Interview: Prof. Scott Swearingen

Professor Scott Swearingen is a professor at UTDallas and has roughly 10 years of experience in the game industry. His industry experience will allow me to write on the developer side of the mutual modder and developer relationship. Here is how the interview went.

How long have you been in the industry?

I was in the industry for about a decade, since ’03.

Did any of your developers have a problem with user created content?

From my perspective, when I was a modder, I used to mod the Quake 2 engine and Quake 3 engine when I was in school. The developers love it because what it does is it gives a game legs. If there is a huge modding community out there, that is free press for a specific game or a specific brand. If everybody is modding Quake 1, then Id is going to make Quake 2, and it keeps growing and what you get are a bunch of modders out there who are entering the industry who are used to one specific piece of software. If the studio is developing that one software, they love the fact that all of the talent is using their software so they gotta license their software. When I first got into the industry I was working with TKO on Metal of Honor, and it was using the Quake 3 engine. Ninety percent of games back then were using the Quake 3 engine because that was the big thing back then. So yea studios love it because it gives their game legs.

Were there any types of mods that you found developers disproved of, or that infringed on any copyright laws?

Not for any of the games that I worked on. If your breaking the law with your mod, like having pornography as part of your mod, the developer is not gonna want that. If your using your mod to do other illicit activities, the developers not gonna want that. If your are breaking the law, just generally speaking, the developer is not gonna want that. If it is just tounge and cheek, artsy fartsy stuff, that’s fine.

Have you ever seen anyone get hired from the modding community?

Totally. I actually got hired out of the modding community. It’s awesome that you as that actually. When I worked at TKO as a level designer, I found that Unitool  (Jeff Zerin) was there, I was sitting right next to him. Metal Slime (John Fitsgibbins) from the modding community was working at TKO. Yogi (John Hues) was working at TKO. Amathis 7 who I know from the modding community was working at TKO as a level designer. Vexar, from the modding community was working at TKO. All of these people that I knew from the Quake 2 and Quake 3 modding boards. They had their first time gig in a place in Santa Krus that was making a game using the Quake 3 engine. Everybody out there making mods for Quake 3 got picked up by the studio. It was just amazing. They hired some other programmers, turns out that one of the guys, Ydnar, who I knew from the Quake 3 community, he was writing a new compiler for Quake 3 which was doing some crazy awesome lighting effects with the Quake 3 engine. TKO hired him to do some work for them and it was crazy meeting him, I was like “Oh my gosh your Ydnar” and he’s like “Yea I’m Randy.” I got it then he spelled his name backwards. Everybody I worked with came out of the modding community. Especially for level design, specifically level design actually. Modelers not so much, most of them came from schools. Level design is one of those things that’s difficult to pin down in schools, and a lot of schools don’t teach level design.

What is your overall opinion of the modding community?

I think it’s cool as heck! That is where people can get really experimental with engines outside of the constraints of studio money and studio time. People can get really creative and do some really wild stuff.

There you have it folks. Modding benefits the developers just as greatly as it benefits the modders. Modding is also how the earlier generations of developers trained on the game engines of their time, and is still true today. So everyone out there, get modding, get recognized, and get in the industry. I would like to thank Prof. Scott Swearingen.

Sources

Professor Scott Swearingen, Unity Teacher, The University of Texas at Dallas. Interviewed: Dec 10, 2013.

This is the last of my posts for this semester. Winterbreak is here and it is time to hibernate, and start working on a few of my own projects. I will return at the beginning of next year. Happy Holidays.

