Looking for advice

Technology and Gaming Help and Support
#1

Hello, all! :slight_smile:

I’m finally joining the forums after several months of enjoying various things related to this awesome mod. It serves as a great inspiration to me, and is why I came here to ask for advice. I apologize in advance if this isn’t the right place for a post like this.

Someday, I would like to become part of a Source modding team like the one that made this game. To clarify, there isn’t a specific team I’m looking to join right now, but I want to be able to join one in the future.

I’m most comfortable with programming, since I have been programming for three years, and I’m also familiar with Hammer and can create basic levels. I am looking for advice for what I should do to ensure myself that I am experienced enough to have a programming position on a team. Specifically, what could I do to practice programming the Source engine without any level design, modeling, or animation experience? What do teams like the Black Mesa team look for in a programmer?

Thanks! :slight_smile:

#2

Doesn’t this belong in “Help and Support”?

There are loads of unfinished mods here, pick one you like and try to contact them. There’s a giant lack of programmers in the modding industry, so it wont be too hard for you to find a team.

#3

Pretty much this.

Also Black Mesa already has progammers.
IIRC they don’t accept people anymore.

#4

Thanks for both of your replies. If a moderator could move this post to Help and Support, I’d appreciate it, since I’m not sure how to move it myself.

I’m not looking for a mod to work on right now, because I feel that my lack of experience with Source programming wouldn’t make me very useful. I’m asking for things that I can do on my own to be able to gain experience.

#5

Sometimes you gain experience by working on mods.
For example, I got an progammer in my development group that doesnt know anything about Source, but he pracitices it by reading the articles & doing stuff in his software.
Though if you dont want to join team, I suggest you practice on variant aspects such as;
-AI
-Networking
-Vehicles

etc.

Theres a nice list of idea & samples here

#6

I’d begin with studying how the built-in functions in Source work, and try doing experiments with them. There’s a lot of stuff on this page that you can try implementing (and improving on!) with little to no experience in modelling, the material system, or level design.
In addition to that, I’d advise you to familiarize yourself with how the animation, level, and material systems work on an overall basis, as well as various other pieces. You don’t have to be capable of choreographing a complex scene with custom models in a new level, but it’s certainly helpful to have at least a basic understanding of how those features interact within the code and as a concept.

Finally, there are a lot of mods out there looking for help, and programmers are one of the things in relatively short supply. Once you’re confident with working with Source, you’ll be in high demand!

Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.