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TheDarkWraith · 06-19-11, 08:36 AM

I see the major handicap as S3D. What you all called a godsend is actually your biggest handicap. With S3D you all didn't have to know the file system or the whys and hows of how it all worked in SH3/4. Those that actually took the time to learn the file system and the whys and hows of how it all worked in SH3/4 days have less trouble modding SH5 (notice I didn't say no trouble but less trouble).
Knowledge is still the best tool out there and no tool or application will give you that. Knowledge is earned by reading/experimenting/trial-and-error and those of you hooked on S3D or any other tool are way behind in the knowledge game.

So what to do? First off the hex editor has to be your tool of choice and you need to love it. Start opening SH3/4/5 files with hex editor and 'read' them. Learn the whys and hows of the files/file system.

As far as RE goes if you're not familiar with it you have a VERY steep learning curve. I've been into programming and RE for over 24 years. I remember the days when I wrote apps in assembler and DOS's Debug was your debug tool. Then came the Basic programming language, QuickBasic, and then C became more popular. Then C++ came out and everyone scrambled to learn that programming language. Point is you have to be familiar with tons of information that progressed from the late '70s up to now to be proficient in RE. If you weren't on that bandwagon then you have LOTS of reading to do and a VERY steep learning curve.

Those that are familiar with this cannot simply just write tutorials for those who are not familiar with it. It will make no sense to you all. You need solid foundations in assembler, for one, to have any chance of learning anything from someone familiar in these areas. Knowledge of the hardware level of a computer (interrupt controller, CPU registers, the CPU itself, etc.) helps solidify knowledge learned in assembler.

My library spans 20' X 9' and is filled with books on computer hardware, assembler, interrupts, RE, programming languages, DOS, DirectX....basically anything dealing with computers. This is my reference dept whenever I need to go back and review something. It continues to grow everyday as the pace of innovation of computers/programming languages/RE seems to grow faster and faster with every month that goes by. I have a pile of books that continues to grow that I haven't read yet on these subjects because I can't keep up with the pace of innovation

While it may seem daunting to the beginner it really isn't. You just need to go slowly and learn one thing at a time. Start with computer hardware and learn about what's inside the CPU and how/why it works, then look at the hardware on a motherboard and how/why it works and how it interfaces with the CPU, then learn assembler. Do not try to learn anything else until you are VERY familiar with assembler. Next learn a popular debugger like Olly Debug. Once you are proficient with it then learn some programming languages (like C and C++). That will give you a very solid foundation from which to expand on (though it will probably take you years to get there)

06-19-11, 08:36 AM	#3
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	I see the major handicap as S3D. What you all called a godsend is actually your biggest handicap. With S3D you all didn't have to know the file system or the whys and hows of how it all worked in SH3/4. Those that actually took the time to learn the file system and the whys and hows of how it all worked in SH3/4 days have less trouble modding SH5 (notice I didn't say no trouble but less trouble). Knowledge is still the best tool out there and no tool or application will give you that. Knowledge is earned by reading/experimenting/trial-and-error and those of you hooked on S3D or any other tool are way behind in the knowledge game. So what to do? First off the hex editor has to be your tool of choice and you need to love it. Start opening SH3/4/5 files with hex editor and 'read' them. Learn the whys and hows of the files/file system. As far as RE goes if you're not familiar with it you have a VERY steep learning curve. I've been into programming and RE for over 24 years. I remember the days when I wrote apps in assembler and DOS's Debug was your debug tool. Then came the Basic programming language, QuickBasic, and then C became more popular. Then C++ came out and everyone scrambled to learn that programming language. Point is you have to be familiar with tons of information that progressed from the late '70s up to now to be proficient in RE. If you weren't on that bandwagon then you have LOTS of reading to do and a VERY steep learning curve. Those that are familiar with this cannot simply just write tutorials for those who are not familiar with it. It will make no sense to you all. You need solid foundations in assembler, for one, to have any chance of learning anything from someone familiar in these areas. Knowledge of the hardware level of a computer (interrupt controller, CPU registers, the CPU itself, etc.) helps solidify knowledge learned in assembler. My library spans 20' X 9' and is filled with books on computer hardware, assembler, interrupts, RE, programming languages, DOS, DirectX....basically anything dealing with computers. This is my reference dept whenever I need to go back and review something. It continues to grow everyday as the pace of innovation of computers/programming languages/RE seems to grow faster and faster with every month that goes by. I have a pile of books that continues to grow that I haven't read yet on these subjects because I can't keep up with the pace of innovation While it may seem daunting to the beginner it really isn't. You just need to go slowly and learn one thing at a time. Start with computer hardware and learn about what's inside the CPU and how/why it works, then look at the hardware on a motherboard and how/why it works and how it interfaces with the CPU, then learn assembler. Do not try to learn anything else until you are VERY familiar with assembler. Next learn a popular debugger like Olly Debug. Once you are proficient with it then learn some programming languages (like C and C++). That will give you a very solid foundation from which to expand on (though it will probably take you years to get there)