 

Modding Start's First Podcast

Sources

Elite Machines XV (Final), Pingfre@k, GameFront. Found: Oct 10, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.gamefront.com/files/EliteMachines+XVzip/;12297604;/fileinfo.html

Alien Swarm SP, Aazell, Alien Swarm SP. Last Edited: Sept 29, 2011. Retrieved from: http://alienswarmsp.blogspot.com/

S-Type, Bluestone, Steam. Found: Nov 26, 2013. Retrieved from: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=146768574&searchtext=

Half Life 2: Deathmatch, Valve, Steam. Found: Dec 01, 2013. Retrieved from: http://store.steampowered.com/app/320/?snr=1_7_15__13

Mech Warrior Living Legends, Wandering Samurai Studios, ModDB. Found: Dec 01 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.moddb.com/mods/mechwarrior-living-legends/downloads

Desura. Found: Dec 3, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.desura.com/ 

UDK and 2D mods

In this post I'm going to go over UDK and its functions. The UDK (Unreal Development Kit) has been around since 2008. UDK is essentially the UT3 editor, however, as Prof. Johnson stated, the usability and functions of UDK far surpass UT3.

 When you first open UDK, it will load a small level and open up the content editor. The content editor is where you will find all the files UDK has. It is also where you can import your own 3D and 2D files. 3D files are must be uploaded as FBX files (.fbx). FBX is the new file type that supports all 3D meshes in UDK, and it comes installed on all of the latest versions of Maya and 3DS Max. 2D files are uploaded as Targa files (.tga). Once uploaded, they are considered texture files. Upload a texture file to the Material Editor and attach it to the Diffuse port so you can use it in-game (UDN).

UDK's level editing has changed significantly with the inclusion of landscapes. Landscapes are essentially an easier to use version of the Terrain editor. The original Terrain editor is still a part of UDK if that is your chosen tool. To create a landscape, simply click on the mountain icon with the "L" over it and enter in how big you want it to be. I will post a quick landscape tutorial I found to help guide you at the end (Chris Holden, Youtube).

UDK makes bringing your level to life easy with Kismet and Matinee. Matinee allows you to create animations for static mesh movers. Matinee makes it easy to have moving platforms, opening doors, etc. However, Kismet allows you to trigger those actions. Kismet is essentially UDK's friendly alternative to programming unreal script. It uses the same node type interface that most of UDK's systems use. When you insert a Matinee animation, you can attach it to a trigger in Kismet and you will have moving objects in-game. You can also use Kismet to generate weapon spawners, creating game types (Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, etc.), and create your own in-game conditions (UDN).

The amount of options UDK gives you is massive. To effectively list them all you would need a manual. The Unreal Development Network(UDN) is just that. It is an online manual that has up-to-date information on all things UDK. I will be posting a link to it at the end. I encourage anyone interested in UDK to check out the UDN.

I have noticed that I haven't mentioned many 2D modding examples. While 2D games are not the most commonly modded games, there are still plenty out there. The first StarCraft is one of them. StarCraft comes with its own level editor. This editor allows you to do everything from creating your own level, to creating your own game. ModDB has plenty of examples of StarCraft mods. StarCraft goes for about $10 now, so it is easy to get a hold of (ModDB).

Another 2D game is Scribblenauts: Unlimited. SU is a highly customizable game on Steam. Unfortunately this game is not free, costing $19.99 at the Steam store (Steam).

Fortunately, the Game Maker Studio is free on Steam. GMS is a good alternative to creating a simple 2D game. You can download the free version, which allows you to upload a resource limited version of your game to Steam. GMS also gives you the option to upgrade to one of the paid versions to create better games (Steam).

There are not that many free 2D games out there to mod. However, if you find a game that you are interested in modding, don't hesitate to buy it if the price is right. For great deals, keep an eye on Steam, as they have frequent deals available, some of them going as high as 75%. However, if your wallet is tight, download the free version of GMS and create the game you want.

 

Sources

 

UDK Landscape Basics, Chris Holden, Youtube. Uploaded: Jun 20, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beEbEp7Isvc

 

Video Tutorials, UDN. Found: Nov 26, 2013. Retrieved from: http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/VideoTutorials.html#3D Buzz Video Tutorials - Using UDK

 

StarCraft Mods, ModDB. Found: Nov 26, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.moddb.com/mods?filter=t&=Search&kw=Search+...&released=&style=def&theme=&game=29&type=

 

Scribblenauts: Unlimited Workshop, Steam. Found: Nov 26, 2013. Retrieved from: http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse?appid=218680&browsesort=trend

 

Game Maker Studio Workshop, Steam. Found: Nov 26, 2013. Retrieved from: http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse?appid=214850&browsesort=trend

 

 

Preview

 

This week is Thanksgiving week, so there will be no posts. When I return, we will have another special guest interview, along with this blogs first podcast. 

