Any Tips etc. for those new to making mods?

[JohnnCrazy]

I am new to making mods in BF2 and want all the help i can get do you have any links,sites,discords,videos,or tips that would help any and all beginners in creating mods for SWBF2?

[mrcluster]

You know what, I actually never thought of the idea of a modding Discord. If one doesn't already exist perhaps that's something Gametoast or one of us should consider making. As for your other questions, there are links in the FAQ / Everything You Need Thread.

[JohnnCrazy]

Thank you very much

[Marth8880]

You know what, I actually never thought of the idea of a modding Discord. If one doesn't already exist perhaps that's something Gametoast or one of us should consider making.

http://www.gametoast.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=33389

[EasyOvenOperator]

don't be so autistic. focus on one thing and then test that one thing you change/modify.
i'm sure most people are responsible in that manner, but i've always had the issue of modding one thing (unit or weapon), just to have an idea jump to mind and changing multiple things before i test the mod to make sure it works. which will put you in the situation of having to work backwards trying to figure out exactly what it could be causing an issue.
munge often, test often.

[Marth8880]

Work iteratively - don't just make a single change and go with it if it's not 10000000% exactly how you want it to be. If it's even a little bit off, keep on making changes until it's exact.

Break down large, complex tasks into small pieces so they're easier to manage, quantify, and complete. For example, if you want to create, say, a Clone jet trooper from scratch (admittedly not the best example of a large, complex task), that could be broken down into the following sub-tasks:

• Create art assets
  • Unit character
    • Mesh
    • Textures
  • EMP Launcher weapon
    • Mesh
    • Textures
  • Commando Pistol weapon
    • Mesh
    • Textures
• Create ODFs
  • Unit class
  • EMP Launcher weapon
    • Weapon class
    • Ordnance class
    • Ordnance explosion class
  • Commando Pistol weapon
    • Weapon class
    • Ordnance class
• Create particle effects
  • Jetpack exhaust effect
    • FX config file
    • Particle textures
  • EMP Launcher ordnance trail effect
    • FX config file
    • Particle textures
  • EMP Launcher ordnance explosion effect
    • FX config file
    • Particle textures
  • Commando Pistol ordnance impact effect
    • FX config file
    • Particle textures
• Update REQ files
  • Create sub-REQ for unit class
    • Add entry for sub-REQ to REP side's REQ file
  • Add entries for particle effects to side or ingame REQ file
    • Jetpack exhaust effect
      • FX config file
      • Particle textures
    • EMP Launcher ordnance trail effect
      • FX config file
      • Particle textures
    • EMP Launcher ordnance explosion effect
      • FX config file
      • Particle textures
    • Commando Pistol ordnance impact effect
      • FX config file
      • Particle textures
• Update mission scripts
  • <mission script for each applicable map/era/mode combination>
    • Add entry for unit's sub-REQ to side's ReadDataFile section

On top of that^, keep a Trello board (or similar) if you're working on a large project (anything bigger than a single map). It helps immensely with tasking and tracking progress and it keeps you organized when done right. On top of that it's free and super-easy to use.

Set up source control for your project, *especially* if there's more than one person working on the project. That way you can always go back to any changelist at any time, which is especially useful if you ever run into issues that you absolutely cannot seem to nail down. For SWBF2 modding, I personally recommend using Subversion for your SCM provider, TortoiseSVN for the shell application,
VisualSVN Server for your server solution, and then hosting the server and repository on a separate, newer hard drive (or in the cloud if possible) for your hosting solution. At some point I'm going to create a tutorial on how to do all of this.

In case you're unfamiliar with what exactly source control *is*:

[SkinnyODST]

... munge often, test often.

As said there, testing is vital. Play test your mod/map a lot. You COULD see it as slacking off and playing, but you`re playing your mod, and the only way to find bugs/glitches is to play test it. Sometimes these bugs/glitches are very well hidden, so before you release a mod to the public and THEY discover these problems, make sure you play it enough so YOU discover them first, then you can fix them, and the public will praise your mod for being so polished ^_^