RPGCodex's first review discussion (part 2)

[Cronstintein]

I agree that times have changed and explicit mod support is a feature that supposed to go without saying... in AAA projects, which PoE isn't. Externalizing data should be enough. Unforunately, Obsidian didn't do that, or at least not so much.

 

ike, at all. It took dedicated fans and people among the devs of an engine willing to answer questions when asked to create modding scene there.

 

Hmm I think you got that backwards.  It's pretty rare that AAA games provide mod support.  Other than Bethesda I'm having trouble thinking of a single example.  It's more common that smaller/mid-tier developers that really care about modding.

 

If you want my cynical opinion, it's probably because the AAA franchises would rather sell you their mods in the form of DLC and yearly (re)releases.

 

 

On a more important note, it sucks we be 'represented' by a dozen loud dudes who spend their days trolling in these here forums.

 

Bravo to anyone who stands up to them.

 

Sheesh.  Come to a forum with suggestions for improvement and now you're a troll?  Seems especially weird to complain about that since we 'trolls' are apparently the brain-trust for Obsidian's patches

[constantine]

I don't mind suggestions, but negativity, seeing all is futile is one thing that gets us nowhere.

[Yellow Rabbit]

Hmm I think you got that backwards.  It's pretty rare that AAA games provide mod support.  Other than Bethesda I'm having trouble thinking of a single example.  It's more common that smaller/mid-tier developers that really care about modding.

 

If you want my cynical opinion, it's probably because the AAA franchises would rather sell you their mods in the form of DLC and yearly (re)releases.

Yeah, you're right. It's just not that many AAA RPGs around to think about, so I got it backwards.

 

Regarding PoE's modability, I recall sometime in early development mr. Sawyer stated that explicit mod support isn't going to happen. They won't obfuscate their code, could externalize some chunks of game data as long as it remains convenient to them (more likely "pops up in the head of our lead programming guy") and will answer questions about data formats if asked, but that's all. It is kinda what we have now, so fair is fair.

 

Adding something like, say, ddillon suggested now would certainly be cool, but require some substantial changes to resources storage architecture. I don't believe such "fat" features can be fitted in devs' current post-release support schedule without thrashing it, and it's likely not in their top priority list for an expansion either. Maybe in a sequel, especially if devs are going to move on Unity 5 with it.

[Sensuki]

Regarding modding, there are two ways to pack scenes (areas) in Unity.

 

Assetbundles and Sharedassets.

 

Assetbundles are mod-friendly, as *.unity3d files can be edited with a Unity 4.6 Pro custom plug-in. Obsidian chose to use Sharedassets instead, which are not mod friendly and there is no current way to get into those files on the data side. You can only do stuff through C# scripting on level load.

 

We asked them to change their file format and asked for an answer, all we got was silence, and no change - which I take as "No we're not going to change our format, but we're better off not telling you to avoid being flamed".

[constantine]

I hope there are some news regarding modding. PoE needs it and modding will only expand the game's interest to the crowds, and for a lot of people game experience.

 

Personally, I would install mods that would make the experience tougher (without having to resort to cheesy tactics like we've been shown in PotD playthroughs).

 

Of course, I think we can afford the waiting, until the game is on a stable state and more balanced. Yes, it is playable to the end, but as patch 1.05 shows us, there are a lot of balance issues to be addressed and many tweaks the developers are still adding in the game.

[ShadowStorm]

 

We asked them to change their file format and asked for an answer, all we got was silence, and no change - which I take as "No we're not going to change our format, but we're better off not telling you to avoid being flamed".

 

... but you should take it as "damn I've been such a whining douchebag for so long, I've lost all credibility and am now ignored because responding to me is a waste of time". 

 

You really should.

[constantine]

 

 

 

We asked them to change their file format and asked for an answer, all we got was silence, and no change - which I take as "No we're not going to change our format, but we're better off not telling you to avoid being flamed".

... but you should take it as "damn I've been such a whining douchebag for so long, I've lost all credibility and am now ignored because responding to me is a waste of time".

 

You really should.

 

Please no.

[Sensuki]

... but you should take it as "damn I've been such a whining douchebag for so long, I've lost all credibility and am now ignored because responding to me is a waste of time". 

 

You really should.

The posts I am referring to was during the beta, when I was a "productive member of society" .

 

The fact that the game is not very mod friendly on the area modding front is no longer a concern of mine, I am simply informing the people who were discussing the subject in the thread.

 

I'd like to hear more about this losing credibility though, please enlighten me

 

_{suck a d1ck f4ggot lol}

Edited May 3, 2015 by Sensuki

[Nonek]

Could you please tell the jury where on this chart exactly Mr Sensuki touched you?