Interview with Prof. Phill Johnson

Today's post, I had an interview with UTDallas professor, Phill Johnson. Prof. Johnson teaches the Virtual Environments classes in the Arts and Technology program at UTDallas, and he is an expert on the Unreal Engine. I interviewed him to get his professional opinion on UDK and UE3 as modding tools. Here is how the interview went:

1.      How long have you been using Unreal?

I have been using Unreal since 2007.

 

2.      What would you say would be the main differences nowadays between Unreal and UDK?

Well Unreal and UDK are the same thing at their core. If we are talking about Unreal Tournament 3, some of the significant differences between that and a freshly installed development kit nowadays , the interface is actually more reliable. They have re-done the gizmo. The rendering engine has been improved. The Material editor and all of the underlying systems have had some massive cosmetic changes. The Material Instance Interface works better now too, much more reliable. They have added a whole bunch of Kismet expressions. The mobile support is actually non-existent for Unreal Tournament 3. For UDK the Iphone support is there now, and DirectX 11 support was added in about a year ago.

You would be surprised how little has changed, really it's just stability and quality of life improvements. They have added systems like landscapes, I was really looking forward to that for about a year after they announced it. Direct Vertex Painting was a really nice feature they added. Mainly it's features added that is the big difference, at its core it hasn't changed all that much.

 

3.      Would you be able to create a mod for Unreal Tournament 3 using UDK?

No. The reason for that is because they have package dependency issues. For example, if you were to go and make a level in UDK it would be a .udk file, not a .ut3 file, and that's most obvious thing. Even though they are basically the same file format, the problem is you have version dependencies. You can go forwards in versions but you can very rarely go backwards, and that's because they put a check in there. Any time they add a new feature, the UDK, its brain seizes up when it sees something it doesn't expect, so anything you put into UDK would not translate back to Unreal Tournament 3.

There is really no reason to try and code in UDK and then try and transfer that to UT3. You might as well just do it all in UT3. The animation pipeline has changed a bit, the FBX support was a really big thing for UDK. Unreal Tournament 3 doesn't have support for FBX, you still have to download the tools that Epic made for Maya and 3DS Max to export an animation set as well as a skeletal mesh. So it wouldn't make any sense to do any work in UDK and then try and pull backwards. However, if you already had a map you made in UT3 and the assets are yours, they weren't cooked, you could bring that map into UDK. However, if you had guns, the Ripper for example, it would say it can't find it. That's not such a big problem, you can just delete that actor and reset it to be something else.

 

4.      Would you encourage someone to mod in UT3, or would you suggest that someone create their own level in UDK?

It depends on the scale of the work. If you are going to do something that is fundamentally Unreal Tournament 3, work in Unreal Tournament 3. If you want to do something that is fundamentally different, use all custom files, all custom animation, I would say go and work in UDK. With Unreal Tournament 3 you are trying to make it into a different game on top of this existing game. With UDK, you can tell it just as easily "I want to start this new project", and it gives you a blank tile. You don't have to tear anything out and start building over it.

 So for a mod, in the fundamental sense of the word, modifying a game, Unreal Tournament 3 will be fine. If you want to start something that is yours, new, and novel, you are actually better suited for UDK because you have better software and you have a better work pipeline. The code is about the same, not much has changed there. If you want to do a new interface it is a lot easier to do it in UDK then it is with Unreal Tournament 3's old interface system, which was trash. You would much rather do it in Flash then in Unreal Tournament 3. They actually removed the health system. It is possible to turn it back on, but you don't want it.

