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This string is aimed at getting the best out of what we've all learnt about the process of plug making (not about mission bits, ResEdit or CLUTS).
So, please add your own, and, if it comes to something, I'll put the lot up on the Developer's FAQ.
Here's some to begin with.
Learn the trade first! You can get plenty of experience by offering to proof read other people's plugins, beta-testing and carefully examining (with ResEdit) the techniques of the plugins you like most.
Back up frequently! The number of people on this board and its predecessors who said 'XX plugin is now delayed/cancelled because my hard disk died last week and I didn't make a backup'
Either develop alone or keep your team small There is a long history of plugins being developed by dream-teams of legendary players all the way back to the SchmeltaV plugin. Very seldom do these meet the light of day. It's harder to keep a big team working together and focussed than a small team.
Spell check! Spelling which is (ahem) 'non-standard' is the mark of a shoddy plugin. There are utilities out there to export all your files to text and reimport when you've spell-checked them.
Bug check! Although it's not updated to EVO 1.0.2, Plug Checker is still a must-have for ironing out all the bugs that will cause EV/EVO to crash — don't leave it to your beta team to find them, they will hate you for it.
Beta test! With beta testing, the larger the team them better — if they're committed to working with you. Make it very clear at the start what the deadlines will be and what kind of commitment you're looking for.
Release when perfect Nothing will destroy the credibility of your plug-in (and your name as a developer) than releasing bug-ridden software. People will hate you for it, ignoring the thousands of hours you put into it. Get the bugs out before you leave beta.
Give your plugin a brilliant write up When you upload your bug-free, innovative and scintillating plugin onto the add-ons page, which write up do you think will get people downloading? i) "PowerMagick is a blistering blend of galactic piracy and old evil, set in the decaying days of the Last Alliance. With seventy-two new missions, dozens of ships and outfits, and a new take on the EVO map, PowerMagick will leave you stunned and speechless — and, dare we say it, spell bound." ii) "PM (short for PowerMagick, the name of my plugin) is my first plugin for EV. It includes some new weapons and new ships and there are missions. Sorry I've had to alter the EVO universe a bit. Does anyone know how to do VisBits?"
Support it A newly released plugin is like a new-born baby (ok, I've never had a new-born baby, but I'm guessing it's a lot like a new plugin): it has to be cared for and supported. If you get bug reports, release bug fixes. If people email you for advice, reply the same day. If people curse you on the web-board (and they will, either because your plugin has bugs, or because they are about to release their own plugin and see you as 'competition') then reply courteously and promptly.
Tell your friends Email all of your EV/O acquaintances when you release (and it's actually appeared on the board). Get other sites to host it or link to it. Put up a website of teasers and extra goodies.
------------------ M A R T I N • T U R N E R
11. Detail a Rough outline of exactly what you plan on doing. Keeping something like this close at hand will let you focus on making your plug, but it wont limit you to doing just that.
12. Focus focus focus. Don't worry about websites or advertisements until your plug is really ready. I've seen tons of plugs that have looked great (with their catchy advertisements and cool sites) only to be disapointed when I see that they've become vapourware.
13. Know where you're headed. If you are working with a small group, make sure each member knows what they need to be doing, and provide both short term and long term goals. Again, not so rigid that you have to follow it exactly, but defined enough to keep you focued.
Uh, obviously I believe in being focued
I'll try to think up more later.
!!WARNING: IF YOU HAVE A SHORT ATTENTION SPAN, IGNORE THIS POST!! Okay, I'll play this. (These mostly deals with TCs):
THE RIGHT STUFF
An interesting trend: Did you know(math not exact) that there are about ten or more times as many "TCs in development" than are actually publicly available?
