So... with PoE getting released soon, whats the state of modding?

[Zwiebelchen]

I haven't been around here for a while, so I probably missed a lot of updates...

 

Is there anything new to know in terms of modding?

 

In PoE, I don't think it will take long until the first simple mods that affect some gameplay elements appear. However, I am more talking about content mods, like NPCs, new zones and new items.

 

 

I understand that modability isn't the main focus of the project. However, with possible expansions in mind, what are the plans of Obsidian to support the modding community? Remember that modding is what kept Half Life, Warcraft III, Baldurs Gate and Neverwinter Nights alive even a decade after the initial release...

 

 

New zones are particulary interesting: Theoretically, creating simple static backgrounds for zones would be as simple as designing a landscape in 3dsmax (remember that there are thousands of free art assets like trees, buildings, etc. available on the web), then running a converter maxscript that turns your 3D landscape into a bitmap and a bump/normal map.

However, we would still need a tool to modify the gameplay elements for such maps: placing 3D objects and light sources, adding a pathing map, converting and merging all maps into the appropriate game-files.

 

Also, judging from the Neverwinter Nights 2 community, 3D moddeling of new armor/weapons is popular. Will there be a quick & dirty converter tool to turn milkshape/3dsmax models into the appropriate game files? Also, a spec sheet for how the game handles animations would be useful aswell, so that we don't have to reverse-engineer the game engine to find out how everything works.

 

 

Due to it's 2D isometric perspective, PoE offers incredible potential for the modding scene. The amount of detail on the 3D models allows amateur 3D artists to create art assets that are of comparable quality as the original models. The reason why there are thousands of models available for Warcraft 3, but not even a fraction of that for Starcraft 2 is, that the artistic complexity of the models increased enormously; however, in terms of graphical fidelity, PoE hits the perfect middleground between simplicity and complexity.

Please do not miss that opportunity to get the 2D/3D artists on board! Supporting them with instructions and tools to convert and implement their creations into game-readable file formats!

 

Who wouldn't want to explore user-made dungeons or sidequests? Or even a full-fledged campaign?

Edited March 2, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[MasterPrudent]

This is the current state of play: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/69992-mod-support-thread/

Edited March 2, 2015 by MasterPrudent