Modding Support - Yes, again, on why it must happen

Fyn

By Fyn
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Fyn Survivor

Fyn

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I know this has probably been talked to death and I did find an answer from a dev saying they were considering it but that "they wanted to make it the right way" . 

I just want to say the main reasons why this is a must:

The game becomes immortal

Remember Skyrim? Of course you do, why? Because it's still alive and kicking thanks to the modding community. "But Bethesda launched a special edition!", you found yourself shouting at the screen, and yes, because mods still make it relevant. 

Old games, like Baldur's Gate II for instance, were kept alive by mods until Special Editions became a thing. Fans really make games last forever.

The game can be vastly improved (in a customized way)

Mods are, as someone on the internet once said, "all that the developers didn't have the time or money to do". They are the brains of hundreds of great people put at work, adding content for free. 

Just check how many posts there are on the wishlist section, so many people with so many great ideas.

One dev said that they have a vision for the game, it's an emotional experience and they know which emotions they want to play with. That makes cannibalism, urination/defecation, and other grim stuff a big no no for the game, but if you would like to turn TLD into something a bit more horrific you'd be able to do it without affecting the experience of other players. Want survivors in sandbox? Go get them, some people prefer the utter feeling of loneliness instead, and so on.

Now I'd hate to see silly mods like it happens with Skyrim, but you just don't install them, and that's it.

It prevents piracy

How? The greatest example of this is Cities Skylines. The modding community of that game blew up and its Steam Workshop is filled with amazing things, that you can only get access to if you actually buy the game. It got to the point where not having access to the mods actually makes for a worse experience. Rome Total War II is another example, mods for that game are a must for having a really good experience. 

So please Hinterland, double, triple consider it!

Your mod tools don't have to be perfect, you don't need to create a Creation Kit a la Bethesda, just access to the files and the possibility of editing them and adding them back, and of having ways to add new data to the game can be enough.

That's it! I just needed to get it out of my system.

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janz Wolfbait

janz

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Word!

I especially like the idea of being able to get NPC´s in the sandbox through mods. There´s been quite a few pieces of fan fiction spilling around in these boards and elsewhere. Smells like there would be quite the activity if the ability to download user created NPC´s where ever added...

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Melchior Survivor

Melchior

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Kerbal Space Program, 7 Days to Die, and several other Unity engine games have some support for modding.

At the minimum the devs can permit loading external JSON patches to tweak item prototype settings.

Loading external behaviours may be somewhat more tricky (and perilous), but this lets custom items, critters, and perhaps even game-play / engine alterations happen too.

Then again - perhaps "they" don't want people messing up their vision?:peaches:

Or its just not a high priority, seeing as the final game isn't even 1/2 there yet ;)

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MarrowStone Pathfinder

MarrowStone

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Im guessing they will most likely allow mods after theyve completed every episode to make sure their story gets told the way they want it to be told the first time you play it, i know quite a few people that brutally mod their games before they even give the original content much of a chance, this might be a fear the devs have for thier audience.

Plus its probably not high on their priority list right now either. Theyve got more episodes to develop, and tons of bug fixes.

 

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JAFO Pathfinder

JAFO

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Came to this thread thinking "here we go again.. guess we need to explain that yes, it will happen, but we're not sure when".

Instead, I found myself reading a cogent, well-argued case for WHY this game needs mods.

Thank you, @Fyn. I hope the devs give your post the attention it deserves. I'd have given you 10 likes, not just one, if the forum allowed it. (which is, of course, exactly why it shouldn't allow it!)

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henroe32 Pathfinder

henroe32

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I see your point and while it is true that modding can be really good for a game it can also be really damaging for a game's reputation. Yes, in Skyrim mods have added entire new regions that are suitable but I would say that the most famous Skyrim mod was the Thomas The Tankengine dragon one. This is not all. There are so many mods out there for Skyrim and Fallout 4 which are basically just stupid and mess with the physics.

I know I'm nodding can be done in a productive way but if it is modded in a stupid way like this the game will lose all it's seriousness for the so far much loved story mode. 

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JAFO Pathfinder

JAFO

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1 hour ago, henroe32 said:

it can also be really damaging for a game's reputation.

1 hour ago, henroe32 said:

There are so many mods out there for Skyrim and Fallout 4 which are basically just stupid and mess with the physics.

I know I'm nodding can be done in a productive way but if it is modded in a stupid way like this the game will lose all it's seriousness for the so far much loved story mode. 

With all due respect, this is basically nonsense.. There will always be a few stupid and/or joke mods out there.. but people avoid them. They're known to be rubbish, and nobody judges the quality of the game by the output of a few idiots. But games for which some awesome mods are available.. those, people tend to remember.

 

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henroe32 Pathfinder

henroe32

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Yeah, but I'd rather not see something like that added to the game's aesthetic for public display. When you watch popular gamers online they may generally spend a few episodes on the game's core story but when it comes to sandbox style gameplay it may only take a few episodes for them to break into the hilarious mods for game's to add a humor factor to their content (which many go for generally anyway). Although they might not do this with this very dark game it would be a risk.

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