dave2k2005 said:
Well, mainly, I don't really want to re skin, just make higher res! I have photoshop 7.0, so I'm good there, but does anyone know how to make higher res models?
Reskinning and making textures higher res are practically the same thing. Its not a simple case of opening the original, enlarging it and saving. Enlarging an image is what the GPU is doing already, you have to recreate the texture at a higher resolution so the detail is there. The texture coordinates shouldn't need changing since they're stored in relative terms. However, part of making a high res texture / skin will probably involve repositioning all the parts in the case of models - so, in that case the coords will have to be recreated too.
In short, what you want to do requires a team of very skilled people.
For the love of god, START SMALL. Too many young people these days want to do the greatest things in the world, fail, get disheartened and leave. Take it slow, and you'll get there. That means tutorials, books, and practice.
For the kids in school, pay attention especially in English, Science and Maths. Quadratic equations may seem pointless, but they're the very basis of truetype fonts. Trigonometry is used in almost all parts of a 3D engine. Even when dealing with quaternions, trig is still used very, very regularly. Science has physics... physics are used in the game code a lot. Newtonian laws in paticular.
Get the academic / learning version of Maya (or is it 3DSMax?) and try making some basic models in it. Eventually working up to making some basic guns. Once you've got a basic grasp of making models and texturing them, try replacing a gun in an existing game, with your own. Its harder than it sounds, but it'll be a very good stepping stone into creating your own content in games.
Again, take it slow. Don't expect to be able to do anything worthwhile straight away. My nephew is playing around with C++ and constantly takes on more than he can chew, so he leaves it for months at a time. Leaving something like this for a period of time will make you rusty and do significant damage to your learning. I suggested making a simple game using only the console (aka. DOS prompt, command line, etc.), the inevitable response 'but it'll look rubbish'. Well, the greatest programmers on Earth started with a simple 'Hello World', and the inevitable command line calculator. Slow and steady is the key.
Well, I've always wanted to start some modelling, so I guess I may start sometime in the next two weeks. Has anyone seen the Thief 3 texture pack? Over 500 high res skins made by 1 guy!