Mod's Playground

[Shamus Young]

I'm curious, what mods have you installed Shamus?

EDIT:

Experienced Points: Mod's Playground
Play a real-time strategy minigame where you establish and defend a settlement?

NICE! Which mod is this?!

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7070

#2 most popular FO3 mod of all time. Haven't tried it yet, myself.

I talked about the mods I'm using here:

http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=4473

 

[CD-R]

Damn. I should probably sell my x box version of fallout 3 and get the PC version.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

My only gripe with this article is that you seem to imply that it's okay for Bethesda to crap-out lazily-made games because they know the fans will fix them. Fallout 3 is an okay game on its own, but if the only reason you're buying the game is because of the mods, then should Bethesda really be getting that money? Now, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend it's a case where pirating is right, because that's not where I'm going at all.

Actually, one point I didn't get into with the article is the trade-off they have to consider. If they make the core game too uninteresting, sales will be low. There will be less modders, and the ones that remain will have less motivation for making something big, because the audience is smaller.

I wasn't really defending making crappy or buggy game, but defending the idea of making a straightforward game with broad appeal.

A valid point, but I still feel that Bethesda takes the modding community for granted. Why pay someone to make a great game when you can release a ho-hum game that the fans will fix for you? Not to mention that while mods can fix the PC game, this does nothing for the 360 community who's basically stuck with the vanilla game that many mod-heavy players argue is "unplayable" (a gross exaggeration granted).

So the more they rely on the modders to fix issues that they could have just as easily fixed, the more the console players get screwed out of what could have been a much better game.

 

[Doug]

I'm curious, what mods have you installed Shamus?

EDIT:

Experienced Points: Mod's Playground
Play a real-time strategy minigame where you establish and defend a settlement?

NICE! Which mod is this?!

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7070

#2 most popular FO3 mod of all time. Haven't tried it yet, myself.

I talked about the mods I'm using here:

http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=4473

Sweet, I feel like booting up Fallout 3 again now - probably will soon.

My only gripe with this article is that you seem to imply that it's okay for Bethesda to crap-out lazily-made games because they know the fans will fix them. Fallout 3 is an okay game on its own, but if the only reason you're buying the game is because of the mods, then should Bethesda really be getting that money? Now, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend it's a case where pirating is right, because that's not where I'm going at all.

Actually, one point I didn't get into with the article is the trade-off they have to consider. If they make the core game too uninteresting, sales will be low. There will be less modders, and the ones that remain will have less motivation for making something big, because the audience is smaller.

I wasn't really defending making crappy or buggy game, but defending the idea of making a straightforward game with broad appeal.

A valid point, but I still feel that Bethesda takes the modding community for granted. Why pay someone to make a great game when you can release a ho-hum game that the fans will fix for you? Not to mention that while mods can fix the PC game, this does nothing for the 360 community who's basically stuck with the vanilla game that many mod-heavy players argue is "unplayable" (a gross exaggeration granted).

So the more they rely on the modders to fix issues that they could have just as easily fixed, the more the console players get screwed out of what could have been a much better game.

Actually, I was happy with the Fallout 3 game itself - maybe I'm the only one, but it still seemed like fun. Ok, it can be better, but tell me one game that, without ANY work (including new maps) can't be made better by a fan community? I don't think I can honestly say there has been one ever.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Actually, I was happy with the Fallout 3 game itself - maybe I'm the only one, but it still seemed like fun. Ok, it can be better, but tell me one game that, without ANY work (including new maps) can't be made better by a fan community? I don't think I can honestly say there has been one ever.

I dread to think what fans would do to Symphony of the Night. Super Metroid is another game that shouldn't be touched. And more RPGs than I'd care to list are great as they are. Of course, "made better" is a very broad term. Granted you could always add new areas to any game, but that doesn't automatically make the game better in my eyes.

When I think "made better", I think "modding the current content to fix issues that shouldn't exist", because that's the part of the modding community that I accuse Bethesda of taking for granted. If you think that every game would be "made better" in that aspect, then you have a very limited game library.

Edit: I would also like to note that, for the most part, I'm happy with Fallout 3 as-is, just as you are. However, a lot of the game is very watered-down, and there are a lot more bugs and issues than there should be in a final version of a game. Especially when some of those bugs come with packs that cost us $10 to download.

 

[AboveUp]

I dread to think what fans would do to Symphony of the Night. Super Metroid is another game that shouldn't be touched.

I wouldn't be surprised if modders already touched Super Metroid roms. Just like they've made impossible version of every Mario, Megaman and Zelda game out there.

 

[Dioxide20]

Experienced Points: Mod's Playground

Buy game. Download mods. Create game you actually want to play.

Read Full Article

MORE REASON WHY I NEEDED TO BUY FALLOUT 3 FOR THE PC!!!! ARGH!

 

[Shamus Young]

A valid point, but I still feel that Bethesda takes the modding community for granted.

I agree there. The release of Oblivion was particularly onerous.

 

[pneuma08]

The way I see it, if their game ends up being somewhat, well, bland, it's that they have to consider selling to as broad an audience as possible. The same reason why National Burger Chain X and school cafeterias sell bland food.

But that's why mods work so well. It's like getting food tailored custom tailored to your tastes. They add thousands of more options that are unspeakable to mass market, and take risks that publishers don't want to touch with a ten foot pole. It's brilliant.

 

[Macar]

As veteran TES modder I agree that Bethesda takes thier modders for granted. I think it's not fair that they dont even release tools for implimenting your own models in the game (we're on our own for that) and then they barely aknowlege thier modders awesome efforts.

And mods, btw, are one of the main reasons I count myself a PC gamer before any console.

 

[Gerazzi]

Uncanny, I'm an amateur modder for Fallout 3...
Made my own weapons and armor with different skins and the like.

