Starting a mod
hello!
I've been wanting to make a mod for portal 2 for quite some time now, and i'm pretty much sure what the theme and story line is going to be like.
It's gonna be a singleplayer campaign much different from the usual Portal 2 gameplay.
So i'm at the point where i would like to start creating custom content like skins, models and basic maps.
So my idea was that i would start creating the frame of the mod but i have no idea how to start this.
i've tried following this guide: http://www.se51.net/2011/09/15/how-to-make-your-own-portal-2-mod/#chapter1
And it seems to be outdated because of the Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC that valve made. I've even tried and it didn't work.
I've looked at valves source sdk index but i can't find help for portal 2 mods.
So i have basicly no idea how to make this work. please help.
Thanks 
EDIT EDIT EDIT:
i found this page: https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Create_a_portal_2_mod
so basicly what i have to do is copy pasta they whole game into sourcemods and edit it like a want to? and remember to delete all unnecessary files so people won't have to download those later.
I know all i have to edit is in the pak01_dir.vpk file so now my question is: how do i edit this file without having to export it with GCFScape and then pack it again. Because it's a lot of stuff to export for just editing a single vtf file....
You can also steal my dummy mod;
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/378 ... tal2Mod.7z
That's all you should need; users should copy over their own config.cfg and video.txt; and from there you should be able to mod further; saves you a lot of work.
Also if you're going to do something completely different than normal portal 2 you might want to consider making your mod for alienswarm; that engine is a lot more flexible than portal's 
And if you don't want to fix everything from scratch, I would recommend the 2007 engine.
The more you give, the less appreciated it will be received.
You should be doing something wrong then. I've got my mod running smoothly after I followed that guide. And not only me...
Did you create the pak01_dir.VPK file properly?
Where have you got your game installed? is it in a different disk from C:program files (86)steam...?
How is it not working?
useful tools and stuff here on TWP 
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]
Does this actually make a difference? I'm also fiddling with mod creation right now, and I DO have Portal installed on a different drive. Could this cause some problems?
Well, yes, I had some problems with that... I needed to add the new path into the GameInfo.txt file of my mod. If yours is working, then it's fine 
useful tools and stuff here on TWP [spoiler]
[/spoiler]Well, im still gonna use the mechanics from portal 2, (portal gun, fizzlers, weighted cube and stuff like that. I just need to change stuff like models skins for the cubes fizzlers portals and chell and probably alot of other stuff, and then add a bunch of materials, models & maps myself.
would that be easier in alien swarm or should i stay with the portal 2 engine?
Did you create the pak01_dir.VPK file properly?
Where have you got your game installed? is it in a different disk from C:program files (86)steam...?
How is it not working?
Well, i guess i got the mod running, but i was missing all the materials and models for the game that i wanted to edit.
+ i kinda got stuck in step two when i had to edit the mainmenu.res file
i could't get it to work and i'm pretty sure i packed the VPK file right.
Oh, I just reminded one thing that should be your problem. From the DLC2, it's needed to have 2 mainmenu.res instead of the old one:
- mainmenu.res
- mainmenu_new.res
That second one is into the pak01_dir.VPK that there's inside the portal2_DLC2 folder. I'm attaching my resource folder though 
And remember that both should be packed into your pak01_dir.VPK
useful tools and stuff here on TWP [spoiler]
[/spoiler]- mainmenu.res
- mainmenu_new.res
That second one is into the pak01_dir.VPK that there's inside the portal2_DLC2 folder. I'm attaching my resource folder though
And remember that both should be packed into your pak01_dir.VPK
awesome!
thank you so much