I'd Like to become a modder - how about you?......

JacketteFarcryer · March 20, 2015

Hello peoples of the Nexus,

Welcome

I'm starting this blog because I wish to learn how to mod or to put it more clearly, to teach myself how to mod. I wish to do this for my own amusement, entertainment, self growth etc, rather than for profit.

Yeah, I know. sounds idealistic - but that's me. If i fail, at least I can say I gave it a shot right? I'm happy with that.

In simple terms I want to do it for me & because I love being creative.

If newbies wish to follow my progress they are more than welcome to do so. Like wise, if accomplished modders wish to advise or suggest where i should start - feel free to make your comments on this blog.

All are welcome, but please be courteous not rude okay - I will do the same for you. Respect is a two-way street.

I don't have any files to share at present , but I'll keep you updated when & where I can.

Thanks for reading all this.

Cheers,

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UPDATE:

First off, I'm doing research to find easy-to-use FREEware Programs to help keep my costs down.

This will start with GIMP. I'll let you know the version I'm using soon, [as I'm not at home atm. :unsure:]

Somewhere along the line, I'll be looking into voice recording to make my own scripts, BUT for now, that's waay far off, down the track.

The mod I'm looking at making will be a total conversion mod with a twist, can't say what the twist will be atm, but hopefully my ideas will see the sunlight sometime soon.

Everything I download & "Try", that passes muster, I'll include the specifics of in this blog for you with ALL links included.

Right now, it's very early days - so you'll have to be patient. Hopefully, it'll be worth the wait though.

For all of you who are interested or following my progress - I say a heart felt

"Thanks", it means a lot to me.

See you soon with the next update.

Cheers,

Edited March 30, 2015 by JacketteFarcryer

JacketteFarcryer · March 31, 2015

Hello Everyone,

Ok, I've done some research on a topic I'm interested in: how to create some good voice overs. I'd like to create my own in game scripts. I know I'm jumping the gun here - these vids might be useless, but since I don't have sound on my work computer, I can't really judge the content of them.

I simply copied the addressess of the one's that interested me, put them in a txt file for everyone & viola. Yes I'm aware that Audacity isn't free. I'm researching comparatively "Free" similar programs in the hope I can find a good one that does the same if not more than Audacity.

Anyway - see what you think & let me know.....Wish my boss would fix the sound on this machine but what can I say, he's a tight-arse at the best of times. :sick:

Nevermind, enjoy the vids,

Damn! txt thing isn't working so I'll have to cut & paste. What a pain - here goes:

youtube vids reseach for voice over recordings

done by JacketteFarcryer on 30/03/2015

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How to Record Voice Overs

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Home Voice Over Studio . . . on the cheap!

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How To Have A Deep Voice

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How To Make Your Voice Sound Better (Secrets Revealed)

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"How to Make Your Voice Sound Better in Audacity" - How to Edit Gameplay Commentaries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHn2BQ0Zq7k

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How To Make Super Cool Voice Effects In Audacity

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How to Make Your Voice Sound Demonic in Audacity

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there you go.

Cheers,

**UPDATE**

All this time I thought Audacity was a paid for deal, TODAY I found this:

Apparently Audacity is free:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Download links for different versions

http://www.fosshub.com/Audacity.html/audacity-win-2.1.0.exe

Has Mac, Linux links & Audacity Manual, plus LADSPA plugins

For me, this is good news! :laugh:

Cheers,

Edited April 1, 2015 by JacketteFarcryer

JacketteFarcryer · April 2, 2015

Hello everyone,

Here's my latest update:

I've been mulling over a few ideas in regards to

storylines etc, so I'm looking at getting your

feedback on everything.....see what you

think about these........

My Mod - [Part One] - No this Isn't the name of it]

Main Character Names:

Female: Val. Ortega - Undercover CIA Agent

This will be a loosely based

characterization of Valerie

Constantine from the

original Far Cry Game.

Clothing will be more sophisticated

than in the original game. Change of

clothes will also be possible to fit

different scenarios as player

progresses through the game.As

such new tech gadgets become

available to her on each new lvl.

