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Calling modders one and all!


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#21 Mathijs

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 05:35 PM

Indeed. Who is going to explain to me how I would go about, say, texturing a realistic looking metal breastplate? That is pretty basic, but among the questions asked by you a few days ago.

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#22 modboy451

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 05:55 PM

No... I won't be doing graphic tutoring that is for sure.. I'm am still learning things :p I was going more for coding... I know enough to be able to teach others... but not enough to be considered like someone like RG other people... I still havn't even done a really official mod... let alone one hosted... most of that is because of parents restrictions... But i have gotten asked and am going to be doing some free lance modding for a mod looking to get hosted... :p but i can do enough coding to teach... just I'm not as experienced as others... :p

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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


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#23 Spartan184

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 06:32 PM

About time someone said it.


 

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#24 Ridder Geel

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 06:38 PM

They are new, but if they are willing to try to teach others how to mod, let them have a go at it, if it does not work out they can just refer the "students" to me, and if that happens I advise them to learn/practice more and then give it another go.
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#25 Kwen

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 06:42 PM

I think you should be focusing more on improving your skills, before worrying about tutoring someone else. You have much still to learn, young one.

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#26 Mathijs

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 06:47 PM

This sort of thing has been suggested so many times in the past. It won't take off, mainly because it's extremely tedious (and consequently, annoying) to teach someone these things over the internet, as these skills are taught by showing instead of telling.

The best way to learn modding is to teach yourself and post here when you run into problems. Holding someone's hand is just counterproductive.

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#27 modboy451

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 07:07 PM

They are new, but if they are willing to try to teach others how to mod, let them have a go at it, if it does not work out they can just refer the "students" to me, and if that happens I advise them to learn/practice more and then give it another go.


EXACTLY... what i was thinking... thank you RG...

anyway... I'm just going to go with the giant beginners tutorial... anybody want to put up what some of their first questions when they joined i could compile a bunch?

Edited by modboy451, 24 November 2011 - 07:12 PM.

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


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#28 Unknown

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 07:37 PM

I said I would help them with a couple of questions and codes.
I'm not going to form a 'club' :p

#29 modboy451

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 07:38 PM

I know... I'm just going to stick with the advanced beginner tutorial.

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


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#30 Unknown

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 08:05 PM

Okay, no ones going to do this.
I can't see it working.
I'll help people with basic and intermediate coding.
I don't want to spend too long teaching without learning.
I have much to do :p
Modboy will do his tutorial and we'll forget about it all ;)

#31 modboy451

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 08:08 PM

haha yea. :p :(

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


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#32 Bashkuga

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 08:33 PM

Well, this proves that hot topics are still possible in the community :p.

#33 modboy451

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 08:35 PM

haha yes it does. ^_^

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


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#34 Phil

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 08:51 PM

Do all of us a favour and please, please, please don't post thread titles with all-caps and multiple exclamation marks. This immediately devalues the content that follows, no matter how good it may be, in the mindset of most people here.

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#35 modboy451

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 08:56 PM

Alright, I'll make a note of that :)

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


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#36 Ridder Geel

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Posted 24 November 2011 - 10:00 PM

Perhaps, if possible (quite sure it is somehow) we should remove the "all caps" title of this thread?
It's quite simple though, if people want help from someone in specific they should just contact that person via PM or otherwise.
I've had that happen quite a few times, and it all worked out just fine.
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#37 Glaeken

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Posted 25 November 2011 - 03:13 AM

Anyone that thinks the forums are 'dying' should at least consider how hot this topic has been the last 24 hrs or so. :wink_new:

There has been a lot of good advice and comments so far and it has led me to believe that we shouldn't completely discount the possibilities available to us concerning the thread's topic.
One of the things we need to remember is that "...a person needs new experiences. Without change, something sleeps inside us and seldom awakens." Given that, let's take what has been said and see if there are possibilities for our own personal growth, in regard to what we do here, as well as growth for the newcomers and those that more often simply 'lurk' or search the forums for a particular answer without posting.

