I'm just curious about mods... (newbie alert!)

[Sunsibar]

I'm just curious about mods... (newbie alert!)

So please don't judge me too harsh I don't understand mods, or I kinda understand, but still want to make this question. Nowadays I'm a console player only (please don't start any console vs pc thing, that is not the purpose of this!) and I don't understand that much of computers. They just don't interest me. I have played with pc earlier, but it just wasn't my thing. Because of that, I have missed this whole mod thing.

Why do you mod games? For fun? For better something? Are games boring without mods? Somewhere in these forums was a picture, where roach (?) was white unicorn. Seriously? Or was that just one "let's try this option" thing? Or "because I can" moment? Why do you need to change Geralt's face with mods? Isn't there enough armor, why make new ones? Or color the old ones? And yet again, this is not meant to be offence to anyone!
Some of those modded screenshots were true masterpieces.

I started thinking this when I first time saw (in You Tube) Skyrim played with lightsaber. Skyrim is great, Star Wars is great, but why together? Okey, I laughed when I saw that, it was funny, but to play whole game like that? There was also a short talk with my friend about mods at the time I was playing Dragon Age origins. I was wondering something about Morrigan and my friend told me that there was some funny mod about that subject. Funny? I don't want that kinda games to be funny Those Kinect Whack A Mole games are funny, that's the purpose of those.

I like to play my games as they are, as they are meant to be. That is my personal opinion. Now I'd like to know, why you like to mod games. Is it just something to do with computer or is the main purpose to make games better to fit your taste? Is it entertainment? It's sad that my english isn't so good that I could express myself a little better, but I hope you get the idea of my question.

One funny picture connected to this subject Text above the picture is saying: Skyrim in different platforms. Argue if you like.

http://www.riemurasia.net/kuva/Skyrim-eri-alustoilla/154033

 

[Rustine]

I like to play my games as they are, as they are meant to be. That is my personal opinion. Now I'd like to know, why you like to mod games. Is it just something to do with computer or is the main purpose to make games better to fit your taste? Is it entertainment? It's sad that my english isn't so good that I could express myself a little better, but I hope you get the idea of my question.

You do realise, that the fun mods are maybe about 20% of the entire community's work, right?

 

[Guest 2364765]

It's like coming to someone's house and asking "why does it look like that".

It's somebody's god damned house and he can pretty much modify it to suit his needs, no matter how odd and eccentric they may appear to you.
Some people will just want to make it look better and be more practical, whilst others just need to plaster anime chicks at every wall.

Why? Because we can.

 

[Sunsibar]

I don't know practically anything about mods, that's why I'm here asking these questions. I'd like to know more, just out of curiosity. This is whole new world to me.

 

[Guest 2364765]

Rather than looking into somebody else's reasons, you should find your own.

 

[gab96]

The most popular mods are those that fix or enhance the game in a lore-friendly way. There are unofficial patches for Skyrim that solve a huge numbers of bugs Bethesda didn't address. There are mods that enhance graphics or mods that modify an element in the game like the combat system to make it better. Mods can be very useful because it lengthen the lifespan of a game. A lot of people still play game that can be modded years after its release.

 

[KingHochmeister]

I don't mod, but I definitely use them if possible in my games.There are plenty of types of mods, first, mods that enhance or fix gameplay issues a game has, for example look at Fallout 3, that game did not have "aiming down sights" (from what I know) so a mod was created to fix that issue, therefore the game got better for it.

Second, there are texture mods that enhance the quality of textures of the main game, just look at some Skyrim mods, they completely turn it from a generic piece of crap looking game into a good-looker, that is magic if I ever saw one.

Third, there are "lore mods" that fix issues related to the game's lore (whether it be a character's clothes, eyes, face, etc) which Witcher 3 got a lot of (thankfully).

Fourth, there are mods that fix HUD issues for games, or rather enhance them, just look at the FriendlyHUD mod for Witcher 3, that mod basically fixed a lot of the issues I personally had with Witcher 3's HUD.