Male: Jack Colton

Skipper/ Ex-Special Forces Commando

Once again, this will also be a loose

Characterization of Jack Carver from

the original Far Cry Game.As such his

clothing will also be interchangable as

the main storyline & some [required]

side missions progress.

The difference will be that Val. has

brought most of what she'll use in

the game with her, while Jack has

to find whatever he thinks he can

use - out in the jungle. He will come

across weapon stashes & maybe a

bullet proof vest but health packs

will be kept to a minimum.

In Far Cry 3, I got too many health

packs, which led to no space for any

other syringes in my back pack

- very annoying. There might be FIVE

health packs per every 8 lvls. At this stage,

I'm really not sure how big this mod will be,

so erring on the side of caution, let's just

say, for now, it'll be at least 20 lvls. That's

only a rough estimate - might be

more, but could be less.

I kinda know what I want the storylines to be,

roughly. Yes it will be similar in some instances,

to the original Far Cry game - BUT, I can tell you

that there will be NO ANIMAL/HUMAN HYBRID

MONSTERS, with the storylines & [NO

TATTOOS-NOR INK MONSTER either] Jack WILL

be sporting a Special Forces Tattoo,

however- his character will not have to do

anything to aquire it.] For the most part, it will not

be seen as it'll be hidden under his clothes upon

his chest. You will see it at least once during the

game though.

Jack will have to relearn his survival skills. From

finding "safe" areas in which to sleep to catching

& cooking his food all without being detected.

[something which will be very difficult].

There'll be multiple paths Jack/Val can go to

complete their objectives. Whilst he/sheheads

towards a current mission, if the're in the

vacinity of a side mission, they'll be given the

choice to continue or do the side mission first.

Far Cry 3 missions & side missions were

distracting & confusing at times sending you

from one side of the island to the other then

backwards again.

The new way I'm proposing gets more of the

map cleared quicker - "as you go".

BUT, as I mentioned before, there will be

multiple paths to complete all main & side

missions, hence the reason the characters

will get to choose how they'd like to

approach each one.

This will ensure for the Vanilla Far Cry 3 Fans

that they get to enjoy play the way that suits them.

For everyone else, myself included, hopefully,

my mod WILL make the game more challenging.

So to that end, there'll be two in game stratup

screen options to choose from:

1) Soft Landing [aka: Easy] OR

2) Survivalistic [aka: Extreme Hardcore] Be a bit

boring to just call them Easy & Hardcore needed

something better. With a bit of luck, I'll be able

to learn how to make & add the following:

Moveable/drivable/stealable tanks both big and small

Helicopters - like in Far Cry 4 [bUT much better, can hover

& fly a lot higher too] There'll be small - closed in helicopters

as well as the upmarket FC4 version. Both flyable.

In the seas, I hope to create much more challenging side

missions, deeper, longer, underwater cave systems,

plus much more agressive, alert sharks. In particular,

HUGE White Pointer sharks. Major experience

skills will be gained by hunting them down. It won't be

easy however, as they'll be cruising the waters in large

packs, for the most part, ramming your boat, with one

or two exceptions, on their own at various points on the

map.

I won't use a hud system, but rather a simple

compass setup. Jack will also have a specialized

watch, & he'll find an underwater camera next to

a speargun which he can use to shoot the sharks

with underwater. Not sure where he'll find these items

yet, but probably in an underwater cave, after he gets

past the first few sharks, with whatever weapons he

has, [prior to getting said speargun etc] He'll be able

to shoot them with other weapons too - though just

not as effectively as with the speargun.

At some points in the storylines the two main

characters will cross paths & the "player" will be

given the option to continue as is or change

character until the next interchange option arises.

These are just some ideas I've been thinking

about for my impending mod. But yes I'm way

ahead of myself, in that, I actually DO need to

learn HOW to mod in the first place! [haha] BUT...

I've sorta got that covered though, so stay

tuned for further information on this.....

BTW: instead of monsters it'll be

"mechanized/super-soldiers" not too out-landish,

but hopefully believable and intense during battle.

Very hard to kill, as AI will be super smart, super

quick, & very super stealthy. They'ill actually be

"tracking" you through the jungle.These super

soldiers will be loosely based on ones in X-Files.

