Setting Up the Addon Workspace
Make your modding time more efficient by organizing folders and files right from the start. I like to create a "workspace" folder that contains all the files related to the addon. This includes all files used in developing the addon as well as those used in the release.
Create the "workspace" folder somewhere convenient, such as on the Desktop or in your Documents folder. Name the workspace folder with the name of the addon. For example: Heather Mason Replaces Zoey
Download the survivor addon workspace template.
Extract the contents of the downloaded template file to your created workspace folder.
[TODO: Redo the following outline into an image.]
What the workspace template provides:
01 setup
(empty; this is where you would put any downloaded model files)
02 source
images
01 front view.jpg
02 back view.jpg
03 first-person view.jpg
hud avatar.pdn
hud incap.pdn
lobby avatar.pdn
thumbnail for L4DMaps 00.png
thumbnail for L4DMaps 220x100.pdn
03 release
Zoey_CustomName
materials
models
custom
MyName
Zoey_CustomName
vgui
models
survivors
weapons
arms
addonimage.jpg
addoninfo.txt
Zoey_CustomName.txt
screenshot 01.jpg
screenshot 02.jpg
screenshot 03.jpg
thumbnail 220x100.png
I use the numbers at the start of the main 3 folders so they stay listed in order when sorted by name.
The 01 setup folder contains files from others or from my older mods that I might convert or build upon. It might contain, for example, an obj or a blend file that has a model I want to convert into a survivor. I would also include the web page or text file with authoring credits and screenshots of the model. I would make a text file here for development notes to myself, such as who requested the model and problems I found.
The 02 source folder contains the files used in developing the final released files. These files are in formats for easier editing and need to be transformed or compiled into the file formats needed by L4D2.
The 03 release folder contains the folder and files that will be uploaded to web sites. Files include not only the vpk file (the actual addon file), but also images and text files that can be used for describing the addon on web pages.
The only required folder within the release folder is the "VPK" folder. It should be named exactly as the vpk file will be named (without the ".vpk" extension), because it will be used when creating the final vpk file. The VPK folder contains all of the files that will replace those found in the game.
I store screenshots in the release folder (but not inside the VPK folder) that I will later use on a download web page for the addon.