Well, I've downloaded discoveryfl.uk's mod tools package from ModDB. I admit, I am lost and feeling overwhelmed by the number of unfamiliar tools I am poking at. I was wondering where some experienced modders think a 100% rookie should start. My experience starts and stops with IonCross save editor. =\
I was going to start with weapon creation/modifications like in the base FLMM Beam and Gundam Missile mods. Something easy but with a quickly implemented result. I have plenty of weapon ideas I want to toy around with. (Call me an R&D geek.)
Can anyone give me some advice on where to start; and specifically help me find a tutorial on weapon modding? I looked through the other mod guides I could find and they didn't mention anything besides models and hardpoints(which I also wana get good at).
As for your question, the answer is you don't need any tools to do what you need. Except maybe something to read encrypted ini files like Vanilla uses.
After that, it's as simple as opening an ini file in notepad and editing numbers.
For weapons, you generally want to look at the weapon_equip and weapon_good entries in the EQUIPMENT folder.