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Modding Video Games

Canada Goose Jackets A lot of people don’t realize that you can mod PC games to make them do things the developers didn’t intend them to do. Consider this your short tour guide to the weird and canada goose jacket outlet store wonderful world of modding. Canada Goose Jackets

canadian goose jacket Mod is short for modification and it can apply to pretty much anything. Some of you may be familiar with the term as it applies to customizing a computer chassis to make it look different (like a Borg ship, for example) or creating mod chips for (hacking) game consoles but this hub is specifically about modding video games for the PC. (At the present time, it is not possible to mod console games, though that may be changing in the near future.) canadian goose jacket

Canada Goose online What Types of Mods are There?There really isn’t much of a limit to what you can do with a mod if you know what you’re doing. Mods like Dear Esther, No More Room in Hell, and Nehrim canada goose outlet london demonstrate what is Canada Goose Outlet possible for a dedicated team of modders. Of course, some games are much easier to mod than others. Canada Goose online

buy canada goose jacket In a worst case scenario, a modder has to reverse engineer the game code in a decompiler or disassembler to make any sort of alteration to a game. This sort of modification is usually a violation of the EULA and is generally illegal (so don’t try it at home), but there are many forms of modding that are legal and even encouraged by publishers. Here are a few of the most common types of mods: buy canada goose jacket

cheap Canada Goose Texture Replacers and SkinsIt’s something of a standing joke in the mod community that the first mod that any game gets is a nude patch. These mods are often the easiest to make (though hard to make well, I hear 🙂 ). If you think of a 3D model canada goose outlet authentic as a box, you can think of its texture as the wrapping paper applied to the outside of it. By changing the wrapping paper, you can make the box look different. This wrapping paper is known as a texture map or skin. Reskinned objects are a very common kind of mod, though depending on the community you’re in, it might canada goose outlet washington dc be called a texture replacer or retex instead. Texture replacers can make any in game object look different, though it will still behave the same way: characters, buildings, guns, creatures, and landscapes are all frequently retextured by modders. Texture replacers are generally quite easy to do because all you need to do is extract the original textures from the game and change them in an image editing program like Photoshop or the Gimp. cheap Canada Goose

buy canada goose jacket Closely related to object retextures are menu and HUD (heads up display) retextures. These can sometimes be problematic depending on the game because many games treat this information differently but many games do support this type of mod. These kinds of mods are referred to simply as ‘new skins’. buy canada goose jacket

Canada Goose Parka Custom ModelsMore ambitious and tech savvy modders may go the extra step and create entirely new models for a game, or modify the original models in some way. This requires the modder to extract the models (and usually the textures as well) and edit them in a 3D modeling package like 3D Studio Max, Maya, or Blender. 3D modeling packages are difficult to master, so there tend not to be as many model replacers or custom models as textures, though there are quite a few of these as well. Getting completely original models into a game can sometimes be difficult due to import limitations on file types: you may need to own the same modeling package that the developers used to create custom models for it. Canada Goose Parka

canada goose clearance Custom AnimationsEven more difficult (and rare) are custom animations. canada goose outlet vip Animation is a notoriously difficult skill to master (large game developers use motion capture technology to create animations for human actors and are experimenting with motion capture for facial animation as well) but is essential for creating certain types of mods. If you want your characters to be able to use some fancy new combat moves, or you want to create a completely custom creature, you’re going to need some animation. Animators suffer from the same import limitations that modelers face, but are even more likely to run into technical barriers. Getting custom animations working in game is generally one of the hardest tasks facing a modder. canada goose clearance

Custom Music, Sound Effects, and VoicesI put these all under the same category because they generally face the same sorts of obstacles. In general, it is not much more difficult to swap out music files or sound effect files than textures. Custom music packs are a fairly popular type of mod, though they usually ‘borrow’ music from somewhere else. Completely custom musical scores are generally quite rare but are a real treat if you can find a good one. Voice replacers are relatively rare for a couple of reasons: for one, they sometimes face import limitations not encountered when swapping out sound or music files, and two, it is really hard to find good voice talent. Anyone who plays video games knows this already! Custom voice dialogue is usually the preserve of custom quests or missions or total conversions.

