One centralized modding tutorial site...

[Legacy_DMSelena]

               Hi again!

So, I was wondering if any of the modders here would be interested in setting up a centralized tutorial site for sharing your knowledge with other modders using a wiki-style interface. I could install this on my web host under a subdomain for our persistent world so the URL would look like this: tutorials.worldofadelan.com. If you want to see what this looks like in action, you can visit our under-construction world site here: http://www.worldofadelan.com/site  There's not much there to see in the way of information about our world, but you can get a feel for the type of wiki interface I'm talking about.

OldTimeRadio did that awesome Omnibus thing, but it would be neat if we could have a collaborative tutorial project that's easy to keep up-to-date. The wiki software allows easy editing of the webpages (it's like Wikipedia, if you've ever messed with that) by anyone without needing to know any HTML. I'd prefer to set it up so that anonymous users can't edit it on account of vandalism being an issue with this small of a community (versus, say, Wikipedia who has thousands of people monitoring their site for vandalism), but I can set it so registered users can edit any page. It can have forums, blogs, file archives, and other such things too, but I think just the wiki part would probably be plenty for what I'm talking about doing.

I know it might sound like a lot, but it's really not that big a deal for me to set up, and I have infinite web space, so it doesn't matter how large the site gets. I know I have some expertise to share, and there are some people here who really know what they're doing, too, and it would be nifty if we could archive it all somewhere easy to access.

Any takers? Suggestions?

-S.

P.S.: I realize I might seem to have just popped up out of nowhere, but I've been around since way back in the original Abyss404 Coalition of Planes and Planets days, if anyone here remembers that. Also, Wyldhunt1 and I ran our own brief ambitious PW called Ariochus, but I'd be surprised if anyone here knew of that, since it was what you might call a "boutique" server, by which I  mean there were like 6 regular players. But they were awesome players.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

                <quibbling...>

I like the idea of one place to go for tutorials.  
I also like what Amethyst Dragon has done with a NWN homepage. 
And I like what CTP is doing with tutorials on Harvest Moon.
And, of course, there is the NwN Wiki (which really seems the place to gather all that stuff)

But getting everybody to consolidate their stuff?
Herding cats, IMO :-)
*Big* cats :-P

Not trying to discourage you at all. I'm very interested in consolidating resources. If you manage to coordinate such a project, I will not only take my hat off to you, but cheer loudly :-)

<...out of loyalty>
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 27 novembre 2011 - 03:54 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_ShadowM]

               social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/191/index/7554077
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_DMSelena]

               Quibbling noted, and I apologize to anyone's toes I may have trod upon belonging to those to whom your loyalty is pledged.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

                <grinning...>

Well, I'm pretty careful to cross my fingers when I *do* pledge... So don't worry about *that* part :-)
<the old man has somewhat... *flexible* ethics> Complaining? <nope> Good.

ShadowM's thread lists every Tut I know about, but that doesn't mean a searchable wiki wouldn't make things a lot easier for new recruits to reference, and old fogies, er, *experienced* modders to update.
 
I'm a big fan of wikis :-)

<...shamelessly>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_DMSelena]

               *chuckling*

Yes, I get it. If it's any help to you, I am an older woman by gamer community standards, and I've just been a little aggravated having to try to gather up all the documentation necessary to catch up with being gone for just a couple of years (so much has changed since Bioware released NWN into the wild, and the Vault engine is so slow), and then finding out that a lot of it is outdated on accounta how 64 bit systems change things, and many of the tuts were written before it became standard to use professional-grade software. Nowadays, I can do things proper-like with 3DSMax and Photoshop instead of a bazillion little kludge/workaround progs (don't misread that: I have nothing but love for those prog's creators!), but I still need to know the workflow and those insanely useful tips people learn as they go. That's the kind of thing a wiki is good for -- it can be updated as people figure things out, and it isn't dependent upon one person having the time/interest in keeping a tutorial updated. That's the biggest weakness I've found with the NWN community over the years (and I'm just as guilty of it). People tend to walk away from a project when real life imposes, not come back to it, and everyone else has to try to figure out what to do. The nice part about the wiki is I can just turn it on and let the open-source collaboration self-organize (don't laugh; it's possible!). 

But I did think of the NWN Wiki even as I was making the original post. It's a perfectly servicable wiki, and yet it isn't being updated with the deep-fu geekery that appears here, so it's quite possible that a second wiki wouldn't fare any differently. But I guess I'm holding out a somewhat pathetic hope that people like you and OldTimeRadio, et al, will feel kindly enough to copy-pasta what you have into an article there and not think, "Eh, let them use the Google. I have models to make." In addition to being pathetic, it's also not a terribly reasonable hope, I realize, because I tend to think that very thing when I consider making video tuts. So, anyway, I'm just going to stop typing now before I end up talking about dragons or something.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <pounding two-fingered...>

DMSelena wrote...
Yes, I get it. If it's any help to you, I am an older woman by gamer community standards, and I've just been a little aggravated having to try to gather up all the documentation necessary to catch up with being gone for just a couple of years (so much has changed since Bioware released NWN into the wild, and the Vault engine is so slow), and then finding out that a lot of it is outdated on accounta how 64 bit systems change things, and many of the tuts were written before it became standard to use professional-grade software.

Whoa! *Breathe*, woman!

I had it a bit worse, in the same direction. I was involved (deeply involved) in the pre-release. Then I went away for a decade. Missed *everything*. Ack!

