4
I noticed that dozens of mods are being made these days... However, the download database of EM Planet only contains 19 of them. The thing is, many of those announced mods are in fact people without any skills that ask for assistance to fulfill their idea of a mod. Others are getting some work done, but they are bound to fail by not using the correct tools. Or they lose all hope when a priceless member decides to leave their mod team. Or they get everyone's hopes up by posting endless lists of content, most of which they have no clue on how to make.
So I've decided to make the following 2-part guide about the implications of modding. You should carefully consult this guide before considering to start your own mod.
Part I - What you should do before starting a mod.
1 – Assess your current skills.
Answer the following questions:
Scripting should also be considered, although it is a much more difficult task which is only understood by a few experienced people here. Therefore, be realistic in your expectations towards your own mod if you do not have any notions of C ++ and how to apply it in the game context. For example, do not promise new missions or complicated features that have not yet been created in another mod. Get permissions to use existing scripts before mentioning that they will be used in your mod.
2 – Make sure you use the right tools (which means think twice before using SketchUp).
There is only one program out there which has a filter to export models in the v3o format used by EM4, and it’s Zmodeler 2.
Lately, a lot of mod teams have been working with Google SketchUp, since it is much easier to use that a traditional 3D modeling program. They have made particularly good-looking models in this program (or have taken existing models that are available free of charge from other SketchUp users). However, you should know that SketchUp, while easy to use, has many flaws when making models for this game, and does not prevent the need to learn how to use ZModeler. Here’s why:
3 – Create a few complete models and put them in the game.
Do not start your mod by announcing a long list of units that you haven’t done yet. This creates high expectations for your mod, even though you haven’t gone yet through the long process of creating content and making it work in the game.
Complete a few models (3-4) first and make sure they work completely as they should in the game (parts, lights, staffing, unit pictures, etc). This will give you an idea of how long it takes and how much you enjoy the process, which brings us to the next step:
4 – Consider your level of personal investment in the mod.
Do you have enough free time and interest to give to your mod so that you can update it on a more or less regular basis? Are there any obligations (school, work or other) that may keep you away from modding for an extended period of time in the foreseeable future?
Do you plan on working with a team? Modding teams may be able to get the work done faster, but what happens if a conflict arises and/or if a member leaves the team? Are you relying on someone in particular to get some important work done? Can you take over some responsibilities if a key member leaves?
The best approach is to be able to do most of the work yourself, and to ask people for help on a non-regular basis, only if the need arises. If this is more work than you can or want to handle, you may want to avoid starting a mod of your own.
5 – Consider the general interest of your mod.
The generic EM4 units have been repainted a countless number of times. We know that the EM4 German fire engines can be repainted to look like they’re French, British or Dutch (even American in some cases). We know that the default traffic cars can be turned into a “new” police car if you add a lightbar (or that they can be turned into a “badass unmarked car” if you just stick a flashing light on the windshield and paint the car black). If this is what your mod is about, and you’re not making any new models, you’re not really bringing anything new to the scene. Interest for your mod will be low.
Same thing goes for what your mod depicts. If you depict the rescue services of a well-known locale (New York, Paris, etc), you will generate much more interest than if you depict the local rescue services of Anytown/Anycounty, USA. If you still decide to depict your locality’s emergency services in a mod and want to stir interest about it, you may want to invest extra efforts in making detailed, original, good looking models. Repaints of Hoppah’s models won’t do it (and he probably won’t allow it anyway).
(Updated 3/29/2012 - In light of a recent incident, it seems I need to add another point)
6 – If you need help creating your mod, don't call people "f*cking idiots".
People already have lives and/or other projects of their own, so always consider outside help as an unexpected blessing and NOT as something to which you are entitled. If you barge in without any prior shown experience, asking people to join your "awesome modding team", expect negative answers and derision - we call this "Asking to have the mod done for you", and it is usually frowned upon.
Answering to such comments by lashing out at people and calling them "f*cking idiots" (or any variation of either word), and/or making a bigoted, borderline racist comment aimed at a member's language or country of origin, will most likely annihilate any chance you might have had of receiving any help.
Part 2 - What you should know once you've started your mod.
If you’ve been through the previous steps, you are now ready to work on your mod and announce it. But it’s not over yet. The following tips can be useful once you get going with your mod.
