Easiest Games to Mod/Re-Texture, etc.

[camscottbryce]

I've searched similar topics, but each of the threads I found were slightly different than what I wanted to ask, so here we go:

Can anyone recommend games with easy-to-get-into modding?

It's always been in the back of my mind that I should get into modding, but I'm building a portfolio to transfer to a game design BA. I'm looking for games that I can mod relatively easily (because I'm a beginner).

I used to make maps with Valve's Source SDK, but it's been having issues and apparently there are still issues with it (that I have already tried to work around) and I'm abandoning that for now.

I've also tried Fable: The Lost Chapters, which has temperamental modding tools (after changing some textures I'm getting crashes, hoo-ray).

Dark Messiah Might and Magic was on my list but all of the tutorials are outdated and apparently Valve changed some files and resources so that's on a waiting list.

Right now I've got:

Quake 1-3
CoD: 4 Modern Warfare
RAGE
TES: Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim
The Ultimate DOOM
Far Cry 1-3
Amnesia
Minecraft

If anyone could recommend others, it'd be great. I have a large library, so I might just be missing some great titles and I'd appreciate some direction

 

[DazZ.]

I've not actually tried it properly but both Torchlight games come with editors.

I would have recommended Minecraft but you've mentioned it.

 

[Leemaster777]

I'm gonna go seriously old-school on this one: Freedom Force.

The game comes with a built-in hero creator, but that's just the surface. There's all kinds of mods to build your own heroes completely from scratch, from altering textures, to creating new models, and making your own attack effects.

If you don't own it, the game is super-cheap on Steam. I'd recommend it, even without the mods. The game is a massive love-letter to the Silver Age of comic books (and the sequel, Freedom Force VS the Third Reich, is a massive love-letter to Golden Age Comic Books).

And it was made by Irrational, the makers of Bioshock, so it DOES have a pedigree.

 

[momijirabbit]

Source games. Mapping is difficult but making skins is quite easy.

 

[camscottbryce]

Thanks for your answers so far guys.

Source games. Mapping is difficult but making skins is quite easy.

As stated in OP, I'm not doing those, thanks for the suggestion though.

I'm gonna go seriously old-school on this one: Freedom Force.

and snip.

Awesome, thanks, I just might pick this up.

 

[Tanis]

NexusMods is pretty easy to use.

A very 'plug and play' style.

 

[camscottbryce]

NexusMods is pretty easy to use.

A very 'plug and play' style.

I'm asking for games that are easy to make mods for though. I'm trying to make mods, not install others. Unless that's what you're saying, and I'm reading it wrong. Thanks for your post though!

 

[black_knight1337]

Fallout 3 and New Vegas are much the same as TES for modding. Unreal Tournament 2004 is pretty good for modding and some of the total conversions are commercial games now. Could try map making for Warcraft 3 or Starcraft 2, they've got pretty good tools. And good luck with whatever mods you make

 

[SadisticFire]

Monaco What yours seems to have a rather easy mod. There's plenty of guides on it on steam Garrys Mod is source engine, but it has an API for lua so you can mod using that, and lua scripting is pretty easy to get into.

 

[Smooth Operator]

NexusMods is actually a good resource to see the games that are easy to mod and what can be done with them, also you get tutorials and all sorts of good stuff.

 

[OneCatch]

Some of the Total War's are pretty easy to get mods for, but that's more in the sense of downloading a total conversion mod rather than actually making them yourself.
Doing it yourself generally involves really tedious text file tweaking.

KOTOR and KOTOR II have some modding utilities as well, but they're pretty limited.


Tbh I'd say that TES is the best I've come across.