Begin Modding

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Re: Begin Modding

by Blzut3 » Fri May 08, 2020 1:04

If you can learn from a strict bottom up approach, then the two tutorials written by me linked under "Basic Tutorials" on the site above should be able to take you from no knowledge to making a mod.

I would have written more, but initial feedback was strongly negative. Since then I've had some people say otherwise, so maybe I should have continued.

Sadly "can you recommend me a tutorial" is the most difficult question I get asked. Be it modding or programming. As I've grown with both communities since the 90s any tutorial I used would be highly irrelevant today, and as you might imagine I'm not really seeking out new ones. So I assume something must exist because new people getting into modding all the time, but maybe not.

I do believe most people learn by picking apart existing mods and asking questions. Unless they have no interest in making maps at all, before getting to that point I do believe most people will start with making maps. Map making has the shallowest learning curve, and its inevitable that after making some maps people want to do things like change the progression of the game. Or maybe add a decoration or new monster. At which point they enter using Slade with a specific goal in mind. Things just kind of build from there.

On that note, if you have any specific questions I'm happy to answer them.

When it comes to "what does a file do" if you're referring to inside of a pk3 then the following pages should be comprehensive lists of directories and files with special meaning:

Re: Begin Modding

by Patriot » Thu May 07, 2020 22:14

Do you have any specific tutorials, GZDoom or otherwise, that would be a good place to start? All of the material out there seems to presume more knowledge than what I have. I need like a beginner’s guide to this stuff with a solid understanding of what each file does and what programs I need to work with and in what order.

Re: Begin Modding

by Blzut3 » Mon Apr 27, 2020 9:43

The Wolf3D community has been putting together some resources here: http://wolf3d.net/ecwolf-modding/

I'll describe the high level of what you need to do for your scenarios, but don't have time to go into detail. Note that for all of these knowledge is mostly transferable from GZDoom modding which you may be able to find more tutorials for.

For new keys, you'll need to create key actors in DECORATE. Then write a LOCKDEFS script to assign keys to lock numbers. Ultimately references your new keys and locks in your map translator.

For ammo you need to redefine the weapons and ammo actors. This is done through DECORATE. To modify the pistol you will need to also change the player class (defined in DECORATE) and then in MAPINFO specify your new player class as the one to use.

Changing the max health is done by define new health pickups that have a higher max amount. Can also be done by changing the max health player class. (Which sets the maximum that can be obtained by health pickups which don't have a max amount.)

The best tools for building maps for ECWolf are WDC and HWE. There are some up and coming map editors in development so this may change in the near future.

Begin Modding

by Patriot » Mon Apr 27, 2020 1:46

I’m looking to get started with modding. I want to learn basic things like how to create new keys, how to have ammo over 99, how to have health over 100, and the best tools to use for building maps in ECWolf. I eventually want to build my own Wolf 3D mod to share with the community.

Can anyone give me some solid advice on how to get started? Thanks.

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