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The Man behind the Modathon Madness - Darkelfguy
Today, we are chatting with [b]Darkelfguy[/b], a YouTuber/modder with a burning passion for the modding community. Not only does he host the weekly [url=http://darkelfmodding.com/?page_id=110]Morrowind Modding Showcases[/url] on his [url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTiULQ_bcPRu_jMTZ86WO7A]YouTube channel[/url], he also runs the annual [url=https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/6591631-morrowind-may-modathon-month-2018-celebrating-16-years-of-morrowind/]Morrowind Modathon[/url] as well as other modding events - all in service of our Morrowind community.
[b]BigBizkit: [/b][b]Thank you, Darkelfguy, for chatting with us. For those out there who might not be familiar with you and your work in the community, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and the mod competitions you run?[/b]
Darkelfguy: Thanks for having me, and since I doubt anyone outside the Morrowind community knows me, I'm Darkelfguy, I've been a member of the modding community since 2003, back when Nexus Mods was simply known as Morrowind Source, and I've been the host of [url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTiULQ_bcPRu_jMTZ86WO7A]Morrowind Modding Showcases (MMS)[/url], really the only mod showcases channel for Morrowind, since 2014. I also handle most of the Morrowind Modding Community podcasts and audio-based modder interviews (31 recorded and counting so far), as well as video tutorials on how to make mods for Morrowind and how to install mods, and I do quite a bit of promotional video work for the major Morrowind projects out there, like [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42145]Tamriel Rebuilt[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44921]Skyrim - Home of the Nords[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44922]Province: Cyrodiil[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37795]Morrowind Rebirth[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43749]Lyithdonea[/url]. Basically, I'm the Morrowind Modding Community's cheerleader.
I also manage and organize the Morrowind community's two major annual modding competitions, the Morrowind May Modathon, a free-for-all competition which runs from May 1st to June 1st each year in celebration of Morrowind's anniversary, and the Morrowind Modding Madness competition from October 1st to October 31st, a rigorous skill based team modding competition which requires a heavy emphasis on cooperation and collaboration between modders.
[b]What was it that initially inspired you to run the annual Morrowind Modathon?[/b]
In a way it was kind of inevitable, I've always been involved in running competitions and community events, before I ran MMS, I owned a Minecraft server where I hosted monthly building competitions between 2011 and 2014, before that I did a lot of competitions and contests for my old WoW guild back in 2007. After MMS was launched in July of 2014, it seemed like the natural next step. The entire point and purpose of MMS was to be a platform to promote and encourage modders, and running a competition seemed like a good way to get people motivated.
[center][youtube]G3nB_77JLPE[/youtube][/center]
Doing the Modathon in May also seemed like a natural choice, Morrowind's anniversary is on May 1st, and what better way is there to celebrate this amazing game, which has inspired so many to get into modding, than to make even more mods for it? And so far it's been a massive success, over the last 4 years the Modathon has become the largest annual modding competition in the Elder Scrolls modding community.
[b]Last year’s Morrowind May Modathon marked the 15th anniversary of Morrowind. What would you say drives people to continue making mods for Morrowind after all these years?[/b]
It's funny you should ask that, because this is pretty much a question I ask each and every modder we host on Morrowind Modding Interviews. After talking with 31 modders, I've gotten 31 different responses. For a lot of people it's the community, the people, and for others it's the game itself, there's just something about Morrowind that keeps drawing people back in and bringing new people to the table. Personally, I think it's a bit of both. For many of us the Morrowind Modding Community is home, you might leave for a while, sometimes you might be gone for 10 or 12 years, but at the end of the day, you can always come home again, and many of us do.
Unquestionably though part of it is simply due to the spirit of the community itself. We're home to some of the oldest, continuously worked on modding projects in gaming history, our projects are measured, not by years, but by decades. Tamriel Rebuilt is turning 17 this Summer, it's actually older than Morrowind itself! Skyrim - Home of the Nords turns 13 this Autumn, Province: Cyrodiil will soon be 11, and Morrowind Rebirth and Lyithdonea will both be nearly 10 years old soon. Despite their age, each of those projects still has a ton of dedicated and active modders working on them, ranging from dozens of modders still working on projects like TR and SHOTN, to the same small group of modders that keep on toiling on Rebirth and Lyithdonea year in and year out, modders like Trancemaster and Melchior Dahrk, who've taken small personal projects and turned them into grand ambitious endeavors.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531387077.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531387097.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]How would you say this year’s Morrowind Modathon performed in terms of engagement?[/b]
It was amazing, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. The Modathon has become a staple of the Morrowind Modding Community, but the level of engagement we got this year was just beyond anything I could've expected, I think we blew nearly every record for a modding competition out of the water, and the number of mods submitted for this year's Modathon was triple the amount from the 2017 competition. I mean, for a community as old as Morrowind's, you wouldn't expect to see 89 mods submitted for an event like this, much less by 45 different modders, covering everything you can imagine from new quests, items, gameplay elements, scripting features, crafting systems, and so much more.
A lot of that increased engagement, I think, was due to the achievements system. It was sort of a last minute addition, something I was toying around with for a while. After all, if games can have achievements, why not modding? I bounced a few ideas off Melchior Dahrk a little over a week before the Modathon was supposed to start, and before we knew it, we had spent hours hashing out ideas for achievements, including everything from badges for getting certain endorsement and download goals, to hidden achievements for trying to do fun and unique things with your mods. I can't really take any credit for the design of the achievements, that was all on Melchior, but in the end we had just shy of 60 different achievements that modders could unlock by submitting mods.
I thought it might give a small boost to modder participation, maybe encourage a few people on the sidelines, but I wasn't expecting what happened. People loved unlocking achievements for making mods, participation skyrocketed. Take a look at the Hot Files section of the Morrowind Nexus page and you'll find, on nearly all of them, those little achievement badges at the bottom of the mod description. Clearly gamifying modding has produced some amazing results, though of course the question now is, where do we go from here? That remains to be seen, but we're still toying with the idea of how to expand the achievements system for longer periods of time.
[b]The Modathon isn’t the only “competition” you are running. What are some of the others you host and how are they different from the annual Modathon?[/b]
Ah yes, that's true. I also host Morrowind Modding Madness, and it's basically the complete opposite of the Modathon. The Modathon is open to everyone and has no real content restrictions. Morrowind Modding Madness on the other hand, is a team-based modding competition, with strict themes. The month of October is divided into two two-week challenges. Each challenge is randomly generated using a scripted in-game tower, and each team then has only two weeks to submit a mod that matches the generated theme. Each entry is scored by a panel of judges, and it's really a contest of both skill and endurance, as only a team that manages to make two really good mods within their deadlines can possibly hope to win the competition.
The point of Morrowind Modding Madness is really to promote team-building, encourage cooperation and collaboration between modders, and challenge them to make deadlines. After all, a lot of modders are a pretty isolationist bunch, sometimes they just need a little encouragement to work together, and when they do, the results can be pretty amazing.
As a note for those interested, team registration for this year's Morrowind Modding Madness begins on September 1st, we'll have a thread here on the Nexus Forums as well as on Reddit where you can register a team to participate. The competition itself begins October 1st.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531389294.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]Do you think other games’ modding scenes could benefit from this sort of “gamification” of modding?[/b]
Absolutely, I think the Modathon has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt the energizing potential of annual modding competitions. If a community as small as Morrowind's, which has on average only about 300 to 400 active modders in any given year, can make a competition like the Modathon such a massive success, surely the same could be done for the larger modding communities of other games as well? This is actually one of the points I'm always surprised by, because as far as I can tell, there haven't been many modding competitions hosted for the newer Bethesda games, perhaps the best example I can find is the r/skyrimmodding community which hosted a series of monthly modding competitions for about 4 months in 2015, but I haven't heard of anything since then.
As for specifically "gamification", as I mentioned earlier, this year's Modathon used an achievements system to reward modders with badges they could unlock by releasing certain types of mods. I'm almost positive that's what caused such a massive spike in participation for this year's event. It was great fun for everyone, and I absolutely think a similar system of "gamifying" modding could be used to both encourage modders to try making different kinds of mods, and also to get more people into modding on a much larger scale. You have to admit there's something addicting about collecting achievements, that's why it's worked so well for Steam, and if the Morrowind Modathon is anything to go by, it could absolutely work for Skyrim or Fallout 4 or any other game with a community to support it. I'd love to see someone try and make that happen.
[b]Seeing how you must be a huge fan of Morrowind, what are your thoughts on the two ambitious projects attempting to reinvigorate Morrowind by bringing it to newer engines: Morroblivion and Skywind?[/b]
Well, I can't say I've followed the progress of either project particularly closely, I don't get out of the Morrowind Modding Community much these days, but I have seen a few screenshots here and there, and clearly they're very impressive and promising projects. More than that, these large community endeavors are, I think, critical to the success of any modding community. Projects like Skywind bring people together, whether modding veterans working towards a common goal, or just regular players who see exciting new developments for Skywind or Morroblivion and use that as motivation to get involved with modding themselves. How many new modders have gotten their first introduction to modding from projects like these? Hundreds, thousands? Without question they have a massive positive impact on the community, and for that alone it'll be exciting to see how they develop over time.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531386366.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531386302.png[/img][/center]
That said, I probably won't play Morroblivion and Skywind myself, and that probably goes for a lot of Morrowind modders in the community as well. We're not really the target audience for these projects, we don't need a new Morrowind on a new platform, because we've already got Morrowind, and if there's something we want to improve, we make mods for it. Morroblivion and Skywind are a great way to introduce new players, those who don't like Morrowind's graphics or gameplay, to one of the greatest RPGs of all time. Plus we have our own exciting projects like Province: Cyrodiil and Skyrim - Home of the Nords that are bringing the provinces of Cyrodiil and Skyrim to the game-engine of TES III: Morrowind, only with our own take on the world of Tamriel.
[b]On your YouTube channel you host the weekly “Morrowind Modding Showcases”. What would you say are your core criteria you take into account when you pick mods to feature?[/b]
Morrowind Modding Showcases is a bit different from your typical mod showcases channel, our core series focuses on not one, but 13 mods per episode, with an emphasis on providing variety with something for everyone. That's really one of the show's core criteria as well, each episode has a variety of mods, not just of different categories, but we have a mix of both newer and older mods, as well as hidden underrated gems and popular masterpieces. I believe everyone deserves to have a chance at getting their mods showcased and getting exposure, whether it's a long time modding veteran, or a new modder that just released their first mod. In a small community like ours, encouraging and promoting modders is critical to making sure they stick around, so providing an equal opportunity to get showcased is absolutely essential.
[center][youtube]cWkQb9au9Ns[/youtube][/center]
Not that we'll showcase just any mod, of course, it has to work, it can't break the game, and it needs to be of at least decent quality and construction, and show some inventiveness and unique creativity. We also don't showcase cheat mods or adult-themed mods on the channel. MMS is family-friendly, so mods that explicitly have gratuitous nudity or sexual elements won't be shown, and mods that just have some adult-themed content come with warnings listed in each video description.
[b]Last, but not least: you are mod author yourself. What drives you to make mods and what advice would you give any budding mod authors out there?[/b]
That's true, though my mods are hardly what I'm best known for, I'm a small-time quest and dungeon modder at best, but I do love making mods. The main thing for me is that I love stories, I love reading them, and I love telling them, which is what really drives me to make quest mods in particular. Morrowind is an almost perfect platform for that, text-based dialogue and arguably by far the best and most detailed journal system in the Elder Scrolls series allows me to go into as much detail as I want with my quests and characters, without having to worry about the limitations of voice-acting. Granted quest design with Morrowind is pretty tedious, really everything about the CS is a bit tedious, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the CK that make modding a bit easier, but for me, just seeing my creations come to life (in a manner of speaking) and seeing the stories I create play out is more than enough driving motivation to keep making mods.
As for advice, there's two things I have to say, the first of which is don't be afraid to try new things. A lot of people get intimidated by certain aspects of the CS, like making quests or getting into scripting or world design. The fact of the matter is, none of this stuff is particularly difficult, there's an illusion out there that making quests (for example) must be hard, it's not. Don't get me wrong, you'll make mistakes, but you can't learn if you don't try, and for every success, that feeling of seeing something you've built and knowing it's good, that's one of the best feelings in the world, and it makes all the trouble you went through worthwhile.
The second bit of advice I have is don't be afraid of criticism, chances are, unless you're a divine talent touched by the heavens, your first mod won't be amazing, or even particularly good, and it's important to take constructive criticism and learn from it.