So....what does everyone here think so far?.......

Cheers,

PS: in my online searches I came across this - enjoy!

Edited April 2, 2015 by JacketteFarcryer

JacketteFarcryer · April 14, 2015

Hi all,

I wish to clear up a few points in my last post. I said the main characters would be Val Ortega and Jack Colton, while this is still true, *big spoiler here*, all main characters from Far Cry 3 game will be appearing in my mod.

It is my goal to achieve different characters viewpoints during the game through allowing the "player" to actually choose at specific points in the plot, who they wish to continue "playing as." Having said this however, the very last mission will either be for Jack, Val, or Jason.

All three will have multiple endings dependent on what the "player" decides.

The character called Buck in the original game, will be renamed as: Bill Stark,

His nickname will be "Sharkie"" due to him being be an expert shark hunter, from Australia,

He'll be brought to the islands to work undercover [pretending to cull the white pointers for the marauding, treasure greedy pirates, but actually working against them with Jack, Val, Jason & his Friends. Since I don't play multi - player games as such, this will just be a massive, single player campaign ....at least for now.

Background on some aspects of the original game that prompt me to undertake this new adventure:

On finishing Far Cry 3, I was bothered by this:

Do you remember Vincent? No? Not many would since he was not really mentioned in game apart from the dream sequences and an inferred line screamed by Vaas to a caged Grant and Jason....

"Do you want me to slash you open like I did your friend"..."shut the f*ck up, or you die!" Now as I said, the "Meaning" behind this sentence was "inferred" by Vaas rather than stated as "fact". Of course, it could have been an empty threat - purely designed to "rattle" them into silence. We, as the "player" of Far Cry 3, never actually find this out as apart from those fleeting instances, Vincent's never talked about or referred to by the survivors ever.

2 x pics of Vincent here: - http://jackettefarcryer.imgur.com/all/

I find this really disjointed & disturbing since a major point of the game was that "must rescue everyone" mentality of Jason yet they ALL collectively "forget him - and leave him there to die". Some friends huh? Did they ALL go insane on that Island or what?

How about this for a scenario:

What if they realized & went back for him? If still alive, how would "HE" react to their "sudden" return?

Since it's never been done, I think it's therefore worth really exploring.

Another aspect in the original storyline that was never fully explored was the tenuous relationship of the nightclub DJ, Doug, to Jason and his group of "tourist" friends.

Doug is actually a "Spotter" for Vaas and that's why there's so many "civilians" on the Island when the group are first "captured". Apart from the local Island inhabitants (including Citra & her Rakyat Warriors, ) & the pirates/privateers, most of the people are "rich tourists" Doug has persuasively "sent" there. Those tourists are destined for a life of slavery or worse. On arrival, they are routinely, ransomed off to the highest bidder. After ransom is paid, they're resold on the international black market slave trade for "double the money...Daddy likes."

For the tourists where families can't or won't pay ransom, they're either made sex slaves to the pirates or simply raped & murdered by them. (Men & Women alike.)

Doug's character is largely inferred as far as his onscreen game persona is concerned. The malice/ menace behind his actions never fully comes to light, but is hinted at through Jason's dream sequences. So once again here's part of a viable storyline that I believe "should" be fully explored.

Further proof of his inferred malice is shown through those dream sequences in that it's hinted Doug is himself, an accomplished murderer. At the dance club, after those two guys get "knocked out" by Jason and Keith, then the group runs back to the elevator at Doug's insistence, as they rush past a corridor, someone in the club says: "dead hooker in room [can't think of the number now - [10, 9 or 7, something like that], to which Doug replies "I know", then carelessly continues to the lift with the group to "set them up", by suggesting they sky dive down to the island.

