Modding forum structure - a suggestion

[Tacticalwithdrawal]

folks,

I am trying in my own little way to make a mod, mainly for my kids to play. However, the current structure of the modding forums is extremely hard to follow and to use.

Basically, if I have a mapping question (which is what I am fighting with at the moment ) I don't know where to post it as I am not sure where the mapping community is, in Eras or M2TW

I can understand why the splits are there but it would be a huge amount easier for novices like me if there was one place where I could ask questions regardless of what game I was modding. it would also make it a lot easier to find answers to common questions as currently I have to trawl through 2-3 sub-forums to find if the question has been asked before (and yes, I know there are stickies but again they are spread around).

My proposal is, therefore, that we add a new sub-forum in the 'TW and Modding Community Forums' section which deals purely with requests for modding help, information and answers whatever the game you are modding.

This would give newbs like me a single place to ask questions and look for answers (as most of the questions I have I am sure have been asked before) and would also give the experienced members the benefit of knowing that the newb questions tend to be concentrated in one place.

Anyway, it'd make my life as a new modder a huge amount easier, what does anyone else think?

[Tom Paine]

Can't you just post them in the area already extant, Tac? Its not got a specific administrative purpose, just go there and ask your question seems simplest... (I might add my first thought on reading your post was, "Link to the TW Modding yadda yadda")

[Halie Satanus]

a job for the *cough* Cow....oh yeh...ho hum.


Anyway, kind of ties in with what I've been thinking about in reference to Prof's model repository, expanding on that to include a forum for modding research pretty much along the lines of the Trivium organisation, (which btw if you can find that might have something that would help you).. so how to proceed, maybe a hex commitee??. i could just set it up but it would be nice to get some input from the modding community.

Bdh did a tutorial on mapping,

Aside from that mappers are like bass players, everyone needs one but no one wants to be one.

[Tacticalwithdrawal]

Can't you just post them in the area already extant, Tac? Its not got a specific administrative purpose, just go there and ask your question seems simplest... (I might add my first thought on reading your post was, "Link to the TW Modding yadda yadda")

but which one?

there are two sets of modding forums, one for M2TW and one for Eras. That's fine if I want to ask a game-specific question but a lot of the questions seem to be common across all of the games so it makes finding answers doubly hard.

It's probably fine if you are an experienced modder, but t is bloody hard work if you are new to the game.

Aside from that mappers are like bass players, everyone needs one but no one wants to be one.

it's fun

[Halie Satanus]

Oh btw, i don't think mapping is any different whichever game your modding.

[Tom Paine]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=331
That one, Tac.

[Tacticalwithdrawal]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=331
That one, Tac.

one what? that forum holds nothing to do with the actual physical acts of modding

[Halie Satanus]

And yes moved to the Mod com, more chance of getting feedback from modders here.

one what? that forum holds nothing to do with the actual physical acts of modding

If your idea gets implimented it will.

What I'm thinking is a forum for modding reasearch and development, with a set of sub forums for the different aspects of modding, Models/skinning, mapping, codeing, scripting, with a repository for any work that is done as community 'free to use projects'......Thoughts?

[makanyane]

there are two sets of modding forums, one for M2TW and one for Eras. That's fine if I want to ask a game-specific question but a lot of the questions seem to be common across all of the games so it makes finding answers doubly hard.

It's probably fine if you are an experienced modder, but t is bloody hard work if you are new to the game.

Trouble is unless you are an experienced modder you probably won't know which questions are game specific. Mapping is largely similar across RTW and M2TW but there are a few differences, and the error reporting system is different - so newbies especially would be likely to get a confusing answer. For that reason I think most questions are best asked in worksop areas specific to the individual games.
(just realised Tac's question about battle map textures etc is quite advanced - if you don't get responses to it try PM'ing Muizer, as far as I know he got furthest investigating that side of things)

Combined research forums are an interesting idea though :hmmm:

[Tom Paine]

one what? that forum holds nothing to do with the actual physical acts of modding

Self-fulfilling statement; it contains nothing of the actual physical acts, therefore people don't put stuff related to it in there, therefore it contains nothing of them, therefore people don't put them in there. Break the vicious circle!

[Tacticalwithdrawal]

Self-fulfilling statement; it contains nothing of the actual physical acts, therefore people don't put stuff related to it in there, therefore it contains nothing of them, therefore people don't put them in there. Break the vicious circle!

it's not supposed to be used for modding technical questions though

[Tom Paine]

No, of course not, its purpose doesn't include "discuss[ion of] modding, post[ing] general modding info" really. Wait...