[b]Is there anything else you would like to tell the community at this point?[/b]
If there's just one last thing I'd like to leave off on, it's an encouragement to check out and stop by the [url=https://discord.gg/8HaZ9kn][b]Morrowind Modding Community Discord Server[/b][/url]. There's more going on with the Morrowind modding scene now than there has been in years! The dream of a multiplayer Morrowind has finally been realized with [url=https://discord.gg/G7PNQqU][b]TES3MP[/b][/url] which offers a fully functional multiplayer experience either as co-op or an MMO, and works perfectly with most of the community's existing mods. The province mods like [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/8T9V9gr][b]Tamriel Rebuilt[/b][/url], [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/vgmpb9b][b]Skyrim - Home of the Nords[/b][/url] and [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/V6KrhQ6][b]Province: Cyrodiil[/b][/url] are each getting ready for major new releases, with Old Ebonheart and Dragonstar scheduled for release later this year, and [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/T3EMaWG][b]Morrowind Rebirth[/b][/url] has just gotten a new release just in the last week. New MWSE Lua scripting abilities have unlocked whole new fields of modding for the first time, making what was once impossible with the Morrowind game-engine, possible, and already we've seen the first few dozen Lua mods get released, providing new convenience features and new gameplay mechanics.
At no other time in our community's history has so much been possible, with so many new developments being worked on. And of course, that's not to mention the 3rd Annual Morrowind Modding Madness competition starting on October 1st! So please, if you haven't been around in a while, stop by the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind][b]Morrowind Nexus page[/b][/url], or pop in on one of the community discords or forum-boards, we're really fairly friendly people and we're always glad to see new people! I'm sure we could even rummage up a fishy-stick to welcome you with!
[b]Thank you very much, Darkelfguy - for answering our questions, and for the work you are doing for our Morrowind community. If there is anything we can do to support you and your competitions, do not hesitate to let us know![/b]
[b]BigBizkit: [/b][b]Thank you, Darkelfguy, for chatting with us. For those out there who might not be familiar with you and your work in the community, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and the mod competitions you run?[/b]
Darkelfguy: Thanks for having me, and since I doubt anyone outside the Morrowind community knows me, I'm Darkelfguy, I've been a member of the modding community since 2003, back when Nexus Mods was simply known as Morrowind Source, and I've been the host of [url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTiULQ_bcPRu_jMTZ86WO7A]Morrowind Modding Showcases (MMS)[/url], really the only mod showcases channel for Morrowind, since 2014. I also handle most of the Morrowind Modding Community podcasts and audio-based modder interviews (31 recorded and counting so far), as well as video tutorials on how to make mods for Morrowind and how to install mods, and I do quite a bit of promotional video work for the major Morrowind projects out there, like [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42145]Tamriel Rebuilt[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44921]Skyrim - Home of the Nords[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/44922]Province: Cyrodiil[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/37795]Morrowind Rebirth[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43749]Lyithdonea[/url]. Basically, I'm the Morrowind Modding Community's cheerleader.
I also manage and organize the Morrowind community's two major annual modding competitions, the Morrowind May Modathon, a free-for-all competition which runs from May 1st to June 1st each year in celebration of Morrowind's anniversary, and the Morrowind Modding Madness competition from October 1st to October 31st, a rigorous skill based team modding competition which requires a heavy emphasis on cooperation and collaboration between modders.
[b]What was it that initially inspired you to run the annual Morrowind Modathon?[/b]
In a way it was kind of inevitable, I've always been involved in running competitions and community events, before I ran MMS, I owned a Minecraft server where I hosted monthly building competitions between 2011 and 2014, before that I did a lot of competitions and contests for my old WoW guild back in 2007. After MMS was launched in July of 2014, it seemed like the natural next step. The entire point and purpose of MMS was to be a platform to promote and encourage modders, and running a competition seemed like a good way to get people motivated.
[center][youtube]G3nB_77JLPE[/youtube][/center]
Doing the Modathon in May also seemed like a natural choice, Morrowind's anniversary is on May 1st, and what better way is there to celebrate this amazing game, which has inspired so many to get into modding, than to make even more mods for it? And so far it's been a massive success, over the last 4 years the Modathon has become the largest annual modding competition in the Elder Scrolls modding community.
[b]Last year’s Morrowind May Modathon marked the 15th anniversary of Morrowind. What would you say drives people to continue making mods for Morrowind after all these years?[/b]
It's funny you should ask that, because this is pretty much a question I ask each and every modder we host on Morrowind Modding Interviews. After talking with 31 modders, I've gotten 31 different responses. For a lot of people it's the community, the people, and for others it's the game itself, there's just something about Morrowind that keeps drawing people back in and bringing new people to the table. Personally, I think it's a bit of both. For many of us the Morrowind Modding Community is home, you might leave for a while, sometimes you might be gone for 10 or 12 years, but at the end of the day, you can always come home again, and many of us do.
Unquestionably though part of it is simply due to the spirit of the community itself. We're home to some of the oldest, continuously worked on modding projects in gaming history, our projects are measured, not by years, but by decades. Tamriel Rebuilt is turning 17 this Summer, it's actually older than Morrowind itself! Skyrim - Home of the Nords turns 13 this Autumn, Province: Cyrodiil will soon be 11, and Morrowind Rebirth and Lyithdonea will both be nearly 10 years old soon. Despite their age, each of those projects still has a ton of dedicated and active modders working on them, ranging from dozens of modders still working on projects like TR and SHOTN, to the same small group of modders that keep on toiling on Rebirth and Lyithdonea year in and year out, modders like Trancemaster and Melchior Dahrk, who've taken small personal projects and turned them into grand ambitious endeavors.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531387077.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531387097.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]How would you say this year’s Morrowind Modathon performed in terms of engagement?[/b]
It was amazing, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. The Modathon has become a staple of the Morrowind Modding Community, but the level of engagement we got this year was just beyond anything I could've expected, I think we blew nearly every record for a modding competition out of the water, and the number of mods submitted for this year's Modathon was triple the amount from the 2017 competition. I mean, for a community as old as Morrowind's, you wouldn't expect to see 89 mods submitted for an event like this, much less by 45 different modders, covering everything you can imagine from new quests, items, gameplay elements, scripting features, crafting systems, and so much more.
A lot of that increased engagement, I think, was due to the achievements system. It was sort of a last minute addition, something I was toying around with for a while. After all, if games can have achievements, why not modding? I bounced a few ideas off Melchior Dahrk a little over a week before the Modathon was supposed to start, and before we knew it, we had spent hours hashing out ideas for achievements, including everything from badges for getting certain endorsement and download goals, to hidden achievements for trying to do fun and unique things with your mods. I can't really take any credit for the design of the achievements, that was all on Melchior, but in the end we had just shy of 60 different achievements that modders could unlock by submitting mods.
I thought it might give a small boost to modder participation, maybe encourage a few people on the sidelines, but I wasn't expecting what happened. People loved unlocking achievements for making mods, participation skyrocketed. Take a look at the Hot Files section of the Morrowind Nexus page and you'll find, on nearly all of them, those little achievement badges at the bottom of the mod description. Clearly gamifying modding has produced some amazing results, though of course the question now is, where do we go from here? That remains to be seen, but we're still toying with the idea of how to expand the achievements system for longer periods of time.
[b]The Modathon isn’t the only “competition” you are running. What are some of the others you host and how are they different from the annual Modathon?[/b]
Ah yes, that's true. I also host Morrowind Modding Madness, and it's basically the complete opposite of the Modathon. The Modathon is open to everyone and has no real content restrictions. Morrowind Modding Madness on the other hand, is a team-based modding competition, with strict themes. The month of October is divided into two two-week challenges. Each challenge is randomly generated using a scripted in-game tower, and each team then has only two weeks to submit a mod that matches the generated theme. Each entry is scored by a panel of judges, and it's really a contest of both skill and endurance, as only a team that manages to make two really good mods within their deadlines can possibly hope to win the competition.
The point of Morrowind Modding Madness is really to promote team-building, encourage cooperation and collaboration between modders, and challenge them to make deadlines. After all, a lot of modders are a pretty isolationist bunch, sometimes they just need a little encouragement to work together, and when they do, the results can be pretty amazing.
As a note for those interested, team registration for this year's Morrowind Modding Madness begins on September 1st, we'll have a thread here on the Nexus Forums as well as on Reddit where you can register a team to participate. The competition itself begins October 1st.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531389294.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]Do you think other games’ modding scenes could benefit from this sort of “gamification” of modding?[/b]
Absolutely, I think the Modathon has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt the energizing potential of annual modding competitions. If a community as small as Morrowind's, which has on average only about 300 to 400 active modders in any given year, can make a competition like the Modathon such a massive success, surely the same could be done for the larger modding communities of other games as well? This is actually one of the points I'm always surprised by, because as far as I can tell, there haven't been many modding competitions hosted for the newer Bethesda games, perhaps the best example I can find is the r/skyrimmodding community which hosted a series of monthly modding competitions for about 4 months in 2015, but I haven't heard of anything since then.
As for specifically "gamification", as I mentioned earlier, this year's Modathon used an achievements system to reward modders with badges they could unlock by releasing certain types of mods. I'm almost positive that's what caused such a massive spike in participation for this year's event. It was great fun for everyone, and I absolutely think a similar system of "gamifying" modding could be used to both encourage modders to try making different kinds of mods, and also to get more people into modding on a much larger scale. You have to admit there's something addicting about collecting achievements, that's why it's worked so well for Steam, and if the Morrowind Modathon is anything to go by, it could absolutely work for Skyrim or Fallout 4 or any other game with a community to support it. I'd love to see someone try and make that happen.
[b]Seeing how you must be a huge fan of Morrowind, what are your thoughts on the two ambitious projects attempting to reinvigorate Morrowind by bringing it to newer engines: Morroblivion and Skywind?[/b]
Well, I can't say I've followed the progress of either project particularly closely, I don't get out of the Morrowind Modding Community much these days, but I have seen a few screenshots here and there, and clearly they're very impressive and promising projects. More than that, these large community endeavors are, I think, critical to the success of any modding community. Projects like Skywind bring people together, whether modding veterans working towards a common goal, or just regular players who see exciting new developments for Skywind or Morroblivion and use that as motivation to get involved with modding themselves. How many new modders have gotten their first introduction to modding from projects like these? Hundreds, thousands? Without question they have a massive positive impact on the community, and for that alone it'll be exciting to see how they develop over time.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531386366.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/100/64597-1531386302.png[/img][/center]
That said, I probably won't play Morroblivion and Skywind myself, and that probably goes for a lot of Morrowind modders in the community as well. We're not really the target audience for these projects, we don't need a new Morrowind on a new platform, because we've already got Morrowind, and if there's something we want to improve, we make mods for it. Morroblivion and Skywind are a great way to introduce new players, those who don't like Morrowind's graphics or gameplay, to one of the greatest RPGs of all time. Plus we have our own exciting projects like Province: Cyrodiil and Skyrim - Home of the Nords that are bringing the provinces of Cyrodiil and Skyrim to the game-engine of TES III: Morrowind, only with our own take on the world of Tamriel.
[b]On your YouTube channel you host the weekly “Morrowind Modding Showcases”. What would you say are your core criteria you take into account when you pick mods to feature?[/b]
Morrowind Modding Showcases is a bit different from your typical mod showcases channel, our core series focuses on not one, but 13 mods per episode, with an emphasis on providing variety with something for everyone. That's really one of the show's core criteria as well, each episode has a variety of mods, not just of different categories, but we have a mix of both newer and older mods, as well as hidden underrated gems and popular masterpieces. I believe everyone deserves to have a chance at getting their mods showcased and getting exposure, whether it's a long time modding veteran, or a new modder that just released their first mod. In a small community like ours, encouraging and promoting modders is critical to making sure they stick around, so providing an equal opportunity to get showcased is absolutely essential.
[center][youtube]cWkQb9au9Ns[/youtube][/center]
Not that we'll showcase just any mod, of course, it has to work, it can't break the game, and it needs to be of at least decent quality and construction, and show some inventiveness and unique creativity. We also don't showcase cheat mods or adult-themed mods on the channel. MMS is family-friendly, so mods that explicitly have gratuitous nudity or sexual elements won't be shown, and mods that just have some adult-themed content come with warnings listed in each video description.
[b]Last, but not least: you are mod author yourself. What drives you to make mods and what advice would you give any budding mod authors out there?[/b]
That's true, though my mods are hardly what I'm best known for, I'm a small-time quest and dungeon modder at best, but I do love making mods. The main thing for me is that I love stories, I love reading them, and I love telling them, which is what really drives me to make quest mods in particular. Morrowind is an almost perfect platform for that, text-based dialogue and arguably by far the best and most detailed journal system in the Elder Scrolls series allows me to go into as much detail as I want with my quests and characters, without having to worry about the limitations of voice-acting. Granted quest design with Morrowind is pretty tedious, really everything about the CS is a bit tedious, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the CK that make modding a bit easier, but for me, just seeing my creations come to life (in a manner of speaking) and seeing the stories I create play out is more than enough driving motivation to keep making mods.
As for advice, there's two things I have to say, the first of which is don't be afraid to try new things. A lot of people get intimidated by certain aspects of the CS, like making quests or getting into scripting or world design. The fact of the matter is, none of this stuff is particularly difficult, there's an illusion out there that making quests (for example) must be hard, it's not. Don't get me wrong, you'll make mistakes, but you can't learn if you don't try, and for every success, that feeling of seeing something you've built and knowing it's good, that's one of the best feelings in the world, and it makes all the trouble you went through worthwhile.
