Actualy, I think, 3D modeling isn't most hardest part (except animation), of modding, and most things are can be maded by intuitive way...

[Black Water]

that's alot of stuff, might take me years

[Sereja]

that's alot of stuff, might take me years

I bet, it's true!