I’m looking for advice from any Dopers that have belonged to the pc game modding scene. I have always wanted to create a campaign mod which models a classic AD+D module. This site shows some of the great ones from back in the day, to give you a better idea of what I want to simulate.
My modding experience is pretty limited. I created some custom levels for the original StarCraft, Max Payne, and Ghost Recon. I’m looking for an existing game with built in modding tools that closely matches the fantasy world of either GreyHawk or Forgotten Realms with powerful scripting abilities. I originally was going to go for the NeverWinter Nights 2 game as it has, from what I’ve read, DM tools that allow for the creation of custom campaigns. But then I read online that Dragon Age Origins has a pretty impressive set of modding tools as well.
I have so much to learn, but this is the kind of project I can really sink my teeth into that will last a long time. I want to have as much custom control as possible; everything from creating custom textures, lighting, shadows, character modeling, plot devices, level design (exterior and interior), sound, cutscene creation, voice acting, etc. I am not afraid of scripting (event driven and so on) so that should be pretty powerful in its own right. I am willing to work with any third party software, as well, that isn’t part of the bundled editing system.
So, I guess my first question is, what existing PC game would be a good jumping off point to work with? I was thinking of starting small to start. Maybe a mod that re-creates something like this.