Why not mcm?

[SirDanest]

Skyrim and New Vegas seem pretty well integrated with mcm. But fallout 4 seems unique with the modders (apparent) preference for settings holotapes. I wonder why? is there some advantage? They clutter up my inventory in a way that mcm doesn't (I can drop them in a dresser somewhere but then I won't be able to tweak them "on the road.") I'm just wondering what the thinking is here, as opposed to skyrim and new vegas, which did not generally use inventory items to configure mods. Does the new creation kit work more clumsily perhaps?

[Ethreon]

Because nobody cares about your convenience and MCM readyness is work. I reckon there's some tutorials on how to make mods MCM ready so you know, you can always pursue that avenue.

[Deleted46821278User]

Depends on the author. Some may find making holotapes a lot more convenient than making an MCM.

[SirDanest]

Because nobody cares about your convenience and MCM readyness is work. I reckon there's some tutorials on how to make mods MCM ready so you know, you can always pursue that avenue.

I suppose holotape configs must be easier to make.

But it's still odd that fallout 4 is unique in that its modders don't care about my convinience, as you point out, while Skyrim and New Vegas modders do in fact "care about my convenience," apparently; there's so many mcm mods there. Odd, that skyrim modders are so amenable to my convenience.

[MissingMeshTV]

Skyrim and New Vegas seem pretty well integrated with mcm. But fallout 4 seems unique with the modders (apparent) preference for settings holotapes. I wonder why? is there some advantage? They clutter up my inventory in a way that mcm doesn't (I can drop them in a dresser somewhere but then I won't be able to tweak them "on the road.") I'm just wondering what the thinking is here, as opposed to skyrim and new vegas, which did not generally use inventory items to configure mods. Does the new creation kit work more clumsily perhaps?

The fact that you’re asking this question in the manner you’re asking it, tells me you haven’t actually looked into what is involved with adding MCM support to a mod. The MCM mod page has a link to the MCM wiki with complete documentation of how to implement MCM menus in a mod…not light reading by any standards. Take a look at it and let us know how you make out. There is far more involved that just ticking a couple of boxes in the CK. Not trying to be rude, but you really should take the time look at what is actually involved with adding this sort of support.

 

First off, MCM for FO4 has only been a thing since September…barely four months ago. To expect the adoption rate of games that are 10+ years old as you seem to be doing is…unrealistic to put it mildly.

 

I’ve been playing FNV quite a lot lately and with the 120-ish mods I have installed I can tell you, that mods that make use of MCM are the vast minority of my load order compared to mods that use inventory items to change options. Your claim that older games “did not generally use inventory items to configure mods” is only anecdotal at best. Can’t say the same for Skyrim as I have never played it. YMMV for that game.

 

Secondly, a big barrier to entry for adding MCM support is that it will make the mod require F4SE where it might not have prior. That requires a mod author who does not know how to hook into F4SE functions to learn how to do so. If you look at the documentation mentioned above, you’ll quickly see why many mod authors might balk at jumping on the MCM bandwagon. It might just be outside of someone’s skill set or their range of interest. Or both.

 

Setting up a holotape in the CK is not much different than setting up a terminal, and can use existing Papyrus scripting to do its thing. Both are pretty easy to deal with. If you don’t already know how to hook into F4SE there can be a learning curve that some people just don’t want to deal with…nothing wrong with that.

 

Some might simply not want to be bothered with making their mod require F4SE. They may not have any desire to add another level of complexity or support requirements to a mod that simply doesn’t need it to function. Having your mod require F4SE pretty much guarantees the mod will break the next time Bethesda updates the game. Then you are stuck waiting for F4SE to get updated, then waiting for MCM to update before you can update your own mod, while fending off the barrage of “ERMAHGERD! Mod is broken! Plz fix!” posts on your mod page.

 

Lastly, you need to realize that by and large, most mod authors create mods for themselves first and foremost. So when Ethreon says that no one cares about your convenience, he’s right. If I had a mod that had holotape config that worked the way I wanted it to, I seriously doubt I would jump through the hoops to add MCM support unless it was something I wanted to learn how to do for my own curiosity. And that would be the only reason.

 

All that being said, there ARE mods that are adding MCM support all the time. But yeah….since MCM has only been available for barely four months, chill Winston. The work involved in adding it isn’t for everyone. If a mod you like doesn’t use MCM, politely ask the mod author if they have plans on adding it. If the answer is no, either live with it or learn how to add it yourself. The tools are out there if you are so inclined.

[trold]

That was a lot of salt to answer a simple question.

[MissingMeshTV]

I know reading is teh hardz, but if you call trying to offer an explanation to answer a relatively not-so-simple question "salt," sorry for forcing you to read so many words.

[BlahBlahDEEBlahBlah]

I, for better or worse, just simply donât want to be reliant upon F4SE.

 

Not yet, at least. Itâs not necessarily about F4SE (as thatâs work deserves great respect), itâs more about still having game patches (frequent enough game patches, at least) that throw F4SE wonky for a bit every time.

[chucksteel]

Another thing that no one has pointed out is that an F4SE dependency makes the mod unusable on console without having yet another version of that mod just for console. People may not care about console modding but I do because I play the game on both PC and Xbox so my mods will always avoid F4SE.

[requested]

That was a lot of salt to answer a simple question.

 

Since when is "I wonder why?" a simple question? :D