 

5.      Would you call Unreal Tournament 3 completely out of date, or is there still some purpose left in it?

It doesn't make much sense to work with it, mainly from the perspective that the people who already have it are probably bored with it. There are people who still play it. If you were to start a PS3 version and play it, you could find someone playing it. Same thing is true with the PC version. You could probably find people who plays it, but as far as your audience goes, it's not a new game. Not many people are gonna go out and buy it. If you were gonna make a game and start drumming up interest, you're gonna find its very difficult to get people to go out and buy a game that they are not going to play otherwise, aside from your mod. You're inadvertently asking people for a monetary investment. If you use UDK, which is a free download, whatever build you put out you can have it as a screen installation,  so you are not limiting your audience except for people who can't download it, install it, and run it on a computer. The monetary thing is a big issue.

I don't think it is technically out of date, I still think you can make a pretty interesting game out of it. You could probably make something very interesting in terms of modding, you could make it look totally different, and it would probably be up to today's standards. The difference is the tools would be improved, the time it would take you to do it would be reduced, and the barrier to audience is reduced with UDK. You can also export your own installers, making it much easier to work with. You could probably make the same product with both of them, but you'll have a much easier time with UDK. In that capacity, yes it is out of date. It's like taking the silver package versus the gold package, and the gold package is free. Much more people will be interested in playing it because they can get a hold of it. It's an availability issue.
 

That is all for the interview. Basically if you want to create a mod specifically for UT3 then use that. Otherwise, UDK is clearly the better choice. I will have the link to the UDK website posted at the end of this post. I would like to thank Prof. Phill Johnson for doing the interview. The next post will go over UDK a bit and I will post examples of good UDK created games. I will also have some examples of 2D game mods as well.

Sources

 

Phill Johnson. Professor in the Arts and Technology program at The University of Texas at Dallas.

 

Unreal Development Kit, Epic. Found: Jan 11, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.unrealengine.com/udk/

Create Your Own Mutator

Today's post is all about creating your own mutator. Mutators are how Unreal Tournament 3 recognizes game mods. These mods range from simple weapon alterations to extreme gameplay changes. The infographic I have posted below highlights the steps for creating a mutator that will alter the damage of the Enforcer weapon as well as its outward appearance.

The software that works with this mod is outdated, as is Unreal Tournament 3, so you will have to install the pre-2011 version of Maya to access the necessary tools. You must also have a fully rigged, textured, and animated 3D weapon model before following these instructions. If you need help with the weapon, there are plenty of tutorials on Digital Tutors and 3D Buzz to guide you along the right path. The instructions follow the glowing white line.

 

One problem with modding Unreal  Tournament 3 is just how far out of date it is. UT3 was released Nov 19, 2007, making it almost 5 years old. It uses the old .psk and .psa format for its skeletal models and animations. These file types can only be generated through Unreal's ActorX. ActorX had to be run through Autodesk XSI, 3DS Max, and Maya so the models could be exported out of the modeling software and into the Unreal Engine 3. This system has been a few years out of date, thanks to the new FBX file format.

FBX took all of the file types generated by ActorX and essentially jammed them into one convenient file format. When you bring an .fbx file into a post-2011 UDK, a pop-up menu activates. From this menu, you can select whether you are importing a static model, skeletal model, or animation set, and UDK will retrieve the appropriate data based on your selection. Think of it as a folder/file hybrid for 3D models. All Autodesk and UDK variations after 2011 use this new system, phasing out ActorX to the point where you can no longer use it with either.

Unreal Tournament 3 is not the only game this is happening too. Many games that were favorites in the modding community are almost not moddable at all now due to outdated software. It is a big problem when you cannot find the software you need to mod the game you want. However this is not the case with all games. Many of Valve's games (Half-Life 2, Alien Swarm, Left 4 Dead, etc.) are fully compatible with today's software. It is important to be cautious about choosing outdated games to mod, as the software may no longer be available. It is just as important to mod your favorite games while they are still current. Make your mark before your flexible game turns to stone.