You probably did, and you may even be one of the "developers"(as am I). At some point, everyone, it seems, believes they can do it. It's kind of like when people sing in the shower. You sound good in that shower, but when you see the look on everyones face when you sing at a party, you kinda get a gist for the truth. Well, it's the same for TCs. It takes an unusually high amount of time, resources, trail and error, and above all, commitment to make a "ROTV" or a "Frozen Heart". They don't just fall in your lap. It's a lot of work, and let's face it, most people can't wing it(otherwise, we'd be swamped with 'em).
That said, in my addition to this thread, I will attempt to avail many TC myths and from both a players and developers erspective, give my take on what it takes.
I know some people download and play "Frozen Heart", "ROTV", or many of the "few" other good TCs and say "Wow, I could do that." That's fine. It's called envy, and it has generated enough vaporware to swim in. There's nothing wrong with it. But know your limits.
Time is of the Essence It is also pain in the ass when developing plugs. Before you set about doing something like a TC, you have to know "your" time. Plan far, far in advance. Respect the clock. In other words, don't plan on making a TC in a weekend, as many others have failed to do. You must remember that what you are essentially doing is making a new game , and that something like that takes alot of time.
Be There One thing players can't stand is someone who comes around yelling "TC of the Year", get peoples mouths watering, then vanishes into thin air. If you believe that you have to announce a year and a half ahead of time that you're making a killer plug, then have the decency to keep people informed about it. A simple website with a progress report usually does the trick.
Ask the Wise Ones Don't ever be afraid(or too arrogant) to ask someone else who has already done a successful TC to give you some helpful advice. They've gone through whatever you're going through in making their masterpiece, and are the next best thing to an encyclopedia on the subject for TC making advice.
Be Sure of Your Goals In other words, make sure that a TC is what you really want to make. Not every new plug idea has to be a TC. And the definition therein is relative to what you want your plug to be. There are basically three types of TCs:
1. A Storyline Conversion - Or "Missions" plug is often the only thing needed to bring certain TCs to a successful finish. Simply changing the entire set of missions related to EV/O is conversion enough. Consider "ROTV/II". Include a smattering of new ships, outfits, systems etc., and call it a plug. This, of course, doesn't mean just slapping together some words; be sure that it's a "good" story.
2. An Expansion Conversion - These are plugs that simply introduce new elements into the EV/O universe, as well as alter the storyline. If it's just an addendum you're after, then it's no TC. However, if you feature your new race, or faction, or other in a way that fundementally changes everything in the game, and do it well, then it works out as a totally new and fresh idea.
3. A Total Conversion - In all actuallity, most people don't actually mean TC when they say they are making a TC. They mean that they're changing something in the game, but it is still the EV/O universe. However, some do truly have original ideas which call for all new everything. Basically a new game, that sits atop a EV platform. "Frozen Heart" is probably the most well known of these, as there are few.
If the idea you had isn't one of the above, then you're not making any kind of TC, and should skip this post.
If you're making a big plug, start making it and feel your way around it. See if you have the patience, time, and resources. Get all the software you need. Start writing a couple of mission plugs for you to play by yourself, and even send them to others to test the idea. Do a ship. Do an outfit. Do some missions. Do a website. Most important of all, before you annouce a TC, DO SOMETHING, or else you're just blowing air.
...and wait, and wait, and wait. Eventually, that waiting wears down the sense of optimism they had when they were just newbies. They've swam in the vaporware, know what it tastes like, and it's a bitter taste. So don't be suprised if they take out that frustration on you. They may not mean well, but their point is valid. Why should they expect anything grand from you, when 9 out of 10 new TCs flop. Take the good criticism with bad, swallow it, and go on making a quality plug.
The best advice I can give is to avoid teams when you can, and just concentrate on testers. But if you can't avoid it, consider outsourcing some of the work to a non-affiliated party. Sound complicated? Well it's not. For instance, if you desperately need ships, but don't hav an artistic bone in your body, try contacting someone who isn't busy and would be willing to do some ships for you. Get someone else to do the rest. Get another person to dothe same ships just in case the one person gets sick, or run over by a car, or (more likely)too busy with teir own plug.
