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tips for modmaking


J.E. Sawyer

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(previously posted on another forum where I saw mod projects rise and fall continuously)

 

Hello. My name is Josh Sawyer. I am a game developer, formerly of Black Isle Studios, currently working for Midway San Diego. I

Edited by J.E. Sawyer
inappropriate pejorative use
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In some old thread in this forum I mentioned that the most important for a software project to be successful is not the individual programmers but the management. I completely agree with you. BTW, your guidelines are applicable not only to mod making, but in many other areas.

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great post.

Perhaps sticky or link it on the nwn2 toolset forum too?

Nearly missed it here... i'm guessing the toolset forum will get more mod-group traffic.

 

also would be nice to see this supplemented with links to example design docs etc

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One thing I would definitely recommend rather than setting up an FTP is using CVS to synchronize your project. The way it works is someone sets up a CVS repository which holds the centralized code/asset base for the project.

 

Then when someone updates a file locally, they "check in" their changes with the server. It will also recognize any conflicts in changes if two people on the project change the same line of code, etc.

 

If you have more than a couple of people working on your mod/game, you definitely should look into it. It's pretty easy to setup, and using a client like Tortoise CVS makes it easy to use.

 

Some sort of asset/code management is used professionally in the industry...whether it's CVS or Perforce or AB (personally here at EALA we are using Perforce for code management and Alienbrain for asset management). For a small project, though, stick with CVS, especially since it's free.

 

However, I can speak from experience that working on a project with a couple of coders is MUCH easier if you have a CVS server setup. I've done one side project without CVS, and I've done a few with it, and it definitely helps you accomplish a lot more.

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This is great. I wish I would have seen it sooner. I hadn't thought of a lot of this stuff.

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Remembering tarna, Phosphor, Metadigital, and Visceris.  Drink mead heartily in the halls of Valhalla, my friends!

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  • 6 months later...

I can't even express how helpful this is. I am currently leading a mod group

for NWN. The game school (UAT in Tempe AZ) I go to doesn't have a nice set of guidelines like this that I can follow so I am kind of "Wingen' it".

 

Eric "Ic" Foster

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  • 2 weeks later...

Josh,

 

I'm a student in Game Art and Design at Westwood College Online. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the information you've provided. It's very helpful and appreciated by someone like me who wants to be a part of this industry. Thanks for the time you spent writing it.

 

Jack

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  • 5 months later...

Great tips. I know how it feels to be part of a failed project, and I'm still in the midst of trying to finihs my own NWN project. Hopefully, it'll be successful. It better me or after reading this thread (again) I'll blame Mr. Sawyer. :(

DWARVES IN PROJECT ETERNITY = VOLOURN HAS PLEDGED $250.

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  • 10 months later...
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  • 7 months later...
Yes I know, 1 year old bump, but will this work for really any game that can be modded? Nice tips as well.

 

It should work for any game. I think most of the tips are good project management full stop.

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

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Heh, for my Jedi Outcast game, I could make Kyle Katarn Captain Jack Sparrow, :x , Stormtroopers as Cloned Hitlers :x, Desann as Davy Jones the tentacle Davy Jones, Reborn as Grim Reapers :x, Jan as Bastila, and Galak Fyyar as a mongoloid :x . Sounds like fun.

deicideLogo5.jpg

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I think it'd be funnier to make that assassin droid into Pooh bear.

"It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"."

             -Elwood Blues

 

tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.

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