I have just started up a contest on my site at http://contest.createdbyx.com/

You can win a copy of VB.NET 2003 standard and more! Go check it out!

I have also been doing some research and looking into making a mod for a game engine. I have doom 3 and it's great for modding, but the unified lighting engine has issues and it does not have built in support for vast outdoor terrain. The lack of drivable vehicles is also an issue.

UT 2004 which I also have, is good, and a worthy candidate. It has drivable vehicles as well as flying ones. It has support for both terrain and indoor areas. It also does water, something doom 3 doesent do easily.

The game I think I have decided upon, to use for modding is FarCry. It does everything I need it to do, Realistic water, outdoor terrain, indoor environments, phisics, vehicles both land and air, and comes with the tools and utilities that I am most familiar in using. Mainly 3DS MAX.

I am still hoping to get a copy of Half-Life 2 and check that out and see if it can do everything I need it to. But for right now farcry is my game of choice for modding.