Sources

My 1st Mutator, ambershee, Moddb. Last Edited: Nov 20, 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.moddb.com/games/unreal-tournament-3/tutorials/unreal-learning-1-my-first-unreal-tournament-3-mutator/2

Digital Tutors. Found: Aug 27, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/index.php

3D Buzz. Found: Sept 15, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.3dbuzz.com/

ActorX, UDN. Found: Nov 11, 2013. Retrieved from: http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/ActorX.html

Guest Blog

Hello my name is Nick Wingard, I am here to talk about modding and its significance. Modding, as Michael has explained is an amazing way to learn how build game design skills and learn how to work in various game engines, it also a good way to show your abilities to possible employers and peers. Modding is also a good way to learn how to work in teams and gain some experience in a video game pipeline. Modding sometime is not only a great way to create not only mod but it can sometimes create its own game a perfect example is the mod of warcraft 3, called Defense of the Ancients or Dota for short. This mod has gone on to become its own stand alone game and has become quite successful and now having its own sequel Dota 2. This mod actually went on to inspire another game called League of Legends or lol for short which has also become quite successful, another mod that has become quite popular is Treyarch’s Call of Duty Mod Nazi Zombies.

 

A really great example of how modding can land you a job is nineteen year old Alexander J. Velicky, this young man created a immersive twenty-five hour mod Falskaar, for Bethesdesa’s game title Elder scrolls: Skyrim. Velicky who created the mod built the entire mod in a year and while he does experience modding, Falskaar was Velicky first experience modding Elder scrolls:Skyrim. Velicky created the game in a year and clocked in two thousand hour making the game, the mod was a major success and this mod went on to land Velicky a job at Bethesda(Birnbaum,2013). 

This is just one of the many examples of what not only modding can do enchance the gaming community, but can show off your skills as artist.

 

Sources:

 

Warcraft 3 gameplay footage. (2007, December 10). YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rJwPAEKk_M

 

Falskaar Gameplay Trailer. (2012, November 8). YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gJiVKpLPYw

 

DotA gameplay.. (2007, November 7).YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD_2REs95pY

 

The Dunk Squad. (2013, March 31).YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9XZQttjc-g

 

COD: World at War - "Nazi Zombies" Gameplay (1 of 5) (Machinima). (2008, November 12). YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AkR_xmLcBM

 

Birnbaum, I. (2013, July 16). PC Gamer.PC Gamer RSS. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/07/16/behind-falskaar-a-massive-new-skyrim-mod-and-the-19-year-old-who-spent-a-year-building-it/

 

Leo, J. (2013, July 18). 19-year-old created 25-hour Skyrim mod to apply for a job at Bethesda - GameSpot.GameSpot. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.gamespot.com/articles/19-year-old-created-25-hour-skyrim-mod-to-apply-for-a-job-at-bethesda/1100-6411623/

 

DotA Allstars mod for Warcraft III: Frozen Throne. (2009, March 20). Mod DB. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.moddb.com/mods/dota-allstars

 

Advanced Mods and Free Games

            Complex mods are essentially mods that completely alter a games appearance, characters, and/or gameplay. Some of these mods have been turned into some of the full fledge games we know today. The best example and most well known one is Counter Strike (Mod Hall of Fame).

            Counter Strike is a complete re-work of the original Half-Life game. Unlike Half-Life, it is a realistic multiplayer game where players choose from Terrorist or Anti-Terrorist team. Once teams are selected you can choose your load-out and after that the game begins. Counter Strike has multiple game modes to choose from. You can play hostage rescue, assassination, death match, or the classic bomb defuse (Mod Hall of Fame). Now the old Counter Strike is on Steam as well as the new Counter Strike Global Offensive. CS also has a number of mods to choose from on ModDB and other third party sites.

            Strike Suit Zero has a few interesting mods based off of old game favorites. The most notable for me, was S-Type. This turns SSZ into a remake of the classic S-NES game, R-type. S-Type gameplay is the same as the original R-Type, however it makes the game co-op. This gameplay change, coupled with the art-style of SSZ, makes S-Type a mod for both SSZ and R-Type (Steam Workshop).

