Unit Editor

Yes! I want this since I played TA the first time! I want to create my own units. Without knowledge of coding or a 3D program.

If this were the last goal I will donate 100$ in addition.

Sorry mate, a unit editor without any of the complicated stuff would be like getting a box of crayons when you want Photoshop.


There's enough materials out there for someone who is truly interested to learn how to model & code.

Or at least learn 1 and get someone else to do the other.

Mike

Or join a mod team as a concept artist .

Even if it's just a tool that has a "browse" button for the model & texture files (or allows you to select existing ones from the game) and fields to modify the blueprint, this would massively help the modding community.

Not everyone likes jumping in the deep end, and by lowering the barrier to entry, people who may otherwise avoid modding may join in, gain experience and end up creating high-quality mods.

What would you suggest uber take time from to do this?

*edit* also this is a really simple thing for a 3rd party to achieve. If there is enough demand, hell i'll make it.

I tried to make 3D-models for SC a couple of years ago. I worked with blender, because it's for free. But my english was not that good. And to learn the tutorials turned out to be extremely difficult for me.

In addition, editors have become more complex and difficult. Before, I could create levels in Descent (->good old times). Squares with textures and functions. I had my fun. But these days are long gone.
And to work on units is another thing. I've never done this before.

Reading your posts.

This is the sort of thing that adds to the longevity of a game.
User created content keeps things fresh and interesting. Lowering the skill-barrier to creating it is no bad thing.

However, it is also the type of thing that is best left until post-launch, after the initial flurry of patch fixes etc. have died down.

My posts are short and succinct.

Maybe for the "casual" modders, but it could be argued it could hurt the serious modders by being washed out out all the little jimmies and johns' nonsensical unit stat mods.

Frankly in SupCom those kinds of mods were still super easy but you did need a touch of effort.

Mike

Nice scare quotes.

Not everyone is an accomplished modeller or programmer, and get put off by the need for extra tools and knowledge required, but that doesn't mean their desire to create and effort (however small) they put it in should be denigrated.

If "teh hardcorez" (see I can do it too) are producing such fine cream it'll float to the top.

Unfortunately if you want to make a new unit, you're going to have to know how to or know someone who is ok at modelling. The code side of things is somewhat easier, as you can copy and tweak existing units if you're not attempting something new with the unit.

I could build an editor that could take the model and have a window for tweaking the values pretty easily and saving out all the files in the correct locations etc, but making an editor to model new units wouldn't be a good use of time. (mine or anyone elses)

I think you might over estimating the skill required to do the something a unit editor could do, heck, even I can do basic stat changes in FA(Merge_BP), admittedly that's ALL I can do but still, and with proper documentation/User Support(Like Ex's Mod Tutorial for FA) you can achieve teh same thing with little effort and still have much more freedom than a program could easily allow.

Admittedly we know next to nothing about PA's Modding yet, so this might be all premature.

Mike

The idea of having an every man 3D tool scares me, all the mass produced iterations of rubbish/pop culture that people would turn out. I love MODng tools I really do but I hate having to sort the good from the appalling and think the barrier to entry helps a bit.

May be i'm being a bit pessimistic and it might work well but I don't think it's a job for UBER to make this.

Actually it more like a Stat changer than a 3D tool, which is arguably worse for our fears.

Mike

I'd just like to add that just because you have the ability to code or model doesn't necessarily reduce the chance that you'll produce rubbish.

True.

Mike

Though, I'm also of the opinion that excess rubbish doesn't really hurt the modscene, in fact because people are trying things, seeing what works and what doesn't they can improve and eventually become a good modder.

People have to start somewhere.

Yes and no, think of the Unit Editor as NR20, helps people get comfortable, but unless they venture beyond NR20 games they won't actually progress either.

Double Edged Sword is an appropriate term IMO.

Mike

Yeah true, if it does actually help them to go further then yes, if they don't ever progress then its probably done more harm than good. If it didn't exist they may well have figured out how to do it properly to begin with.