[Tacticalwithdrawal]

If your idea gets implimented it will.

well, it would make it a lot easier for people new to the site (as well as modding) to have an obvious place to ask their first questions. As they got more aware of things are (mainly through people being helpfull and pointing them in the right direction) then they would probably concentrate in their specialist areas.

What I'm thinking is a forum for modding reasearch and development, with a set of sub forums for the different aspects of modding, Models/skinning, mapping, codeing, scripting, with a repository for any work that is done as community 'free to use projects'......Thoughts?

sounds like a good idead to me, but I'm just starting out so my 'research' tends to be around trying to get my map to load without CTD's

No, of course not, its purpose doesn't include "discuss[ion of] modding, post[ing] general modding info" really. Wait...

um, if actually looked at the forum you'd see it is full of discussions about general modding topics. It isn't a place where threads such as 'How do I change the traits in generals' are usually posted. They go into the more specialist sub-forums which, as I said before, is great if you know where those sub-forums are but crap if (like me) you are new to all of this.

[WImPyTjeH]

The best mapping tutorial IMO is Myrddraal's at the Org LINK

It describes every aspect of campaign mapping - It helped me a lot :wink:

W

[makanyane]

I'd agree that this forum is not place for 'how-to' questions.

'Rome Workshop' as a title makes sense for the RTW modding forum, but where to put things in sub-forum is perhaps a bit confusing - especially since mapping got removed through lack of use and some of that comes under text editing and some not. (though for Tac. don't worry about it too much, if you post in wrong place you normally still get answered or moved by friendly moderator)

Could posting threads in Rome Workshop general be blocked and a new sub-forum set up for general modding questions? Some of things ending up in there would probably still need moving but that is only same situation as at present. As rest of modding discussion / research projects could be moving here that might work.

Or slightly more radically, could the questions elements of skins, models and animations be extracted into the questions forum - and all questions including those on text editing take place in one sub-forum - as RTW is quieter now I don't think that would pose too much of problem. So you'd end up with just sub-forums for:
Tools, Tutorials and Resources
Mod Threads
Skins, Models and Animations - (previews and downloads)
Modding Questions

[Arakorn]

If we make a shared forum for both games, my two cents (European €€€!) would be that in front of every topic you'd have to include this: [RTW] or [M2TW], so as to clarify which game this is about. This will also "help your helpers" (umm, yeah...) so that they see if it's their stronger side (game) or not.

Hmm, makes little sense...
And yes, I've been replaying Oblivion and I've taken some new mods for it, that's where I got those tags from.

Oh and of course any variation of these tags is permitted.
For example [M2], [BI] etc...

EDIT: As to subforums and as a reply to Makanyane:

Here's my suggestion:

• Modding forums
• Mod threads (released *minor* mods, mods without a subforum. IMO the hosted mods should go into M2/RTW forums as they are now)
• Tools, Tuts and Resources
• "Different modding area forums"
  
  • Text editing
  • 2D
  • 3D
  • *anything else*
  • Modding Q's

Although I do not see the point in having both a forum for tuts and questions, and then still having a forum for all areas. "Hey, wait, where should I post my tutorial now, "Tuts" or "Mapping""? Or then questions will end up in both text editing and questions forums...

Great, post made even messier...

[Tacticalwithdrawal]

The best mapping tutorial IMO is Myrddraal's at the Org LINK

It describes every aspect of campaign mapping - It helped me a lot :wink:

W

it's my bible

[Muizer]

Thing is, the idea of having a mapping forum was/is that that's where mappers are to be found. It does actually work, IMHO, compared to the old setup.

That said, what Tac is saying is also true: up to a point you need to know about modding to know what the right place is to ask a question.

At the moment it's the moderators who move posts to the right subforum. Perhaps that should actually be advertised as an official "service". As in "have a question about modding but don't know where to ask it? Place it here and we'll see to it".

[Tacticalwithdrawal]

At the moment it's the moderators who move posts to the right subforum. Perhaps that should actually be advertised as an official "service". As in "have a question about modding but don't know where to ask it? Place it here and we'll see to it".

that would work equally well

[Halie Satanus]

Hmm, We tried that and it didn't go down to well. though i guess that was more down to inactivity in the last 'months? before MTW2 came out. Cross over editing will always be a problem as well.

In other news i have re-arranged the RTW tutorials section so it's a bit tidier. (better late than never).

Anyway Should i do the same for MTW2, kind of scarred to do it if it will confuse people so take a look at the RTW set up and see what you think.

I am open to suggestions.