Thats rich. Back on topic though, don't waste your time with this idea, thehalflifeman33. It won't work and if it does, it won't work well. There are too many sucky mods out there without this one adding to the list. Have some common sense and spend your time doing things you're good at and actually likely to make you popular.

It's the Cath-22 of modding: need to recruit a team in order to make media, but you need media in order to recruit a team.

This isn't impossible, but it does start somewhere. It starts with the media creation. Where does that initial media come from? From the person(s) who start the mod! People who want to lead a mod, regardless of whether it's their idea or not, need to be familiar with the tools that other designers are using. It would be good to know how a modeler would import their models into your engine. You need to know how a texture artist would apply his artwork into your mod. You need to know how the level designer would implement all those aspects, and you certainly need to know how the coder would work in your engine. You don't have to become an expert in all these fields, but you certainly need to be familiar with them. As a project lead, you need to be able to tell if something will work or not, or weather it will look right in your mod or not. The only way you can do that is if you are familiar with those tools.

So, it's alright if you're not a good level designer, as long as your familiar with the tools, you have some grounding with what your planning to do. But that's just the first step. Remember, you still need that initial media! What better way to get familiar with a new tool than to work with it. Get a website up, or begin a Profile on ModDB and lay down a design document. This document will be like your manifesto. It will describe what your mod will be about, and plan exactly what you want to do with it. Describe the general layout of the story, and include new features you're planning. Answer questions like "What makes my mod stand out from all the rest?" and, "Why would anyone want to play my mod?" These are things you can answer RIGHT NOW. It pays to get organized. Constructing a design document requires no experience with the above aforementioned tools, and is a very good way to help recruit possible members.

Here are some other things you can include in your design document:

• Reference pictures (pictures you have found online that represent areas in your mod or art)
  
• Story plans (an outline for possible plot line points. We call these landmarks)
  
• Character traits (What kind of characters inhabit your mod? Describe them in great detail.)
  
• Level layouts (draw up plan views of levels you like to see built in your mod; this can be done with just simple pencil and paper!)
  
• All the other things I mentioned...

As you can see, there are plenty of things you can do right now to begin working on your mod. It's one thing to have it organized in your head, but it turns into a different beast if you unleash it on paper. This is especially important when working with a team, because it gives them something to look back at when the meeting is over. Your job would be to manage that design document, and make sure that the vision gets realized. You are the idea lead. You're the only person who can see what the idea will end up looking like, and you have to work to get that across to your team. If people get frustrated because they don't understand what you want, it's because you don't know what you want, and a design document would solve that problem instantly.

So, my advice to you is to:

• Get your ideas together and get them on paper. (As much detail as possible).
  
• Get familiar with your future teammates' tools.
  
• Get organized.
  
• And last but not least: It is very important to be as courteous as possible to the people trying to help you. They may be the ones that just might end up working with you. Patience is a virtue. Your personality is reflected in the words you speak/type. There are many more people reading this thread rather than responding. Just because you believe that others are being ignorant and insulting, doesn't give you the right to insult them back. Remain courteous, and you will retain your respect!

I hope this helps you out some on your mod dude. Good Luck,

-Riven

lol

awesome map there, not at all like the trainstation start of HL2 that came with the source sdk, no siree