            One problem in the modding community is money. Sometime the game you want to create a mod for is still too pricy for your budget. For the more frugal modders out there, there are some great games that don’t cost a dime that you can still make mods for. One free game is Alien Swarm, a top down shooter from Valve (Steam). You can download it for free on Steam, plus the Alien Swarm SDK is also free, so you will have no problem getting right into the thick of it. Another good game choice is Minecraft Classic edition ( Richard Cobbett, Techradar). Minecraft Classic is basically Minecraft without the monsters, so you can explore the open world and build whatever you want with no sudden attacks. Minecraft provides an interesting way to mod because you alter the world directly, in-game, as well as editing the code of the world you create. Finally, there is the Marathon: Trilogy (Richard Cobbett, Techradar). This game is for the modders out there who prefer the classics, since it came out around the same time as the original Doom. Marathon is what the Halo universe originally started as. It is a old classic that is free to download, same as Minecraft Classic, from techradar’s 50 free games article. These three games will get you started modding for free in no time, and will probably be fun pass-times when you are not modding as well.

Sources

Top 50 Best Free Games You Should Play Today, Richard Cobbett, Techradar. Last edited: April 3rd, 2013. Retrieved From: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/top-40-best-free-games-you-should-play-today-695473

Mod Hall of Fame, ModHOF. Found: Oct 25, 2013. Retrieved From: http://www.modhof.com/

S-Type, Bluestone, Steam Workshop. Found: Nov 9, 2013. Retrieved From: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=146768574&searchtext=

Preview

            The post timeline got messed up this week. Things will be going back to normal next week with a post every Wednesday and Friday at midnight. Wednesday we will have a guest blogger, Nick Wingard. Friday, I will be showing you all a infographic for bringing your weapon into Unreal Tournament 3.

Team Fortress 2 Modding

Team Fortress 2 is one of the most popular FPS games out on Steam today. TF2 is also Valve's trademark game for the Steam Workshop. The workshop contains hundreds of items, weapons, and other user created content. The content that Valve selects to be put into TF2 exclusively are put into the game and the creator(s) get a percentage of the profits generated from selling the content. This method is one of the best ways Valve continues to support the modding community, but how do you submit your content? For that matter, how would you go about it? Valve lists some helpful tips as well as instructions to submit your content.

When creating an item for TF2 you must take the art style into account. The original style was based off of 1950's to 60's Americana (Steam). This style has broadend quite a bit, but if you avoid fine detail and stick to the TF2 color scheme, that will give you a significant advantage (TeamFortress2).

Valve allows for a wide range of modeling software to be used. However, you safest bet for modeling would be Autodesk's Maya, 3DS Max, or XSI (Softimage). These software are free to download at the Autodesk website for 1 year (Autodesk SC).

After you have created your content, drop it into the Steam Workshop's Item Testing Range (I call it ITR for short). Once you have it tested in the ITR, upload it to the Steam Workshop itself. Valve will then potentially screen your content. If you run your content through a verification process, your content will be given a gold star. This helps to speed along the judgment process, and moves your item up the list as well. Once judged, Valve may select your content. If selected, Valve will contact you via email and after that, your content will be put in game (TeamFortress2).

Having your own content made exclusive in Team Fortress 2 will show major talent to Valve  and other developers. Aside from that, it is a fun way to share your content with the world. Visit the TF2 workshop page and start imagining new hat styles or new ways to blow up your friends. The game can only get bigger.

Sources

 

Team Fortress 2 Workshop, TeamFortress2. Found: Nov. 7, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.teamfortress.com/workshop/

 

 

Autodesk Student Community(Autodesk SC), Autodesk. Found: Aug. 27, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.autodesk.com/education/student-software

 

 

Preview

 

Today we talked about  Team Fortress 2 and Valve quite a bit. Next post I will go over some more complex game mods from different games and developers. I will also list a few free, heavy modding games to help grit your teeth for cheap.



