I'm new and would love some input if anyone has the time

[littletomato]

I'm here, so obviously I'm new. I've never downloaded a mod, and I've always been skeptical of them.

I don't have any deep technological knowledge, so I've always feared downloading something like this that came from who knows where- because if something goes wrong, I won't know what to do.

 

In all honesty, how often do you guys download a mod that messes up or damages your game in some way? And is it difficult to fix?

How great is the risk that a mod could not only mess up your game, but your computer overall?

Is it foolish of me to try and get into this, without knowing how to deal with more of the back end stuff?

 

Second question: How does one make a mod?

After looking at the mods (specifically Stardew Valley) I've noticed that a lot of them are not extreme game changers. Simply re-colors of some of the graphics.

I'm an art director, so I can use anything Adobe fairly easily- but I imagine that creating mods must require more than just saving re-colored images to something.

Is there a specific application or something that allows mod creation (on a very low level of course?) I would enjoy creating some different customization options, I just have no idea how that gets turned into something on a game. I have no coding knowledge, so I imagine that might be what would prevent me from throwing my hat in the ring.

 

Happy to be here though, and looking forward to figuring all this out.

[BloodDawnSKY]

Hey littletomato,

 

i'm probably one of the last people to help you out because i'm also completely new to mods.

But I feared the same things like you did not long ago before trying them, i also thought it would be too difficult, game-breaking, etc etc. BUT if you're following the install instrucitions of the mods and with the help of a few simple guides and the sacrifice of many hours for learning and testing, i installed almost 100+ mods for Skyrim (i know it's not really much, but we're talking about a newbie here) and it runs smoothly, the only crashes i get also appear in vanilla version (like spawning too many bears at once).

I also managed to edit and fix basic light stuff in the game files like for example change a skin texture or even create a small mod like a new race - with honestly 0 progamming or modding skills.

 

The thing is, you need to understand what each mod is doing, editing etc. Then you can get the right load order and also often to the source of a crash if one happens - and maybe one day you will create your own mods.

 

Hope my half-knowledge helps you a bit.

[DoctorKaizeld]

I will answer your questions in order

 

Rarely do i ever break my game installing a mod for a beth game. I have never broken a nonbeth game with mods.

 

Very low. If you mess up your pc with a mod it is because of something you did and not the mods fault.

 

No. Modding isnt all that hard.

 

I know little to nothing about mod creation for nonbeth games. All you need is the CK/GECK for those.

[BlackRampage]

Gonna leave my two cents here too;

 

In all honesty, how often do you guys download a mod that messes up or damages your game in some way? And is it difficult to fix?

 

Messes up or damages one's game on purpose or due to user error? If it's the former: Never. Such "mods" are a rarity to begin with. If it's the latter: Don't remember. I'm sure I have in my newbie days, but that's normal. Trial & error and all that.

Reading description pages, readme's, installation instruction, or otherwise are key though and can and will avoid these kinds of situations.

 

How great is the risk that a mod could not only mess up your game, but your computer overall?

 

Nonexistent. Also see Qwerty's response. I know there are those that claim mods can and do "break" one's computer, but that's usually fear-mongering by those who are ignorant about mods and modding in general.

 

Second question: How does one make a mod?

 

That really depends on the kind of mod one wants to make. But, more importantly then that, it depends on the game you want to create a mod for. Some games are notoriously hard to mod in any way.

Really depends on the game engine and whether or not the game's developer allows for modding or, even better, releases an editing tool of sorts.

These come in as many variations as they do in names though.

 

There is also a rather large amount of community-created modding tools that are specifically created to aid one in modding games. On top of that there are also many community-created tools that facilitate "installing" mods to games or make it easier to install them. The Nexus even has its own "Nexus Mod Manager", created specifically for that purpose.

[PoorlyAged]

I'm here, so obviously I'm new. I've never downloaded a mod, and I've always been skeptical of them.

I don't have any deep technological knowledge, so I've always feared downloading something like this that came from who knows where- because if something goes wrong, I won't know what to do.

 

In all honesty, how often do you guys download a mod that messes up or damages your game in some way? And is it difficult to fix?

How great is the risk that a mod could not only mess up your game, but your computer overall?

Is it foolish of me to try and get into this, without knowing how to deal with more of the back end stuff?

 

Second question: How does one make a mod?

After looking at the mods (specifically Stardew Valley) I've noticed that a lot of them are not extreme game changers. Simply re-colors of some of the graphics.

I'm an art director, so I can use anything Adobe fairly easily- but I imagine that creating mods must require more than just saving re-colored images to something.

Is there a specific application or something that allows mod creation (on a very low level of course?) I would enjoy creating some different customization options, I just have no idea how that gets turned into something on a game. I have no coding knowledge, so I imagine that might be what would prevent me from throwing my hat in the ring.

 

Happy to be here though, and looking forward to figuring all this out.

I have only had one mod "mess" my game, and that was because there was a conflict between two mods. I learned to use xEdit to find those conflicts. Other than that, never.

 

The risk to damaging you computer is statistically indistinguishable from zero. I will not say it can't happen, but it hasn't yet.

 

Making mods is easier than most think and harder too. Some of the basic stuff like tweaking weapons and armor is relatively easy. Some of the more advanced stuff (scripting, 3D modeling, etc) is more challenging. Start small and take baby steps. But do not be afraid as everything can be undone.

 

As for applications, here are the few I use currently;

• The CK (GECK) from Bethesda which requires a Bethesda.net ID to download via their desktop app. Logon to Bethesda.net and click on the Launcher tab on the upper right to download their desktop app. Then login to Behtesda.net via the app and download the CK.
• The xEdit application from zaliv et al. There is a mod page here for the FO4Edit version.
• B.A.E. - Bethesda Archive Extractor by jonwd7. This tool allows for the extraction of data from Behtesda's BA2 Files.
• Material Editor by ousnius which allows for the creation and editing of the BGSM and BGEM.
• NotePad++. Bethesda has a plugin which helps with the formatting when editing Papyrus scripts.

To show what is possible, in my signature below is a link to my FO4 Mods. All of them were created using only these tools.

 

As far as guidance, there is a BUNCH of stuff out there on the internet. Just google to find what you want.

 

Finally, If you have other questions, do not hesitate to ask as the people here are extremely helpful. Either post a question in the modding forum for the various games, or via PM to me and I will help where I can.

 

Good luck, and welcome.

Edited August 15, 2017 by PoorlyAged

[nightscrawl]

Other posters covered most everything, so I will focus on your question of creating mods. You mention an art background and skills with Photoshop. Texture replacements are the easiest mods to make, and probably the most common. If you want to start making mods, putting your PS skills to use doing that would be a great start.

 

How you go about doing that (extracting the default images, and then putting edited ones into the game) depends on the game itself and how it's modded. You'll have to ask for info on a specific game. If that game has Nexus forums, be sure to ask there as well.

Edited August 16, 2017 by nightscrawl