Where To Start Development
Hi all,
I'm wanting to get into making addons myself from scratch and one day Gamemodes (Possibly who knows) I've decided buying addons and configuring them / changing them abit isn't enough for my satisfaction. I want to actually have a unique server, I want it to feel like it really is my own.
Now you probably think yeah it's not that easy to hop into pal, well I come equipped with good code "knowledge" I say knowledge as I have experience making mods in Arma 3 and making my own stuff fresh there. However only knowledge of changing things about in Gmod, I can understand LUA pretty well it's just knowing what needs doing as a base and where etc.
What would you guys recommend a good starting point to learning how to make basic addons, such as making a hunger system, a farming system. Basic stuff, I know these systems exist but I think they are good starting points, GUI is also something I want to get into.
Please don't read this thread thinking "oh great another guy" I really do have a passion for Development and have had for about 2 years, I self taught most stuff in Arma 3 to myself and now want to switch over to Gmod.
Any help to guides, general advice, pre production advice etc would be massively appreciated.
Thanks :)
The way you started is exactly how I learned. Taking existing scripts apart and learning what makes them work, and then modifying them to how I need. I don't like tutorials and crap like that because then if the developer does something without explaining, and if it's a bad habit, you'll now pick that habit up. Other than that, reading the garry's mod wiki. Having coded another language is sorta nice, but there are different rules for GLua. I've done sqf for Arma and a few other extensions, and it works a lot differently than how Garry's Mod stuff does.
I'd recommend you make a few things, and release them as workshop scripts, because I can promise you, no one's first scripts are ever going to be great. At least there, you can sorta start getting a rep, answering people's issues, debugging, etc. Because when you're selling products in exchange for money, it's a whole different ballpark.
Yeah, i've looked into the Gmod Wiki abit, I agree on the tutorials stuff it's kinda a habit like you said, don't wanna get stuck in having to reference the same thing all the time and not have any idea of it's true meaning. I'm not planning on selling stuff anytime soon, i've got pretty high standards so wont be selling anything till i'm 100% happy with it and can see other people value it. In regards to modification, would you say not based on diffculty but flexability, is DarkRP or Clockwork better to work with to start?
Darkrp. I've never touched clockwork, and really have no plans on it. I've written mods for darkrp, murder, ttt, prophunt, and they all use the same standard. However, DarkRP seems to be the "ruler" of the gamemodes. Everyone wants a darkrp server these days, while I try to run like hell and distance myself from that gamemode. I mean you can dab in clockwork too if you're up for it, it's good to have options, and to know a variety of different things, but I'd def go the darkrp direction for servers.
Yeah Darkrp is abit erm well yeah haha ... But it seems like the best option for RP stuff, santos kinda thing is what i'd envisuion to make one day
Well, you could always start working on Lua, getting familiar with it, and maybe reach out to the owner of SantosRP (Shawn) and possibly talk to him about working as a freelancer / intern and help out. Or look for a network that may be seeking out a developer and sorta try getting some experience there under your belt. Because if you can work for an active network, and get a consistent amount of players coming into the server and using what you've developed, it'll help you with locating bugs and fixing them. There's always going to be a random bug that pops up for one or two people, and works fine for everyone else because those two people happened to "trigger" to correct sequence of events to get that bug to show it's head. There's a lot of roads you can take, just depends on what you're looking to do.
That's a very good point, I'm not sure what state santos is in right now due to it being Trademark etc etc, but yeah may look around for a decent (mature) server, i've got good knowledge of configuring and modifying addons etc just need somewhere to playtest my own stuff :)
ByBehnzonat 7th of November 2017 17:01:01
That's a very good point, I'm not sure what state santos is in right now due to it being Trademark etc etc, but yeah may look around for a decent (mature) server, i've got good knowledge of configuring and modifying addons etc just need somewhere to playtest my own stuff :)
Singleplayer is the best development environment.
The best advice I can give you is, usually its trail and error and be patient. Im still learning also but I'v kinda came to those grips.
I really suggest taking the time to work with a clean gamemode. The reason I suggest this is so that you have the capability to push the gamemode in any direction you'd like. You don't have to worry about dependencies or anything related to that since you'll have complete control. Make a team deathmatch gamemode, make a free-for-all gamemode. Just take basic concepts and expand on them.
Thanks for the advice guys! Was honestly expecting abit of shade thrown at me haha