By limiting the number of people who are actually in control, to some extent, of the TCs development, you retain more control yourself and increase your ability to start over from scatch. By that same token, by increasing the number of people you outsource to, you increase the likelyhood that you'll get something out of them.
As for beta-testers, just make sure you get people you can trust. Make them give you reports, not just on bugs, but on gameplay as well. Make them accountable. And remember, testers are important. But not so much that they should trump your plug making process. You're not just making some mission plug, you're creating a Total Conversion. If your testers suck, fire them and get new ones.
Oh and one more thing regarding testers. Mix and match. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket. You should split your tester pool into two distinct groups: () Those You Can Trust - This means people such as family members, classmates, co-workers, and other game enthusiasts you know. The Pro is that you can more easily keep track of these people, thus making them more accountable. The Con is that many of them probably don't know as much about EV/O as you do. () Those Who Know - This includes people from this webboard, as well as others on the net and elsewhere who regularly play EV/O. The Pro is that many of these people know the quirks of the engine and can thus be more helpful in analyzing bugs. The obvious Con is that they're less accessible and therefore far less accountable than those closer to you.
-------------------------------------------------- Well, I have many more where that came from, but I will digress so that others who know more about TCs can comment. (To Be Continued...)
Pre-development commandments:
Before actual development begins , assemble a folder of resources you already have such as the odd ship graphic or mission that you want to use. If you have everything you want in one place, then things become a lot easier.
Create a design brief. Just as in professional game development, in my opinion each plug-in needs a brief. Type up a few pages of plot, government background etc etc and upload it for each of your development team to download.
Get a webboard. if you're making a TC, communication with the rest of the team is very important. I have known cases where two people are thinking different things for the same part of a plug and things get very messy when each of them want both included.
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/Forum10/HTML/001524.html")The Tides of War(/url) (url="http://"http://www.ohhla.com")The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive(/url) Hip Hop Recomendation of the week: Beastie Boys - Ill Communication ------------------
------------------ Yes o mighty weird one!
thou shalt write till thee can't write no more (pre-plot all ideas before jumping in and doing stuff)
thou shalt attempt to be original (include your own ideas...rely on yourself...)
thou shalt not steal (cutting and pasting gets old)
PEACE YO!
------------------ Damon: An Immortal! Hahaha...there are things worse than DEATH! Kwanza: bang...bang "Quoted the Kwanza Man...Nevermore" If you're one in a million, then there are 1000 people just like you in China.
Go the extra mile. Do something that hasn't done in a plug before. My first real plugin for the Ares community was Iron Fist. It's complex plot with a branching storyline (3 possible endings) blew people away.
Make the name of the Plugin relevant to the plugin. Meowx's plugin Quantumire was centered around a ship called -surprise- the Quantumire! I dunno why, but it's real cool when that happens in plugs.
Get a project logo. Doesn't matter if it looks like utter crap, it'll still look professional.
Just before releasing it, build up a lot of anticipation and hype. "Accidental" beta-tester-info-leakage works like a charm.
------------------ Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. -Alduran Outlaw Rick Blazer StarLance
33. Documentation. When you eventually write it, for God's sake include some decent documentation. I have lost track of software that I've been sent where the documentation consists of 'This is an addition for -game-'. Yeah great, just not very helpful. The documentation that came with EV:O was useful.. plus it gave you a damn good insight into the game.
34. Documentation (again) -- dont make it spoil the game. It's nice to have a bit of background to the story, or even a -lot- of background to the story, but it's no damn good if it tells you exactly what happens in the plug. For instance, if I released FFF as a plugin (which was the original idea) people would know exactly what happened because I have written it all down.
35. Be prepared to be critised. Yeah, it sounds rough, but despite your best intentions, and a huge team of beta testers, you will never release a 100% perfect plugin. It's just life. You have to be prepared to have people say 'this isnt right' or 'if you do this...'