Prior to him getting in that lift and prior to dance floor brawl, he's seen & spoken to by Jason, [in the company of said hooker], as he searched for his younger brother Riley [who was later found with Keith.] What's telling, is when Doug flippantly answers that club goer's comment. How in the hell would Doug "know" she was dead in the said room number, unless "HE" was her killer? Logical assumption, I would think. What's unclear is if that girl was really a "hooker" or in fact a tourist he "forced himself" upon, I'd say the latter is more likely, In the lift, when Grant says to Doug: "Bangkok was our last stop" he immediately replies "yeah it's always good to go with a bang," (Rather an odd statement- are we to assume then that he shot her- for not co=operating with him? Probably)

Later Doug lays his trap by seductively stating boldly (as though he's letting them in on a big secret): "i know this Island where you can do anything'. Jason Immediately takes the bait and replies that they're looking to do "something extreme" which of course leaves Doug to suggest: "Sky diving? - Parachute down to the island". (Of course we now know the island he speaks of belongs to Vaas.) After Jason convinces the others he states confidently:: "We're in, so,,,where's this Island?'

After the player finishes Far Cry 3.....assume they're finally sailing off into the sunset - then they start to realize one thing - Vincent's been left behind.

The vision for my mod kicks in here, with Jack & Val already knowing Bill they've called him to "tee-up" the undercover shark cull, [supposedly for the pirates], but actually clearing out massive underwater cave systems for Jason and his friends to gain classified intel from, on the pirates/ privateer's movements & involvement with the international Slave traders/drug rings/ terrorist cell organizations, etc. [To avoid suspicion, the pirates and privateers work together in these cave systems, actively avoiding spy satellites and the like, because the caves are so deep and hard to reach. Many "tourists" die in their transportation into the caves, before they're taken offshore to their final arranged destinations in various hell holes of the world.

Hoyt termed his business as a "global enterprise" and indeed it is. When we're not on the island with Jason & friends, we'll be at some far flung corner of the world, with one of Hoyt's many contacts, doing shady deals with equally shady individuals,. Then just as suddenly, we're back at Rook islands once again, to continue the groups journey.

It's my believe Vincent is definitely alive, but wounded and VERY P*ssed off. After eventually finding him, Jason & the boys all come to blows when Vince accuses them all of deserting him, before passing out from stress and exaustion. During his "out of it" time, it'll be revealed what it actually took for him to survive, Yep - through dream sequence. Glaring differences between Jason's & Vincent's survival accounts, coupled with rising ,jealousies between the two, mainly, that Jason had help, while Vince had to stay hidden & largely "forgotten," cause him to further resent & mistrust the group for turning their backs, so it becomes palpable. Vincent's personality darkens as his perceptions of his "place" in their group slips then becomes jaded & "lost" upon him.

Vincent has the right to be damned angry. I would be, wouldn't you?
By the same token, the group tells Vince how they survived prior to Jason's intervention with them. So we'll see both sides.
Still, I feel for Vincent's case.

( The group eventually, wears him down & takes him back with them when they leave the Islands for good - though none of them will ever quite be the same again.)

Don't know how long it will take me to do. or at this stage, even IF any of it IS doable. I hope so - I'm up for it because, it's something that I really want to see done for Far Cry 3 , as much as for myself.

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**Update**

Where I'm at with my "learning how to mod stuff - Let's get down to brass tacks:

the version of gimp I'm using is: gimp-2.8.14 - [windows version]

This is the build for Windows (32 and 64 bit)

get it here: http://www.gimpusers...-2-8-14-windows

There are also links to tuts here as well.

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Also looking at this: - Photo Filtre - version 7.2.1.zip - (works with -windows-xp/7/8)

get it here: http://www.snapfiles...hotofiltre.html

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After watching all those vids on how to do "voice overs" etc (posted on my other blog,) I can tell you that I'll be using Audacity for the audio side of my mod. (Yeah, I know, took me long enough to get around to actually watch them! - sorry about that.) My work's computer really sucks! & OK yeah, I get lazy, like everyone I guess.

...................

In terms of actual modding, and by this I'm talking about the initial "basics" of firstly, creating a map for Far Cry 3, guess that, of course means I'll be using the editor. Before I can even do I'll research it and how it all works.

If you're like me, then you need to "watch" something before you actually "get it."

In other words, rather than read tutorials, it's much easier watching how something is done. to learn the techniques of how it all comes together & works. once you understand the "basics," then you can start making something of your own.