There are many more types of mods, but the main goal of modding is to either fix games or just have fun creating new things from them, some mods completely change the main game into an entirely different game, but I am talking about a very very small percentage of mods here, most mods that do exist are not that useful and are just made for the fun of it.


tldr: it is just fun to use (I don't personally make mods) and it is kind of needed in some games.

 

[p.MarK]

Think it this way. I love The Witcher 3, it's probably the best RPG I've ever played but I absolutely hated it's camera so I modded it as soon as I could.

 

[G3nome]

I like to play my games as they are, as they are meant to be. That is my personal opinion.

you responded yourself already

 

[Sunsibar]

There are unofficial patches for Skyrim that solve a huge numbers of bugs Bethesda didn't address.

That I can understand very well! There really was "some" bugs in that game And about games that can be modded... Can you mod any game you like or just the games that allow modding? I gues the answer is the second one? What is the thing that determines how much (and how long after release) you can use mods?

---------- Updated at 08:35 PM ----------

I don't mod, but I definitely use them if possible in my games.There are plenty of types of mods...

tldr: it is just fun to use (I don't personally make mods) and it is kind of needed in some games.

Thanks for a very good ansver

 

[Guest 2364765]

That I can understand very well! There really was "some" bugs in that game And about games that can be modded... Can you mod any game you like or just the games that allow modding? I gues the answer is the second one? What is the thing that determines how much (and how long after release) you can use mods?

You can mod any game, it's just a matter of how easy it is.
Majority of the modders are talented people who can do a lot if given the appropriate tools.
Which doesn't mean that games that don't have any tools and actually are encrypted and mod-proofed by developers can't be modded either.

That just means that you need more people capable of reverse engineering.
As long as any program operates on current programming principles it can be modifed on the fly and that's that.

 

[Sunsibar]

You can mod any game, it's just a matter of how easy it is.
Majority of the modders are talented people who can do a lot if given the appropriate tools.
Which doesn't mean that games that don't have any tools and actually are encrypted and mod-proofed by developers can't be modded either.

That just means that you need more people capable of reverse engineering.
As long as any program operates on current programming principles it can be modifed on the fly and that's that.

Witcher 3 is mod friendly game if I have understood even something right? If mods can continue game's lifetime and make more people to like (and buy) that game, and even fix bugs, why some developers want to make modding difficult?

 

[rmemr]

There are many reasons one can think of...

Some do this because they are great fans of the previous games or the books it's based on and want it just to be outstanding in some kind of sense. They have their own vision how it or some aspects should be. And since there are many fans there are many outstanding visions But there is only one published game and it's as the developers envisioned it. So modders try to tweak it their way. For them it's making it greater (or correcting "obvious" problems) just to enjoy it more.

Testing is very time consuming and something like balancing the gameplay is hard. There are many different ways to play it and you can be sure some think of it well balanced others think it's broken and not challenging at all. Modding allows to address this in many ways. Lore friendly, hardcore realistic or make it even easier (by shortcuts). Also the more you play the more you see things that could have been better because you get bored doing it over and over again. This is different for everyone. So different mods exist to address these things.

Then there's the aspect that game development is on a budget and thus corners have to be cut somewhere. Features announced or known from previous games (and loved) are not there anymore or different. So modders try to add them "back" or tune it to their liking. Because they so much liked the feature or the idea.

Then there is the creativity. (Most) modders do not have the skills and the time to the create a game engine just to express themself or their vision in some interesting aspect of a game. But a modable game gives you just that. You can start without the pesky groundwork and get result fast because so much is already there. You don't have the create a world with a weather system to "just" add those stormy conditions you see when you look out of your window. Geralt looks ridiucously fat in those armor? You can do it better without creating a Geralt model first and tweak the armor as you envisioned it when you were reading the books. And so on...

That is perhaps a reason for the "fun" mods too. Not everybody can create a beautiful model from scratch. So you take what's available, tweak it and add it to the game. Even if it was from some other game you liked. And voila you have those cross lore mods. In this way you test the mod ability of the game, too. Start with existing and continue to more challenging modding.