Most of what has been posted so far speaks to the process as being one that requires a lot of trial and error on the user's part. That's quite true. It's very difficult to try and explain something, that is tedious or very time-consuming in itself, without the explanation being even more mind-boggling or intimidating.
So, how do we make things perhaps easier to understand? The tutorials are a great place to start. I'm sure many of those involved in mods today have either written some tutorials or learned a great deal of the foundation work from these excellent tutorials.
I learned some much needed information from the mapping tutorials and what I do today wouldn't be where it is had it not been for the forums and the tutorials. But, again, most of my process has involved trial and error and learning on my own.
I'm still finding questions or circumstances for which I'll refer to the forums.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm all for having something that not only imbues knowledge, technique, or process, but also allows for personal trial-and-error growth. I'm not advocating altering T3A in any way, it's great the way it is. Indeed, as Haldir said (paraphrased) "...We already have a Q&A thread, it's called the T3A forums."

What would be great is to have something like a "Challenge" type of thread. The 'challengers' could be the very mentors about which the thread author is speaking.
Those in the respective departments, skinning, INI, Coding, mapping, etc, could post a 'challenge' to do something that, perhaps, hasn't been done before or in a new way. Or, they could post a pic of something, be it a new look for a skin, or a unique model animation,...anything really....and 'challenge' others to post how it was done.
This could not only help to create a renewed interest in the various disciplines, but offer hints, tips, and advice along the way which would be invaluable to newcomers.
Also, in reality, the 'challenges' wouldn't necessarily have to be things that haven't been done before. Maybe the new 'challenge' is something being done differently or is the 'challengers' own personal method or technique. Mapping, terrain moulding, and especially texture painting, have many differing styles and techniques. As I'm sure is true of the other disciplines as well, although I'm not familiar with any of that and can't speak to it.

Personally, I'd love to have one of the map making guys show a pic of a 2-horde wide, curved slope WORKING stairway, made using the "Curved Ramp" tool, leading from one level to another having a differential height of 100 minimum. Then 'challenge' the rest of us to make one, too.
I mean better than this one, which works but isn't pretty or uniform:
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Although, I do concede that it's difficult for many to be on the forums all the time with life as a whole, school, work, family, and in my case, kids of my own which are older than most of the forum members here. :wink_new:

Edited by Glaeken, 25 November 2011 - 12:51 PM.


#38 modboy451

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Posted 25 November 2011 - 04:25 AM

Anyone that thinks the forums are 'dying' should at least consider how hot this topic has been the last 24 hrs or so. :wink_new:

There has been a lot of good advice and comments so far and it has led me to believe that we shouldn't completely discount the possibilities available to us concerning the thread's topic.
One of the things we need to remember is that "...a person needs new experiences. Without change, something sleeps inside us and seldom awakens." Given that, let's take what has been said and see if there are possibilities for our own personal growth, in regard to what we do here, as well as growth for the newcomers and those that more often simply 'lurk' or search the forums for a particular answer without posting.

Most of what has been posted so far speaks to the process as being one that requires a lot of trial and error on the user's part. That's quite true. It's very difficult to try and explain something, that is tedious or very time-consuming in itself, without the explanation being even more mind-boggling or intimidating.
So, how do we make things perhaps easier to understand? The tutorials are a great place to start. I'm sure many of those involved in mods today have either written some tutorials or learned a great deal of the foundation work from these excellent tutorials.
I learned some much needed information from the mapping tutorials and what I do today wouldn't be where it is had it not been for the forums and the tutorials. But, again, most of my process has involved trial and error and learning on my own.
I'm still finding questions or circumstances for which I'll refer to the forums.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm all for having something that not only imbues knowledge, technique, or process, but also allows for personal trial-and-error growth. I'm not advocating altering T3A in any way, it's great the way it is. Indeed, as Haldir said (paraphrased) "...We already have a Q&A thread, it's called the T3A forums."