The SteamOS and Unreal Mods

            Today’s post is about the up-and-coming Steam Operating System (SteamOS). The SteamOS was unveiled by Valve in late September. Valve states on their website for that the Steam OS “combines the rock solid architecture of Linux with a gaming experience for the big screen.” (Steam). The SteamOS is the first Linux based operating system that is compatible with games made for windows. SteamOS also directly linked up with cloud (Jason Mick, Daily Tech). Cloud will allow users to seamlessly back up their data, and download new games and products easily. Along with cloud, Steam is planning to include access to music, TV, and movies. Finally, the SteamOS will be released along with an array of Valve’s new Steam Machines (announced around the same time as the SteamOS). There will be multiple machines, each one catering to the needs of a specific user demographic (casual gamers, hardcore gamers, TV viewers, etc.) (Steam). The SteamOS is likely to give Microsoft a run for their money. What does all of this mean for the modding community? Valve has confirmed that the Steam Workshop will be included in the SteamOS (Steam). They have also confirmed that while they will be working on the SteamOS, they will continue updating Steam for windows. Valve still considers the modding community as an important part of Steam, and will continue to include us in the SteamOS’s future development.

            I have taken the time to find a few good, simple mods for Unreal Tournament 3. These mods each come with a set of directions(aka readme files). Both instructions tell you the same thing so here is the gist of it:

·         Steam only instructions: Enter your Steam folder, then enter the SteamApps folder, then enter the common folder.

·         Enter the Unreal Tournament 3 folder, then enter the UTGame folder.

·         Take each mod's configuration file (found inside the Config folder of each mod) and place it in UT3's Config folder.

·         Take the game folders (labled Runestorm and EliteMachines_XV), found inside the CookedPC file of each mod, and place them in the CookedPC folder of UT3.

Once you have followed these instructions, host a multiplayer game, hit the mutators button under the settings tab, and choose either mod.          

            The first mod I found is the Thor Lightning Gun (Runestorm), found on ModDB. This mod replaces the Stinger Minigun when plugged in. The Thor Gun has two firing triggers like all UT3 weapons. The primary trigger, when held down, lifts the enemy off of the ground and allows them to be flung across the arena, while simultaneously dealing damage. The secondary trigger zaps the enemy with an intense electrical beam, dealing heavy damage. This mod has the same feel as the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2, the difference is you can only lift enemies, not objects.

            The second mod I found is called the Elite Machines mod (Pingfre@k), found on GameFront. This mod changes the way each of the UT3 work, making sniper rifles machine guns, turning the link gun into a napalm launcher, and you can dual wield all of them. The damage on all of the weapons is increased as well, turning any multiplayer match into a one-sided shooting gallery.

            The Thor Lightning Gun is a great example of a weapon mod, as the Elite Machines mod is of a gameplay mod. Both of these mods require a copy Unreal Tournament 3, which can be purchased on Steam for a cheap price. I hope that showing you these will get your creative juices flowing and help give you a good place to start from in the modding world.

Sources

Thor Lightning Gun, Runestorm, ModDB. Last edited: June 13, 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.moddb.com/mods/thor-lightning-gun

Elite Machines XV, Pingfre@k, GameFront. Last edited: November 10, 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.gamefront.com/files/EliteMachines+XVzip/;12297604;/fileinfo.html

SteamOS, Steam. Found: October 30, 2013. Retrieved from: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/

Steam Machines, Steam. Found: November 1, 2013. Retrieved from: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/

Meet SteamOS, a Gamer's Alternative to Windows 8, Jason Mick, DailyTech. Last Edited: September 23, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.dailytech.com/Meet+Steam+OS+a+Gamers+Alternative+to+Windows+8/article33432.htm

Preview

I will talk more in-depth about Team Fortress 2's item submission and selection process. I will also go over some more complex mod examples.

 

Different Engines and Good Mods

One thing I have noticed is the number of game engines that are out there today. The game engines tab on the ModDB website lists around 100. In order to help narrow down the best game engines for modding I have created a pie chart listing the 7 best ones I have found. This pie chart is based off of data found on ModDB and a couple third party sites (Funambulism). The chart shows that the Source engine comes in first while UDK falls around second and the CryEngine in third. Source dominates because it has multiple games that are modder friendly (Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Portal). This chart does not show Unity since not a lot of modable games are made with the Unity engine. To mod a game you must use the same game engine in order to make the mod compatible.

