[Guide Request] Starting from scratch

[DancesWithWalls]

Alright, as summer draws closer, I'm looking to start a project that's been at the back of my mind for a long time now.

Before I get into what I want to do, I just want to address the inevitable and say that yes, I know that this will be difficult and time consuming, yes I know that as Illidan said, "I am not prepared".

That being stated, here's what I want to accomplish

1. Build a world from scratch
2. Implement instances and battlegrounds
3. Put in quests, npc's, my own factions; alter the starting races
4. Get it running online

I have a basic knowledge of c++, no knowledge of lua, and little knowledge of how the wow file system works, so basically, what I'm asking for is a starting point. What do I need to know, where do I get started.
Links to tutorials are very strongly appreciated.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me, I realize that I'm asking a question that has a massive answer.

[stoneharry]

There is no guides for this sort of thing generally. There is so much possible in WoW emulation you cannot have guides for everything.

If you want to implement something, you look at how it is programmed in the emulator, then change it by parsing in your own data or changing how the function handles said data.

Check out modcraft.superparanoid.de for world editing.

[DancesWithWalls]

Would mangos be a good starting point?
Also, is there any documentation of various functions?

[AlienCCL]

i think Trinity got more flexible structure