Greencardman
Warlord
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2005
- Messages
- 114
Ok, so I wrote a lot of stuff about why this was the best idea ever. Then i accidentally hit the back button because i have my mouse scrolling enabled for that, and i lost it all. So I'll try recreate this, but I assume it will lack the passion the first version had. When I get it back I'll rewrite it.
First of all, this is the greatest idea ever because of how we'll all benefit. Curently there are a lot of people are there who want to mod, and they have some really great ideas. But they don't know how to do it. If we built a program that let anyone mod the simple things, we'll all benefit from being able to use what they create. Currently they're restricted by what they don't know: the scary open-up-this-file-change-these-10-things thing. Its kind of an economy thing, opening up modding to everyone will make them more available.
So I propose a basic framework for this modding program:
1. Its simple to use. Maybe have it be a wizard style program, so anyone can use it, and it takes you through all the steps. It doesn't need to change everything, just start out with the stuff most people want to change.
2. It mods correctly. Since the idea behind this is "mods for us all!" the program needs to do it correctly. That means not changing original files and making sure whats created gets put in the right place. After all, since we want people to create mods, we want them to be stable and consistent. We don't want people randomly dispersing information about where to put folders and what files to delete. Bad idea! This program should create files, and be open about where they go and how to do it.
3. Along the lines of #2, this should definitely educate people. If people know more about how modding works, they'll be more interested. So explaining how mod files works should be a priority. Not just XML jargon, but people should understand if they create a new civ they'll have to load it, and will the other civs still be there, and how do they play with thiers, etc.
Ok, before i lose this post, I'm gonna save it. Next up: A prototype program description
First of all, this is the greatest idea ever because of how we'll all benefit. Curently there are a lot of people are there who want to mod, and they have some really great ideas. But they don't know how to do it. If we built a program that let anyone mod the simple things, we'll all benefit from being able to use what they create. Currently they're restricted by what they don't know: the scary open-up-this-file-change-these-10-things thing. Its kind of an economy thing, opening up modding to everyone will make them more available.
So I propose a basic framework for this modding program:
1. Its simple to use. Maybe have it be a wizard style program, so anyone can use it, and it takes you through all the steps. It doesn't need to change everything, just start out with the stuff most people want to change.
2. It mods correctly. Since the idea behind this is "mods for us all!" the program needs to do it correctly. That means not changing original files and making sure whats created gets put in the right place. After all, since we want people to create mods, we want them to be stable and consistent. We don't want people randomly dispersing information about where to put folders and what files to delete. Bad idea! This program should create files, and be open about where they go and how to do it.
3. Along the lines of #2, this should definitely educate people. If people know more about how modding works, they'll be more interested. So explaining how mod files works should be a priority. Not just XML jargon, but people should understand if they create a new civ they'll have to load it, and will the other civs still be there, and how do they play with thiers, etc.
Ok, before i lose this post, I'm gonna save it. Next up: A prototype program description