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How "mod-friendly" should Unbended be?


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I saw this question over on the official forums (http://forum.unbended.zone/threads/wie-mod-freundlich-sollte-unbended-sein.432/#post-5904), and I did a "huh, I never thought of that".

 

I always played Closed, so most mods weren't allowed. The only one I ran was the one that made the health bar more visible (a huge plus for HC). Of course, you don't have to read darkmatters.org for long to see that modding is big for Sacred 2 Ice and Blood.

 

So modders, what do you dream of for Unbended?

I'm with you on the closed, and never really "got" the mods, as I was all for hc or nothing...but, as you say, Sacred 2 has taken off here at DarkMatters because of all the modding happening, and I'd never thought that this would be such an important part of our daily day. CM Patch and all the modders efforts here has, as a poster here once posted years and years ago, become "The new future of Sacred 2."

I'm curious as to what a modder would "need" for a game to be created more mod friendly?

 

:)

 

gogo

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There's a reason the Elder Scrolls games pack in so much mod support for their titles: people buy it expecting all the great mod content that fans will make for it.

Ahhh... maybe this kind of takes some of the pressure off of the devs in having to come up with all the end game content then... as, if the mod tools are made well and with some imagination, they allow the fans to be a part of a game's constantly evolving world...in fact unlimted content?

I am consistently surprised with how Sacred 2 here with all the mods created now has become

 

:blink:

 

gogo

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Why mod? Because the game is not fun enough as it is for me to try. I wouldn’t play Titan Quest, Torchlight 2 or Dragon Age otherwise.

It's VERY annoying to play a good game with just one small piece missing for your full enjoyment.

 

I'm curious as to what a modder would "need" for a game to be created more mod friendly?

 

As a mod maker I would request these from any developer (and preproduction is the best time to do it):

 

No DRM – if the game checks for file tempering, it becomes a “take it or leave it” deal. So don’t be surprised when people chose to “leave it”.

 

Low or no encryption - a lot of early games cannot be refurbished because noone knows what the KMF file is anymore.

 

Easy mod integration – Sacred, Sacred 2 and Titan Quest can swap files by placing them in the correct folder tree. Many games, like the GTA series, require you to remake the file in full.

 

Tools to convert game data format to universal format – if Sacred 2 didn’t have its meshes in GR2 format, textures in DDS, or sound in OGG, you would not have your Item Mod without format converters.

 

Not be stupid in development – if the file organization is a mess, the tools look unfriendly, or they cut corners, it becomes hard to create even the simplest mod. Case in point: my Titan Quest Jackalman mod. I only wanted to swap out the PC for a jackalman, but the PC animations were hardwired to the NPC guards... and 4 month later I’m still making it (I’m 75% done).

 

Build me these files to save me time and effort - I paid lots of money early on Unbended to get the needed meshes in the game for my mod. :devil:

I remember all the furor about Sacred 2 when it was released, as compared to Sacred for modding... sacred's secrets were locked up so tightly, while Sacred 2's all of a sudden released much more to the public... I even remember feeling a little miffed that all the silly messages could be read at a glance ... this changed though, as I began to see that this didn't really limit the wiki's scope but enhanced it, as it gave us more opportunity to create fan pages in different ways from different angles, with the fun of documentaion still being preserved.

Do you think Sacred 2 is a good model for Unbended to use while making it mod friendly ?

 

:)

 

gogo

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Do you think Sacred 2 is a good model for Unbended to use while making it mod friendly ?

 

Yes, but it can always be better.

I liked how the files are organized in the PAK folders of Sacred 2.

 

But we constantly get people asking for "global.res" editors for one reason or the other. Maybe there are things in there that should be made public? Maybe not?

I leave that for the developer team to decide on what mods can and can't do.

 

Ironically, this same topic has just been started on the Undended German and English threads. I recommend all moders to go there and contribute your know-how.

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I feel that strong Mod support is almost required for any new game. As far as HC is concerned, just do a quick check to ensure any mods applied for one player are also universally applied to any other player joining in a game with that player. Then everyone will still be on a level playing field.

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