The second bit of advice I have is don't be afraid of criticism, chances are, unless you're a divine talent touched by the heavens, your first mod won't be amazing, or even particularly good, and it's important to take constructive criticism and learn from it.
[b]Is there anything else you would like to tell the community at this point?[/b]
If there's just one last thing I'd like to leave off on, it's an encouragement to check out and stop by the [url=https://discord.gg/8HaZ9kn][b]Morrowind Modding Community Discord Server[/b][/url]. There's more going on with the Morrowind modding scene now than there has been in years! The dream of a multiplayer Morrowind has finally been realized with [url=https://discord.gg/G7PNQqU][b]TES3MP[/b][/url] which offers a fully functional multiplayer experience either as co-op or an MMO, and works perfectly with most of the community's existing mods. The province mods like [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/8T9V9gr][b]Tamriel Rebuilt[/b][/url], [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/vgmpb9b][b]Skyrim - Home of the Nords[/b][/url] and [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/V6KrhQ6][b]Province: Cyrodiil[/b][/url] are each getting ready for major new releases, with Old Ebonheart and Dragonstar scheduled for release later this year, and [url=https://discordapp.com/invite/T3EMaWG][b]Morrowind Rebirth[/b][/url] has just gotten a new release just in the last week. New MWSE Lua scripting abilities have unlocked whole new fields of modding for the first time, making what was once impossible with the Morrowind game-engine, possible, and already we've seen the first few dozen Lua mods get released, providing new convenience features and new gameplay mechanics.
At no other time in our community's history has so much been possible, with so many new developments being worked on. And of course, that's not to mention the 3rd Annual Morrowind Modding Madness competition starting on October 1st! So please, if you haven't been around in a while, stop by the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind][b]Morrowind Nexus page[/b][/url], or pop in on one of the community discords or forum-boards, we're really fairly friendly people and we're always glad to see new people! I'm sure we could even rummage up a fishy-stick to welcome you with!
[b]Thank you very much, Darkelfguy - for answering our questions, and for the work you are doing for our Morrowind community. If there is anything we can do to support you and your competitions, do not hesitate to let us know![/b]
August Giveaway #1
It's time for another giveaway!
We are giving out one Steam Gift Card worth £35 (~$50) again.
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning, pay attention to the entry rules below:
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/925Gk/august-giveaway-1]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card![/url]
[/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Friday, August 17th at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
We are giving out one Steam Gift Card worth £35 (~$50) again.
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning, pay attention to the entry rules below:
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/925Gk/august-giveaway-1]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card![/url]
[/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Friday, August 17th at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
Vanquisher of Bugs - Arthmoor
Today we are having a chat with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/684492?tab=user+files&BH=5]Arthmoor[/url] who is probably most well known for his [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9557/]Alternate Start[/url] mods for both Skyrim and Oblivion, as well as for his work on the fundamental [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/search/?BH=4&RH_ModList=nav:true,home:false,type:0,user_id:0,game_id:0,advfilt:true,search%5Bfilename%5D:Unofficial+Patch,include_adult:true,page_size:20,open:true&RH_ModList=nav:true,home:false,type:0,user_id:0,game_id:0,advfilt:true,search%5Bfilename%5D:Unofficial+Patch,search%5Bauthor%5D:Arthmoor,include_adult:true,page_size:20,open:true&RH_ModList=nav:true,home:false,type:0,user_id:0,game_id:0,advfilt:true,search%5Bfilename%5D:Unofficial+Patch,search%5Bauthor%5D:Arthmoor,include_adult:true,page_size:20,open:true,attributes%5B%5D:1795_true,attributes%5B%5D:1040_true,attributes%5B%5D:1428_false]unofficial patches[/url] for various Bethesda titles.
[b]BigBizkit: Thank you, Arthmoor, for agreeing to give us an interview. Most people must be familiar with your work on the essential unofficial patches as well as your Alternate Start - Live Another Life mod, however, could you tell us a bit about yourself?[/b]
Arthmoor: I'm a 47 year old American who has been gaming for probably close to 30 years. I got into modding pretty early on in that, but didn't really get heavy into it until Oblivion came along.
[b]You have been an active member of the community for over a decade now: do you still recall how it all got started and what made you want to stick around?[/b]
My first taste of modding, as we all know, was with Morrowind. It definitely caught my eye, but in the end I only put out a couple of things that border on being cheat mods. Still, they were fun little mods and I learned quite a bit about the basics despite how simple they were. Then I got together with some friends, conceived of a huge project to replicate our old [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD]MUD[/url], and then we all realized we were insane and abandoned that idea :)
[b]With the unofficial patches you have done work that pretty much everyone should have in their plugin list. What drove you to take on the task of fixing countless bugs - big or small - in the main Bethesda titles?[/b]
It was actually a bit of an accident, I think. Somewhere along the way after Kivan (co-author of the Unofficial Oblivion Patch) decided the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5296/]UOP[/url] was more or less done, a major bug cropped up in Oblivion. Having worked with him before, I sort of just decided to fix it with a little supplemental patch, along with a couple of other minor things. It took on a life of its own and grew from there. Kivan showed up for one last big push in 2011 just before Skyrim and it was during the initial stages in 2012 when I took over full time.
I guess now the drive is that I don't like bugs. My team doesn't like bugs. They're not gonna fix themselves, so why not do it? Here we are, 6 years later, still at it. :)
[center][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/8058/][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532695120.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/18465][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532695074.jpg[/img][/url][/center]
[b]If you had to quantify it, how much time do you think have you spent on the unofficial patches?[/b]
Oh wow. I haven't ever really thought about it but I'd say a bare minimum of several hundred hours just for Skyrim alone. Probably somewhere in the low 4 digit figures if you count Oblivion, Skyrim, and Fallout 4 combined.
[b]Can you tell us a bit about the team behind the unofficial patches: how did the team form and how do you guys keep organised? Can anyone join the team and start squashing those pesky bugs?[/b]
I honestly can't recall exactly how the current team formed up and became what it is now. It happened some time before Skyrim, I know that much. There was no formal process, it just kind of happened. Before us, Kivan had his own loosely associated team of contributors for Oblivion. Several of the ones on the team now came over from there.
As for how we keep organized, we have a bug tracking system where everything we're set to work on is kept for reference. Over the years we've gone through several different packages for that, and ended up dissatisfied with them all at some point. So eventually I wrote one for us. It's not the prettiest system or the most functional, but if we need something for it now, I can just write it.
It's even available for others as an open source package: [url=https://github.com/Arthmoor/AFKTrack][b]https://github.com/Arthmoor/AFKTrack[/b][/url]
There's no real process for when someone joins the team officially. Anyone in the community is welcome to contribute by providing fixes via the tracker or links to mods they'd like us to consider for inclusion. It's very much a community effort these days and that's the best way to handle it in the future as well.
[b]Another mod you made - which I, personally, would describe as essential - is Alternate Start. What was your inspiration to create such a mod, and what are your criteria when it comes to adding new starting scenarios?[/b]
The inspiration for that actually started with the Alternative Beginnings mod I made for Oblivion. I had been wanting something new to start games with and not have to go through the lengthy prison stuff every time.
There were a few other alt-start mods available then, but I had felt that not all of the options were things I liked, and I wanted a lot of other options that were spread out across the several versions that existed. So I set out to write my own to have the mod with the mod options in one package.
When it came time to start doing stuff for Skyrim, that felt like a natural fit. I had already played through on two characters before the Creation Kit came out and I think we all know how long and involved Helgen was. So it was even more of a motivation to write up something to bypass that.
[center][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/266][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532695418.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9557/][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532695500.jpg[/img][/url][/center]
When coming up with a new scenario, the biggest thing I look for is something that will fit in with the game world in some way. For instance, there was some popular demand for starting the game as a member of the city guard in one of the walled cities. This is a good scenario, but in order to make it fit in and flow into the MQ and other things, the guard needs to be ready to move on and become an adventurer, which is how this add-on was written.
It's also helpful if there's a way to construct a voice response for it from Mara since the voice actor who did the work is no longer available to record new lines.
[b]What sort of games do you generally like to play? What genres do you prefer and why?
[/b]
I tend to mostly play RPGs, but I also enjoy a good 4X strategy game from time to time too.
Right now I'd say my favorite RPG series are the Witcher games since they have a very deep story driven system to run things, and for the most part have vast worlds to explore. Especially Witcher 3 which is a huge open world game.
As far as 4X games, I like something that's got some complexity to it, but not over the top with micromanagement. Something like Galactic Civilizations or the Civilization series. They offer plenty to do, but don't bog you down too much in the details. They're also good time killers to fill in here and there.
[center][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532694894.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/civilisationv][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532694930.jpg[/img][/url][/center]
[b]How about your favourite pastimes other than modding and gaming? Is there anything unusual you like to do to unwind?[/b]
I like to watch movies, and occasionally just some mindless TV as well. I like slow and simple. Not much for a fast paced existence. When conditions permit I also do a bit of hobbyist stargazing and am hoping the new area I'm in has better light conditions than back home in California.
[b]You have done programming work for [url=https://www.druidgameworks.com/]Druid Gameworks[/url] and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/554570/Witanlore_Dreamtime/]Witanlore: Dreamtime[/url]. Seeing how most of you guys working on this project have a background in the modding community, what is it, you would say, that you and the others have learned from modding that you could apply to game development?[/b]
I think modding will give you a very good handle on level and quest design for almost any game development project. Bigger mods also provide you with some level of project management experience as well as some insights into what programming and core development need.
That said, there's a huge leap to be made when going from modding on a platform that already exists to taking a raw engine and molding it into a whole new game that the studio has created itself.
[center][youtube]RohvsM_baMg[/youtube][/center]
[b]For those unfamiliar with one or either: what would you say are the key differences between the Creation Engine behind Bethesda games and Unreal Engine which you used to develop your game?[/b]
The Creation Engine is a very specialized tool set that is made with a specific purpose that Bethesda has in mind. So a lot of it is based on what they need, want, or have time for. Plus the grand majority of the game systems are done and you don't have a lot of overhead to worry about.
An engine like Unreal is more like having a ton of raw power at your disposal and you have to come up with the vision and the desire to create something entirely of your own. Epic gives you a wonderful toolset to do that work with, and it's admittedly a much nicer overall system than what Bethesda is offering, but at the same time, you have to come up with everything yourself and get it working through all of the various stages.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532694176.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532694316.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]Seeing how you are continuing to make mods, is there something you have learned while working on Witanlore that shaped your outlook on modding and gaming?[/b]
The main thing I think I've taken away from it all that applies to modding is that you have to keep focused on what you want from the mod rather than simply slapping some stuff together like I did earlier on. Have a plan. Execute on it. Stick to it. I like to think that my more recent work reflects a more focused look at things, and has even benefited the unofficial patches by putting a tighter set of qualifications on what should and should not get done.
[b]Though it might still be a long while until then: when the Elder Scrolls VI comes out, can you see yourself in the trenches of TES VI modding? Where do you think modding in general is headed?
[/b]I think I will always be partial to modding TES games and I'm looking forward to TES VI in a big way. I think modding overall is heading in the direction of larger projects, team collaborations, and more professional grade content as folks begin using modding as a springboard into game development jobs. So I expect there will be many such projects announced for TES VI, possibly even before the game is actually out.
[center][youtube]OkFdqqyI8y4[/youtube][/center]
[b]Is there anything else you would like to say to the modding community? Do you maybe have some advice to those out there who would love to get involved with modding?[/b]
Well, the best thing I can suggest is this: figure out something you want to do. Something small to medium sized. Take some time to read over any available tutorials. Bethesda actually has some pretty good ones on their wiki. Start slow and don't be afraid to make mistakes and ask questions of people.
Regardless of what you eventually want from modding, don't bury yourself under something that will take years and require you to learn a ton of things because chances are you'll just burn yourself out before getting anywhere. The big stuff will come in time, and you may just find a niche that isn't what you originally set out to do, but you love doing it anyway.
[b]Thanks again for taking the time out of your day to chat with us, Arthmoor.
[/b]
You're welcome, and thanks for having me!
[b]BigBizkit: Thank you, Arthmoor, for agreeing to give us an interview. Most people must be familiar with your work on the essential unofficial patches as well as your Alternate Start - Live Another Life mod, however, could you tell us a bit about yourself?[/b]
Arthmoor: I'm a 47 year old American who has been gaming for probably close to 30 years. I got into modding pretty early on in that, but didn't really get heavy into it until Oblivion came along.
