Making new mod

[NoobOfLore]

I thought i should just put this out here...I plan on making a kind of sc2 conversion mod, and I'm hoping to get some tips...since i suck at iScripting, I'm gonna need to do this the n00b way.
I need some help turning the Reaver into the Colossus. Is there a way to give a Carrier or Reaver a regular attack as opposed to the unit spawning? or will i have to teach myself some coding to get through his?

I'm friendly with DatEdit, so I don't need Arsenal.
I'm trying to work with GRPs and i can't find the ListFile...Can i get some help? The StarCraft.org file is gone...or maybe I missed it. Either way, Someone please direct me to a ListFile for winMPQ, since i cant seem to find it.

[ForTheSwarm]

You will need to give it an Iscript. Either that, or its hardcoded (which I doubt).

[TheNomad]

Well, I don't mean disrespect, but there are so many, excuse the choice of words as they are not mean to be an offense, "wannabe sc2 mods" (not modders but mods) that I lost count and most don't end up past the drawing board.

First off, the Colossus is something that will never be a reality in SC1. Secondly, if you don't know iScripting, I recommend you start with something smaller.

Also, Arsenal has no room in any modding discussion. You shouldn't use DatEdit because it is more user-friendly or has more options but because it is more accurate. A lot of people contributed to giving precise info to that Program and Arsenal was good just as a base, nothing more. But that is another discussion.

Back to you and your idea now. I recommend you read this thread (http://www.warboards.org/showthread.php?t=35648) to see what is and isn't possible in the SC1 engine.

But really, don't mean to discourage you, I recommend you do smaller mods, not TCs or heavy mods, such as this. Even the best modders here don't try that (yet).

IF !! you want to learn iScripting, I recommend you check the Ice tutorials here where I, along with others posted valuable infos. I even made a post update on changing speeds and adding attacks to units using SF's IceCC update. If you want to see very neat stuff, just to learn about what it can do, please download Ultimate Doom (http://www.starcraft.org/customs/CustomsDB/heavymodifications/313) by BST Rhino, but pls don't rip it (or at least credit him).

If you have specific questions and need help on something, we are here. If you need info or examples on any program, you can also PM me, but keep in mind, you also need to try stuff yourself, so saying it a bit more delicate, don't post here asking for others to do something for you; well you can but you won't learn anything. Best is to try and ask us to help on problems that you can't handle or errors or crashes. But, before posting, use the search feature.

Before you begin, here are programs you should not touch, since they're obsolete:
- Arsenal (all of them)
- ArrEdit
- ICE, use IceCC instead, though it is a bit more difficult, ICE has more bugs than I have fingers
- StarGraft
- CWADs
- TileEdit - incomplete and not user-friendly, plus you won't need it for most mod ideas

What you would need to get started on the modding scene:
- DatEdit
- IceCC
- TblPad
- WinMPQ

Once you learn these, I'll tell you about more :)
Trust me, take it baby steps or you might end up with mods that never get finished or, at most, are finished but crash often or don't work as planned.

Good luck !

P.S. If you do want to start a SC2 mod, I'll help you, as many more here, but it will be harder than you think, and I don't mean just for making GRPs, but simulating the units' abilities from SC2, which will require more than programs such as FG.


As for your question, afaik, it's hardcoded. Use another unit. I recommend the Archon Hero.

[NoobOfLore]

I plan on asking here for specific questions when I need help. I don't want a full conversion. I'm not even pro. I was just wondering if I could get some help on the few problems that come up, seeing as I'm not going to make SC2...
So, I would need to replace the Reaver with another unit that had a regular attack?
And if I could get some ListFiles for win MPQ...

Again, I DON'T WANT A FULL CONVERSION! I don't need to me instructed on how difficult it is...I'm just trying to make it somewhat like SC2.

[TheNomad]

Here you go. Well, good luck, as I said.
After reading the thread I told you of, you'll understand why you can't change hardcoded units. Keep in mind how techs or upgrades are hardcoded... so the change might have different implications. Also notice that some units use flingy speeds while other use animations and script speeds.