36. Listen to the feedback. As mentioned in #35 you will get stuff back from people. Listen to them. Great, you like it, but does anyone else? Even after you release it, listen to feedback with a view to implementing the suggestions in further releases. Dont sit on a V1 release and say 'Im finished'. That's not to say that you should redevelop it ad infinitum. Just be sensible with it.
That's what I can think of for the moment.
-Gildor
------------------ (url="http://"http://jon.infiniti-web.com")jon.infiniti-web.com(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.jonpearse.f2s.com/story/index2.html")Fight for Freedom(/url) (url="http://"mailto:jon@infiniti-web.com")mailto:jon@infiniti-web.com(/url)jon@infiniti-web.com
A website will add a professional air to your plug and a place where people can find out about the plug before they download. It will persuede people to download it if they like what they see in screenshots. If I had to choose between a TC with a website offering screenshots and plot information, and a plug that has fck all, then it's obvious which one I would choose
While a webiste is important, don't let it distract you from the task of programming a good plug in. I usually start developing a website properly when the plug enters early beta. I will work on it before hand, but when it's in beta you will have more time to work on it.
To contradicting commandments for this post.
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/Forum10/HTML/001524.html")The Tides of War(/url) (url="http://"http://www.ohhla.com")The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive(/url) Hip Hop Recomendation of the week: Rawkus Presents Soundbombin' ------------------
(This message has been edited by the Necromicon (edited 11-27-2000).)
39)Don't join some hot new project just to get your name on it if you know that you cannot keep up with the commitment. Miracles don't happen.
------------------ OctoberFost: Spoiling your fun, one post at a time. AIM-OctoberFost (b) (url="http://"http://www.drippingchipmunk.com")DrippingChipmunk.com(/url) (url="http://"http://www.downwithbush.net")DOWNWITHBUSH.NET(/url)
41)This is my situation. You're making a plug you know will be great, but don't have any graphics or sounds producers to help? Don't worry! Use the EV/O sounds & Graphics, and scout around free shipyards. Release your plug, and when people see how good it is, they'll think it's worth the work, and you can release a later version with loads of new graphics and sounds! Convince people you can do a quality plug by doing it, and you'll go OK.
All I can think of for today. ~Gav
------------------ What's Bob Marley's favirout doughnut? --Jammin' What does Bob Marley say when you eat a doughnut? --I hope ya like jammin' too Sigh. Why do crap jokes exist?
43. Don't commit to a plug-in (especially a TC) until you know how much work it actually involves.
44. Never, never work in a team of more than two. Truly, teams will never work.
45. Don't say stupid, ridiculous things on the dev. board about having +5000 missions, 40,000 systems, 192,000 ships, and maybe multiplayer if you get time this weekend. You will surely be flamed to no end.
46. Use any tool Pontus has ever released.
47. Don't use EV-Edit. Despite what anyone says, there are other bug free utilities out there that cover most of the more complex resources. And remember, the easier road is not always the best one.
48. Never name your plug-in after one random planet. It was only funny the first time.
49. Test your plug-in to no end. And never tell people until it's ready to go that it's ready to go.
50. Ignore anything Mike Lee says.
51. Listen to stuff Martin Turner says. He knows what he's talking about.
52. Ignore anything Bomb says. He usually doesn't know what he's talking about.
53. Learn that failbitset rarely works.
54. Put all of your creative energy into it. Some of the greatest plug-ins took many months of development and writing to finally be ready to be programmed.
55. Don't get other people to program for you. Learn anything and everything.
56. If you can, do the graphics yourself. It'll help keep your vision in focus a bit more. Plus, dealing with graphics artists and trying to get things done isn't always easy.
57. Remember that it's just a game.
_bomb
(This message has been edited by Bomb (edited 11-27-2000).)
This mostly concerns with order of operations.