6 – Avoid promises that you can’t fulfill.
As it was mentioned in step 3, avoid putting up an endless list of vehicles and other features that you want to add to your mod. You’re bound to create false expectations when you realize that some of these will take too long to create, or that you simply don’t know how to do so. You may keep such a list for yourself (it may actually be very useful), but do not let everyone view it. You will also generate much more interest if your progress posts are each time a surprise.
Avoiding promises also means NEVER to post any kind of release date, be it a day, week, month or year. You will be done when you will be done; if members are told not to ask for a release date, it’s precisely to give you the priceless opportunity of not giving one.
7 – Learn how to deal with the kids.
You are bound to get a lot of silly replies about your mod: release date requests, feature requests (often nonsensical ones), requests to use your non-yet-released work, etc. Your best course of action is to ignore these replies (although a bit of witty sarcasm is always worth a laugh every once in a while). Leave it to the moderators to deal accordingly with those who may annoy you.
8 – Make backups.
You never know when your hard drive will quit. Backup early, backup often.
9 – Know when to quit – but don’t be selfish if you do so.
Sometimes, something may happen that may suddenly halt your work indefinitely, be it family matters, a new job, or simply suffering a cruel twist of fate in the form of a hard drive failure (Didn’t I tell you to backup?)
If that happens, be honest about it and try to let everyone know as soon as possible instead of leaving your followers in the dark for an extended period of time (or forever). If you don’t know when (or if) whatever matter will be resolved, try to avoid putting everything on an indefinite (and sometimes definitive) hiatus. Transfer your work to someone else for completion, or try to release it as is. It’s always frustrating to have expectations after seeing some impressive work, only to be told at some point that the material will never be released.
So I've decided to make the following 2-part guide about the implications of modding. You should carefully consult this guide before considering to start your own mod.
Part I - What you should do before starting a mod.
1 – Assess your current skills.
Answer the following questions:
- Can you create models?
- Can you create textures for these models?
- Do you know how to transfer your creations in the EM4 editor and then in the game?
Scripting should also be considered, although it is a much more difficult task which is only understood by a few experienced people here. Therefore, be realistic in your expectations towards your own mod if you do not have any notions of C ++ and how to apply it in the game context. For example, do not promise new missions or complicated features that have not yet been created in another mod. Get permissions to use existing scripts before mentioning that they will be used in your mod.
2 – Make sure you use the right tools (which means think twice before using SketchUp).
There is only one program out there which has a filter to export models in the v3o format used by EM4, and it’s Zmodeler 2.
Lately, a lot of mod teams have been working with Google SketchUp, since it is much easier to use that a traditional 3D modeling program. They have made particularly good-looking models in this program (or have taken existing models that are available free of charge from other SketchUp users). However, you should know that SketchUp, while easy to use, has many flaws when making models for this game, and does not prevent the need to learn how to use ZModeler. Here’s why:
- While it is available free of charge, Google SketchUp does not allow exporting models in other formats than Google proprietary formats, which are only used in Google Earth or to share models in SketchUp. To export to widely-used 3D formats, you need a copy of SketchUp Pro, which costs 495.00 USD.
- Once in SketchUp Pro, you will need to export your model to a format that is recognized by ZModeler 2, to proceed with the v3o export later on (there are no v3o filters for SketchUp). To do so, you will need to export to the 3ds format. However, there are several parameters that need to be just right for the model to be recognized by Zmod. You will need to proceed with a lot of trial and error (it lasted about 2 hours for me).
- Once imported in Zmod, your model is likely to experience various problems. It may be flipped, inverted, mirrored, and most likely all of these at once. The polygon count will be unreasonably high, especially with a complex model. This is because SketchUp has its own way of dealing with faces. When a model is exported to 3ds, the exporting process generates triangle polygons with which most 3D modelers are familiar to replace the SketchUp faces. However, the exporting process will generate a huge number of polies that would have been avoided by any smart human modeler. It also means you may end up with very small, almost invisible polies.
- For some reason, Zmod also has a hard time dealing with models imported from SketchUp. Expect strange bugs, crashes, strange normals, etc.
3 – Create a few complete models and put them in the game.
Do not start your mod by announcing a long list of units that you haven’t done yet. This creates high expectations for your mod, even though you haven’t gone yet through the long process of creating content and making it work in the game.
