List of Online Resources for Modding

[orion]

This is just a list of Resources I compiled that will help you get started in modding and Glest programming. Hope it helps.

1) XML EDITING

If you are a complete noob, the first thing you need to know is what XML is. XML stands for "eXtensible Markup Language" and is a complex arrangement of user created "tags". For an XML tutorial, goto:

Code: [Select]

[url=http://msconline.maconstate.edu/tutorials/XML/default.htm]http://msconline.maconstate.edu/tutorials/XML/default.htm[/url]
ONLY READ THE FIRST CHAPTER unless you want to explore XML for web design.

I'll Elaborate Later..

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2) Learning C++

The Core language and foundation of Glest is C++, a powerful and popular programming language. If you want to edit or modify the core features of Glest itself, you'll have to learn this language. Be warned that you cannot learn c++ in a day like you can XML. If you intend on becoming an expert at C++, a LOT of dedication and effort will be required. If you are up for the task, here are some of the best online resources.

First Read these:

http://www.cplusplus.com/info/
http://www.cplusplus.com/info/description.html

Here are complete tutorials:

http://cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial.html

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a beginner to C++, I recommend you download this c++ editor:

Code: [Select]

[url=http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html]http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html[/url]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) OpenGL (REQUIRES C++)

If you've read the tutorials above and successfully learned c++, then one of the questions on your mind is "How the heck do I make Graphics and 3d stuff?" The answer is openGL or "Open Graphic Library". While there are few tutorials on the web about openGL, here are the ones I managed to find.

http://www.glprogramming.com/red/ (MUST READ!!)

Code: [Select]

[url=http://www.nehe.gamedev.net]http://www.nehe.gamedev.net[/url]
NOTE: As stated above, OpenGl requires that you know c++.
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4) 3D Modeling

All of the battle units in Glest are loaded into the game from a G3D (Glest 3D File). In the event you would like to create a new faction (ex. Tech/Magic), you would have to create the units using 3d modeling software. Here is a list of 3d modeling software that will get you started.

-3DS Max (Really expensive)
    google 3DS Max (I'll provide a link later)

-Blender (The most commonly used 3D software for Glest)
    http://blender.org

-GMax (My favorite editor, but not neccesarily the best)
    google GMax (I'll provide a link later)

more later....
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This will be edited for accuracy and information VERY SOON. If you have any concerns or questions, please reply.

[hailstone]

Good List orion.

Back in my earlier days of learning C++ I used Dev-C++ but now that I use Linux most of the time I've looked at others. After trying several IDEs I found NetBeans has been my favourite. Make sure you download the one with c++ support if your going to use it for c++.

NeHe is a great source for information.

For networking check out Beej's Guide to Network Programming

Lazy Foo's SDL tutorials is a good introduction to game programming.

http://www.learncpp.com/ is another site covering the c++ language

GameDev.net , FlipCode and Gamasutra.com have interesting game development articles.

[orion]

Thanks for contributing to the list, Hailstone. I started this topic so those that are new to Glest can be informed as to how to create mods.

Netbeans is my favorite java IDE, but I'm currently having trouble using it for c++ development in windows. I would recommend it to anyone using linux, but if you're using windows, it's a little bit of a hassle.

PS: How do you "Sticky" a topic?

[@kukac@]

You could also add a Blender tutorial to this topic.

[orion]

I'm not really a "modeling person" as in I'm not a 3d expert, but I will provide links to modeling tutorials.
Thanks for the sticky

[daniel.santos]

These are some references that I frequent

• http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399 - The Single UNIX Specification
• http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/table_of_contents.html - Standard Template Library (STL)
• http://www.libsdl.org - Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operators_in_C_and_C%2B%2B - Wikipedia article with quick reference on C/C++ operators and operator precedence
• http://www.cplusplus.com/reference - An incomplete, but well laid out standard C++ library reference

EDIT: BTW, I'm using Kdevelop.  It has a lot of nice features, but leaves a lot to be desired in some other areas, specifically debugging with stl & polymorphic types (i.e., can't see data sometimes when pointer or reference is type of a base class of the actual object type) .  If you try to enter a watch expression that's invalid or unsupported, the debugger will sometimes exit, which is especially annoying, especially so when you finally caught an odd, difficult to reproduce bug in the debugger.  But the class browser works very nicely, although I wish I could hide the enum values.

EDIT 2: grammatical errors & clarifications

[Duke]

this is a very popular Blender tutorial:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro

[erandur]

Might be slightly off-topic, but www.tutorialized.com has a HUGE amount of tutorials. Mainly for 3ds max and photoshop though, but still, worth a look when you're in need of information.

[hailstone]

Here are some free xml editors I found:
http://symbolclick.com/

Code: [Select]

[url=http://www.freexmleditor.com/]http://www.freexmleditor.com/[/url]http://www.liquid-technologies.com/Prod ... tudio.aspx

[Jamesgamer]

It's 'eXtensible Markup Langue'  

PS: Dang, and I was going to use my new VB skills to make an XML editor  

[orion]

woops. I put "extensive".
Thanks Jamesgamer. I'll fix it.