When making a plug-in of any kind, you need ideas first. Plan out the story and the setting in which it exists. Decide the governments, and how they control the galaxy. Draw a basic map of the galaxy.
Perhaps find someone to work with, if you aren't very good at graphics find an artist to make some for you. Finding a graphics artist doesn't need to happen until midway into your plug, when you have something to show, you can just use ships from ev and evo and other plugs as placeholder graphics. Then the graphics artist will know that his work won't be for nothing.
Basic Order of Resource Editing 1.Governments (govt) 2.Outfits (outf) 3.Weapons (weap) 4.Ships (ship) 5.Dudes (dude) 6.Systems (syst) 7.Planets (spob) 8.Missions (misn) 9.Other resources, such as Map Graphics (nebu), News info (oops), Special Commodities (junk), fleets (flet) and Persons (pers).
Strings (Str#) and Descriptions (Desc) should be done at the same time as the other resources, add the description or string with the corresponding resource, so you know what it is, and you have your thoughts down about it. So you don't forget later, but you can always edit it later.
Remember, if you finish a resource, it doesn't mean you are done with it, you'll find many times you'll need to go back and update things, or just to tweak them.
These are organized by dependencies each resource has on others, such as you need weapons, so you can complete ships, and you need ships so you can complete dudes. And dudes to go into systems. Planets after systems because each planet needs a system, but systems don't necesarily need a planet. And so on. You don't need to stick entirely to this, Sometimes its also helpful after you've created your governments, to do all the systems and ships for one particular government. It depends on your plug.
When you feel confident that your plug will be released sometime within two months, and you have completed parts of each resource so you understand how each resource works, then build a basic web site with a progress log you can update to tell people how far you are. Have a project symbol described in commandment 31, and maybe show off a few preview graphics that you or your graphics designer have made for the plug.
Then make an announcement when your web page is done. Post to a relevant web board.
When you are 90% done or more with your plug, and it appears it will be done soon. With most mission lines complete, (missions take a lot of work). Thats when you'll want to think about gathering some beta testers, while they are testing the rest of your plug you can finish the rest, and then send them another copy. See earlier commandments about choosing good beta testers.
When you are done with your plug, and waiting for beta tester feedback, go and build your website. Put in ship info, planet info, show off some of the graphics, and put up a background story, so people who visit the site will go "cool"
If your beta testers like what they see, and your bugs are almost worked out, and your plug is done, or Very Close to it. Then you should start your hyping. Post announcements about it to the newswire and to the relevant web board.
Testing: Fix all the bugs the beta testers find, listen to their ideas, hopefully they won't find a fundamental flaw in your story line where all you can reply to it with is "Its just a game" and make sure you testers are active and all that. Give them new versions as soon as you fix all reported bugs, or most of them. Tell them they are doing a good job, they like that. And keep track of the list of bugs reported and fixed, a good thing for a web page to do. Make sure you test it too, don't just blindly fix bugs. You should be your star tester. Finally, when you feel it is ready to be released, send you the final version to each tester, and have them play through it one last time, looking for anything amiss. You should play through it too, once twice, thrice. What ever makes you feel comfortable.
Uploading: When you feel your Plug is done, Package it in a folder. Make sure you have a readme! In the readme it should describe the synopsis of your plug, how to use the plug, A link to your website, and your email address. You can also include other files like ship info and documentation. And hints and tips to beating your plug. Don't include anything that does not relate to your plug. People don't want to download your plug and find a picture of your birthday party. Once you are done putting stuff in the folder, (make sure the plug you put in is the latest version) use stuffit and compress the file, and then encode it, so the file gets the extension ".sit.hqx" or ".sit.bin". When uploading, first upload it to your website, then download it, decompress it and make sure it decompresses correctly. Once this is done, Upload it to the correct addon's section. Either EV or EVO. Make sure the name is correct before uploading, delete any non alpha-numeric characters, such as spaces, @'s, %'s, &'s or other characters. Write a Description that makes people want to download your plug and try it out. See commandment 8. Make sure your description is more than 100 characters long, otherwise you will have to reupload your plug because it will say "Sorry the description you have entered is not long enough"
Final Announcements: Once it is uploaded post a message to the newswire, and the relevant web board. Also tell people about it on irc, in #ev (Afternet) or #ev3 (Undernet). Some people might be interested.