Complete a few models (3-4) first and make sure they work completely as they should in the game (parts, lights, staffing, unit pictures, etc). This will give you an idea of how long it takes and how much you enjoy the process, which brings us to the next step:
4 – Consider your level of personal investment in the mod.
Do you have enough free time and interest to give to your mod so that you can update it on a more or less regular basis? Are there any obligations (school, work or other) that may keep you away from modding for an extended period of time in the foreseeable future?
Do you plan on working with a team? Modding teams may be able to get the work done faster, but what happens if a conflict arises and/or if a member leaves the team? Are you relying on someone in particular to get some important work done? Can you take over some responsibilities if a key member leaves?
The best approach is to be able to do most of the work yourself, and to ask people for help on a non-regular basis, only if the need arises. If this is more work than you can or want to handle, you may want to avoid starting a mod of your own.
5 – Consider the general interest of your mod.
The generic EM4 units have been repainted a countless number of times. We know that the EM4 German fire engines can be repainted to look like they’re French, British or Dutch (even American in some cases). We know that the default traffic cars can be turned into a “new” police car if you add a lightbar (or that they can be turned into a “badass unmarked car” if you just stick a flashing light on the windshield and paint the car black). If this is what your mod is about, and you’re not making any new models, you’re not really bringing anything new to the scene. Interest for your mod will be low.
Same thing goes for what your mod depicts. If you depict the rescue services of a well-known locale (New York, Paris, etc), you will generate much more interest than if you depict the local rescue services of Anytown/Anycounty, USA. If you still decide to depict your locality’s emergency services in a mod and want to stir interest about it, you may want to invest extra efforts in making detailed, original, good looking models. Repaints of Hoppah’s models won’t do it (and he probably won’t allow it anyway).
(Updated 3/29/2012 - In light of a recent incident, it seems I need to add another point)
6 – If you need help creating your mod, don't call people "f*cking idiots".
People already have lives and/or other projects of their own, so always consider outside help as an unexpected blessing and NOT as something to which you are entitled. If you barge in without any prior shown experience, asking people to join your "awesome modding team", expect negative answers and derision - we call this "Asking to have the mod done for you", and it is usually frowned upon.
Answering to such comments by lashing out at people and calling them "f*cking idiots" (or any variation of either word), and/or making a bigoted, borderline racist comment aimed at a member's language or country of origin, will most likely annihilate any chance you might have had of receiving any help.
Part 2 - What you should know once you've started your mod.
If you’ve been through the previous steps, you are now ready to work on your mod and announce it. But it’s not over yet. The following tips can be useful once you get going with your mod.
6 – Avoid promises that you can’t fulfill.
As it was mentioned in step 3, avoid putting up an endless list of vehicles and other features that you want to add to your mod. You’re bound to create false expectations when you realize that some of these will take too long to create, or that you simply don’t know how to do so. You may keep such a list for yourself (it may actually be very useful), but do not let everyone view it. You will also generate much more interest if your progress posts are each time a surprise.
Avoiding promises also means NEVER to post any kind of release date, be it a day, week, month or year. You will be done when you will be done; if members are told not to ask for a release date, it’s precisely to give you the priceless opportunity of not giving one.
7 – Learn how to deal with the kids.
You are bound to get a lot of silly replies about your mod: release date requests, feature requests (often nonsensical ones), requests to use your non-yet-released work, etc. Your best course of action is to ignore these replies (although a bit of witty sarcasm is always worth a laugh every once in a while). Leave it to the moderators to deal accordingly with those who may annoy you.
8 – Make backups.
You never know when your hard drive will quit. Backup early, backup often.
9 – Know when to quit – but don’t be selfish if you do so.
Sometimes, something may happen that may suddenly halt your work indefinitely, be it family matters, a new job, or simply suffering a cruel twist of fate in the form of a hard drive failure (Didn’t I tell you to backup?)
If that happens, be honest about it and try to let everyone know as soon as possible instead of leaving your followers in the dark for an extended period of time (or forever). If you don’t know when (or if) whatever matter will be resolved, try to avoid putting everything on an indefinite (and sometimes definitive) hiatus. Transfer your work to someone else for completion, or try to release it as is. It’s always frustrating to have expectations after seeing some impressive work, only to be told at some point that the material will never be released.