[b]You have been an active member of the community for over a decade now: do you still recall how it all got started and what made you want to stick around?[/b]
My first taste of modding, as we all know, was with Morrowind. It definitely caught my eye, but in the end I only put out a couple of things that border on being cheat mods. Still, they were fun little mods and I learned quite a bit about the basics despite how simple they were. Then I got together with some friends, conceived of a huge project to replicate our old [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD]MUD[/url], and then we all realized we were insane and abandoned that idea :)
[b]With the unofficial patches you have done work that pretty much everyone should have in their plugin list. What drove you to take on the task of fixing countless bugs - big or small - in the main Bethesda titles?[/b]
It was actually a bit of an accident, I think. Somewhere along the way after Kivan (co-author of the Unofficial Oblivion Patch) decided the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5296/]UOP[/url] was more or less done, a major bug cropped up in Oblivion. Having worked with him before, I sort of just decided to fix it with a little supplemental patch, along with a couple of other minor things. It took on a life of its own and grew from there. Kivan showed up for one last big push in 2011 just before Skyrim and it was during the initial stages in 2012 when I took over full time.
I guess now the drive is that I don't like bugs. My team doesn't like bugs. They're not gonna fix themselves, so why not do it? Here we are, 6 years later, still at it. :)
[center][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/8058/][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532695120.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/18465][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532695074.jpg[/img][/url][/center]
[b]If you had to quantify it, how much time do you think have you spent on the unofficial patches?[/b]
Oh wow. I haven't ever really thought about it but I'd say a bare minimum of several hundred hours just for Skyrim alone. Probably somewhere in the low 4 digit figures if you count Oblivion, Skyrim, and Fallout 4 combined.
[b]Can you tell us a bit about the team behind the unofficial patches: how did the team form and how do you guys keep organised? Can anyone join the team and start squashing those pesky bugs?[/b]
I honestly can't recall exactly how the current team formed up and became what it is now. It happened some time before Skyrim, I know that much. There was no formal process, it just kind of happened. Before us, Kivan had his own loosely associated team of contributors for Oblivion. Several of the ones on the team now came over from there.
As for how we keep organized, we have a bug tracking system where everything we're set to work on is kept for reference. Over the years we've gone through several different packages for that, and ended up dissatisfied with them all at some point. So eventually I wrote one for us. It's not the prettiest system or the most functional, but if we need something for it now, I can just write it.
It's even available for others as an open source package: [url=https://github.com/Arthmoor/AFKTrack][b]https://github.com/Arthmoor/AFKTrack[/b][/url]
There's no real process for when someone joins the team officially. Anyone in the community is welcome to contribute by providing fixes via the tracker or links to mods they'd like us to consider for inclusion. It's very much a community effort these days and that's the best way to handle it in the future as well.
[b]Another mod you made - which I, personally, would describe as essential - is Alternate Start. What was your inspiration to create such a mod, and what are your criteria when it comes to adding new starting scenarios?[/b]
The inspiration for that actually started with the Alternative Beginnings mod I made for Oblivion. I had been wanting something new to start games with and not have to go through the lengthy prison stuff every time.
There were a few other alt-start mods available then, but I had felt that not all of the options were things I liked, and I wanted a lot of other options that were spread out across the several versions that existed. So I set out to write my own to have the mod with the mod options in one package.
When it came time to start doing stuff for Skyrim, that felt like a natural fit. I had already played through on two characters before the Creation Kit came out and I think we all know how long and involved Helgen was. So it was even more of a motivation to write up something to bypass that.
[center][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/266][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532695418.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9557/][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532695500.jpg[/img][/url][/center]
When coming up with a new scenario, the biggest thing I look for is something that will fit in with the game world in some way. For instance, there was some popular demand for starting the game as a member of the city guard in one of the walled cities. This is a good scenario, but in order to make it fit in and flow into the MQ and other things, the guard needs to be ready to move on and become an adventurer, which is how this add-on was written.
It's also helpful if there's a way to construct a voice response for it from Mara since the voice actor who did the work is no longer available to record new lines.
[b]What sort of games do you generally like to play? What genres do you prefer and why?
[/b]
I tend to mostly play RPGs, but I also enjoy a good 4X strategy game from time to time too.
Right now I'd say my favorite RPG series are the Witcher games since they have a very deep story driven system to run things, and for the most part have vast worlds to explore. Especially Witcher 3 which is a huge open world game.
As far as 4X games, I like something that's got some complexity to it, but not over the top with micromanagement. Something like Galactic Civilizations or the Civilization series. They offer plenty to do, but don't bog you down too much in the details. They're also good time killers to fill in here and there.
[center][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532694894.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/civilisationv][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532694930.jpg[/img][/url][/center]
[b]How about your favourite pastimes other than modding and gaming? Is there anything unusual you like to do to unwind?[/b]
I like to watch movies, and occasionally just some mindless TV as well. I like slow and simple. Not much for a fast paced existence. When conditions permit I also do a bit of hobbyist stargazing and am hoping the new area I'm in has better light conditions than back home in California.
[b]You have done programming work for [url=https://www.druidgameworks.com/]Druid Gameworks[/url] and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/554570/Witanlore_Dreamtime/]Witanlore: Dreamtime[/url]. Seeing how most of you guys working on this project have a background in the modding community, what is it, you would say, that you and the others have learned from modding that you could apply to game development?[/b]
I think modding will give you a very good handle on level and quest design for almost any game development project. Bigger mods also provide you with some level of project management experience as well as some insights into what programming and core development need.
That said, there's a huge leap to be made when going from modding on a platform that already exists to taking a raw engine and molding it into a whole new game that the studio has created itself.
[center][youtube]RohvsM_baMg[/youtube][/center]
[b]For those unfamiliar with one or either: what would you say are the key differences between the Creation Engine behind Bethesda games and Unreal Engine which you used to develop your game?[/b]
The Creation Engine is a very specialized tool set that is made with a specific purpose that Bethesda has in mind. So a lot of it is based on what they need, want, or have time for. Plus the grand majority of the game systems are done and you don't have a lot of overhead to worry about.
An engine like Unreal is more like having a ton of raw power at your disposal and you have to come up with the vision and the desire to create something entirely of your own. Epic gives you a wonderful toolset to do that work with, and it's admittedly a much nicer overall system than what Bethesda is offering, but at the same time, you have to come up with everything yourself and get it working through all of the various stages.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532694176.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1532694316.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]Seeing how you are continuing to make mods, is there something you have learned while working on Witanlore that shaped your outlook on modding and gaming?[/b]
The main thing I think I've taken away from it all that applies to modding is that you have to keep focused on what you want from the mod rather than simply slapping some stuff together like I did earlier on. Have a plan. Execute on it. Stick to it. I like to think that my more recent work reflects a more focused look at things, and has even benefited the unofficial patches by putting a tighter set of qualifications on what should and should not get done.
[b]Though it might still be a long while until then: when the Elder Scrolls VI comes out, can you see yourself in the trenches of TES VI modding? Where do you think modding in general is headed?
[/b]I think I will always be partial to modding TES games and I'm looking forward to TES VI in a big way. I think modding overall is heading in the direction of larger projects, team collaborations, and more professional grade content as folks begin using modding as a springboard into game development jobs. So I expect there will be many such projects announced for TES VI, possibly even before the game is actually out.
[center][youtube]OkFdqqyI8y4[/youtube][/center]
[b]Is there anything else you would like to say to the modding community? Do you maybe have some advice to those out there who would love to get involved with modding?[/b]
Well, the best thing I can suggest is this: figure out something you want to do. Something small to medium sized. Take some time to read over any available tutorials. Bethesda actually has some pretty good ones on their wiki. Start slow and don't be afraid to make mistakes and ask questions of people.
Regardless of what you eventually want from modding, don't bury yourself under something that will take years and require you to learn a ton of things because chances are you'll just burn yourself out before getting anywhere. The big stuff will come in time, and you may just find a niche that isn't what you originally set out to do, but you love doing it anyway.
[b]Thanks again for taking the time out of your day to chat with us, Arthmoor.
[/b]
You're welcome, and thanks for having me!
The Stardew Senpai - PathosChild
Stardew Valley is an indie pixel art farming RPG developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone, which has slowly grown to be one of the most popular games on Nexus Mods in recent times - with 14 million mod downloads and counting, it's rapidly catching up with Morrowind! We've had the chance to spend some time with one of the unsung heroes of this flourishing modding scene, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/users/1552317]Pathoschild[/url], who maintains and creates tools that enable others to do more in the Valley.
[b]Pickysaurus: Thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?
[/b]
Pathoschild: I'm a web developer by day, so modding is a nice change from my usual work. I actually became a modder accidentally. There were some issues with a mod I wanted to use, but the author had lost the code and was too busy to work on it. I decompiled the mod with their permission, added some fixes and improvements, and offered a pull request so they could release the changes. They preferred working alone though, so they suggested forking it instead. That became my first mod, Chests Anywhere, and I figured I might as well keep working on it.
Things just snowballed from there. Now I develop SMAPI (the modding API), the mod build package (used to create mods), my own mods, the upcoming web API and toolkit, and internal tools for modders; maintain mods for some inactive authors; write documentation on the wiki; moderate [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/StardewValley]/r/StardewValley[/url] and the [url=https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Community]Stardew Valley Discord[/url]; provide support on Discord/Nexus/Reddit/forums; submit pull requests to other modders and prepare unofficial updates; etc. It's pretty much a full-time hobby at this point, so it's weird that it all started with a bug fix.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1303/images/2400/2400-1529134549-2089785102.png[/img][/center]
[b]The [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2400]Stardew Modding API (SMAPI)[/url] for Stardew Valley which is a cornerstone of the modding community in that game, but for the uninitiated, what is SMAPI and how did you end up maintaining it?
[/b]
SMAPI loads mods into Stardew Valley, and hooks into the game to provide events and APIs for mods. Most types of mods aren't possible without SMAPI. It also rewrites mods for compatibility (e.g. so nearly all mods work on Linux/Mac/Windows despite the game differences), intercepts errors and usually auto-recovers the game, provides mod update alerts and compatibility checks, and creates daily save backups. Mainly it's a framework for modders though, so most of its features aren't directly visible to players.
When I got into modding, SMAPI was a fairly small Windows-only project and was no longer in development. After I contributed some improvements, the maintainer transferred the project to me since they'd moved on to other things. SMAPI 1.0 was my first release, and I just [url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/smapi-milestones-19434231][b]kept going after that[/b][/url].
[b]What is it that draws you to Stardew Valley and what is it about modding that you enjoy most?
[/b]
Stardew Valley has the most friendly and welcoming community I've seen. It's a community where someone can ask newbie questions, and they'll get lots of friendly explanation, guidance, and positive feedback. The elitism I've seen elsewhere isn't really present. There's a lot of really cool stuff that happens when players, new modders, and veteran modders can all chat and work together. I enjoy working with that community and it's great to see my work put to good use.
[b]Thanks to the extension you created, [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/1]Vortex[/url][/b] now supports direct downloads and management of Stardew Valley mods. What do you think of Vortex as a mod manager for players of Stardew Valley?
[/b]
SMAPI mods are easy to install, but players often want a mod manager to organise their mods, keep track of updates, and switch between profiles. There aren't many options for Stardew Valley though. Vortex's extensions system is great for letting smaller communities add support for their games. It's still in alpha, but I think it'll be a solid option when it's released.
[b]You also have a selection of useful mods for Stardew Valley, including Lookup Anything, Automate and Chests Anywhere. What inspires you to work on these varied projects?
[/b]
A few of my mods aren't original: [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/518]Chests Anywhere[/url][/b] and [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1401]Tractor Mod[/url][/b] continued from earlier abandoned mods (with permission and credit), [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1063]Automate[/url][/b] was created from scratch based on a different vision for [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/211]CJB Automation[/url][/b] (which I was maintaining), and [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/679]Debug Mode[/url][/b] was a better alternative for a SMAPI feature removed in 1.0.
Most of my other mods are meant to peek under the game's hood and make things easier. [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1691]Data Layers[/url][/b] shows various data layers like hidden paths and sprinkler range; [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/533]Skip Intro[/url][/b] gets you into the game much faster (especially useful when testing mods); [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1089]Fast Animations[/url][/b] speeds up repetitive animations; and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/541][b]Lookup Anything[/b][/url] demystifies in-game mechanics and shows useful info (with a data mining option to show the internal game data).
Content Patcher is a bit different. It aims to replace [url=https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Using_XNB_mods][b]an entire category of mod which has many limitations[/b][/url], while providing a framework for non-programmers to create complex mods without writing any code. I'm really happy with how well it's worked out so far, and I have a lot more planned for it.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1303/images/1915/1915-1519967846-411398257.png[/img] [/center]
[b]When you are not busy modding, what other things do you like to do for fun?
[/b]
I also like reading and games, exploring the festivals and events in the city (Montreal has lots of those), mountain hiking, kayaking, and being out in nature. My perfect vacation would be a mountain or beach cabin in a thunderstorm with a good book.
[b]In regards to gaming: Which game do you have the fondest memories of? What games are you currently playing, if any?
[/b]
The Witcher 3 was probably my favourite game. I loved its open world full of interesting content (without the busywork like "find every rock" that other games often have), its more nuanced decisions and morality, and its storytelling quality. I don't actually play Stardew Valley anymore. After spending so much time modding it, I'd rather take a break by playing other games. I've been playing through Dark Souls recently.
[b]Back on the topic of modding - have you ever created mods for games other than Stardew Valley, or are there any you’d like to try?