Obey Thy Dingles. (sorry wrong commandment list)
Chamrin
------------------
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(This message has been edited by Kevin Jordan (edited 11-30-2000).)
No suggestions; I just wanted to keep the topic up top. Keep commanding!
------------------ PlanetPhil i'm only one man
When you design or write something, try to look at it as if you were seeing this in another plug. Then some things which you think sound/look cool will suddenly appear cheesy. And vice-cersa. Don't think about this a hundred times, though, or you'll end up confused as to just what your opinion is
Obvious insider jokes should be outsider jokes. When you write an insider joke, either make sure it's conceiled enough for people who don't know about it not to notice it, or something which everybody who has played your plug or lived in the world called Earth could understand - if only they'd think about it.... like the George's World thing
sarc
Like the man said, don't make powerful races attack the player early on. Sorry! (TQT)
Get all the bugs out!! Sorry! (Return)
Try to put new, non EVO sounds and graphics in. People really like that.
When making missions, try not to make them repetative!!
When the player DOES get strong, make sure there's something that's still a challenge to them!
Don't hype too early! (Dark Realms? Coming late 1999? Scuze me?)
There is no number 79.
Use the number 3 as often as you can. It will please the Inverted Cat Head God.
If you don't know how to use ResEdit, learn. If you haven't memorized the EVO 1.0.2 Bible, read.
Try drinking orange juice and chocolate milk from different cups at the same time (I reccomend using straws). It tastes good.
Sleep on it. If you just have no idea where to go and are completely stuck, then look at the clock. OMG! It's 5 in the morning!!!
DON'T start playing Starcraft online. It will slow plugin development. Trust me.
Like bomb said, one person only. It's the best way to get work done. If you have a team, make SURE they are loyal. (Yes, I'm talking to you, Dark Realms and Project Nebula teams!!! :mad: )
Even if you hated TQT, play Quantumire SE when it comes out. I don't see how you can go wrong on this one.
If you don't know what you're doing, SEARCH then ASK. (Sound familiar?)
If you REALLY don't know what you're doing, go back to playing EVO instead of making stuff. It's for your own good, really.
Watch Spaceballs and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Then, make sure your plug doesn't take itself too seriously.
Don't type in all caps unless you're really mad at someone. It annoys me.
Hmmm, that really didn't apply to plug making, but I guess it can. That said, any online "manners" rules apply tenfold in plugs, unless it's part of a character. And even then, watch it. No chocolate starfish in hot dog flavored water, it'll offend people.
Don't mix angled and top down graphics. Ever.
Have fun, dammit.
Play Soul Calibur. But not too much.
Don't make a sick and twisted plug. Wow, mind readers, they are.
Just saw this, had to add it. DO NOT post some like... oh... hmm... well, like this: I'm starting a new plug. I have no idea what it is going to be about yet, but I'll keep you informed. I want at least 4 people to be on the team. I'll especially need graphics people. Please e-mail me if you have an idea about what the plug should be called, what the plot is, or what stuff I should have in it.
phew, that was a lot more than I expected! -david-
does a double take you know, I just realized that's a Soul Calibur poster in the comic.
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.meowx.com")Meowx Design Studios(/url) Graphics. Games. And more...
(This message has been edited by Meowx Design (edited 12-05-2000).)
(QUOTE)Originally posted by Meowx Design:
For some reason, we call a mixed flavour of Orange and Chocolate "Jaffa". What do you guys call it?? It's my favourite flavour.