Need help modding? (Changing skin of weapons)

First time modding
Very Basic!!

Let's think for example, we want to make a mod that changes the thompson skin and sounds.
We will name the pk3 "thompsonmod.pk3"

"pk3 works like zip, it compresses files"

First you need to know how to open a .pk3 file, it's very simple...
There are two ways to open it, if you got WinZip then rename the example.pk3 to example.zip and extract to the desktop. Or you can get the great free program that can open and create them "PakScape", you just need run the program and open the .pk3 files directly.

But we don't need to open a pk3 right now, what we need is to MAKE a pk3 with stuff inside, so create a new pk3 in PakScape "click in the "new" button at the top of the program". Now a new blank window opened.

Now you need to do something very important, explore the files in ET paks so open pak0.pk3 with PakScape and for thompson sounds open "sound/weapons/thompson". Now in the new pk3 you created in PakScape create a new folder named Sound, in that folder create another one named weapons and in weapons folder create another one named thompson. I'm sure you are getting it, they have to be named with the same name in the original pak0.pk3 folders. Get your wav sound and name it to the correct thompson wav file name in pak0.pk3, it's "thompson_fire.wav" or if you don't see the file extension then name it to "thompson_fire". Move te wav file to the thompson folder you created in your new pk3 file in PakScape.

The thompson sounds are now ready, now lets change the thompson skins.

All weapon skins are located at "models/weapons2" in et's pak0.pk3 so for the thompson it's located in "models/weapons2/thompson". If you don't know, .tga files are image files so you can open it with a paint program.

Open up "thompson_la_yd.tga" with:
- Paint Shop Pro 9 or better...
- Photoshop CS 4 or better...
those are the programs i recommend, DO NOT open it with Paint Shop Pro 8 because it saves the images upside down...

Now you can change the skins, but be carefull, the weapon is unmounted in the image so you cannot change the order of it. Paint it all red just to test... Then you can make it better.

In the pk3 file you created in PakScape, create a new root folder named models, in that folder created another one named weapons2 and again in weapons2 another one named thompson and now move the .tga file named "thompson_la_yd.tga" to that thompson folder like you did to the sounds.

Save the pk3 clicking the save button in the program, save it as thompson.pk3 and file type "Quake 3 Pak (*.pk3)", save in the desktop...

If you move the pk3 file you saved as thompson.pk3 to etmain it will not work... Any mod you make will not work IF you don't name it as "z_example.pk3" so rename thompson.pk3 to z_thompson.pk3 and move it to your etmain folder.

All done!

If you want to make different mods, you need to know how to open x files and where are files located so i can help you...

- All weapons skins and models are located at "models/weapons2"
- Only sniper and rifle skins and models are located at "models/multiplayer/kar98" or "models/multiplayer/m1_garand"
- Player animations "animations" but don't ask me how to edit them because i don't know...
- All icons, logos, limbo and loading menus, bullet marks, reticles, smoke textures, sunflare textures are located at "gfx" fodler, then i recommend that you explore it...
- Weapon icons that appear in the hud are located in "icons" folder.
- Map's shot that appear in the loading menu are located in "levelshots" folder.
- Maps are located in "maps", they're bsp files created with Radiant for example, you cannot edit them...
- All map objects models and textures "books for example" are located in "models/mapobjects"
- Binocs, medpaks, ammopaks, browning, dynamite, gold, landmine, mine marker, pliers, smokebomb, syringe models and textures are located at "models/multiplayer"
- Player models and skins are located at "models/players" (hud for faces) (temperate for skins)...
- All .shader scripts are located at "scripts" folder, it's not easy to edit them first time...
- All sounds are located in "sounds" folder and subfolders.
- All map and effect textures are located at "textures" folders.
- Language and menu files are located at "ui".

You also need to know how to open x files:

- .anim - don't ask me because i don't know yet...
- .script - wordpad
- .c - visual studio or wordpad
- .txt - wordpad
- .h - wordpad or visual studio
- .char - wordpad
- .dat - don't ask me because i don't know yet...
- .tga - paint program like Paint Shop Pro 9 and PhotoshopCS8 (not windows paint)
- .jpg - any paint program
- .bsp - i don't think it's possible to open...
- .objdata - don't ask me because i don't know yet...
- .mdc - MilkShape 3D for example
- .md3 - MilkShape 3D for example
- .mdl - MilkShape 3D or GMax for example
- .mdm - don't ask me because i don't know yet, but it's a model...
- .cfg - wordpad
- .skin - wordpad
- .shader - wordpad
- .arena - wordpad
- .campaign - wordpad
- .voice - wordpad
- .wav - Windows Media Player
- .menu - wordpad
- .weap - wordpad

Everything in ET basically turns around models and scripting NOTHING ELSE
Wanna know how something works?
Here a usefull tip :

Open the PK3 and open everythin in wordpad what can be opened in there