[/b]
Nope. I've used mods for other games, but I never got into their modding scenes. I'm not sure I'd have time to mod anything else at this point, with all the projects I have for Stardew Valley.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1303/images/1401-3-1503076472.png[/img][/center]
[b]How does it make you feel that hundreds of thousands of people out there are using a tool that you developed?
[/b]
It's pretty awesome. Coming from an industry that's often about monetising users, creating something just for their enjoyment is a great feeling.
[b]Are there any authors in the Nexus Mods community whose mods you particularly enjoy playing?[/b]
Some mods are impressive technical achievements (one mod added multiplayer before the game supported it), but I've always been fond of the simpler quality of life mods. I have a [url=https://gist.github.com/Pathoschild/b608892d3e60bd25d0eea71ca7584649][b]list of my favourites[/b][/url] for players looking for their first mods.
[b]We have recently rolled out our Donation Points system as well as our Patreon to help the community supplement our donation fund that we pay into ourselves. Being a mod authors yourself, what are your thoughts on this new system?
[/b]
I love the concept — most modders get pennies per hour at best otherwise, so getting a bit of money back is great! I really appreciate Nexus doing it. I feel like the current implementation is heavily tilted towards bigger communities like Bethesda games though, and linking donation points to unique downloads incites modders to create lots of small mods/clones instead of continuing to improve their existing mods. That said, I think it's a good idea overall and I'm interested to see how Nexus improves it over time.
[b]Is there anything else you would like the community to know about you, your plans, or future projects?
[/b]
Chucklefish added a lot of my suggested changes to help modders in Stardew Valley 1.3. If you use Stardew Valley mods, keep an eye out for mods doing lots of new things in the future!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[center][b][url=https://www.gog.com/game/stardew_valley?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/1303/31179975-1531827822.jpg[/img]
If you're interested in giving Stardew Valley a try, check out the GOG.com page for it here.[/url][/b][/center]
Big thanks to Pathoschild for taking the time to speak to us! If there's an author or mod project you'd like to know more about, send your suggestions to [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url][/b] or [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url][/b].
[b]Pickysaurus: Thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?
[/b]
Pathoschild: I'm a web developer by day, so modding is a nice change from my usual work. I actually became a modder accidentally. There were some issues with a mod I wanted to use, but the author had lost the code and was too busy to work on it. I decompiled the mod with their permission, added some fixes and improvements, and offered a pull request so they could release the changes. They preferred working alone though, so they suggested forking it instead. That became my first mod, Chests Anywhere, and I figured I might as well keep working on it.
Things just snowballed from there. Now I develop SMAPI (the modding API), the mod build package (used to create mods), my own mods, the upcoming web API and toolkit, and internal tools for modders; maintain mods for some inactive authors; write documentation on the wiki; moderate [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/StardewValley]/r/StardewValley[/url] and the [url=https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Community]Stardew Valley Discord[/url]; provide support on Discord/Nexus/Reddit/forums; submit pull requests to other modders and prepare unofficial updates; etc. It's pretty much a full-time hobby at this point, so it's weird that it all started with a bug fix.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1303/images/2400/2400-1529134549-2089785102.png[/img][/center]
[b]The [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2400]Stardew Modding API (SMAPI)[/url] for Stardew Valley which is a cornerstone of the modding community in that game, but for the uninitiated, what is SMAPI and how did you end up maintaining it?
[/b]
SMAPI loads mods into Stardew Valley, and hooks into the game to provide events and APIs for mods. Most types of mods aren't possible without SMAPI. It also rewrites mods for compatibility (e.g. so nearly all mods work on Linux/Mac/Windows despite the game differences), intercepts errors and usually auto-recovers the game, provides mod update alerts and compatibility checks, and creates daily save backups. Mainly it's a framework for modders though, so most of its features aren't directly visible to players.
When I got into modding, SMAPI was a fairly small Windows-only project and was no longer in development. After I contributed some improvements, the maintainer transferred the project to me since they'd moved on to other things. SMAPI 1.0 was my first release, and I just [url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/smapi-milestones-19434231][b]kept going after that[/b][/url].
[b]What is it that draws you to Stardew Valley and what is it about modding that you enjoy most?
[/b]
Stardew Valley has the most friendly and welcoming community I've seen. It's a community where someone can ask newbie questions, and they'll get lots of friendly explanation, guidance, and positive feedback. The elitism I've seen elsewhere isn't really present. There's a lot of really cool stuff that happens when players, new modders, and veteran modders can all chat and work together. I enjoy working with that community and it's great to see my work put to good use.
[b]Thanks to the extension you created, [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/1]Vortex[/url][/b] now supports direct downloads and management of Stardew Valley mods. What do you think of Vortex as a mod manager for players of Stardew Valley?
[/b]
SMAPI mods are easy to install, but players often want a mod manager to organise their mods, keep track of updates, and switch between profiles. There aren't many options for Stardew Valley though. Vortex's extensions system is great for letting smaller communities add support for their games. It's still in alpha, but I think it'll be a solid option when it's released.
[b]You also have a selection of useful mods for Stardew Valley, including Lookup Anything, Automate and Chests Anywhere. What inspires you to work on these varied projects?
[/b]
A few of my mods aren't original: [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/518]Chests Anywhere[/url][/b] and [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1401]Tractor Mod[/url][/b] continued from earlier abandoned mods (with permission and credit), [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1063]Automate[/url][/b] was created from scratch based on a different vision for [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/211]CJB Automation[/url][/b] (which I was maintaining), and [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/679]Debug Mode[/url][/b] was a better alternative for a SMAPI feature removed in 1.0.
Most of my other mods are meant to peek under the game's hood and make things easier. [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1691]Data Layers[/url][/b] shows various data layers like hidden paths and sprinkler range; [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/533]Skip Intro[/url][/b] gets you into the game much faster (especially useful when testing mods); [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1089]Fast Animations[/url][/b] speeds up repetitive animations; and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/541][b]Lookup Anything[/b][/url] demystifies in-game mechanics and shows useful info (with a data mining option to show the internal game data).
Content Patcher is a bit different. It aims to replace [url=https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Using_XNB_mods][b]an entire category of mod which has many limitations[/b][/url], while providing a framework for non-programmers to create complex mods without writing any code. I'm really happy with how well it's worked out so far, and I have a lot more planned for it.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1303/images/1915/1915-1519967846-411398257.png[/img] [/center]
[b]When you are not busy modding, what other things do you like to do for fun?
[/b]
I also like reading and games, exploring the festivals and events in the city (Montreal has lots of those), mountain hiking, kayaking, and being out in nature. My perfect vacation would be a mountain or beach cabin in a thunderstorm with a good book.
[b]In regards to gaming: Which game do you have the fondest memories of? What games are you currently playing, if any?
[/b]
The Witcher 3 was probably my favourite game. I loved its open world full of interesting content (without the busywork like "find every rock" that other games often have), its more nuanced decisions and morality, and its storytelling quality. I don't actually play Stardew Valley anymore. After spending so much time modding it, I'd rather take a break by playing other games. I've been playing through Dark Souls recently.
[b]Back on the topic of modding - have you ever created mods for games other than Stardew Valley, or are there any you’d like to try?
[/b]
Nope. I've used mods for other games, but I never got into their modding scenes. I'm not sure I'd have time to mod anything else at this point, with all the projects I have for Stardew Valley.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1303/images/1401-3-1503076472.png[/img][/center]
[b]How does it make you feel that hundreds of thousands of people out there are using a tool that you developed?
[/b]
It's pretty awesome. Coming from an industry that's often about monetising users, creating something just for their enjoyment is a great feeling.
[b]Are there any authors in the Nexus Mods community whose mods you particularly enjoy playing?[/b]
Some mods are impressive technical achievements (one mod added multiplayer before the game supported it), but I've always been fond of the simpler quality of life mods. I have a [url=https://gist.github.com/Pathoschild/b608892d3e60bd25d0eea71ca7584649][b]list of my favourites[/b][/url] for players looking for their first mods.
[b]We have recently rolled out our Donation Points system as well as our Patreon to help the community supplement our donation fund that we pay into ourselves. Being a mod authors yourself, what are your thoughts on this new system?
[/b]
I love the concept — most modders get pennies per hour at best otherwise, so getting a bit of money back is great! I really appreciate Nexus doing it. I feel like the current implementation is heavily tilted towards bigger communities like Bethesda games though, and linking donation points to unique downloads incites modders to create lots of small mods/clones instead of continuing to improve their existing mods. That said, I think it's a good idea overall and I'm interested to see how Nexus improves it over time.
[b]Is there anything else you would like the community to know about you, your plans, or future projects?
[/b]
Chucklefish added a lot of my suggested changes to help modders in Stardew Valley 1.3. If you use Stardew Valley mods, keep an eye out for mods doing lots of new things in the future!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[center][b][url=https://www.gog.com/game/stardew_valley?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/1303/31179975-1531827822.jpg[/img]
If you're interested in giving Stardew Valley a try, check out the GOG.com page for it here.[/url][/b][/center]
Big thanks to Pathoschild for taking the time to speak to us! If there's an author or mod project you'd like to know more about, send your suggestions to [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url][/b] or [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url][/b].
July Giveaway #2 Twitter Special
Earlier in the month we gave away a [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13687]£35 Gift Card to one of our Facebook followers[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13697]3 copies of Kingdom Come Deliverance[/url] - now, as promised, we've got another £35 (~$50) Steam Gift Card for one of our lucky Twitter fans - aren't we good to you?
To boost our Twitter presence ([url=https://twitter.com/NexusSites]@NexusSites[/url]), entering the competition via the Twitter hashtag option is [b]worth 2 entries[/b][b] [/b]giving you a slightly better chance of winning the prize!
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning, pay attention to the entry rules below:
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/UFN5g/july-giveaway-2-twitter-special]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card![/url]
[/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Friday, July 27th at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
To boost our Twitter presence ([url=https://twitter.com/NexusSites]@NexusSites[/url]), entering the competition via the Twitter hashtag option is [b]worth 2 entries[/b][b] [/b]giving you a slightly better chance of winning the prize!
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning, pay attention to the entry rules below:
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/UFN5g/july-giveaway-2-twitter-special]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card![/url]
[/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Friday, July 27th at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
Security updates: reCaptcha and Two-factor Authentication
As we continue to add features like [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13611]Donation Points[/url] to our services, the security of your account becomes more and more important. To that end, the team has been working to provide you with updated systems and tools that will help to ensure that your account and content do not fall into the wrong hands.
[u][b]reCaptcha[/b][/u]
Many of you have no doubt already noticed the first of these new features when logging in to the website, known as reCaptcha. Most of the time, this system will not require any input from the user, but if deemed necessary, you may be presented with a challenge or puzzle that is intended to be easy to solve by us humans but prove difficult for bots. Only after carefully reading and successfully completing the challenge, will you be able to log in.
We realize that this may be a bit of an annoyance, but we feel these systems are necessary to help ensure that our services are not compromised, keeping your accounts and content secure. More information about our primary captcha service can be found here: [url=https://support.google.com/recaptcha/]https://support.google.com/recaptcha/[/url]
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1531990102.jpg[/img]
Though most people will see Google's reCaptcha 2 system, if it fails to load for whatever reason, the website will fall-back to a similar alternative. Only when you are logging in will this affect you. So as long as your account remains logged in on your device(s) of choice, you will not be bothered by this minor hurdle (though always be sure to log out when using a public device, of course).
[b][u]Two-factor Authentication[/u][/b]
The more recent addition to our account security suite is known as Two-factor authentication. When enabled, this system serves two purposes. First, it is designed to keep your account secure by ensuring that you, and only you, have access to your account. Secondly, it provides a method to regain access to your account in the event that you lose control of the email address associated with it.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1531990344.png[/img]
Though optional, [b][i]we highly suggest that you enable this feature[/i][/b] to help ensure the security of your account. More detailed information about our new Two-factor Authentication system can be found here: [url=https://help.nexusmods.com/article/74-two-factor-authentication-for-nexus-mods]https://help.nexusmods.com/article/74-two-factor-authentication-for-nexus-mods[/url]
That's all for now. We hope that these new systems serve you well. If you have any questions or concerns, comment below or contact support@nexusmods.com.
Cheers!
[u][b]reCaptcha[/b][/u]
Many of you have no doubt already noticed the first of these new features when logging in to the website, known as reCaptcha. Most of the time, this system will not require any input from the user, but if deemed necessary, you may be presented with a challenge or puzzle that is intended to be easy to solve by us humans but prove difficult for bots. Only after carefully reading and successfully completing the challenge, will you be able to log in.
We realize that this may be a bit of an annoyance, but we feel these systems are necessary to help ensure that our services are not compromised, keeping your accounts and content secure. More information about our primary captcha service can be found here: [url=https://support.google.com/recaptcha/]https://support.google.com/recaptcha/[/url]
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1531990102.jpg[/img]
Though most people will see Google's reCaptcha 2 system, if it fails to load for whatever reason, the website will fall-back to a similar alternative. Only when you are logging in will this affect you. So as long as your account remains logged in on your device(s) of choice, you will not be bothered by this minor hurdle (though always be sure to log out when using a public device, of course).
