First you have to figure out what you want. That's the part that NOBODY can help you with. It's best if you do this on paper and not on the computer. Just collect ideas for names, attacks, and the appearance of your character. The name is very important for the character, so you shouldn't use names like "tpr753a9" (I know several guys with nicknames like this) and you also shouldn't give your character a degrading name (for example, "Shitman"). If you really can't think of a good name, you can use the Names Generator, which can generate names between two and eleven letters, some of which are really good.
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Names Generator |
So after you plan out the moves and the rough appearance of your character, the "Creation Process" begins. It is essential to have a basic foundation in Data Changing. A character without any modified dat.-files doesn't include anything new and will fade into oblivion very quickly. You should try to read several tutorials about Data Changing. There are plenty at this site, and the tutorials in Other are especially helpful as they allow people to learn a lot very quickly.
If you don't have any graphics programs (except Paint) you can download a template from the LFE-Download Planet or you can download a program to edit sprites or create some of your own (which is much more original, of course). I recommend PhotoFiltre (please read tutorial 5 in graphics about this, too) - a small and free graphics program with lots of filters and other features.
Now you can start Data Changing. You can only get a limited amount of help with Data Changing. Once somebody asked me if I could make the Data for his character so he could then publish it - what the hack? I think it would be my character then... If you encounter problems or get stuck somewhere, try to solve the problem by yourself first. You'll learn more if you do so and usually it's just an easy problem which has already been answered hundreds of times by DC-Masters. Of course, you can probably find the answer in the Allround-Section anyway. But if you have a more complex problem and don't have any clue about how to fix it then there are plenty of forums where you can request help. And who knows? In some cases your problem might be an interesting discussion theme, even for DC-Masters.
After you finish your character, ask yourself if it's a really good character or if it kills everybody with one punch. From my own experience, I know how hard it is to create an original, well-balanced character. If you think he's good then pack ALL of the files you modified into a Zip-file along with a readme. In the readme, you should note the new lines for data.txt, your name, contact information, and any info about your character. One of the common problems with downloads starts here: files are missing. In most cases, sounds files and data-lines are missing (when I went through like 4 GB of stuff for the downloads of LFE this happened with like 25 percent of all downloads!!!). It's best if you copy a new version of Little Fighter to your desktop and try to install your character there. If you don't have any problems, other guys won't have problems, either, as long as they read the readme. Too bad most people still can't read; why else would they ask how to install characters when everything is explained in the READ ME?
If you go through this process and publish your character, I hope it's a good one. In the event that he's very good, he might get a place in the archives of LITTLE FIGHTER - EMPIRE.