Which game / expansion is better for modding?

**BM309K58SMERCH** · June 25, 2012, 03:37 PM

Well, I was thinking of starting up a project to make my own mod. I know two famous mods for Medieval II: Total War, Stainless Steel and Third Age. Since I have no clue about them, and I never played them, I thought they're both mods for Medieval II (as in Medieval II itself). But to my suprise, I found both their designated sub-forums under the "Kingdoms: Hosted Modifications" sub-forum. Apparently meaning that those two are both mods for M2K:TW.
(The mentioning of the Stainless Steel mod and the Third Age mod has no intent of plagiarism or stealing. I just want to give an example.)

So I'm wondering now, should I make my mod for M2K:TW or M2:TW? I don't know anything (yet) about the former, since I didn't start playing it. Could somebody also explain to me what are the Pros and Cons between the two? And their opinion on both?

I would prefer either, but as long as I get an audience (no matter how small it is

), and it is easier to modify.
Thank you in advance.

**richardsharpe** · June 25, 2012, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by BM309K58SMERCH

Well, I was thinking of starting up a project to make my own mod. I know two famous mods for Medieval II: Total War, Stainless Steel and Third Age. Since I have no clue about them, and I never played them, I thought they're both mods for Medieval II (as in Medieval II itself). But to my suprise, I found both their designated sub-forums under the "Kingdoms: Hosted Modifications" sub-forum. Apparently meaning that those two are both mods for M2K:TW.
(The mentioning of the Stainless Steel mod and the Third Age mod has no intent of plagiarism or stealing. I just want to give an example.)

So I'm wondering now, should I make my mod for M2K:TW or M2:TW? I don't know anything (yet) about the former, since I didn't start playing it. Could somebody also explain to me what are the Pros and Cons between the two? And their opinion on both?

I would prefer either, but as long as I get an audience (no matter how small it is

), and it is easier to modify.
Thank you in advance.

New to modding this game, but my understanding is that kingdoms is better to mod since it has more vanilla features which can be used.

**BM309K58SMERCH** · June 25, 2012, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by richardsharpe

...vanilla features...

But isn't Medieval II alone the "vanilla"? Also, could you explain a bit more with that? :S

**The Holy Pilgrim** · June 25, 2012, 03:45 PM

Kingdoms for sure.

It has many more features and it's more mod-folder friendly, meaning you don't have to overwrite your game's files.

Really, there is no benefit to modding Medieval 2 over Kingdoms. Kingdoms has everything Medieval 2 has and more.

All-in-all, go for Kingdoms.

Oh, and a tip: if you're only going to mod so that way you can get a fan-base going, well, the chances of you completing the mod are very, very, very slim. As a modder and a 4 year member of these boards, I cannot tell you how many mods that have died because 1) the creator was making them for all of the wrong reasons, 2) the creator lost interest in the mod, and/or 3) they bit off way more than they could chew.

I'm not trying to discourage you from starting your own project. I support it, actually, as it is always great to see more modders eager to begin work. Just know that if your heart is truly in it, you'll fare much better.

**BM309K58SMERCH** · June 25, 2012, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by The Holy Pilgrim

Oh, and a tip: if you're only going to mod so that way you can get a fan-base going, well, the chances of you completing the mod are very, very, very slim. As a modder and a 4 year member of these boards, I cannot tell you how many mods that have died because 1) the creator was making them for all of the wrong reasons, 2) the creator lost interest in the mod, and/or 3) they bit off way more than they could chew.

Well, it's not only for the fan-base, i'm not that greedy.

Can you explain a bit more with those points?
(Sorry for asking everybody too many questions, I feel like i'm embodying the features of the perfect newb.

)

**The Holy Pilgrim** · June 25, 2012, 04:04 PM

Making a Mod for All of the Wrong Reasons
- I've seen it time and time again. A member of the board wants to mod because they want the rep and popularity after seeing somebody else make it big. They try to get into modding and base all of their work on somebody else and are only in it for the reps. These never make it far and people tend to not follow them at all as you can tell when a mod has no heart. One key characteristic of this is "Hey, I can't mod (not interested lulz!!!), but I want a team to help me make a mod about ____!" These types of mods never get off the ground unless the "leader" is serious about this, but even then, the chances of the mod being completed are very slim.
The Creator Lost Interest
- When you come up with a mod, you must expect to do most, if not all, of the work. It's a sad fact, but unless you, the leader, yourself are interested in carrying the project out, there will be no hope for the mod. There have been very rare cases where a mod gets somewhere under the leadership of one member and another teammate take over when the founder of the mod leaves, but that is because the person taking over is dedicated and wants to see the project through. If you don't have a passion for what you're making, don't expect it to be completed.
You Bit Off More Than You Could Chew
- This is the one I see the second most often: an ambitious modder decides to make a project that is so large in scale, they could not finish it, and in some cases couldn't even start it. They plan to make an overhaul of the game with little to no knowledge of the game, try and make it work, and they leave/give up because it's either impossible or too difficult for them. Teams help with this, especially if you get members experienced in modding the game you want to mod. My advice for anybody, be they a big-time modder or a fresh beginner, just start off small and add-on as you go. Get an early version set-up how you like it, and if you want more, add some more later. Don't try and add it all at once. Wait until you have the skills to do all of that heavy-duty work.

**BM309K58SMERCH** · June 26, 2012, 02:40 AM

Aah, the last one scares me, because I always do silly mistakes like that IRL. I will keep that in mind. Thank you very much for the help

Anybody else got some opinions? And, should I get my mod up and running (but still in a WIP state), I should post the thread in this: "Wips, Ideas, and Proposals" Sub-forum? or the other one? "Mods Released!"

**Vipman** · June 26, 2012, 03:28 AM

well if it's a WIP where do you think?

Released mods are well aaa.... released?? meaning finished....

answer is here in the WIP section... when the mod is completed (or at least a finished version 1.0) it's moved there i think or posted in the released mods forum.

**BM309K58SMERCH** · June 26, 2012, 05:57 AM

Okay, I tried Kingdoms out, and I do see that it is better for modding.
Now, I have an onslaught of questions. I know the FAQs thread, and all the answers are there. I also downloaded the Tome of modding (or whatever the name is), and I find that it is extremely helpful. But is there a generic thread where I can ask questions? Or something like that? Because I feel like making a thread for every question is wrong. (it is wrong.)

If the next post answers my question, then I'm done with this thread, and I don't need to ask anymore.