[b][u]Two-factor Authentication[/u][/b]
The more recent addition to our account security suite is known as Two-factor authentication. When enabled, this system serves two purposes. First, it is designed to keep your account secure by ensuring that you, and only you, have access to your account. Secondly, it provides a method to regain access to your account in the event that you lose control of the email address associated with it.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1531990344.png[/img]
Though optional, [b][i]we highly suggest that you enable this feature[/i][/b] to help ensure the security of your account. More detailed information about our new Two-factor Authentication system can be found here: [url=https://help.nexusmods.com/article/74-two-factor-authentication-for-nexus-mods]https://help.nexusmods.com/article/74-two-factor-authentication-for-nexus-mods[/url]
That's all for now. We hope that these new systems serve you well. If you have any questions or concerns, comment below or contact support@nexusmods.com.
Cheers!
Win a Copy of Kingdom Come: Deliverance + DLC
Great news! Our friends at [b]Warhorse Studios[/b] have provided us with [b]3 GOG Keys for [/b][url=https://www.gog.com/game/kingdom_come_deliverance]Kingdom Come Deliverance[/url][b] + their brand new [url=https://www.gog.com/game/kingdom_come_deliverance_from_the_ashes]From the Ashes DLC[/url]. [/b]Naturally, we will be giving these out to our community in this special giveaway, starting now and lasting until Saturday, 21st July at 11:59 pm GMT (entry rules below).
[center][youtube]XWUQfLJiuw4[/youtube][/center]
To be clear: we will be picking [b]3 winners[/b] at random who will each receive a GOG Key for the base game [b]and[/b] a key for the DLC. You will need an account on [url=https://www.gog.com/][b]GOG.com[/b][/url] to redeem the keys.
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning, pay attention to the entry rules below:
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no game keys for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/RutMk/kingdom-come-dlc-giveaway-special][b]Click here to enter for your chance to win a GOG Key for Kingdom Come: Deliverance + From the Ashes DLC[/b][/url]
[/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Saturday, July 21st at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
[center][youtube]XWUQfLJiuw4[/youtube][/center]
To be clear: we will be picking [b]3 winners[/b] at random who will each receive a GOG Key for the base game [b]and[/b] a key for the DLC. You will need an account on [url=https://www.gog.com/][b]GOG.com[/b][/url] to redeem the keys.
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning, pay attention to the entry rules below:
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no game keys for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/RutMk/kingdom-come-dlc-giveaway-special][b]Click here to enter for your chance to win a GOG Key for Kingdom Come: Deliverance + From the Ashes DLC[/b][/url]
[/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Saturday, July 21st at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
The Overlord of Overhauls - EnaiSiaion
Today we are chatting with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/3959191?tab=user+files&BH=1]EnaiSiaion[/url], creator of various outstanding Skyrim overhaul mods such as [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16225]Apocalypse[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/68425]Ordinator[/url], and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/41376/]Thunderchild[/url] - some of which have taken their rightful place amongst the most popular Skyrim mods of all time.
[b]BigBizkit & Pickysaurus: Thank you for taking the time out of your day to chat with us. Most people who have played Skyrim are probably familiar with your work, but could you first tell us a bit about yourself?[/b]
EnaiSiaion: So, I’m EnaiSiaion, I am Belgian, currently 34 years old and I started modding, technically, in 2001. I’ve been publishing mods since 2003, first for Diablo 2 - [url=https://www.median-xl.com/]Median XL[/url] - I developed Median XL until 2013.
I started modding Skyrim in 2011 and I made the first releases of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16225]Apocalypse[/url], then a bunch of mods that are best left forgotten, and then the big ones: [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/68425]Ordinator[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/61218]Imperious[/url] and so on.
So, basically, a lot of gameplay overhauls. And in the meantime I have been making some content for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/473770/BallisticNG/]BallisticNG[/url] and a few other games. I used to work in HR, but I got my midlife crisis a bit early and I went back to school for software development. I am currently in the second year out of three.
[center][youtube]KC1Y11BR0ko[/youtube][/center]
[b]Being the author of a number of impressive mods - as you mentioned - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16225]Apocalypse[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/68425]Ordinator[/url] and - of course - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/16219]Supersafe Dwarven Rocket Boots[/url], is there a mod in your portfolio that you are most proud of?[/b]
Apocalypse actually, at the moment. When I started out with Apocalypse in 2012 not much was known about Skyrim really and everyone’s scripting practices were terrible - even custom assets were brand new then. So, it was a completely different mod. Over the years, I have been updating it with my advancing insights into how modding should work. It is completely different now and I am finally happy with it.
[b]The majority of your mods are massive overhauls. Projects that must have taken you quite a while to develop. What is it that, in general, drives you to making overhauls rather than, let’s say, story driven mods?[/b]
I started out with a history of gameplay overhauls in Diablo 2. The various “Median” mods culminating in Median XL. So, I did have this experience already. I made a couple of items for Path of Exile back in the day as well. I tried to implement this directly into Skyrim because I felt Skyrim didn’t really have much in the way of gameplay. It was more of a storytelling game, a game about immersion.
As it turned out, Diablo 2 didn’t really work well in Skyrim, so I had to tone it back over the years. It was to demonstrate that I could add gameplay to Skyrim - that I could make Skyrim a game with solid gameplay as well as story and mechanics.
But these days it is more about the community. I think I have proven what I could in this regard. Plenty of people now know me, I can, just in general, hang out in Discord and have chats with people - it’s really about the community now. The faint hope of maybe someday getting hired in the gaming industry is a driving force as well.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1530101499.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1530101475.jpg[/img]
[b]It is actually very noticeable that you offer wide ranging support for your mods and that you take user feedback very seriously. In that vein, what is your general outlook on modding?[/b]
It’s a hobby for me. It is a way to express creativity.
As for a higher purpose, I think, modding in the past used to be all about expressing creativity - just playing around having fun with the game, and putting your own stuff into the game and so on.
I think going forward it is going to become more professional now that there are more options for people to build a portfolio - a public portfolio - and get hired by companies. I think more people who are actually looking for this experience - basically a free internship - are coming to modding and, I think, it is going to change modding a bit.
[b]As you stated before, you have been involved with modding as early as 2001 and you made one of the most popular overhaul mods for Diablo 2. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what you have learned over the years?[/b]
Important things I took home from that experience were: Firstly, your users’ experience is one of the most important things ever. Back in the days you had a lot of Diablo 2 mods made for a specific patch. And then a while later, I think it was about a year later or so, you had another Diablo 2 update. But these were actually significant updates. All of the files changed and it was basically like going from Oblivion to Skyrim. Most mods around didn’t make that leap. They just said to the user: “In order to play our mod, you should uninstall the game, then you should reinstall it, and then you should patch it up to a certain level”.
I did sacrifice a number of features in order to avoid having to do that. I made the leap where necessary and as a result Median XL was a lot easier to get into than most other mods. I think this made a huge difference when your users who came into the mod scene wanted to play a mod and here was one they could use immediately, and here was one that required them to play disc jockey for 45 minutes. So, there’s that.
The other thing I learned was listening to user feedback. In the end if there were - I think then it was, like, 100,000 users total, so maybe 10,000 at any given time - they are going to know more than you do. So, keep your eyes peeled, or, keep your ears open, or what’s the expression in English? Anyway: Listen to the users.
[b]Seeing how you started creating mods for Diablo 2 in the early 2000s, what was it that initially brought you to Skyrim? Have you modded any of the older Elder Scrolls titles?[/b]
I joined the scene with the release of Skyrim, mostly because I was too busy modding Diablo 2 and was only just getting my career started when Oblivion came out. I didn't consider RPGs back then because they'd require a ton of time to get the most out of and I didn't think I'd have the time to invest into it. Diablo 2 was eventually declining so when a new moddable game showed up, I jumped on that. Also, the reason I modded Diablo 2 was because it needed modding, it was a diamond in the rough, and Skyrim was similar when it came out.
Both games had somewhat flawed gameplay mechanics but enough levers to fix that or at least add more mechanical depth, while the game itself is good enough to make it worth doing. If a game is really good, across the board good, then there's no reason to mod it really, but Diablo 2 had somewhat simplistic gameplay because it was the year 2000 and Skyrim has all those mechanical puzzle pieces but all you really do is pick an attack and click a lot. I saw Skyrim as another Diablo 2 but now with more options to mod it instead of having to use the frozen orb move function for everything and 1023 records per file. So I took my Diablo 2 mindset into Skyrim, made a couple of terrible mods, then figured out what people are actually looking for in Skyrim and that it wasn't strictly mechanical depth but first and foremost some form of immersion.
[b]Your username is very unique and we’ve heard many mispronounced versions of it (including ours). So, how do you say it, where did it come from, and does it mean anything special?
[/b]
It’s pronounced “Ee-nay Sha-yon”. Technically it is pronounced every letter separately but you can call me “EenayShayon”. It is actually an honorific of God in [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enochian][b]Enochian[/b][/url]. In 2007 I used to be a lot more edgy than I am now today. Now, I just go by Enai - it’s memorable, it’s four letters, and it’s easy to write.
[img]https://img.nexusmods.com/images/110/64/64597-1530718516.png[/img]
[b]Outside of modding and gaming, what are some things you like to do for fun?[/b]
Ehm, nothing. For the longest time I alternated between dong my job - an HR desk job, back in the days - and modding basically all of my free time. Things have changed a little bit lately - I got my midlife crisis. The other thing I do for fun is software development. I am a software development student. It is fun to do even outside of school hours.
I don’t really game though. The only game I’ve played recently is Overwatch and that’s pretty much it - I don’t have much spare time left.
[b]When you look into the past when you had more time: what are some memories of games that you can recall to this day?
[/b]
I am a kid of the 90s so my most memorable games were in the late 90s. I was young, impressionable, and had just bought my first computer. Those games being Wipeout, the Wipeout series, futuristic racing games. Also, the first Diablo - I was impressed by the mood it set and its gameplay as well. Nowadays, the gameplay doesn't really hold up, but back then it was really cool. Twisted Metal - games like that.
[b]You used to work together with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/3958792?tab=user+files&BH=1]T3nd0[/url], author of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9286]Skyrim Redone[/url], on a mod called [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/58635/]Wintermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim[/url]. Can you tell us a bit about the collaborative process?[/b]
It was more of a division of labour, not a straight collaboration. The goal was to integrate the new enchantments added by Wintermyst into the game, which meant adding them to drop lists, which meant creating some 6000 or 7000 enchanted items. I wasn’t really looking forward to this, but T3nd0 was in the process of working on PerMa ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/59849/][b]Perkus Maximus[/b][/url]) and he was working on an external tool that would generate items based on your load order. He gave me an early version of that tool, I ran it, I fixed the output, and I put our names on it.
He seemed like a cool guy. I was in full support of PerMa when it came out. He left the scene shortly after Ordinator. I hate to think it had anything to do with it. I hope it didn’t.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1530796189.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1530796269.png[/img]
[b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/87099/]Ravengate[/url] was your first story-driven mod for Skyrim. What prompted you to deviate from your usual overhaul mods?[/b]
It was not my first quest mod, it was my third, which just says how forgettable the other two were. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/56037][b]Dwemertech[/b][/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/53780/][b]Spectraverse[/b][/url] - I misadvertised them as spell mods, I think, and they weren’t really all that good in the end.
Anyway, the Creation Club had just been announced, some mod authors were in it, I was not, and it turned out that I made the wrong kind of content, basically. One of Bethesda’s community representatives posted on the forums that they were looking, in the first place, for artists and world builders. I had overhauls. So, I decided “maybe there is still time, maybe there is still time...” so, I jumped into Ravengate, I worked very hard on it for two months - I missed the deadline several times - and then it turned out to not really make that much of a difference in the end. But it was fun to make.
[b]Being one of the most popular mod authors out there, what are your thoughts on the Donation Point system that we recently rolled out?[/b]
It’s a more - how do I say it - a more “people centric” approach to the idea of donating to authors. Until 2015, donating to authors was - I believe - actually banned by Bethesda, or, rather: no one did it. There was the bleepstorm surrounding “paid mods” and in the meantime people have been setting up their Patreons. Officially, you couldn’t really advertise your Patreon and people were contorting themselves to make them "not about their mods", you know.
I think the Donation Points system is a good way to make things “official”. So, authors can just work on their mods and not feel like they are doing it for basically nothing. It’s a way to reward them in another way than just endorsements, so it is not all about those endorsements.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/supporterimages/1704/64597-1530796736.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/supporterimages/1704/64597-1530796816.png[/img]
[b]Is there anything else you would like to tell the community about yourself, future plans, or - just in general - anything you would like to say?
[/b]
It has been interesting to see the modding community evolve over the years. I’ve been making mods for years now, I’ve been there at, basically, the beginning. It is interesting to have seen this evolution over the years. When it started out it was basically an offshoot of cheating. The mod scene literally originated in the cheating scene. At first you even had a hard time convincing people that your mod was not just a way to cheat at the game and then over the years it slowly became a bigger thing.
