I've been scouring the net and reading through forums and attempting to find video tutorials but there isn't much support for people attempting to use the Mod Tools for SWBF2.

I have read through the Forums and I have still not understood how to use it properly. I can create a file, munge it and open it in the ZE, but after that nothing. I can adjust the landscape and create the size and depth/height of my map and that's it. I cannot find any support on how to get any further as all tutorials or forums just skip it entirely... How do I create the ground for my map, how do I add the sky, how do I add everything else. Nothing on the internet has helped me so far. I'm not exactly slow, and I have used tools like this before, with Fallout 3's G.E.C.K. but that actually has support and tutorials, unlike SWBF2 Mod Tools.

I'm just hoping someone will help me find a tutorial or something on how to get through this internet Black spot which everyone seems to skip when teaching others how to use these Mod Tools. I have screwed around with ZE and that is how I have learned what I have, which isn't much. I read the instructions that came with the Mod Tools but again, they skip a lot, otherwise i'm sure I would have figured out what im doing by now.

Can somebody please help, im sick of downloading sub-par quality mods and maps when I know I can do better and put in more effort than they have, I just need someone to lend me a hand to get started as I'm obviously doing something wrong.

Thankyou, I do realise this is 2013, and it is an old game, but I have heard no news of SWBF3 and this is a game that is worth keeping alive.

'Help me Gametoast.com, You're my only hope...'

The ModTools actually come with a lot of tutorials, just check out the stuff in the documentation folder. The Getting Started.doc will tell you the basics of map creation, like changing the sky adding props, buildings, spawners and CommandPosts.
We also have an FAQ tread here on Gametoast where you will find tons of links to useful tuts.

Another tutorial that could be easier to get started with for beginners is Fierfek's Mapping Tutorial, although it doesn't go very in-depth on some things.

I have looked through the document that came with the program, and it didn't really help, although 'Fierfeks Mapping Tutorial' seems like it might help, so I'll get back to you and tell you how I went if it works

I tried a bit of reskinning last night, but again, that didn't work out too well as I wasn't able to save my custom skins in the right format so that I could view them in the Msh viewer, but that is a story for another time.

Thankyou for replying so quickly

The correct format to view in .msh viewer (and really the only format) is .tga. Go to gimp > export and export with a .tga extension at the end of the filename. Also, make sure your .msh and .tga are in the same location, be it a folder or your desktop. Hope this helps!

There are literally thousands of threads here on Gametoast pertaining to modding SWBF2 - there is certainly no "black spot" when it comes to tutorials and help-mes.

Loopy53 wrote:The correct format to view in .msh viewer (and really the only format) is .tga. Go to gimp > export and export with a .tga extension at the end of the filename. Also, make sure your .msh and .tga are in the same location, be it a folder or your desktop. Hope this helps!

Also when you export, make sure you uncheck RLE compression

Bob wrote:The ModTools actually come with a lot of tutorials, just check out the stuff in the documentation folder. The Getting Started.doc will tell you the basics of map creation, like changing the sky adding props, buildings, spawners and CommandPosts.
We also have an FAQ tread here on Gametoast where you will find tons of links to useful tuts.

There's only one problem with that, and that is that the documentation is basically GIBBERISH!
A normal person cannot understand one word!

rc1207sev wrote:There's only one problem with that, and that is that the documentation is basically GIBBERISH! A normal person cannot understand one word!

I guess that classifies me as un-normal...

Nedarb7 wrote:

rc1207sev wrote:There's only one problem with that, and that is that the documentation is basically GIBBERISH! A normal person cannot understand one word!

I guess that classifies me as un-normal...

Same here

rc1207sev wrote:

Bob wrote:The ModTools actually come with a lot of tutorials, just check out the stuff in the documentation folder. The Getting Started.doc will tell you the basics of map creation, like changing the sky adding props, buildings, spawners and CommandPosts.
We also have an FAQ tread here on Gametoast where you will find tons of links to useful tuts.

There's only one problem with that, and that is that the documentation is basically GIBBERISH!
A normal person cannot understand one word!

I learned like 70% of what I know from the docs and english isn't even my native language. You just have to follow them step by step, then it works.

rc1207sev wrote:

Bob wrote:The ModTools actually come with a lot of tutorials, just check out the stuff in the documentation folder. The Getting Started.doc will tell you the basics of map creation, like changing the sky adding props, buildings, spawners and CommandPosts.
We also have an FAQ tread here on Gametoast where you will find tons of links to useful tuts.

There's only one problem with that, and that is that the documentation is basically GIBBERISH!
A normal person cannot understand one word!

Gibberish? Lol not really, not even close.

Well I always said I'm not "most people" or "normal", and I understood the Documentation just fine.