This is a thread to explore and develope modding--and modder skills--starting with the basics, under the new 0.31.+ version of DF.
Everyone is welcome to ask questions (please do!), and to contribue to the answers. I'm new to 0.31.+ just like everyone else, so I'll be learning along with you.
The primary idea here is to come up with a kind of beginner modder's workshop, as well as some kind of decipherable lessons on different facets of modding, that I/we can then present to the community at large, as a reference for anyone wanting to get into modding DF, and then moving into more advanced studies.
Secondarily, I/we'll be creating a reference databank for the modding tools themselves, with easy-to-follow instructions on how to use and modify each field and item in the RAWs.
Along with this, time and interest allowing, I/we'll be developing a basic and general, but more robust, mod, to go along with this workshop, the goal of which will be to expand creatures, reactions, and items, only so far as to give us a more complete, balanced, and well-rounded--but still very Vanilla-like, experience.
In other words: a heavily explained and documented, not-too-ambitious modding project, that should serve to introduce/familiarize basic concepts, while circumstantially filling in some gaps.
The focus will be on working with, and helping potential modders, learn the skills they need to be successful. The goal is to make modding DF as straightforward and easy to learn an experience as is possible.
PLEASE NOTE: You're welcome and encouraged to ask questions and have discussions, as long as you don't cause disruptions to the thread, or any added difficulty for anyone trying to learn. Harassment of any kind, trolling, etc. won't be tolerated in this thread. Please also keep Off-Topic conversations to a minimum level-there's plenty of other threads to go to for that.
(I'm also not promising I'll always have all the answers. While I am committing myself to you to do my best to track down whatever information is needed, and then to explain it in terms I can understand--which means terms an ungifted circus monkey should be able to follow--I'm hoping that whatever I don't know, which is and will likely remain a lot, that the community at large can help us to learn. I'm also not above PMing ToadyOne directly for anything we can't figure out on our own, but I consider that a last, desperate recourse.)
**I'll use and modify this space, to keep track of lesson plans, announcements, and just keeping track of where the workshop and mod are. Also, as long as there's room in the OP, I'll put atleast the titles of any reference materials that have been developed, here, and then the works themselves will either be SPOILERED, for ease of viewing, or I'll just list the titles, and where the materials can be found.**
For now, I'll be starting with a detailed exploration of the Creature Raws, since I figure these are something we can build on, and everyone use, right away in the Arena. In other words, hands-on and Fun!
Please feel free to PM me concerning this thread/modding in general--especially if you've got any questions that noone else has answered yet.
Again, I can't guarantee that I'll have answers, but I will try to find them. Please also keep in mind that I possibly might be more slow and/or less accurate, than other sources of information.
After all--I'm learning too!