But anyway, nice article, it makes me feel slightly superior to people with consoles only.
muahhaaa

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Mods are great. I'm a console gamer and so I rarely get to experience all the moddy goodness. One of the few PC games I have mods for is Star Trek: Bridge commander there are LOADS of cool ships, including loads from other shows and movies like Stargate. Maybe developers should release tools for consoles too, and the Dreamcast 2 while they're at it.

 

[UtopiaV1]

Excellent article (as always) and some excellent suggestions for mods. I'm already running all of those except the green world mod (slows my pc down to a crawl) and the hunger and thirst mod (I'm already playing on Very Hard thanks, this would actually be impossible!)...

 

[happysock]

Honestly, Fallout 3 Had great story telling to me, some VERY addictive gameplay, and was all in all heavily polished. It was so fun finding the little details, easter eggs, and quests hidden about. I see everyone who calls it poor in any catergory (Save for an ending narroration, that I will admit seemed whipped up last second) I feel is just trying to be "That guy" you know who I am talking about. THAT GUY. The one who sits at a card shop calling your 1st turn kill deck overrated. THAT GUY who claims citizen kane and Casablanca are overrated, outdated garbage. THAT GUY, who just says things mainly to appeal to the easily lead, overly opinionated "Alternative" crowd.

The only 2 complaints I ever had about Fallout 3 were as followed... 1. To little command ability over your allies. I can't order them to run from death claws and fight everything else. 2. When you first talk to that Ghoul in Megaton... you automatically know he's a ghoul. That shouldn't be so.

And those are just minor nit picks.

On Topic Though: Mod's make ANY game better. Morrowind with it's Vampiric Embrace Mod III for example, Oblivion with the OOO mod. And sadly I am bogged down with the console version of Fo3 because I can't afford to upgrade my processor to play it on PC so I don't get the great mods available for the PC version. All I know is, Mod's make ANY game better. The more modability, the better the game.

Your a top man

 

[thermo1]

killable kids mod muhahaha

gives u a reason to spend more than 5 mins in little lamplight anyway

 

[Dommyboy]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is one of my most modded games, next to Oblivion. Shame though, the fact that the vanilla game is somewhat horrible and that you have to wait for mods for the game to be good.

 

[PsiMatrix]

Experienced Points: Mod's Playground

Buy game. Download mods. Create game you actually want to play.

Read Full Article

The mod I just described would probably never cut it as a AAA title. Even if you could sell the idea to a publisher, a vast majority of action gamers don't want to have to worry about when to take a nap or figure out how much nutrition is in Radroach meat. (Although I'd love to see it come out, just to watch Yahtzee go into an apoplectic rage over it.)

I smell crossover!

Zero Points... or perhaps Experienced Punctuation ;P

 

[HobbesMkii]

My only gripe with this article is that you seem to imply that it's okay for Bethesda to crap-out lazily-made games because they know the fans will fix them. Fallout 3 is an okay game on its own, but if the only reason you're buying the game is because of the mods, then should Bethesda really be getting that money? Now, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend it's a case where pirating is right, because that's not where I'm going at all.

Actually, one point I didn't get into with the article is the trade-off they have to consider. If they make the core game too uninteresting, sales will be low. There will be less modders, and the ones that remain will have less motivation for making something big, because the audience is smaller.

I wasn't really defending making crappy or buggy game, but defending the idea of making a straightforward game with broad appeal.

I think Mount&Blade (published by Paradox and developed by TaleWorlds) might be exactly the game to look at for perfecting the trade-off, Shamus. The game itself has no plot, though there's plenty of game mechanics and world development. It's essentially what you describe as a potential: a sandbox environment functioning largely as framework for community expansion. What TaleWorlds made was a great, though fairly simplistic, game (especially horse combat). What the modders did with it was out of this world. There was an article on The Escapist about it a while back called "Mod&Blade". I liked the base game alright. What I really loved was the way the fans perfected the thing.

I think modding can make an okay game good, a good game great, and make a great game last for much longer than it might have a right to. I basically killed my computer with Oblivion Mods, and had similar issues with Medieval II: Total War, so much to the point where I'm waiting for some financial windfall to come about in order for me upgrade. I can't wait to try Fallout 3 mods. The XBox360 version was fun, but after modding ESIV I knew it wouldn't hold a candle to the PC six months after launch.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

Ah Bethesda engine mods, you never cease to amaze me. I modded my oblivion to hell, so much it lagged out on me. I eventually uninstalled it. Anyway Fallout 3 is one game I'll be sure to buy and mod as soon as I get a new pc with a working graphics card.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I dread to think what fans would do to Symphony of the Night. Super Metroid is another game that shouldn't be touched.

I wouldn't be surprised if modders already touched Super Metroid roms. Just like they've made impossible version of every Mario, Megaman and Zelda game out there.

Harder =/= Better.

Mind you, I love a good challenge as much as the next guy. Actually... usually the next guy is whining that the game is too hard, so maybe I like it better than the next guy. But still, challenge isn't really what makes or breaks a game. I've played hard games that are excellently balanced and very fun to play. On the converse though, I've played hard games that are total shit and made me wonder why I'm torturing myself by continuing to play it.

I view challenge in the same way that I view a genre. A game isn't automatically good just because it's an RPG or an FPS, and a game isn't automatically bad if it's a Racing game. The genre just tells you how the goals of the gameplay, just as the challenge tells you how hard or easy it will be to meet those goals. Neither is an aspect in how well the game was made. Both are matters of opinion on what you like, and either can be fucked-up so bad that even when you do prefer something, you hate it in certain games.

And while I don't doubt that people have modded Super Metroid roms, I would question whether or not they actually fixed anything that needed fixing, or if they just added extra levels, skins, power-ups, etc.