Completely new here, need to be pointed in right direction

[Linkamus]

Hello, I'm very new here. Me and my friend were just talking the other day about how cool it would be for a new game using the infinity engine to be released. After coming to the conclusion that 2d gaming is basically dead, and that we should give our hopes up, we thought about how cool it would be if someone out there created some sort of infinity engine editor, so that people with a passion for those games could make their own. Well, a simple search brought me to this website. My question is, are there enough resources out there to create my own game? If so, what is involved? What editors would you guys suggest I download? I was browsing through the whole list of tools, and it all seemed overwhelming, as I don't know which ones are commonly used, and or can be used together on the same project.

 

I just need a little nudge in the right direction. I would be looking to create a game from scratch, while still using bg2 classes and probably character models and such. Again, I don't know if this is even possible with the utilities available. But any help would be MUCH appreciated.

 

Thank you!

[theacefes]

There are a couple way you could go about this. You can do a total conversion, where you keep the existing engine plus whatever has been hard coded into the game, and make your own storyline, characters, dialogue, areas, sounds, etc. It's a lot of work but there have been some released. The tools you will need vary depending on whether or not you are creating new areas and so on, but I would recommend using WeiDU, as it's the most widely supported utility for IE modding right now. It's not a GUI style editor (aka no point and click) but it's a very powerful tool and there are tons of tutorials on it.

 

Otherwise, you can check out GemRB, which is an open source port of the Infinity Engine. There is still work being done on it, but the best place to start with that is the forum.

 

So the answer is yes, you can make a game from scratch theoretically, but it's a lot of work. If you've no experience in modding, I would start with something simple like making an item or creating a basic NPC.

[Ardanis]

DLTCEP is right on G3 here. Near Infinity and WeiDU. There's also IE Tileset Map Editor (IETME), but I can't recall where it's located.

 

 

Still, I'd say that making an entirely new game is a hellish load of work. Unless it's the experience that you seek, I'd stay away from it.

 

If you're into modding then you may want to give a try to NWN/NWN2 as it's a bit more modern than IE.

If you specifically want to have a new 2D game then instead of modding onto the licensed engine I'd consider going the indie route, e.g. using a freeware engine or buying a relatively cheap one (100-1000$) and building you game on it.

[Icendoan]

IETME is on TeamBG.eu

 

/@ Game engine: Or you could go talk to Compton and Broken Hourglass.

 

Icen

[Linkamus]

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate the advice.

[Icendoan]

And it means a lot to us to hear that!

 

Apart from the awesome feeling you get from seeing everyone else enjoying something you made, it is probably what keeps us all here.

 

Icen