I'm a high level it person working on government contracts so that is why I get paid what I do... expect those in the gaming industry to get considerably less, which is why work on here is relegated to hobby for me
I will have more of an idea what I'm doing with the system next week as I tackle equipment. Once that is done I believe most of the basic information will be there.
Advancement will have some issues (as it is a secondary character system) but it should be straight forward.
It is possible to take the savage setting and convert it over to another RPG system, as this is what I'm doing.
Start a new system based on savage and I can try and walk you through some of the changes you need to make.
By the end of it you should be fairly competent with using XML, some basic scripting (mostly copy and paste) and how to ask questions on the forums for help in taking the next step.
The HL support guys are great, as are the forum community.
As I have done all my work using TextPad (free text editor) I recommend you pick this up and install it on your computer as a starting point.
Also you could install my star wars one and use that as a base as well as it is a skills based system from the start.