Games like Oblivion, of course, brought it into the spotlight. And then Skyrim was “modding for everyone”, basically. Even people who didn’t use mods, they knew there were mods for Skyrim, they knew about the Nexus. I think that was the golden age of modding. It was a great time, but I think going forward, things are going to change: it is going to be more professional, it is going to be more about building a portfolio, as I said.
Developers will pay more attention to what happens with their games and the mods people make because in the past you had things like Dota that ended up actually harming Blizzard by competing with their strategy series and actually outcompeting them. Basically. Starcraft 2 failed because of Dota - stuff like that. I think going forward developers are going to realise that there is lots of creativity, lots of imagination in the mod scene that’s difficult to cultivate and they are going to set it up in such a way that the mod scene can work for them and can create value for them.
Creation Club is the beginning, the first step, but you also have paid maps for Starcraft 2 now. I think developers are going to try to work along those lines in the future
[b]Thank you very much, Enai, for your time, your mods, and for chatting with us.[/b]
Thank you very much, too!
[b]BigBizkit & Pickysaurus: Thank you for taking the time out of your day to chat with us. Most people who have played Skyrim are probably familiar with your work, but could you first tell us a bit about yourself?[/b]
EnaiSiaion: So, I’m EnaiSiaion, I am Belgian, currently 34 years old and I started modding, technically, in 2001. I’ve been publishing mods since 2003, first for Diablo 2 - [url=https://www.median-xl.com/]Median XL[/url] - I developed Median XL until 2013.
I started modding Skyrim in 2011 and I made the first releases of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16225]Apocalypse[/url], then a bunch of mods that are best left forgotten, and then the big ones: [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/68425]Ordinator[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/61218]Imperious[/url] and so on.
So, basically, a lot of gameplay overhauls. And in the meantime I have been making some content for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/473770/BallisticNG/]BallisticNG[/url] and a few other games. I used to work in HR, but I got my midlife crisis a bit early and I went back to school for software development. I am currently in the second year out of three.
[center][youtube]KC1Y11BR0ko[/youtube][/center]
[b]Being the author of a number of impressive mods - as you mentioned - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16225]Apocalypse[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/68425]Ordinator[/url] and - of course - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/16219]Supersafe Dwarven Rocket Boots[/url], is there a mod in your portfolio that you are most proud of?[/b]
Apocalypse actually, at the moment. When I started out with Apocalypse in 2012 not much was known about Skyrim really and everyone’s scripting practices were terrible - even custom assets were brand new then. So, it was a completely different mod. Over the years, I have been updating it with my advancing insights into how modding should work. It is completely different now and I am finally happy with it.
[b]The majority of your mods are massive overhauls. Projects that must have taken you quite a while to develop. What is it that, in general, drives you to making overhauls rather than, let’s say, story driven mods?[/b]
I started out with a history of gameplay overhauls in Diablo 2. The various “Median” mods culminating in Median XL. So, I did have this experience already. I made a couple of items for Path of Exile back in the day as well. I tried to implement this directly into Skyrim because I felt Skyrim didn’t really have much in the way of gameplay. It was more of a storytelling game, a game about immersion.
As it turned out, Diablo 2 didn’t really work well in Skyrim, so I had to tone it back over the years. It was to demonstrate that I could add gameplay to Skyrim - that I could make Skyrim a game with solid gameplay as well as story and mechanics.
But these days it is more about the community. I think I have proven what I could in this regard. Plenty of people now know me, I can, just in general, hang out in Discord and have chats with people - it’s really about the community now. The faint hope of maybe someday getting hired in the gaming industry is a driving force as well.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1530101499.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1530101475.jpg[/img]
[b]It is actually very noticeable that you offer wide ranging support for your mods and that you take user feedback very seriously. In that vein, what is your general outlook on modding?[/b]
It’s a hobby for me. It is a way to express creativity.
As for a higher purpose, I think, modding in the past used to be all about expressing creativity - just playing around having fun with the game, and putting your own stuff into the game and so on.
I think going forward it is going to become more professional now that there are more options for people to build a portfolio - a public portfolio - and get hired by companies. I think more people who are actually looking for this experience - basically a free internship - are coming to modding and, I think, it is going to change modding a bit.
[b]As you stated before, you have been involved with modding as early as 2001 and you made one of the most popular overhaul mods for Diablo 2. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what you have learned over the years?[/b]
Important things I took home from that experience were: Firstly, your users’ experience is one of the most important things ever. Back in the days you had a lot of Diablo 2 mods made for a specific patch. And then a while later, I think it was about a year later or so, you had another Diablo 2 update. But these were actually significant updates. All of the files changed and it was basically like going from Oblivion to Skyrim. Most mods around didn’t make that leap. They just said to the user: “In order to play our mod, you should uninstall the game, then you should reinstall it, and then you should patch it up to a certain level”.
I did sacrifice a number of features in order to avoid having to do that. I made the leap where necessary and as a result Median XL was a lot easier to get into than most other mods. I think this made a huge difference when your users who came into the mod scene wanted to play a mod and here was one they could use immediately, and here was one that required them to play disc jockey for 45 minutes. So, there’s that.
The other thing I learned was listening to user feedback. In the end if there were - I think then it was, like, 100,000 users total, so maybe 10,000 at any given time - they are going to know more than you do. So, keep your eyes peeled, or, keep your ears open, or what’s the expression in English? Anyway: Listen to the users.
[b]Seeing how you started creating mods for Diablo 2 in the early 2000s, what was it that initially brought you to Skyrim? Have you modded any of the older Elder Scrolls titles?[/b]
I joined the scene with the release of Skyrim, mostly because I was too busy modding Diablo 2 and was only just getting my career started when Oblivion came out. I didn't consider RPGs back then because they'd require a ton of time to get the most out of and I didn't think I'd have the time to invest into it. Diablo 2 was eventually declining so when a new moddable game showed up, I jumped on that. Also, the reason I modded Diablo 2 was because it needed modding, it was a diamond in the rough, and Skyrim was similar when it came out.
Both games had somewhat flawed gameplay mechanics but enough levers to fix that or at least add more mechanical depth, while the game itself is good enough to make it worth doing. If a game is really good, across the board good, then there's no reason to mod it really, but Diablo 2 had somewhat simplistic gameplay because it was the year 2000 and Skyrim has all those mechanical puzzle pieces but all you really do is pick an attack and click a lot. I saw Skyrim as another Diablo 2 but now with more options to mod it instead of having to use the frozen orb move function for everything and 1023 records per file. So I took my Diablo 2 mindset into Skyrim, made a couple of terrible mods, then figured out what people are actually looking for in Skyrim and that it wasn't strictly mechanical depth but first and foremost some form of immersion.
[b]Your username is very unique and we’ve heard many mispronounced versions of it (including ours). So, how do you say it, where did it come from, and does it mean anything special?
[/b]
It’s pronounced “Ee-nay Sha-yon”. Technically it is pronounced every letter separately but you can call me “EenayShayon”. It is actually an honorific of God in [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enochian][b]Enochian[/b][/url]. In 2007 I used to be a lot more edgy than I am now today. Now, I just go by Enai - it’s memorable, it’s four letters, and it’s easy to write.
[img]https://img.nexusmods.com/images/110/64/64597-1530718516.png[/img]
[b]Outside of modding and gaming, what are some things you like to do for fun?[/b]
Ehm, nothing. For the longest time I alternated between dong my job - an HR desk job, back in the days - and modding basically all of my free time. Things have changed a little bit lately - I got my midlife crisis. The other thing I do for fun is software development. I am a software development student. It is fun to do even outside of school hours.
I don’t really game though. The only game I’ve played recently is Overwatch and that’s pretty much it - I don’t have much spare time left.
[b]When you look into the past when you had more time: what are some memories of games that you can recall to this day?
[/b]
I am a kid of the 90s so my most memorable games were in the late 90s. I was young, impressionable, and had just bought my first computer. Those games being Wipeout, the Wipeout series, futuristic racing games. Also, the first Diablo - I was impressed by the mood it set and its gameplay as well. Nowadays, the gameplay doesn't really hold up, but back then it was really cool. Twisted Metal - games like that.
[b]You used to work together with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/3958792?tab=user+files&BH=1]T3nd0[/url], author of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9286]Skyrim Redone[/url], on a mod called [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/58635/]Wintermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim[/url]. Can you tell us a bit about the collaborative process?[/b]
It was more of a division of labour, not a straight collaboration. The goal was to integrate the new enchantments added by Wintermyst into the game, which meant adding them to drop lists, which meant creating some 6000 or 7000 enchanted items. I wasn’t really looking forward to this, but T3nd0 was in the process of working on PerMa ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/59849/][b]Perkus Maximus[/b][/url]) and he was working on an external tool that would generate items based on your load order. He gave me an early version of that tool, I ran it, I fixed the output, and I put our names on it.
He seemed like a cool guy. I was in full support of PerMa when it came out. He left the scene shortly after Ordinator. I hate to think it had anything to do with it. I hope it didn’t.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1530796189.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1530796269.png[/img]
[b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/87099/]Ravengate[/url] was your first story-driven mod for Skyrim. What prompted you to deviate from your usual overhaul mods?[/b]
It was not my first quest mod, it was my third, which just says how forgettable the other two were. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/56037][b]Dwemertech[/b][/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/53780/][b]Spectraverse[/b][/url] - I misadvertised them as spell mods, I think, and they weren’t really all that good in the end.
Anyway, the Creation Club had just been announced, some mod authors were in it, I was not, and it turned out that I made the wrong kind of content, basically. One of Bethesda’s community representatives posted on the forums that they were looking, in the first place, for artists and world builders. I had overhauls. So, I decided “maybe there is still time, maybe there is still time...” so, I jumped into Ravengate, I worked very hard on it for two months - I missed the deadline several times - and then it turned out to not really make that much of a difference in the end. But it was fun to make.
[b]Being one of the most popular mod authors out there, what are your thoughts on the Donation Point system that we recently rolled out?[/b]
It’s a more - how do I say it - a more “people centric” approach to the idea of donating to authors. Until 2015, donating to authors was - I believe - actually banned by Bethesda, or, rather: no one did it. There was the bleepstorm surrounding “paid mods” and in the meantime people have been setting up their Patreons. Officially, you couldn’t really advertise your Patreon and people were contorting themselves to make them "not about their mods", you know.
I think the Donation Points system is a good way to make things “official”. So, authors can just work on their mods and not feel like they are doing it for basically nothing. It’s a way to reward them in another way than just endorsements, so it is not all about those endorsements.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/supporterimages/1704/64597-1530796736.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/supporterimages/1704/64597-1530796816.png[/img]
[b]Is there anything else you would like to tell the community about yourself, future plans, or - just in general - anything you would like to say?
[/b]
It has been interesting to see the modding community evolve over the years. I’ve been making mods for years now, I’ve been there at, basically, the beginning. It is interesting to have seen this evolution over the years. When it started out it was basically an offshoot of cheating. The mod scene literally originated in the cheating scene. At first you even had a hard time convincing people that your mod was not just a way to cheat at the game and then over the years it slowly became a bigger thing.
Games like Oblivion, of course, brought it into the spotlight. And then Skyrim was “modding for everyone”, basically. Even people who didn’t use mods, they knew there were mods for Skyrim, they knew about the Nexus. I think that was the golden age of modding. It was a great time, but I think going forward, things are going to change: it is going to be more professional, it is going to be more about building a portfolio, as I said.
Developers will pay more attention to what happens with their games and the mods people make because in the past you had things like Dota that ended up actually harming Blizzard by competing with their strategy series and actually outcompeting them. Basically. Starcraft 2 failed because of Dota - stuff like that. I think going forward developers are going to realise that there is lots of creativity, lots of imagination in the mod scene that’s difficult to cultivate and they are going to set it up in such a way that the mod scene can work for them and can create value for them.
Creation Club is the beginning, the first step, but you also have paid maps for Starcraft 2 now. I think developers are going to try to work along those lines in the future
[b]Thank you very much, Enai, for your time, your mods, and for chatting with us.[/b]
Thank you very much, too!
July Giveaway #1 Facebook Special
It's time for another giveaway!
We are giving out one Steam Gift Card worth £35 (~$50) again.
To promote our [url=https://www.facebook.com/nexussites/]Facebook site[/url], this time entering the competition via the Facebook option is [b]worth 2 entries[/b][b] [/b]giving you a slightly better chance of winning the prize!
(Don't worry, the next giveaway will be a Twitter Special to balance things out.)
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning, pay attention to the entry rules below:
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/arzzD/july-giveaway-1]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card![/url]
[/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Friday, July 13th at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
We are giving out one Steam Gift Card worth £35 (~$50) again.
To promote our [url=https://www.facebook.com/nexussites/]Facebook site[/url], this time entering the competition via the Facebook option is [b]worth 2 entries[/b][b] [/b]giving you a slightly better chance of winning the prize!