And if you like the game you would want to play more of it. So why not add additional quest mods which others might enjoy too.

Then there are those who are just curious how it's done. And you learn by tweaking examples. And if something cool comes out of this they publish it.

Or they like the challenge to decrypt things that were not meant to be changed. For fame and glory?

And sure there are those who just have too much time on their hands and are bored. So they try poke the existing thing and look they can do with it

I could go on...

All those mods change the game somehow and make the next playthrough a different experience. It's a great game but there's nothing against some new challenges and the creativity of the modding community is just limited by the potential of the base game.

 

[Sunsibar]

Think it this way. I love The Witcher 3, it's probably the best RPG I've ever played but I absolutely hated it's camera so I modded it as soon as I could.

If you don't mind me asking... What was the problem with camera in your game? I didn't see any problem there with my gameplay style. Was it something to do with fighting in "greater" difficulty levels or watching landscapes? There was although a few times when I wished that camera didn't focus on Geralt standing in the middle if I wanted to watch landscapes. Is this something of a sort you can fix with mods?

 

[Guest 2364765]

Witcher 3 is mod friendly game if I have understood even something right?

It's okay i guess, it's not neither super friendly nor fully functional. Mediocre would be an appropriate word here.

If mods can continue game's lifetime and make more people to like (and buy) that game, and even fix bugs, why some developers want to make modding difficult?

Depends on many factors.

Quite often the shots are called by people in suits who've no faintest idea about gaming, they have their own vision of videogame business and in their eyes extending lifespan of product A means that less people will be interested in buying it's sequel next year.

There are very many reasons why developers may not support or outright be against modding. Quite often they're just excuses for shoddy or outright shitty business practices.
It takes a lot of time and understanding to come to the point where for eg. Bethesda is now, where they release *very mediocre* PC versions of their game and they still get approval from gamers and journalist because every non-critical issue is marginalized under "modders will fix it" category.
Skyrim (and FO4) UI being most prime examples, where they're REALLY not suited for PC controls and were clearly developed with a gamepad in mind, but later on players themselves actually authored proper PC UI.

 

[Sunsibar]

This is getting really interesting I just need to get some sleep now I'll be back for this topic! And thanks for all answers so far

 

[gtcarlson]

I have a few reasons I mod the game.

1. Features that I dislike and think could be improved. The UI (I use friendly hud), I also prefer a much closer camera while wandering around.

2. Graphics, improved lighting, textures, and visual effects.

3. Bug fixes.

4. Difficulty for if the game is too easy after a certain level.

5. Lore/immersion for making the game more realistic and closer to the books. Such as correcting eye and hair colours, adjusting the economy, making nights darker things like that.

6. And lastly implementing features and other things to the game which may have been left out due to problems. See with modding it's fairly acceptable to have bugs here and there and have things not work out, if you break the game that's okay. Developers can't be given that freedom, buggy features mean bad press so some things are removed because they don't work quite right, or it doesn't look clean in the interface and stuff like that.

The camera mod I have also has Geralt look at the nearest NPC when walking by. It looks good 75% of the time but it looks awkward at other moments. I don't mind but other people may have issue with it and it would probably be too much work to have it never look awkward.

 

[dragonbird]

If you don't mind me asking... What was the problem with camera in your game? I didn't see any problem there with my gameplay style.

That's the whole point - he may think there's a flaw, you don't. Neither of you is wrong. People have different opinions, and the developers can never satisfy everyone, but modding allows those alternatives. Sometimes, there may be thousands who think that the modded version is an improvement over the vanilla game. Sometimes there's only one person. If that one person can mod it, then it makes him happier with the game.

 

[Sunsibar]

That's the whole point - he may think there's a flaw, you don't. Neither of you is wrong. People have different opinions, and the developers can never satisfy everyone, but modding allows those alternatives. Sometimes, there may be thousands who think that the modded version is an improvement over the vanilla game. Sometimes there's only one person. If that one person can mod it, then it makes him happier with the game.

