Why do all Fallout Gameplay Overhauls prevent using custom weapons?

[Laptoprocker]

I am just wondering why literally all Fallout 4 overhauls (like Horizon, Unbogus etc) basically prevent using any custom weapon or armor mods unless you would want to use hundreds of various quality/likely outdated patches?

 

I mean there was Project Nevada, Wanderers Edition worked out of the box, and worked well with any weapons or equipment added to the game. For Skyrim Skyre was a compatibility nightmare, but still played more nice with custom mods than Horizon for example.

 

I am not bashing Fallout 4 Modders, I just wonder if this is due to how the game itself is or is it just a new trend in modding gameplay overhauls?

[jkruse05]

It's mostly due to how the game itself handles weapons. In previous games weapons were very basic. The didn't have a lot of complex stats and if you didn't patch one to work with an overhaul, it still functioned more or less the same and would be more or less balanced. Within reason.

In Fallout 4 the stats governing weapons, and especially weapon attachments, are more complex. There is no way to universally change the way weapon upgrades work with every weapon, it has to be done to each weapon individually. For example, if I wanted to make an overhaul where the receivers use different ammunition as they get more powerful, there is no universal set of receivers for every weapon that I can just change and distribute. I have to make those changes to every single receiver for every single weapon. You can still do some universal changes by adding multipliers to some independent effects, like incoming or outgoing damage, but the more detailed stuff is unique to each weapon. FNV also had an advantage in this area because you could change the stats of an ammo type, and it would carry over to any other modded weapon that used that ammo. Since Fallout 4 doesn't have the ammo type system it can't carry over the stats in the same way.

 

Older games also have fewer inputs that changed the stats of weapons, and the upgrades for them were largely linear and permanant. In Fallout 4 there are more inputs (tons of perks, stats, gear, weapon attachments, etc.) that affect weapon stats, and upgrades are now often side-grades and removable, which has to be accounted for in balance.

Some changes that were previously done with scripts also no longer works because the scripting language has changed and some of the code hooks are no longer part of the game, although F4SE helps with some of that.

I have noticed that overhauls for Fallout 4 seem to grow endlessly, though. It'll start as a weapon overhaul and suddenly its got its fingers in the leveling system, the economy, the settlement system, and pretty much everything else. So there may be a little bit of a trend of wanting to be the 'only mod you need' as well.

Edited April 20, 2019 by jkruse05