So depending on how you want the unit to move, you'll need to change that as well. What I am trying to say is you can't just change one unit, change attacks, techs and so on without considering what impact it has on the game. So, whatever type of mod you make (SC2 or whatever else) try to plan what type of features the units you want should have (from upgrades to HP/Shields).

OK, let me know what exactly you want to do to make it somewhat like that and I'll tell you where to look/what to change.

[raidmax]

But really, don't mean to discourage you, I recommend you do smaller mods, not TCs or heavy mods, such as this. Even the best modders here don't try that (yet).
Erm, I do TC's and heavy mods. Factions of War, Confederate Uprising, and soon to be Masters of Holocaust. I know other people here do heavy mods as well. Take the SWTC for one example.

[DoctorZettabyte]

I do heavy mods, with no graphics changes outside of buttons\positions and text functions.
I know the theory for more advanced stuff, but I can't get any motivation to put it to practice. :-)

Not that I publish any of them. They're usually pretty wacky. :-P

-DocTera

[NoobOfLore]

I've got it in there, but for some reason I still have 2 unknown files...

[Durandal]

Yeah, those haven't been really discovered yet. I believe they're just portrait files for minerals and gas.

[NoobOfLore]

Thanks.
I'm having a little trouble deciphering the palette in the BMPs from the GRP.
The colors are all wacky, and while i looked at the tutorial for interpreting the colors, that colors 8-15 are team colors...135-139 blahblahblah...It's a little wacky, and I cant tell which colors correspond to the real colors in-game.

[TheNomad]

The purple is the placeholder for the player color.

[NoobOfLore]

I'm using paint shop pro, and I don't think the colors correspond exactly.
It's still confusing...Because the colors don't look similar to the way they do in-game, It's hard to tell whether or not I'm making th carrier look really flamboyant, or if it actually looks cool.

[BlademasterSlsh]

could you attach a BMP and show us? It could me a problem with your GRP to BMP conversion

[NoobOfLore]

sure...
That's the BMP I'm working on, and I can't upload the GRP. Invalid file type.
Is it supposed to look like that? Did I just choose a bad image to start working on? Is there a less scrambled looking unit to modify?

[TheNomad]

sure...
That's the BMP I'm working on, and I can't upload the GRP. Invalid file type.

zip/rar it or change its extension to .txt or anything else.

[BlademasterSlsh]

What program are you using? You're conversion from GRP to BMP is off. Most of the BMP colors look almost exactly like their in game equivalents.

[NoobOfLore]

Well that would make it easier...Right now I'm using retroGRP to decompile my GRPs.
And here's the GRP in ZIP form.

[BlademasterSlsh]

http://www.warboards.org/showthread.php?t=35780

The program mentioned in this thread hasn't been giving me any troubles so far, not to mention it only gives you the BMPs, so you don't have to track down the .ral later

[NoobOfLore]

Okaaay....Umm..That program that I downloaded off of the forum you linked me to confuses me...I chose the carrier GRP to extract, But now I have no idea where it is.

[BlademasterSlsh]

After you select the GRP and the Palate you wish to use, when you hit convert a window comes up. That is where you select where you save the BMP's to.

As for going the other way, you have to enter the number of BMP's that you have (remember to count 0000 as one).

[NoobOfLore]

I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do with the palate on the thread you linked me to, But I imported the palate from the retroGRP file...Apparently I just used the wrong palate when working with retroGRP.
Thanks for helping me out, guys!
Now I'm on a modding roll.

[NoobOfLore]

man...I have a good eye for art, but extremely poor drawing skillz.
Any kind of all-round images that I might be able to substitute certain units for?
Any site that I might be able to use for my sprite needs?

[KillerKow]

http://www.staredit.net/maplantis/index.php?sid=dbecf84bdd;pg=mods

Probably the most useful modding database ever.

[NoobOfLore]

Thanks. I got the site bookmarked now.
And that is some useful stuff indeed...