'Retirement' From Modding

[Maelyn]

Well, I have decided I am going to stop modding, at least on Diablo II, for a while, if not forever. I will still stay on these forums, maybe learning a few more things, teaching people things, but I will not actually be modding. Instead, I will be making my own game, most likely in Visual C++. I thought that this was the best forum to announce this in. Just to make it clear, I will still be kind of active on these forums. I might make a new account, just to signify that I am basically a 'different' person from 'Maelyn the modder'. If anyone has anything to say, please post here.

The reason I am stopping modding is because of the limitations of modding a game like this. As said in a thread a while back by an experienced modder, it is much easier to start a new program than the try changing this into a completely different program. So, that is what I am off to do.

I hope I can still be of some assistance to other people, and I will still try to learn more about it in order to help people. Who knows, some day I might even become staff, but that is doubtful.

My new account name will be 'Kheoinn' for anyone who wants to contact me, or thinks that there is a new person here. I will put in my signature that I was once Maelyn, just so newer people will know, or so I won't get people confused.

Next, although this is a little off topic, if anyone experienced would like to help me with my learning of more Visual Basic and Visual C++, please e-mail me at kheoinn@ml1.net.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has helped me out, including all the moderators and other staff, and also other members of the forums. I really appreciate all of your help! Well, I guess thats all. I will see all of you around on my new account, Kheoinn. Thanks again!

[Alkalund]

I'm glad you will be still around, learning some more stuff and helping others... you know, most of us go back to D2 modding after being away from it for a while

I wish you the best of luck with your new projects bud

See you around at the forums Kheoinn

[Zhoulomcrist]

Well, wherever you end up going, take care and we'll hopefully see you again. I thought sometime ago that I was also gonna pull outta this D2 modding stuff for good and either move on to something else or do some Dungeon Siege modding. I was wrong and came back to put CryptForge to work and I've no regrets in doing so.

Good luck with whatever projects you may be working on. I used to do that kind of stuff, myself, back in the good old days. C/C++ can be lots of fun (and frustration). But, gratifying to the core when the results come out exactly as you planned. See ya around.... :)

[DragonBane]

Its always sad to see one go, but its alright
as long as ur doing something u like right?

NOTE:reply to my email plz!

[Kheoinn]

Thanks you everyone for all of the support. I will definitely be staying around, as working and helping people is almost as gratifying as making a C project work as planned.
Also, Zhoul, I am actually 'going back to' C programming, as I had done it for a few years long ago. Before I went to modding, I had actually done LPC and coded on many a Mud, for all of you who know what they are. Thats was where I started, and I can't help but get drawn back to it. It is great fun for all who want to try it out, and I can help some what to anyone who wants to try. I also have just recently started running my own Mud, so that will probably take up much of my free time. Hopefully, however, I will still have time to drop by to my favorite Diablo II Modding website. *wink*

[NewbieModder]

Hey, Maelyn, for early attempts and for familiarity with the coding language and/or a semi-decent engine, www.game-maker.cjb.net has a pretty good one.


I wish you luck in your programming; just start small. Try making a DOS game first, since the window decleration function is daunting.

[FoxBat]

The reason I am stopping modding is because of the limitations of modding a game like this. As said in a thread a while back by an experienced modder, it is much easier to start a new program than the try changing this into a completely different program. So, that is what I am off to do.

Whoever told you that is flat-out wrong, making your own program is quite a task! So I wish you good luck in it!

[DragonBane]

FoxBat, yes it is quite a task. But you know, he means that in the end, it is much more rewarding to make your own. One reason is you can add/edit whatever you want. Another would be you can feel happy that you made it I really think thats what he is trying to accomplish here.

[Alkalund]

Whoever told you that is flat-out wrong, making your own program is quite a task! So I wish you good luck in it!

Heheh I said that to Maelyn, he wanted to know about how to change the dll files in order to make Diablo 2 a completely different game, in this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=685

When he said "completely different" game, I imagined something like a flight simulator, or a first person shooter game of course it would be much easier to start from scratch than try to convert D2 into one of these types of game.
Then he explained better what he meant with completely different game

[Kheoinn]

Well, what I meant by completely different game was to be free to change it in to any kind of game I wanted. As of now, I am making a turn based RPG game similar to Diablo II, except on a grid with movement and such per turn. It is kind of like Heroes of Might and Magic, except with completely different, well, completely different everything. It has the same base. What I was trying to do was combine some of my favorite games, or at least the styles of them, which is the style of diablo II, which is create 1 character and just improve that one, while also trying to retain a Civilization feel, with turn-based things and grids, so that you had to think about what to do instead of the usually mindless clicking of vanilla diablo II. Now, I'm guessing what I want can be done much easier by creating a new game, but I'd rather not go into that right now, as I pretty much have my mind set on creating a new game instead of modding diablo II.
DragonBane, you are correct in what you said. It is much more rewarding to create your own game rather than make a modulation of another game, and that is exactly what I'm planning on doing. Foxbat, when I said making a completely new program is easier than modding Diablo II, it is because I am completely changing the style of play. I'm not just changing graphics and actions and such, I'm making it grid-based and turn-based, and other such big changes. That is why I'm making a new game.
Also, I understand that modding Diablo II is not as limited as I once thought, but it is still limited in the factor of time. It would take much more time to find all the things needed to switch this game into what I want that to just recreate it. If I wanted a few parts from the game, I would find where they are, and put them in. Since, at least in what I am invisioning, the game will change at least half of what exists (probablly way more than that) It is easier to create a new file and put the bit of Diablo II I am keeping into that. I hope you see where I am coming from.
Also, Alkalund, thank you for clearing what I meant up. I couldn't respond for the past few days due to the fact that I was vacationing .
Well, thank you for all your replies and support all! I'll still be seeing you around.

