CROSS-talk with Niero

[Pickysaurus]

This week we've caught up with a veteran modder, modeller, and texture artist who has created a dazzling array of high quality and highly customisable content for Fallout 4. Niero has recently also tried his hand at Skyrim mods, creating one of the top weapon mods this year CROSS_Crucible.

 

Thank you for taking the time out to chat with us. Before we talk modding, can you tell us a little about yourself?

 

Hey there, thanks for the interview, I'm a west coast American who takes hobbies very seriously.

 

 

How did you first get into video games? 

I was a Starwars book nerd, and that sort of led into it. The first game I have a ton of memories from is Jedi Knight II.

 

 

How would you describe the mods you create?

In a word: customization. I like the idea that everyone gets something a little different out of my content. The ability to customize a player character in video games is super important to me when I play games, so its only natural that I forward that to my content. I really get a kick out of seeing screenshots of characters using my content in ways I never thought of.

 

 

When you’re not modding, what other hobbies do you enjoy?

I've been into sculpture since as long as I can remember, clay/wire that sort of thing. I only really got seriously into the digital side of sculpting because of Fallout 4. Learning and figuring out new things is my real hobby. Picture that kid that breaks all their own toys, that's me, because I'm more interested in how they work than what they do.

 

 

When you think about making a mod, what do you take inspiration from? 

 

Most of my mods are branched off of previous mods in some abstract internal way. When I make a mod I tend to experiment a lot and those experiments open doors to make stuff I previously thought impossible. A good example: I started the whole Blades/Crucible project as a way to mess around more with what I learned from the Cryolance. As far as inspiration for the raw content goes, it's tough to say. Fallout's weird post-apoc brutal-deco-scifi aesthetic is easy to expand on so there's tons of ideas that can work. Sometimes I like to do stuff just for the challenge, and then make it fit in with lore-gymnastics (like the Recall Collar).

 

 

All your mods have "CROSS" in the title, what does that mean?

 

This goes back to Skyrim. When I play Skyrim I play exclusively with Requiem, and anyone that knows Requiem knows it can be pretty polarizing for a balance overhaul. I would make tons of small tweaks to Requiem with TES5edit/xEdit, and each tweak would get its own ESP; that way I could easily toggle them off and on when new versions of Requiem released. And of course, every mini-mod would have the CROSS tag to keep things clean in my load order. Fast forward to Fallout 4 and I still used the tag for my own mods, which I eventually started releasing, and now here we are. The word 'CROSS' itself is just my real name, in all caps for visibility, it's not some absurd acronym.

 

 

You’ve been making mods for Fallout 4 since 2015, are there any mods in your collection that you’re particularly proud of?

CROSS_Crits. I still do a double take sometimes when testing newer stuff in-game and seeing the aftermath from the new critFX. Its scary in an unintended way.

 

 

CROSS_Crucible, one of your newest releases, is your first mod for Skyrim. Will you be working more with Skyrim or was this a one-off?

 

It depends on if I start up another Skyrim playthrough (before ES6 at least). I'm sure once I get back into it I'll get a shot of inspiration, and then we'll have another 'CROSS_' Skyrim mod. I do enjoy The Elder Scrolls more than I do Fallout, so it will probably happen eventually. My biggest deterrent to messing with Skyrim is the lack of customization Skyrim offers, I'm totally spoiled by the Fallout 4 crafting system and all the possibilities it provides.

 

 

What tools do you use when crafting your mods and why?

 

Photoshop for general concepts, Zbrush for the high poly, Substance Painter for textures, Nifskope for special FX, and then xEdit/CreationKit for the ESP. Photoshop/Zbrush/Substance are basically standards of video games art production, and they're all really good, well documented, programs.

 

 

What are your thoughts on Fallout 76 and are you interested in modding it?

 

The game itself looks neat, folks have been dreaming of a co-op Fallout/Elderscrolls experience since Morrowind, so its great that they're finally doing it. I didn't get much time with the BETA, but the core gameplay loop seems like it will hold people's attention for a very long time. I need a ladder/rating system to stay interested in PvP, so I don't know how much time I'll spend with that aspect of the game. Internally the game seems very similar to Fo4, so any content I make going forward will probably work on both platforms, which is pretty cool.

 

 

Do you have an upcoming content you’d like to tell us about?

 

We don't have an official name yet, but I'm working with TheKite on a weapon inspired by the New Vegas Helios One quest. The plan is to give it two modes: A more traditional point and shoot laser mode, and a target designation mode that lets you mark an area and call down some orbital firepower. I posted a preview of the orbital strike FX recently.

 

 

If you could give one piece of advice to a new modder who wants to make content like yours, what would it be?

You have to want to learn, more so than you want the end result. It's the journey, not the destination, that sort of thing. And if you really do enjoy this kind of thing don't hesitate to spend money on education/tutorials. It's a hobby after all, any hobby worth doing is worth over-doing.

 

 

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the Nexus Mods community?

 

Please forgive me, Todd.

 

 

 

A big thank you to Niero for answering our questions. If there's an author or mod project you'd like to know more about, send your suggestions to BigBizkit or Pickysaurus. 

[NekoJess]

I personally refuse to play without Niero's Cross mods. Specifically his weapon mods as well as Cross Crits. I just love his stuff, its all perfect and seamlessly fits into the game. His armor mods are also amazing, with their customization and such. I will say I miss a few specific mods he no longer has available, but the content he puts out far outweighs a bit of lewdity in game. :3

 

Keep doing what you do, Niero. You're one of the best in my opinion!

[ArXangel1985]

You are some kind of Olympic god for me! Zeus of modding! =)))

Can't imagine my FO4 without your mods. Thank you very much for this amazing masterpieces! <3

Edited November 16, 2018 by ArXangel1985

[FrankFamily]

Great read!

 

Mistake at the end on the author's name btw.

[nastrogogi]

Nice! =)

[warheadz]

Just to know, keep up the good work Niero, you've been doing a magnificent contribution to both Nexus And Fallout community, can't wait for the next quest-based reward mod!.

 

And btw, there's still a lot of desperate zealots who still worshipping your "old" works and still refuse to believe that you remove it from nexus, even some of them accusing you for being a sissy which i saw in another site lol

Edited November 16, 2018 by warheadz

[BlueOgreSan]

Niero is one of my favorite modders (and a must-have in my load order since the beginning of FO4) and it's a pleasure to have them in this community, all their works are fantastic. Was a nice surprise to see an Interview with them.

[Fyrcynn]

Ion Cannon ready.

[AGreatWeight]

Thanks to Neiro, I killed a feral ghoul with a critical, only for it's charred skeleton form to reanimate thanks to a glowing one's radiation attack, then proceed to slowly shuffle after me.

[JThor15]

BY far my favorite modder. Glad to see some recognition.