Welcome to the H1 guides hub! Here you'll find guides ranging from basic map-making to more advanced topics. This part of the site is a work in progress, so until it is more complete we recommend supplementing with the classic official HEK tutorial and any external tutorials listed on pages in this section.
General prerequisites
These are common things you should do or know, regardless of the guide you're following:
- Install either the HEK or H1A mod tools and follow their post-installation steps.
- Read the general help content to understand the difference between data and tags, and how the mod tools are used.
- Know how to ask for help.
External tutorials
The content of these external tutorials has not been vetted and they may contain outdated information. Always use the latest available versions of any tools used to get the benefits of bug fixes since the tutorial was made. The list may contain dead links.
Beginner
Name | Description | Author(s) | Last updated | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Halo CE MCC: Mod Tools Tutorials #1 - Starting With The Basics | A guide to setting up and getting started with the H1A-EK. | RXK1NG | 2021 | |
Mo's Halo tutorials | A set of tutorials on how to mod with the legacy Halo Editing Kit for H1CE and the MEK. | MosesOfEgypt | 2019 |
UI and HUD
Name | Description | Author(s) | Last updated | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Create basic lineart from photos | A tutorial covering how to make lineart for HUD weapons. | Melissa Evans | ? | |
Scope masks | This video will demonstrate the rules and settings applicable to scope masks used with zoomable weapons. | Jesse | 2019 | |
UI Overview | A simple overview to get you started with making menus and such. | Giraffe | 2015 | |
Custom Reticle tutorial | A simple tutorial explaining how to make a custom reticle for your weapon. | Yoda73811 | 2013 | |
HUD tutorial | A tutorial that covers a lot of the basics about creating a HUD for Halo CE. While this covers a lot, it does not cover everything. | Jesse | 2010 |
Objects (bipeds, vehicles, scenery, weapons, etc)
Name | Description | Author(s) | Last updated | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
LODs | A short and simple tutorial on how to import LODs (level of detail models) into CE. | aLTis94 | 2016 | |
Scenery tutorial | A basic tutorial covering how to create a static scenery piece. | Yoda73811 | 2013 | |
Custom FP arm rig tutorial | Similar to the Custom Character tutorial, but specifically for custom FP arm rigs. This is not a tutorial for an animation/IK rig, check the animation section for that. | Yoda73811 | 2013 | |
Custom character tutorial | A playlist of 3 videos where Yoda skins, imports and makes a model work as a character in CE. | Yoda73811 | 2013 | |
Custom projectile tutorial | A simple tutorial on how to make a projectile for your weapon in CE. | Yoda73811 | 2013 | |
Custom weapons tutorial | A playlist of 29 videos where Yoda models and makes a weapon fully functional in Halo CE. | Yoda73811 | 2012 |
Animation
Name | Description | Author(s) | Last updated | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dropship tutorial - custom animations | A tutorial that teaches you very basic animation, combined with how you can make a dropship fly into the level without having it use a recording of you flying it in. Also teaches you how to load a dropship with enemies and how to make it open and close it's doors. | MattDratt | 2016 | |
About animation types | A little explanation on how certain animation types were used in TSC:E | t3h lag | 2013 | |
Recorded animations tutorial | Tutorial for recording you playing the game for stuff like cutscenes. | {NP} Final | 2012 | |
Automatic forearm Twist | A technique to automatically rotate forearms when animating wrists. | ImBrokeRU | 2012 | |
Link constraints in a reload animation | Helps you get to know more about link constraints, a technique to animate multiple bones together for the duration of their movement together. | ImBrokeRU | 2012 | |
t3h lag's FP animation tutorials | A playlist of multiple tutorials which should get you to know all the basics of first person animation. | t3h lag | 2010 | |
IK controllers for FP arms | A tutorial on how to set up simple IKs for the halo FP arms. | t3h lag | 2010 | |
Animation export types | Helps you export animations with the right file type. | CtrlAltDestroy | 2009 | |
Third person overlay name and frame schemes | Useful for setting up vehicles that have turrets or completely custom bipeds that need new aiming overlays. | Advancebo | 2009 |
Effects
Name | Description | Author(s) | Last updated | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Custom muzzle flash tutorial | This tutorial covers how to get a custom muzzle flash into halo custom edition. It does not cover the creation of the bitmap itself. | Yoda73811 | 2013 | |
Creating a custom muzzle flash bitmap | This tutorial is how to create a custom muzzle flash, or anything else that can be applied to this. | Advancebo | 2009 |
Other
Name | Description | Author(s) | Last updated | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shader transparent rundown | An extensive explanation of how shader_ | MosesOfEgypt | 2019 | |
Halo CE bitmap compression | Statistics and tips for people who want to get the most out of their bitmaps. | gbMichelle | 2017 | |
Tag manipulation in SAPP | How to edit tags in SAPP, the dedicated server mod. | 002 | 2016 |
Acknowledgements
Thanks to the following individuals for their research or contributions to this topic:
- gbMichelle (Gathering the list of external tutorials, originally on halocetutorials.tk)