[FoxBat]

Rather than buildling a new game completely from scratch, you might consider modifying Angband or Neth@ck. Both of these are open-source free games that are updated versions of the predecessor of Diablo, Rogue. A turn-based grid dungeon h@ck with a single character, wandering through randomized dungeons, picking up loot, and fighting tons of monsters. Being open source you can do just about anything once you figure out what's going on with the program

Alot of Angband variants exist (40+... more probably), most famous probably being Zangband, so it's not an impossible feat.

You can find a good starter Angband page here

http://thangorodrim.angband.org/

Happy modding!

[DragonBane]

Well, i know what d2 modding can do, but what can you do with Starcraft? has anyone explored modding this game? it uses mpqs doesnt it? i mean it IS a bliz game in all (isnt it? lol). I know theere are things u can do, but if you really wanted to make a civilization/dungeons and dragons type game, the only thing may be the turn based thing. I know one way to make your own "game", which is the map maker, but that isnt quite modding. So who knows the availability in modding SC? if it isnt highly known around here, ill try checkin it out, lol. I really liked SC and there isnt a whole lot around that sparks my interest in it.

To make this back on-topic, is your game gonna be those cheap 2d graphics? i mean, there isnt much choice, but im sure u can do more than that?? anyway... someone check that SC thing for me (mines not installed). OR maybe ill install it right now, heh. Well, happy modding and happy game making! hehe

EDIT:Nevermind, hehe, not much there to do anything with, i think its all dll stuff. Unless anyone knows any other ways >.>

[FoxBat]

Well if it was angband the graphics would be very simple.... honestly I wouldn't mind though if the gameplay is good. It's very hard for ametuers to compete with the pros here anyway, better off focusing on what the pros can't devote as much time to: long-term quality

As for starcraft modding, there is some stuff. It's not as easy as D2 modding, but not as hard as D1. On one level, there is a lot of things you can do with StarEdit. You can change all the unit stats, and with scripting people have done all sorts of crazy things like mini-RPGs, paintball, shoot-em-ups, capture the flag, etc. You can even change the sounds in maps with the sound editor util.

Most of the actual "modding" stuff I've seen revolves around changing unit graphics which isn't too hard. Theres a few things at a deeper level that you can also edit, but this area gets difficult to work with and it's almost at the D1 level of modding, hex-editing data files. Not quite as hard as actual code editing though.

I'm not sure about too many resources for this stuff, I thought infoceptor used to have some... they at least have some mods so you see what can be done.

[DragonBane]

I have always known about StarEdit, i use it all the time. I gues with sc thats as closed to modding as it seems i wanna go
What are some other moddable games? i feel like doing more than d2...

[Kheoinn]

You were right when you said we can't compete with the pros, like Blizzard and Sid Meier and Microsoft and such. The graphics I will be using are going to pretty much be walking for the eight directions and attacking for the eight directions. I will be using some graphics from starcraft, civilization III and diablo II, among other games. Any game that has characters that are kind of midevil (spelling?) will do. I might add in an alien race as well. If you want, I will post some data on what I have collected on the game. If you have ever played Civilization III, it will kind of be like that except building one person, like Heroes of Might and Magic. You will also be able to build buildings, either in the Civilization II format or in a format like Command and Conquer, I'm not sure which yet. Thanks for all the replies. If anyoen has any ideas for the game, abstract as they may be, I encourage you to post here.

[DragonBane]

I have an idea - Email me back
lol, u havent emailed me back yet

And btw, what kind of buildings can you build in it? like, castles and stuff? or just things like houses?

[Kheoinn]

Here is some data on the game:

When you begin the game, you chose between some races. Troll, Orc, Minotaur, Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Faerie. One question, is that the order from dumbest and strongest to smartest and weakest? Throughout the game you will acquire different spells and skills. You get points as you level, and you use those points to level in different subjects. They are: Alteration, Conjuration, Evocation, Combat, Warrior, Thievery, Healing, Protection, necromancy and Spellcasting. Just to clarify, Combat is combat spells like burning hands, chill touch, and fireball, among other things. You will not pick classes, although if you pick troll as a race, you will probably want to be more melee oriented.

Buildings:
Main building can be upgraded from keep to fortress to castle. This is where you get gold from.
The Training Grounds is where you can learn new combat skills and spells.
House of Thieves is where you find out data about other enemies
Armory is where you can by armor. It regenerates with new armor once every while. The different types of armor sold here are: Helmet, Bracers, Gloves, Torso Armor, Greaves (Is that knee guards?), Boots, and legs among other things.
The Weaponry is where you by weapons. Works the same as armory.
General store is where you can buy general things. It works the same as the weaponry and armory.
Magery House is where you can buy things like scrolls of recall, scrolls of identify, and different kinds of potions like potions of invisibility, potions of healing, potions of mana healing, and potions of detect invis among other things.
Thats is all I can think of at the moment for buildings.

The game will be played on grids, with your character getting a certain amount of moves per turn. Then you wait for the next characters turn. It will not be played over the internet, is how I plan it, but I'm not quite sure yet. Turn based Games on the internet could give quite some trouble. Heh. As your character levels, they will get more moves, as getting some better equipment will also do that.

I hope this gives you guys enough information to get a basic idea of what this game will be like.

[Phrozen Heart]

Kheoinn, feel free to continue discussing your latest project but could you please restart this thread in the "Gaming" section of the OT forums as this obviously has no relation to Diablo 2. I'll leave the thread here so people know what you're up to but I'm going to have to lock it down.

*slamming the titanium dead bolt into place*