canada goose coats on sale God Mode and Game OverhaulsAnother very popular type of mod is the ‘god mode’ mod, where the modder makes the player’s character more canada goose outlet usa or less invincible. After struggling to beat the game the first time, it can be fun for a lot of people to replay the game in god mod and smack the dickens out of opponents that once made their blood run cold. canada goose coats on sale

canada goose coats on sale At the other canada goose sale uk end of the spectrum are canada goose jacket outlet sale rebalancing mods that aim to improve the gameplay balance to make it more challenging or fun. Realism or simulation mods are very popular, such as ‘one hit kill’ type mods that make weapon damage very realistic, or ‘survival’ mods that force the player to eat, drink, and sleep to improve immersion. These kinds of games are often referred to as ‘overhauls’ as they seek to adjust the data for the entire game to bring it inline canada goose outlet website legit with the modder’s vision of the ideal game. Mods that change player or enemy stats, or the stats associated with weapons and health kits require either a level editor with access to these values (many editors supply this) or access to the source code or a portion of the source code. Depending on the game, therefore, these mods can be very easy to make or very difficult. In Oblivion, changing the amount of damage that a weapon does is about the easiest type of mod you can make: just open the editor, find the right object, change the value, and save. In Half life 2, making changes like this require at a minimum downloading and installing compilers and SDKs and editing and recompiling source code; in other words, a minimum of programming knowledge. canada goose coats on sale

Canada Goose sale AI OverhaulsA more complicated type of overhaul is the AI overhaul. AI stands for artificial intelligence and it is one of the most difficult challenges facing game developers. AI modders try to fix things like ‘psychic’ enemies (who always seem to know where the player is even when they have no way of knowing), unintentional ‘zombies’ (who stand around and do nothing even when being attacked), ‘blind’ bots (who can’t find their way around level geometry and get stuck running on the spot), etc. Canada Goose sale

Canada Goose sale Because it is so hard to do well, many modders attempt to improve the AI in a game through various sorts of scripting hacks. If they are particularly talented and knowledgeable and have access to the appropriate source code, they may try rewriting portions of the AI engine itself. AI overhauls are generally more difficult to create than game rebalancers and can easily become one of the most difficult types of mods to create successfully. Canada Goose sale

canada goose coats on sale Custom ShadersAfter AI, probably the next most difficult type of mod to make is a custom shader. Shaders refer to the way a scene is rendered by the GPU (graphics programming unit). Shaders can be used to simulate effects like God rays, motion blur, depth of view, realistic light and shadows, etc. Shaders can make even older games look very, very good (sometimes almost as good as current games) but are very resource intensive and not everyone can use them without reducing their games to a slideshow. Creating custom shaders requires an understanding of shader programming so they tend to be less common than other types of mods, though almost every major game has at least one person canada goose outlet us working on custom shaders. canada goose coats on sale

cheap Canada Goose Custom Levels, Maps, Quests, Missions, and Total ConversionsThese are a very popular type of mod and the type most often supported by the developers. Many games come with level or world editors that allow you to create new levels using the assets that come bundled with the game. (For custom assets, see the sections above.) The simplest type of mod in this category is the custom level, or map, which is really just a new game environment populated with opponents and a thin story that gives you a reason for exploring or escaping the environment. (Groups of custom levels are often released as ‘map packs’.) cheap Canada Goose

Canada Goose Jackets The next most difficult kind of mod is the custom quest or mission (depending on your genre; they are the same thing). These generally involve one or more custom levels plus new characters, possibly voiced dialogue, and a longer, more involved story line with stages that have to be completed. Most level editors give you some way to create quests either directly or through scripting. Canada Goose Jackets

The most complicated type of mod in this canada goose outlet factory category is the total conversion. Total conversions are rare and demand an unusually high amount of dedication and teamwork. They are often started by new modders and quickly vanish into oblivion. Total conversions are generally only completed by experienced mod teams and are similar in scale and scope to the original game. True total conversions generally require completely custom music, art, and story lines along with a lot of new scripted gameplay features. A good total conversion includes something from pretty much every other category on this list.