Now I'm back, but I'm living off grid and using a crippled Thinkpad R40 (mostly @ Starbucks). I can just *barely* run 3DS 2010. Forget anything newer :-P

Nowadays, I can do things proper-like with 3DSMax and Photoshop instead of a bazillion little kludge/workaround progs (don't misread that: I have nothing but love for those prog's creators!), but I still need to know the workflow and those insanely useful tips people learn as they go. That's the kind of thing a wiki is good for
...
The nice part about the wiki is I can just turn it on and let the open-source collaboration self-organize (don't laugh; it's possible!).

But... I *like* to laugh!
Preaching to the choir.

But I did think of the NWN Wiki even as I was making the original post. It's a perfectly servicable wiki, and yet it isn't being updated with the deep-fu geekery that appears here, so it's quite possible that a second wiki wouldn't fare any differently.

"Deep-fu geekery"? Bwahahahahaha. Love it. =)

OTOH, The Krit is pretty active on it, though I think he concentrates on scripting.

But I guess I'm holding out a somewhat pathetic hope that people like you and OldTimeRadio, et al, will feel kindly enough to copy-pasta what you have into an article there and not think, "Eh, let them use the Google. I have models to make." In addition to being pathetic, it's also not a terribly reasonable hope, I realize, because I tend to think that very thing when I consider making video tuts.

Whoa, again, Dear. I am *not* in the same tutorial league as OTR or Bannor Bloodfist. <word> I mostly just point people at people <or their posts> and hope *synergy* happens.

In this forum, if I have a question, I *may* google it. But I *will* post it. Everyone here is both helpful and incredibly generous. And most are pretty savvy =)

That said, I agree with you wholeheartedly that putting it all together would be of immense benefit.

Something else I would really like to see is the CC guide updated with all the tutorial goodness I've had to root out from all over creation :-/
And the word Docs that TSL is putting together with visual references to assets.
And the references TAD & Estelindis did on palettes.
<stop, boss. breathe. let it go> Heh.

So, anyway, I'm just going to stop typing now before I end up talking about dragons or something.

<shhhh. don't mention the 'd' word around rolo. he get's... *really* crochety>

<...on his crippled, old laptop>
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 27 novembre 2011 - 06:18 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Zwerkules]

               No time to write tutorials. I have tilesets to make. '>

Why don't you want to talk about dragons, DMSelena?
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Zwerkules, 27 novembre 2011 - 06:18 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Rolo Kipp]

               <looks around wildly...>

Zwerkules wrote...
No time to write tutorials. I have tilesets to make. '>

Darn tootin!
Where's that whip when we need it?
Lass! Yoo Hoo! Chocolate! Rich *dark* Chocolate! <that oughtta get her attention>
Zwerk got loose!
Help!

Why don't you want to talk about dragons, DMSelena?

Grrrr.

<...for mistress' whip>
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 27 novembre 2011 - 06:33 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Bannor Bloodfist]

               My main issue with wiki's is that they are a pain to edit/create documentation (read tutorials) on.  It is another interface where you have to learn new code techinques (like learning how bbcode works to insert links etc...)

Anime_Cafe used to have more than it currently does.  I know I had created 3 separate tutorials on it that required hours to get into place and working, then the site admin walked away and the edits were lost completely.  What is there now, hosted by Thrikreen, is an old, outdated, and image missing, backup.

I think there is only one tutorial on there that has been generated since that previous webadmin person walked away and the site was re-created.  Merging Relief Art Into a Texture and the person that created that, has left the scene as well (I think)

If you come up with an easier to use wiki-creation interface, I might be willing to attempt to copy over the ones I have on the website in my sig, but it would be a very tedious process, and one that I have already performed 3 times in the past... it gets old, real old, having to re-create things on other sites.

I can also tell you that HarvestMoon has been attempting to set the site up as directly related to cc creation in general, NWN and otherwise.  We have a couple guilds there that are actually from other games, but they don't appear to be interested in actually creating tutorials at this stage of things.

Anyway, we would also be willing to host such a wiki, provided that we can find wiki software that is easier to use for the creation phase of things.

P.S. don't worry too terribly much about the Dragons you see flying around here, they are an old race, wise, and tend to completely ignore human activities, even if they do seem to have fun chasing that Kipper around some.  They seldom do much harm.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Jenna WSI]

               I think it'd be nice on the site AD is working on, as a subsite. If that doesn't work, I'll supply webspace if someone wants to make the site and run it... just get a domain name and point it at my url, etc.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_DMSelena]

               Basically everything that Bannor said is what I was thinking about, as far as reticence for the project goes. I've seen a lot of reproduced information here and there, and it would be nice if we could just have it all in one place.

Oh, and as to the dragons, that was me getting tired after a long day and fearful that I would start randomly talking about dragons, or perhaps sprites. I have no issue with dragons. I am married to Wyldhunt1, who is one. He's green and don't let him try to tell you otherwise.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Winterhawk99]

               If I could get the way back machine working properly I would take everything relevent in the builders project and everything relevent in the variouse bioware threads on scripting, modeling and texturing then inject them even if I have to hand write them into HMC. The main problem is i cant get the way back machine to even work for me at the moment. Perhaps I can tackle that job once finished with the SWTOR review Bannor and I are working on.

I will do my best to add as many tutorials as possible when time permits to the the site and within the limited scope of my understanding of various parts of game design. Any help from members would be appriciated.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Winterhawk99, 02 décembre 2011 - 05:43 .