I couldn't decide if this would be a discussion topic or a help topic since it is a bit of both. But I went with help so I can refer back to this should I decide to pursue my idea. ANYWAYS... Modded Races, there are so many out there, and I've downloaded and played around with a few of them. Just recently I've decided to try my hand at making my own. So here is my set of questions... Where does one start? I have found a template on the mods site...everything seems straightforward at the moment ( the coding is going to get me eventually ). Before proceeding , should I conceptualize everything first? And by everything I mean the races history etc Is it best to look at other mods and learn by experimenting? might be a silly question but better be safe than sorry... What I mean by this , is what if i downloaded and looked at the coding of a race mod ... would it be rude to copy and paste and rename anything into my own coding, or would one learn better by reading tuts on the forums? I lean towards the former as I learn better by looking at examples rather than trying to type everything from paragraphs of instruction What do people look for in a custom race? ( now we're getting into the discussion part ) Do people want the odd and unusual? I noticed lots of anthro races, which is perfectly fine in itself, to each their own. I downloaded a few for my own variety in game play ... But I want to stand out, i'm not aiming to create one of the best races out there, but if I see this through I would like to be known for the person with the weird race. Lawl Any pro-tips? Any tips that successful race modders would like to offer? I'm very keen to undertake the task, I'm just a bit daunted by all the material, and scared to put lots of effort into it and not have it go anywhere. I have plenty idea's and i'm itching to get it moving... Any tips would be appreciated Long post is long, sorry xD
The best way to learn is probably the most inefficient way. But will lead to the biggest gains. First edit a pre-existing race. See what happens when you edit each value. Edit the sprites and see what happens when you make a change. So you get a feel of how to make your sprite sheet Next Throw away all the edited code. Why? - because of artefacts which are bound to be kept from the previous race mod. This happened just not a week before with some one else. Who had countless errors simply because he didn't thoroughly check his mod. Starting with a fresh file - copy the code piece by piece - so you know how to template your structure. Then fill in the values for each one by hand. This way you know exactly what is going into the file. By copying and pasting some one else's work - you take too many things for granted. At this point you should have the core of a basic race mod. What you do from there is up to you.
You can check out my race template, Daim's Dummies. Follow the instructions at the mod page and you should have a race up and running pretty quickly. You'll still end up getting your hands dirty before it's all said and done, though. That said, xxswatelitexx's approach will benefit you much more. Don't fret too much over what people want. Settle on an idea that excites you. The attention will follow. The most popular race mods are seldom my personal favorites, tbh. There is quite a learning curve, but there's also a lot of fun to be had, too. Modding in Starbound is by far easier than any other game I've coded for.
That's the exact thing I downloaded forgive me for not throwing in a credit there. But yes, I took a look at it and I must say it'll be very helpful, so a big thank you for supplying us noobs with such a resource. True enough, i'm sure i'll benefit a lot with this project, not only with coding but with pixel art as well. Pixel art was never my strong point in digital art so this would be a great challenge.
I started up the Kobold Mod before there were template mods around and I found it VERY helpful to download an existing modded race and start playing with it. Indeed, even now when I'm adding a new feature occasionally I'll peruse existing stuff to get ideas for how the code should look. That said, race mods have advanced a LOT since I started mine. Most mods will now have damn near every folder you could have under assets as opposed to the handful that are strictly necessary. My biggest advice would be to continue asking questions, feel free to contact people, etc. The Starbound modding IRC is a wonderful place and there are a bunch of friendly, helpful people on the forum as a whole!
Well I mean all a template race is is a cloned vanilla race with instructions on how to convert it. Same idea, really. I created it because I needed to create a bunch of races at once for one of my mods. I only uploaded it because I noticed that the old Template Race mod was still for Angry Koala.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I love that there is a template race now! I wish it was around when I was first starting out!
I must say that making a modded race is pretty fun and frustrating.. if anyone really wants to know i've been scrapping ideas left right and center. Though finally I think I've settled on a race concept, it doesn't go far down the beaten path for the sprite sheets.. I'm still working on them but soon will have a "sneak peek " of the race and a bit of info about them. Most of my recent time has been trying to suss out the body color code and what each hex color is for.
Best of luck! Do you know how the code works? Basically it looks (something) like this: { 000000 : 222222 ; 666666 : 020202 ; etc}, Those are pairs of colors. The first number in a pair is your starting number (literally the color you used in your sprite sheet) while the second number is what it becomes. Then onto the next color, etc. You also may want to have one that has matching first and second numbers so as to keep the default color you put together in your sprite sheet. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions!
Not a problem. There may be an extra comma in one of the codex files. It's something I fixed a while back, but my uploads haven't been taking due to the server troubles here.
Presenting, the Kelltin! 3 days of drafting and ideas later..finally decided on a solid design for my race, the Kelltin. A celtic race of blind genetically engineered humanoids. ( not reptiles or reptillian ) I wrote a little diddy here on http://myth-dragon.deviantart.com/art/Starbound-Modded-Race-Kelltin-436678576?ga_submit_new=10%3A1393364741 The mod is a few days away for release, just got the armor and starter clothes and a few codex entries and quests to finish up for basic playability. And then we'll go from there I had figured out the first two..but the rest of the coded baffled me, but thanks to you I now have colors figured out. ^_^
Not going to lie to you, I love this. I've been kind of hoping for a Celtic race and that looks great. Cannot wait to try it out! Feel free to keep hitting me up for questions! I love giving help where I can! (Also, a plug for the Racial Crossover Mod in my signature maybe in order... Wonderfully helpful community for race modders and cross-race compatibility is always fun.)
I'm pleasantly surprised. Great work. That said, your mockup has some eyeburn happening. I'd desaturate those colors a bit, especially the green.
Woops...i'll give it a fix, coloring with this monitor is a bit off. I'm glad you like it. And i'll definately keep you in mind when more questions crop up. It's really nice other race modders are willing to help. =^-^=
For the most part, I've found that the race modding community is pretty open, friendly, and helpful! There are a couple of exceptions, of course, but mostly nice things to say all around!
The kelltin have their own thread in the Release/WIP section. If anyone wants to keep checking up on progress etc http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/the-kelltin.73576/#post-1839424 That's good, and naturally there will always be a few people to be ...not as friendly. I'm just glad i'm getting positve feedback lol
