49 replies to this topic

[JimboUK]

@Ghogiel We don't know what sort of licence Bethesda have with Emergent, we don't know if a buyer will honour that licence. It may even be bought by a competitor, asset stripped and shut down. Anyway Zenimax has ID Tech 5 now, modding that is not easy at all. If TES5 if far enough into production I doubt they pull a 3dRealms and switch engine but after that what they'll do is anyones guess.

[Ghogiel]

@Ghogiel We don't know what sort of licence Bethesda have with Emergent, we don't know if a buyer will honour that licence.

I never said specifically the issues involved in releasing a max tools plugin were to do with a Gambryo license. But it was said, officially, that there were licensing issues with doing something like that. At the time I speculated it was either Havok or Gamebryo in particular though. actually it may not have been official.. I might be confusing that with some old insider info I shouldn't be.
heh, its old news anyhow.

maybe there is some legal protection to honoring existing contracts in this particular scenario? but yeah gamebryos future usage may have some internal negotiating to be done. It certainly throws up a few more questions.

IDtech5 looks fairly easy to make content for. :shrug:
i seen some of the editors in action ages ago.
If bethesda ever used it, the question is, will they use a plugin system with it and will they release a world editor.( and art tools) then modding it would basically be similar to Beths current system. Well that is if they actually think that is the best route to create their game content.

Edited by Ghogiel, 06 December 2010 - 02:48 pm.

[weijiesen]

Gamebryo engine got a BIG update in 2009. But... its unused for New Vegas *sigh*.
Why are we talking about Gamebryo anyway? last I heard, they tanked, bank-rupt.

[TehChef]

I haven't checked in ages (yes I check this stuff. >.>), but didn't Gamebryo become LightSpeed?

"Dragon Age uses Scaleform yes. But can any of the released tools actually encode scaleform flash files? afaik, No. you have hack the flash files to edit or create new UI."

Simple answer: download UDK. It comes with Scaleform tools.

(EDIT: Silly me! I thought you were talking about Mass Effect!)

Edited by TehChef, 06 December 2010 - 09:52 pm.

[Zalpha]

Thanks for posting the article I really enjoyed reading it and I totally agree with you about games coming out with more mod support.

I am purely a PC gamer and am at the point now where I refuse to play any game unless I can mod it, New Vegas is a prime example of a game I started playing but found myself quickly looking online for what I can add-on and change in game.

I look at STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl, Oblivion Lost Mod (The first mod I ever downloaded), the game developers were cool with releasing their gaming content and even allowing it to be used in other games. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. now has some of the best weapons and textures ever, I think most of them were created specifically for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. Most of them were then ported over into other games and we as a community of modders all reap the benefits as do the developer who allowed their games to be modded. Also on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, they allowed their monster models to be used and now their in Fallout, true I am not playing stalker but am now playing Fallout... does that make my love and respect for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series any less? Hardly, whenever I see them I am reminded of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and my love and respect for the series is strengthen... (Also it’s great that those awesome 3D models aren’t put away on the shelf never to be seen again... rather the work went into them lives on).

Well that’s just my two cents on the matter. XD

[zjohn4]

What an inspirational article!
I too love Baldur's Gate although I never got past the Inn near the start of the game.
I totally agree with everything you said!

[Arcadiast]

Mods are the only Reason why I am still playing Games. I am an oldtimer. Still remember the days I was handling Cassettes with my C64. If it were not for modding or customizing I would have lost interest in Games long ago.

What I find fascinating about modding is how creative people can get when they are not bound by (too many) rules.

Lets take Fallout 3 for example. I strongly doubt that a "feature" that strongly depicts Prostitution, like some (good) mods do, would ever find their way over the Publisher route into the game. A Weapons Mod that put hundreds of quality Textured Guns into the game, wouldn't be possible due to design restrictions.

The Publisher is of course right by not doing so. In our examples, with the first the Publisher would Risk heavy opposition from many interest Groups (take religious people for example) and with the latter the Publisher would risk overwhelming casual Gamers and the items may "stick out" from the overall "feel" of the game.

But like its said "better having not needing than needing not having" its a blessing that modders are out there, who are not bound by such rules. They deliver more or less for those who are interested. They keep a Game alive way past the ending credits.

Alas I see a Storm brewing. Publisher DLCs are now in direct competition to mods. I have seen mods that surpass official DLC in every aspect and while the DLC cost X amount of Money the mod was given for free. I wonder how many Publishers can resist the "urge" to shut down the free modding scene to benefit their own, money generating, official "mods".

I am not a big friend of DLCs. Not just because they cost Money but they are under the same restrictions as the game. There will be no "AP DLC" or "High Textured Weapon Pack DLC" or anything else that would stray a inch away from "Lore". We would lose much more than Money!

For me, Modding is a lifeline to gaming. If this line is Cut! I will have much time to spent with something else. I don't cling to it but I rather have it stay with me a little longer!