 

            What makes for a good game mod? Some of the best game mods change the game entirely. The Day-Z mod for ARMA 2 goes from a military style game to a zombie survival game. Day-Z became so popular it became one of the main reasons people purchased ARMA 2, making the game's sales skyrocket (Matt Lightfoot, TechDirt). Another good mod example is Garry's Mod created for Half-Life 2 (Mod Hall of Fame). Garry's Mod turns Half-Life 2's linear campaign into an open world sandbox game in which you can alter whatever you want. The whole purpose of the mod is to do wacky things in the Half-Life 2 universe. My favorite example of a good game mod is Team Fortress created for Quake (Mod Hall of Fame). Team Fortress was the original game before Team Fortress 2. It had the same class based system TF2 had, each class with its strenghts and weaknesses. Team Fortress is my favorite example because of its significance. TF laid the ground work for one of the best multiplayer FPS games ever, and it started out as a simple Quake mod. A good game mod allows the player to experience the game in a completely different way. This can range from a simple gameplay change (dual wielding weapons in Unreal Tournament 3) or you can create a completely different game using the original's code (Team Fortress).

Sources

100 Most Popular Engines Today, ModDB. Found: 10/31/2013. Retrieved from: http://www.moddb.com/engines/top

The Most Modded Games, Funambulism. Last Edited: 5/9/2011. Retrieved from: http://funambulism.com/2011/05/09/top-of-the-mods/

Mod Hall of Fame. Found: 10/31/2013. Retrieved from: http://www.modhof.com/

Modding Video Games Is Good For The Original Game Creators And Future Game Developers, Matt Lightfoot, TechDirt. Last Edited: 7/30/2012. Retrieved from: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120724/21005519820/modding-video-games-is-good-original-game-creators-future-game-developers.shtml

Preview

 

            In the next post, I will go over the news of the fabled SteamOS. I will also show some simple mod example for Unreal Tournament 3.

Kickstart and Copyright

When I was little I was always playing with Legos. I collected dozens of Star Wars and Technic Lego sets by the time I was 7. What I liked the most was taking all of these sets apart and building something of my own design. Just like reconstructing a Lego set, when you mod a game you take what already exists and you alter or add on to it.

            The easiest way to start modding a game is to alter one of the game's weapons or create your own. It is important that you have some knowledge of a 3D modeling software. A good place to find 3D software is Autodesk. This company allows you to download free student versions of their various software for 1 year. For help obtaining the knowledge to use these tools, try getting a membership at Digital Tutors. Digital Tutors is a website that offers many instructional videos on most Autodesk software. A good game for modding beginners is Unreal Tournament 3. Other good modding games are Garry's Mod, Counter Strike, and Half-Life 2 (Steam). All of these games listed are available for download on Steam.

            One major thing that I know scares future modders is copyright. Is it legal to alter a game that is already created, and will I be able to take credit for what I create? Questions like these are common. It is possible for you to take credit for what you create, but only what you create. People often say “I created a mod for Unreal Tournament”. It is ok to claim you created a mod for a game. The copyright for games isn’t even to the games themselves, but it applies more to the aesthetic of games (U.S. Copyright Office). For example, if you took the exact model, name, and look of the strike suit from Strike Suit Zero and placed it in your game claiming that it is yours, then that would be violating the copyright. You cannot copyright an idea, gameplay style, or even the method used to create the game (U.S. Copyright Office). It is the uniqueness of the game that you can copyright. This is how gaming has grown into an industry with many different genres of games, or merging of genres. 

Sources for this post

Steam, Retrieved from:  http://steam.xtremedownload.com/?lp=bing&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search-us

U.S. Copyright Office - Games, Retrieved from: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html

Intellectual Property Office, Retrieved from: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy.htm

Autodesk Education Community, Retrieved from: http://students.autodesk.com/

Digital Tutors, Retrieved from: http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/index.php

Preview

            The next blog post will go over which software is the most user friendly for creating game mods. There will also be a discussion on what makes a good mod.