This wasn't meant to be (damn my english skills...) a question like "you are wrong if I don't see the problem". I don't see the problem, 'cause there is no such thing in my game. I'm curious to know, how other people see these things. It would be nice to know that different perspective also. Bug fixin mods are obvious to me, but it's interesting to know, what are those other ways to look at this game. Like do you need some other camera angles that you can play games with your own style or is it just a matter of what you like or don't like.

Also the more you play the more you see things that could have been better because you get bored doing it over and over again. This is different for everyone. So different mods exist to address these things.

This is very good point of view! When I first played Witcher 3, everything was perfect and I was just so anxious to see whats going to happen next. When I started NG+, I also started to notice some minor things that maybe could have been done otherwise. Nothing special or big, but now I know that you can mod these things. Never even thought about that possibility. Or that it is one reason to mod a game.

Some do this because they are great fans of the previous games or the books it's based on and want it just to be outstanding in some kind of sense. They have their own vision how it or some aspects should be. And since there are many fans there are many outstanding visions

This was a nice thing to say I always wondered why modders have to change a good game, and now I feel so stupid that I thought they didn't like the game. Well, you can always learn something new! The way you said it, makes it sound like an absolute tribute to the game.

Quite often the shots are called by people in suits who've no faintest idea about gaming, they have their own vision of videogame business and in their eyes extending lifespan of product A means that less people will be interested in buying it's sequel next year.

This is very sad if someone "in suit" really thinks like this If they make games better, the stronger is the hunger for getting more of it. I can't be the only person to think like that If someone doesn't want to buy a sequel, it sucks or the whole series suck. I have played Witcher 3 hundreds of hours and I just want more. MORE (not necessarily Witcher 4 but CDPR rpg)! If CDPR releases imaginary rpg next week, I'll be so sure to buy it, 'cause their previous game has been so genius and it really was worth of your money. I don't want to pay 60-70 euros for a game which is over in one day It feels like being cheated.

6. And lastly implementing features and other things to the game which may have been left out due to problems. See with modding it's fairly acceptable to have bugs here and there and have things not work out, if you break the game that's okay. Developers can't be given that freedom, buggy features mean bad press so some things are removed because they don't work quite right, or it doesn't look clean in the interface and stuff like that.

The camera mod I have also has Geralt look at the nearest NPC when walking by. It looks good 75% of the time but it looks awkward at other moments. I don't mind but other people may have issue with it and it would probably be too much work to have it never look awkward.

This seems like a fair trade with bugs. I hate it that so many games are nearly broken the day they are released. If I buy a game, I want it to be playable. Fable Anniversary was something terrible when it came out. And was that Batman pc version still broken in it's second release? What's the point of making fancy games if they don't work at all? Mods don't cost you anything (?), so you don't lose anything if it doesn't work. But if it works, you get some nice extra.

This has been very educative and I've learned so much new things about modding! Almost feels like I should try it sometimes. It's a shame that I don't have interest on computers, 'cause this subject seems so interesting (there is some kind of conflict with those two things? ). It would be nice to know/see how you can actually make this kinda wonderful games.

All new visions, opinions and points of views are still welcome Some of my comments might still sound a little stupid because of this language issue, but I have really enjoyed this conversation

 

[HansPeter007]

Almost feels like I should try it sometimes. It's a shame that I don't have interest on computers, 'cause this subject seems so interesting (there is some kind of conflict with those two things? ). It would be nice to know/see how you can actually make this kinda wonderful games.

I'm relatively new to mod using myself, but my interest in computers was there before and i would say i'm fairly keen on using them. There are many ways how you can get into modding one of them are just tutorials on youtube.

I would recommend the modder and youtuber gopher, but for that you need to understand english in technical terms as well. In general his tutorials are aimed ad beginners and are pretty good at that.

I would also suggest you to begin modding with the witcher 3 if you wanna try it, because imo it's one of the easiest things to activate mods on this game with tools like the nexus mod manager.

I hope this could you help a bit. ;-)