canadian goose jacket Mod Tools and Unofficial PatchesAs amazing as all of these mods can be, nothing is more amazing than the dedication and ingenuity that modders bring to the creation of custom mod tools and unofficial game patches. Programmers write import and export scripts for custom canada goose jacket outlet uk assets, mod loaders and managers, model canada goose outlet price and texture viewers, and a host of other tools to assist the modder in his endeavors. Many of these are highly sophisticated pieces of software in their own right and are frequently used to fix bugs in the original game that the developers are no longer canada goose shop uk able or willing to canada goose outlet mississauga fix: crashes, poor performance, and graphical glitches are all frequent targets for talented programmers. Some bugs may be fixed in the form of a mod: buggy quests may have their scripts fixed, poorly designed or optimized models or textures may be replaced, and missing content may be restored. These types of mods are typically a communal effort and ‘must have’ mods for serious mod users. canadian goose jacket

Canada Goose Parka Is it Illegal to Mod a Game?Well, it depends. Modding is a legal grey area and there aren’t always hard and fast rules when it comes to mods but there are a few general rules that you should adhere to: Canada Goose Parka

Canada Goose Jackets In general, the EULA decides what is legal or not legal. If the EULA says you can’t do something, you can’t. Most EULAs will tell you that it is illegal to decompile a game, for example. In this case, if the publisher hasn’t created any mod tools or made assets available to the end user, it is illegal to reverse engineer the game to mod it. Just because you’re not allowed to decompile a game doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to mod it, however; you just have to read the license to see what’s permissible. Canada Goose Jackets

Canada Goose Outlet It is illegal to redistribute a game or portions of a game. In other words, you can’t include any of buy canada goose uk the original assets from a game with your mod. In order to use a mod, the player has to own canada goose outlet store calgary the original game. Your mod can only substitute custom (original, made by you) or modified versions of an asset, not the original asset. It is okay, for example, to distribute a new ‘skin’ (texture on the outside of a model) but not the original model that is being re skinned. The user has to own a legal copy of that model, canada goose premium outlet which they received when they purchased the game. Canada Goose Outlet

buy canada goose jacket Generally, it is illegal to sell mods. Even if the publisher creates mod tools and encourages you to mod their games, it is pretty much universally illegal to sell your mods, so don’t even try. Most publishers are very strict about this. Some publishers, Epic, for example, allows you to buy a license to sell games made using their engine, however, and the rates are very reasonable. If you are interested in creating and selling games using an engine I recommend you look into UDK, Unity, and CryENGINE 3 for starters. buy canada goose jacket

cheap Canada Goose It is illegal to mod online multiplayer games. Mods that give you an unfair advantage in a competitive online game are pretty much universally illegal. Depending on the game, you may be able to make mods of single player elements, however. cheap Canada Goose

Canada Goose Jackets It is generally illegal to create mods using another person’s intellectual property (IP). Basically, it is generally illegal to create a Star Wars or Batman canada goose outlet shop mod without permission from the owner of the IP. This has to do with branding canada goose outlet online uk issues: the owners of these properties don’t want people receiving undesireable impressions of their properties. canada goose outlet store montreal Fan fiction suffers from the same sort of restrictions. To be honest, a lot of people get away with mods of this sort, at least for a while, so you will see them all over the place. If you want to pursue this sort of thing, just remember that the owners canada goose outlet winnipeg address have every right to issue you a cease desist. Canada Goose Jackets

canadian goose jacket It is also illegal to create a mod that recreates another game, even an earlier game in a series. These sorts of mods are also popular. Some publishers don’t mind if you try to recreate an earlier game in their series with a newer engine but others take it very seriously. When in doubt, ask at the mod forums to see how a company will respond to this kind of mod. canadian goose jacket

canada goose black friday sale Where Can I Find Mods or Learn How to Make Them?Most games that support modding have their own online modding communities, usually centered around one or more forums, a download depository, and a central wiki. To find these communities, just Google the name of your game and add ‘modding’, and ‘download’, ‘forum’ or ‘wiki’ and see what comes up. You might canada goose outlet canada have to dig a few pages depending canada goose outlet miami on the game, but you’ll likely find something of interest. You might also be able to find it through the ‘community’ link at the game’s official web site. Publishers are often happy to connect fans with their favorite products. canada goose black friday sale

Canada Goose Jackets One other great resource is the ModDB (mod data base). If there are mods for a game, you can pretty much bet that at least some of them are here. Most games have their own mod distribution sites as well, however, so it pays to look around. For example, the Nexus network is the number one place to find mods for Bethesda games (Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas, though they do other games as well) and there are literally tens of https://www.canadagoosejacketca.ca thousands canada goose outlet 80 off of mods there Canada Goose Jackets.