New mod help.

[ShinobiWan]

I apologize in advance if this information is somewhere else in the forum.

Ive been working on content for years on a mod ive been undertaking almost completely by myself. Im starting to gain a little interest but before i can put out a proof of concept and begin asking for help from other people i need to figure a few things out about the source engine, if im going to use it.

There are many different variations of the source engine and i would like to choose one that would best suit this style of game.

Its going to be a first person perspective, crafting style, sandbox puzzle game, with an rpg player skill system. But with real life constrictions on what you can actually do, not even close to the unlimited wackiness of gmod. I just dont know where to begin.

For instance: If i just changed all the models in counterstrike source, the game is still essentially counterstrike source.
I just want a clean slate to start with and a direction to point in. I absolutely do not want to build a game where the main premise is just to shoot the other players.

For the last few years ive just figured "do something" so ive just been modeling, building a texture library, working on particle effects, and if i do maps i do them mostly in CSS. Im getting to the point where i need to do something with all this stuff.

What would be the best option for me, engine wise, to start to comprise all of this stuff?

Thanks!
Shinobiwan.

[Gary]

You seem to want some pretty heavy modifications, engine wise, your only real option is Source2007.

XP system:
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki ... nce_system

Useful links:
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki ... ry:Modding
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki ... rogramming