Making maps for Conan Exiles involves almost all aspects of learning to use the CE DevKit. Here I will be posting tutorials about how to make mods (specifically Map mods) for CE as I am starting to feel comfortable enough with the process that I think my experiences can be of help to anyone thinking to do the same.

 

When I started making Isle of Men, I had absolutely zero experience making mods for any game, no experience in Unreal Engine, but I did have some background in programming at an amateur level for things like Basic (GW Basic for anyone as old as me), C, C++ and LabView (visually very similar to Blueprints, but the similarity pretty much ends there). Learning how to mod (and make maps) is challenging BUT if you want to learn how to do it, you can. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 

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When I first started, some people told me not to start big. This was from their perspective and I don't fault them for that. Some people get overwhelmed; I don't. How ambitious you want to be with your first mod, be it a map, simple recipes or custom NPCs to name a few, is entirely up to you. My advice is, whatever interests you, DO THAT. If you have a dream of a big map with a big theme and that's what you want to do, I would just leap in. The struggle will be easier if you are making a mod that excites you. A large 8x8 km map can take 6 months or longer, depending on if anyone is helping you with it (Isle of Men took me 6 months by myself as a single data point).

 

No matter what kind of mod you start with, things will break, you will have to throw away work, and you will make mistakes; that's okay. Every time you throw stuff away, you are learning what not to do next time, and slowly, you will make fewer and fewer mistakes. Just be patient with yourself (and the DevKit/Unreal Engine) and stick to it.