Since I'm a person like that, I'll assume "Newbies" out there reading this blog are the same. I'll post video tutorial links on any stuff I'm interested in or hope to work on for this mod as I research them. When I become more confident with my modding abilities I will consider making my own video tutorials and sharing them here. When I make something, I will show you how I did it.

For me this is very daunting though, as my mod will be huge, & as such, there's so much I need to learn! For example, I know nothing about UV Wrapping, rendering, importing,exporting objects between different programs and or formats. High res graphics, script writing, god, the list is endless. Scary - never done this before, but what the hell right? I've done preliminary searches for others on the Nexus but left the info on other threads for those respective recipients to peruse (look at,) rather than look through it myself - fear probably. The great "unknown" as it were, (so to speak.)

That's basically why I've asked for your input - not to be a pain but rather to keep me grounded and to know how I'm going in terms of how this community sees what I'm doing, and if they support it or not [not talking money] but moral here.

Anyway.............

Since I don't yet know how to make a map from scratch, how about I start simple...

The first thing I'd like to do is make a sign post for a beach to reflect that the beach is closed due to many recent shark sightings in the area.

So watch this space ....next time I post hopefully I'll have worked out a few things and I'll have that sign and the way I made it posted on here.

Hope you like what I create.

Thanks for your interest & moral support.

Wish me luck.

Cheers,

Edited April 14, 2015 by JacketteFarcryer

JacketteFarcryer · April 16, 2015

Ok, as promised, here are the the beach signs. Yahoooo, I'm so happy to have finally got started.

After seeing my efforts on the 2nd pic - I'm really surprised I could make the waters around the fin look that way.

I'm proud of what I achieved, Now i REALLY want to learn to mod - Yeeha!, man it was great fun.

Pics aren't interactive or in 3d though- they are flat, But it still feels good that I managed to create them, at all, cause I'm such a NoOb!!! :sick: hahaha

Hope you like them. Took me ages!

What I did:

They were done in photofiltre & paint,

Basically how I did them was open a new file in photofiltre, coloured the background red, saved it, then opened a pic with paint and used the freeform select option to go around the shape of shark fin,.Then I closed paint.

Sorry, left out a step there..After closing paint I went back to photofiltre (i still had access to the red background shot,) as I'd saved but not actually closed it. I posted the shark fin (still in memory, so no need to copy or save fin) on it's own.

Next I chose the text option in photofiltre, and color of text (white in this case - from within the text chioce options, hit ok and my typed text instantly appeared where I'd wanted (& arranged) for it to go. Magic....

Lastly I used a combination of the smudge tool, spray paint tool and color options in photofiltre to create different shades of red in the waters surrounding the shark fin.

When I was satisfied, I uploaded the results to http://imgur.com/a/dA88K and the rest as they say is history.

what do you think?

Would you like me to do another one with screenshots? Actually, I'll probably do another anyway, just to get a bit more experience at doing them -- and because it's really fun to create.

Cheers,

JF

Edited April 17, 2015 by JacketteFarcryer

JacketteFarcryer · April 18, 2015

Research Results:

What I searched for: how to make in game cluster bombs

What I got:

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=how+to+make+in+game+cluster+bombs&safe=active&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=rvYxVaPJOcXZmgXFgYHACQ&ved=0CD4QsAQ&biw=1086&bih=634

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About Cluster Bombs How Do They Work:

http://www.clusterbombs.org.uk/cluster-munitions/how-do-they-work/

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=74K8bmfcydc

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Cluster munition - (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_munition

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Pixleated shadow problem research is also coming.......

JacketteFarcryer · May 5, 2015

Hi all,

With regards to promised Pixleated shadow problem research, could the modder I said I'd do the research for this subject please PM me [ASAP]. I have the search results, but I'd like to give them to YOU first, before posting them up here for everyone else.

As for the rest of you, my next lot of beach closed signs are coming, as well as latest topics I'm currently exploring for my mod, with all links and pics, [or links to pics] provided.

Stay tuned.......

Happy Modding...

Cheers, :laugh:

JF

***UPDATE***

To MooxNexus, [Hope I got the spelling right ], I've sent you a PM with the search results. Can you please look through them and let me know which if any were most helpful to you? From your opinion on the links, I'll post the best ones up here for the community.

Cheers,

JF