[Natterforme]

For me, being able to mod this game is very special. I cant really make new mods myself yet(although Im getting there) but I can play, enjoy, and appreciate the work of other modders and mod teams. I didnt pick up Oblivion until around 2009, even though a family couple, knowing my interest in RPGs, told me how great it was back in 2006-2007. When I finally did get it, I got through the main game relatively quick, but I didnt understand that the guilds existed, or what could be done with their side quests. I just satisfied myself by stealing everything in sight and getting thrown into prison by the guards until I finished the main quest. To be frank, I hadnt even tried to reach the boundary edge! Then one day, I was one Youtube, and I was looking through some of the old commercials that ran on the Toonami line up. I found the one highlighting Morrowind's Xbox port and I was startled. A memory was triggered...

Back when Morrowind came out, I was too young to own a good computer, and I couldnt afford an Xbox to play Morrowind. Being only around ten, I was easily impressed and wowed by the RPG genre, of being able to be anyone with the ability to go anywhere. I forgot the name, but the visuals stuck with me. While I played through Oblivion, I saw Morrowind all around in the books, lore, and the ingame map, but I had, like I said, forgotten the name and didnt make the connection. When I saw the commercial, I remembered seeing the ad 10 years before. This game was THAT game that I was unable to play all those years ago. And Oblivion was its sequel! That weekend I immediately went out and bought the original PC GOTY version of Morrowind. I have yet to finish all of its content. When I replayed Oblivion, everything made sense and fit together on a deeper level. It wasnt until after I had played through the game twice that I tried to figure out what the CS was. At the time, I wasnt even aware of its purpose, I just thought it was something to keep track of your save games. When I realized it was a modding tool, that opened up a door to a whole other side to Oblivion(this is especially true with Nehrim). I eventually found myself here to this site, making an account after I had confirmed that it was, in my opinion, superior to all the other Oblivion modding sites that I had tried. The way I play The Elder Scrolls has never been the same.

With many games on consoles, I feel like Im only getting 70-80% of a game sometimes. With map packs, dlc, and expansions coming out only weeks or months after the game intially is released, some think it is a sign of the games' developers' supporting their games with regularly updated and new content. To me, much of it is too expansive and complicated to have been done in the short time it was claimed to have been done in. I see it differently. I think, in certain cases, the content was never intended to make it into the actual game and was intended to be a paid for add on. With games costing sixty to seventy dollars, not including preorder items, I feel I should get everything at once, or at least be guaranteed content that didnt cost even more money. I think the reason some developers are holding out on giving out mod tools is because their are afraid of how their 'exclusive' content will stack up when compared to the free mods. No amount of artistic and game development talent can stand up to or against the waves of people willing to make new mod content for free. At this point, I feel that the one place the developer still holds sway is in what can be considered lore, lore friendly add ons, and canon. This can make other companies edgy, nervous to lose control of their titles. I appreciate Bethesda for carrying a flag forward and leading in this regard, not only for creating the mod tools but for openly accepting certain mods as spectacular additions to the game world. They have realized that their game can only improve and become more popular by giving fans the ability to add their own touch to the games they love to play. Far from losing control over their game, Bethesda has had the good fortune to see their game strengthen in personality and character as the players take a journey down roads where none once existed, doing things with the game engine previously thought impossible at a development table, where a timetable had to be kept and money was a ruling factor, but only a matter of time if done with care by the right fan.

In the five years since its release, Oblivion is kept, not only alive, but thriving under the direct support of its fan made content. I eagerly await the release of Skyrim, but not just for the standard reasons of fighting dragons, duel weilding, and next gen graphics. I await for Skyrim because all those who had a favorite mod or a special moment in Oblivion will do their hardest to recreate those weapons, armors, quests, castles, and companions in the updated Creation engine. Skyrim and Oblivion will instantly be flooded with crossover content. Oblivion players will eagerly renovate the northern border of Cyrodiil to more accurately depict the new settting. And the first Skyrim mod with the highest downloads will be a standard horse saddle that has been strapped to the biggest dragon possble that can fly south of the border back into Cyrodiil. The same as when Ordinators found their way into the Imperial provience, so too will the new chapter of The Elder Scrolls experience a similiar encounter. It will then be a migration of themes, armor, weapons, and characters, not just between two games, Morrowind and Oblivion, but three. With the release of Skyrim, it will secure the replayability of all of The Elder Scrolls games, past, present, and those yet to be imagined for many years to come. To me, that is the ultimate New Game+.

[marharth]

I've always felt that there's enough talent in the modding community that a bunch of folks should get together and create their own retail game. Famous modders all the way back to the days of classic Doom have become noteworthy enough to be hired by game developers, so why not?

While that would be cool, I doubt it.

People base mods off a engine that already exists, would be a lot different to make a entire new game.

Would draw ton of attention to mod makers and this site if a bunch of people formed a team to make a game though...

[Ghogiel]

"modders' do that all the time as is.

At LEAST half of the indie developers out there are/were modders at one time.