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Originally Posted by DeeZire
Just as an observation, there are an increasing number of posts being made in this forum which have little or no value.
Im referring to posts like 'where do I put edited INI files', 'where are the cameos stored in the game files' etc.
At the time of this post, the game has been out for less than a week no matter where you are in the world. Only a privelaged handful have had the game for any considerable time longer than that. This means that most people are in the same boat - not many people know all that much in editing terms.
It defeats the object and value of this forum to make such posts, and in a bid to help prevent the Generals editing scene dying on its backside before its even been born, Im laying down a couple of ground rules for the use of this forum
1 - use the Search function before making a post. Sometimes, the simplest of questions has already been asked and answereed;
2 - dont make a post like 'where is xxxx file stored and whats its format' - go and take look for yourself - Generals is not a 'plug n play' modding game like RA2 was - its an engine thats almost as complex as some FPS games;
3 - dont make a post like 'where do I put this file' when all it takes to figure that out is about an hours worth of trial and error - if you cant even put that kind of effort in, youre wasting your time trying to write a mod;
4 - if you are going to bring a problem, then be prepared to share a solution - a forum is a community based platform for the sharing of information, not just somewhere where you can grab what you want and give nothing back.
Im simply going to delete any non-value adding posts, since if this forum gets as cluttered as the RA2 one did with useless information, it will have lost the very essence of its purpose very very quickly.
Im just getting a little tired of people registering, making one post to get some info they are after then never coming back. Ive even seen at least two examples of people just 'leeching' - making the same post on every editing forum out there just to get an answer to their question. Not only is that lazy, but it shows a complete disregard for the very principles of mod writing - if you do not posess the ability to think, analyse, and figure some basic things out for yourself, then you will never be a mod writer so give it up.
The whole idea of this forum, and indeed this site, is to empower people to figure things out and do it for themselves. Theres Tutorials, an Encyclopedia, working examples and posts by established members of the editing community. It defeats the object of the community to come here and ask how to do something without having even tried it yourself.
Its just not worth complaining about the fact that there is no editing guide to the INI files up yet when most of the world has only had them for a week - whats stopping you from figuring some things out and posting your findings here? The INI files in Generals are filled with so many comments that they practically read like an instruction manual. If thats not enough info for you at this early stage, them Im afraid youre not cut out for this kind of thing as its the same info that everybody else has.
Im not saying that new people are unwelcome here, nor am I saying that sharing of information shoule be discouraged. I am saying that in these early days of editing what is still a new game, much has yet to be learned by most people and unless forums like this are used properly they will become useless.
Yes, I have extensive guides to the INI files completed and ready to upload but they will come when the time is right, and they will come in a staggered release. To release all such information now would be to the detriment of a game that is still in its infancy and even at the highest level is still being bughunted. A proliferation of mods throughout the community at this point would hinder the official process of fixing the game - think back and recall how many times did people posts about Internal Errors in RA2 when the problem was being caused by editing INI files?
Besides which, I also have to consider what needs happen at the official Generals Developer Underground site - if it was being officially encouraged to develop a mssive amount of mods at this early stage, that site would be littered with all the info you need right now The editing community should support the official efforts in some way, not hinder them. We wanted a game that was modder friendly and we got it, theres no point stabbing them in the back. Take that 'first Generals mod' that was announced - it was so crazy in concept that it was nothing more than a cheat. Has that really done anything to prevent cheating online and suppport the offcial efforts to troubleshoot the game?
In summary, there is more value to figuring things out and sharing information at these early stages. Generals is a real game, not playtime stuff like RA2, and the work required to produce a decent mod as well as the required quality of that work is a totally new ball game. If youre looking for plug n play quick and simple modding, stick with RA2. If you want to be a serious modder with a serious game, by all means tackle Generals but be prepared to play by community convention
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I wont let this particular forum, or the editing of Generals itself, degenerate into the crazy free for all that RA2 became. Generals is a very good high quality game in most aspects, at the very least it deserves the same from its editing community
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Is there a Generals Editor yet?