What would be great is to have something like a "Challenge" type of thread. The 'challengers' could be the very mentors about which the thread author is speaking.
Those in the respective departments, skinning, INI, Coding, mapping, etc, could post a 'challenge' to do something that, perhaps, hasn't been done before or in a new way. Or, they could post a pic of something, be it a new look for a skin, or a unique model animation,...anything really....and 'challenge' others to post how it was done.
This could not only help to create a renewed interest in the various disciplines, but offer hints, tips, and advice along the way which would be invaluable to newcomers.
Also, in reality, the 'challenges' wouldn't necessarily have to be things that haven't been done before. Maybe the new 'challenge' is something being done differently or is the 'challengers' own personal method or technique. Mapping, terrain moulding, and especially texture painting, have many differing styles and techniques. As I'm sure is true of the other disciplines as well, although I'm not familiar with any of that and can't speak to it.

Personally, I'd love to have one of the map making guys show a pic of a 2-horde wide, curved slope WORKING stairway leading from one level to another having a differential height of 100 minimum. Then 'challenge' the rest of us to make one, too.
I mean better than this one, which works but isn't pretty or uniform:
Posted Image
Posted Image





Although, I do concede that it's difficult for many to be on the forums all the time with life as a whole, school, work, family, and in my case, kids of my own which are older than most of the forum members here. :wink_new:

I actually agree... I thunk some training system of SOME kind should be in order...

John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image
Posted Image

#39 Glaeken

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Posted 25 November 2011 - 06:59 AM

It is my guess that the most prolific and long-lasting of the modders are those that have spent the most time in the trial-and-error phase.
Most often that phase allows for some very interesting and wonderful "Eureka" moments where new discovery comes to light. That is a great feeling and it's hard to convey that when providing tips or when writing tutorials.
So, with that said, one hurdle you may find is that some may want to keep some examples, tips, or techniques, to themselves. They may feel that, by posting, they'll somehow lose the credit of 'discovery'. You might want to keep that in mind.
Also, the trial-&-error process forces you to continually visit the various INI, etc, files and by doing that you'll become more familiar with the files and what is inside them.

Another hurdle we'd encounter with having a 'mentor' program is getting those being mentored to do some leg-work on their own and then understanding and comprehending some of the fundamentals involved. What so many of the current modders experience is a newcomer to the modding community will bombard them with questions, one after another, that involve somewhat the same process or methodology. Using one technique or portion of an INI file to do one thing may be the same technique or portion used for another thing. The newcomer will only hear/read/see the answer given for the one thing and then not be able to translate the second question as being the same answer process because they haven't done enough of the leg-work/repetition/trial-&-error to realize it. That frustrates the mentor and mentored alike.
I think this is why the forums are configured the way they are. The mod possibilities are too vast to have separate topics for each little thing. Which again speaks to continually having to go through the various file types and seeing how things are formatted and how things relate to each other.
It's difficult, nowadays, to get the "just google it and the answer is right there" mentality out of a lot of folks. It's as if we, as a society, are losing our study, and developmental learning processes. Too many just want the answer placed on the end of a spoon and have it shoved into their awaiting mouths with little to no effort on their part.


Plus, some newer or potential modders may not be as meticulous about keeping things clear, concise, and in perfect order; which is a necessity. Some may be able to flourish amid what others may view as complete chaos. Lauri would likely begin pulling his hair out in great bunches if he were to see my file system. :wacko:

So, again, I'm all for a 'training' system or mentorship program but, implementing it has been found to somehow be more trouble then not having something standardized with a formal procedure or as a particular part of the forum.
All in all it's great comfort to know that 99.9% of the respondents to questions are very welcoming and most helpful. So, this whole forum has been a mentor to me so far and I'm ever grateful.

One of the best things a mentoring modder can say is: "Take a look at the game's file system. Now get FinalBig and learn how to use it. Next, take a look thoroughly at all the contained files and begin to get a grasp of why they are configured that way, how each file relates to others, and what each contains. Next, prepare an outline of what you want from your mod and begin slowly. Next, search for answers, to questions up to this point, and see if they've been answered before...remember, look at every page. ETC..."
That probably seems like a daunting task to most newcomers. Which is probably why the same questions are asked over and over again.

#40 Radspakr Wolfbane

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Posted 25 November 2011 - 07:37 AM

Glaeken you're a wordy little bastard ain't cha? :shiftee2:

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