(Don't worry, the next giveaway will be a Twitter Special to balance things out.)
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning, pay attention to the entry rules below:
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/arzzD/july-giveaway-1]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card![/url]
[/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Friday, July 13th at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
Modder to Developer - TheModernStoryteller
For those of you following E3's PC Gaming show, you may have noticed a new game that shares some striking similarities to a popular Skyrim mod. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/users/6977096]TheModernStoryteller[/url], a veteran of the modding scene has spread his wings and announced his own brand new game "The Forgotten City" which is a stand-alone re-imagining of his [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1179]original Skyrim mod[/url] by the same name. Nick (TheModernStoryteller) has kindly taken the time out after his E3 debut to tell us a little bit about his new game and how he made it from modder to professional game developer.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530532310.png[/img][/center]
[b]
Pickysaurus: First - for those who don't know you - tell us a little about yourself?[/b]
TheModernStoryTeller: I’m Nick Pearce, ex-modder, and Creative Director of [url=http://modern-storyteller.com/][b]Modern Storyteller[/b][/url] – a game studio which carries the name of my old modding alias. I live in Melbourne, Australia with my wife and dog.
[b]How did you first get into gaming? [/b]
When I was about eight, I inherited a crusty old 8086 PC with a 4 colour monitor and about 64KB of RAM. Since I couldn’t play the new games that were coming out, I had to resort to teaching myself to program GW Basic and Q Basic. I made terrible, terrible games that nobody could or should ever play, but the thrill of imagining something and then seeing it on a screen ignited something in me. Then I left it on the backburner for 20 years while I went down the path of becoming a lawyer.
[b]Could you tell us a bit about your favourite games and what makes them so great?[/b]
I love open world narrative-driven RPGs, mainly because of the immersion factor, and the freedom to role-play. That’s what I’m trying to do with my own game: create a world that pulls people in for a really gripping, intense experience.
[b]Obviously, given your username, you value stories. Does this extend into written work? Do you have a background in writing or inspirations you'd like to mention?[/b]
My creative writing career began with me being punched in the face. Several years ago I was working as a lawyer and daydreaming about being a creative writer one day. I even signed up to a creative writing class, but when the time came to write my first short story, I came up short of ideas. I had to ask for an extension, but I was just buying time. Then I got punched in the face by a complete stranger for no reason, as I was walking to work one day. Inspiration had struck, and I wrote a short story about it – from his perspective, not mine – and it got terrific feedback. That got me rolling. I like to think it somehow removed an idea blockage in my head. I began writing a novel, and I got halfway through it before I realised my real passion was for games, rather than traditional forms of literature. Some of those ideas made their way into The Forgotten City, which is a much better vehicle for the story than a novel was. I really think games are the ultimate medium for storytelling, because of the element of interactivity.
[b]In terms of modding, your Skyrim mod “The Forgotten City” is one of the highest rated quest mods for Skyrim and Skyrim Special Edition. What inspired you to create that mod?[/b]
I played [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/users/2159825][b]someguy2000[/b][/url]’s mod, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/37310][b]Bounties I[/b][/url], and it was a revelation to me that a mod could be as good as – if not better than – the underlying game. It was extraordinarily well done, and just what the game had been missing. I’ve always enjoyed creative writing, so I decided to have a go myself. I started by making a hallway, which evolved into a city. I remember thinking “This big empty city needs a little something…”... and 3 years later, after 1700 hours of work, it was an elaborate 35,000-word murder mystery set across multiple timelines with 1,200 lines of voice acting and an original orchestral score.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530532575.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530533400.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]How would you say you made the leap from modding a game to creating your own, and even making it to your own E3 stand?[/b]
Necessity is the mother of invention. I knew I wanted to be a professional game developer, but there just wasn’t anywhere for me to go; nobody I wanted to work for was hiring modders, and there were no game dev jobs in my country. So I took a break from my legal career and set up a studio, made a prototype which landed a grant from [url=https://www.film.vic.gov.au/][b]Film Victoria[/b][/url], which I used to hire a team of experienced people, and made the better part of a game. I went to GDC (the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco) earlier this year where I met with the US Editor-in-Chief of PC Gamer (who’s a pretty cool guy) and he liked our game and story so much that he invited us to reveal it on stage at the PC Gaming Show. The reveal went so well that we just won an Unreal E3 award for being a small team and making a big splash in a crowded pool of excellent games!
[center][youtube]V4G1AeJROq4[/youtube][/center]
[b]Australian development houses seem few and far between. Is this accurate and why? How do you feel about the representation of Australian developers in the game industry?[/b]
Yes, there aren’t many well-known Australian game studios. We have a smattering of indie studios, like League of Geeks (Armello) and Defiant (Hand of Fate 1 & 2) but no Triple A studios. It’s mainly because our larger studios, like Team Bondi (L.A. Noire), were wiped out in the Global Financial Crisis, and the local industry hasn’t yet recovered.
It’s a shame for two reasons: it makes it exceptionally difficult for aspiring game developers to pursue their craft, and Australia’s economy is missing out on a proportionate slice of a lucrative global industry.
On the bright side, it does make it easier for small studios like mine to snap up extraordinary local talent!
[b]For your Skyrim mod you did the bulk of the work yourself, but your new game is made by a team. Could you tell us more about them?[/b]
I’m still doing the bulk of the work myself, out of necessity, and I work something absurd like 70 hours a week. I’m the producer, writer, game designer, level designer, character modeller, animator, actor, social media manager, casting agent, business development guy, book keeper, and in-house counsel, among other things. I’m the only full time person, but thanks to a grant from Film Victoria I’ve been able to bring on some other awesome people, who I headhunted because of their outstanding prior work:
[list]
[*]Alex Goss, a programmer and Unreal Engine Wizard, whose last job was working on Earthlight VR, a virtual reality spacewalk simulation made in consultation with NASA
[*]Laura Michet, an editor whose last project was described by the Washington Post as “a great leap forward for storytelling”
[*]John Eyre, a 3D modeler and environment artist best known for his work on Hand of Fate 2
[*]Michael Allen, a composer whose recent work includes the soundtrack for Armello
[/list]
[b]From what you’ve told us, your new game announced at E3 is described as a re-imagining of the story from your mod, The Forgotten City. What would you say makes the new game different? Anything more you’d like to tell us about your game?[/b]
The game retains all the elements the community told us they liked, incorporates their suggestions, improves on pretty much everything, and adds lots of content and surprises: a new city, re-imagined characters, original lore with fresh twists and endings, added combat and wall-climbing mechanics, an all-new orchestral score, professional voice acting, and custom motion capture animations.
The official blurb is:
[quote]Deep underground in an ancient Roman city, twenty-six trapped explorers lay dead because one of them broke a mysterious law. Within, a portal leads back into the past, allowing you to change their fate – or witness their deaths in a time loop for eternity.
Fortunately, hope remains. The Forgotten City offers incredible freedom, inviting players to manipulate the timeline, Groundhog Day-style, so events play out differently. By talking to diverse characters, making tough choices in moral dilemmas, and thinking laterally, you can unlock vastly different endings.
[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/874260/The_Forgotten_City/][b]Add it to your Steam wishlist here.[/b][/url][/quote]
[center][youtube]OsnshS-_xoQ[/youtube][/center]
[b]How would you compare working on a mod in the Creation Kit to working on a full-fledged game in the Unreal Studio? [/b]
The difference between modding and game development is like the difference between being a handyman and building a house from the ground up.
One of the really big differences is the level of difficulty in creating non-player characters: If you want a character in your game you’re going to have to model it, rig it (put a “skeleton” in it for animation purposes), make animations which sync with your voice acting, and then program the character’s behaviour yourself. As you can see from the trailer for our game, I found a way to do all that, and I did it with very cool software suites called Character Creator and iClone.
[b]"The Forgotten City" is based on the Unreal engine, what made you choose it over the alternatives?
[/b]Unreal is a cutting edge engine which makes it easy to create beautiful game worlds, and that was important to me because I want players to feel immersed in and captivated by my game world. It’s possible to make a very pretty game with Unity too, but much harder. I considered CryEngine / Lumberyard too, but at the time I was starting out they were too new; they weren’t tried and tested like Unreal was.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530533558.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530533255.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]Do you have any advice for aspiring modders who dream of following in your footsteps? [/b]
Making mods and games is tremendously satisfying. However, most indie games die in obscurity, which is a tragedy for the game developers who spend years of their life and literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and foregone wages. This makes it extremely risky, unless you're independently wealthy, so you need to reduce those risks as much as you can. I wouldn’t recommend taking the leap unless you answer "yes" to all of the following questions:
[list=1]
[*]Do you understand what’s involved in making games, and do you have a burning desire to do it anyway?
[*]Do you have a way to survive while making your game, like savings, and/or a supportive partner?
[*]Are you resilient and able to deal with challenges, setbacks, and tedious business activities? (eg. securing finance, setting up a company, book-keeping, contract management, protecting your IP, etc)
[*]Are you are a strong networker? (are you good at forming genuine connections with peers, journalists and influencers?)
[*]Are you a fast learner with a strong aptitude for technology?
[*]Do you have a tried and tested game idea that works remarkably well?
[/list]Even if you answered "yes" to all of these, it’s still risky, but you'd have a fighting chance.
[b]Will "The Forgotten City" support mods? If not, would you ever consider making a game with modding support? [/b]
As an ex-modder myself, I’d very much like to support modding if I can. It’ll just depend on how complex it is and whether we have the resources to do it well and provide good tools and documentation for modders.
[b]Now you’ve unveiled this game to the world, do you have any plans for future stories you might want to tell?[/b]
I have a some really exciting ideas for stories I want to tell next, but what we do next will depend on the reception of our first game. If it's commercially successful, our next game will be another immersive, story-driven game with a big emotional impact.
[b]Thank you for taking the time to talk with me, it is always awesome to see one of our community break through into the games industry. We are looking forward to the release of "The Forgotten City" in 2019 and hope to catch up with you again closer to release![/b]
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530532310.png[/img][/center]
[b]
Pickysaurus: First - for those who don't know you - tell us a little about yourself?[/b]
TheModernStoryTeller: I’m Nick Pearce, ex-modder, and Creative Director of [url=http://modern-storyteller.com/][b]Modern Storyteller[/b][/url] – a game studio which carries the name of my old modding alias. I live in Melbourne, Australia with my wife and dog.
[b]How did you first get into gaming? [/b]
When I was about eight, I inherited a crusty old 8086 PC with a 4 colour monitor and about 64KB of RAM. Since I couldn’t play the new games that were coming out, I had to resort to teaching myself to program GW Basic and Q Basic. I made terrible, terrible games that nobody could or should ever play, but the thrill of imagining something and then seeing it on a screen ignited something in me. Then I left it on the backburner for 20 years while I went down the path of becoming a lawyer.
[b]Could you tell us a bit about your favourite games and what makes them so great?[/b]
I love open world narrative-driven RPGs, mainly because of the immersion factor, and the freedom to role-play. That’s what I’m trying to do with my own game: create a world that pulls people in for a really gripping, intense experience.
[b]Obviously, given your username, you value stories. Does this extend into written work? Do you have a background in writing or inspirations you'd like to mention?[/b]
My creative writing career began with me being punched in the face. Several years ago I was working as a lawyer and daydreaming about being a creative writer one day. I even signed up to a creative writing class, but when the time came to write my first short story, I came up short of ideas. I had to ask for an extension, but I was just buying time. Then I got punched in the face by a complete stranger for no reason, as I was walking to work one day. Inspiration had struck, and I wrote a short story about it – from his perspective, not mine – and it got terrific feedback. That got me rolling. I like to think it somehow removed an idea blockage in my head. I began writing a novel, and I got halfway through it before I realised my real passion was for games, rather than traditional forms of literature. Some of those ideas made their way into The Forgotten City, which is a much better vehicle for the story than a novel was. I really think games are the ultimate medium for storytelling, because of the element of interactivity.
[b]In terms of modding, your Skyrim mod “The Forgotten City” is one of the highest rated quest mods for Skyrim and Skyrim Special Edition. What inspired you to create that mod?[/b]
I played [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/users/2159825][b]someguy2000[/b][/url]’s mod, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/37310][b]Bounties I[/b][/url], and it was a revelation to me that a mod could be as good as – if not better than – the underlying game. It was extraordinarily well done, and just what the game had been missing. I’ve always enjoyed creative writing, so I decided to have a go myself. I started by making a hallway, which evolved into a city. I remember thinking “This big empty city needs a little something…”... and 3 years later, after 1700 hours of work, it was an elaborate 35,000-word murder mystery set across multiple timelines with 1,200 lines of voice acting and an original orchestral score.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530532575.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530533400.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]How would you say you made the leap from modding a game to creating your own, and even making it to your own E3 stand?[/b]
Necessity is the mother of invention. I knew I wanted to be a professional game developer, but there just wasn’t anywhere for me to go; nobody I wanted to work for was hiring modders, and there were no game dev jobs in my country. So I took a break from my legal career and set up a studio, made a prototype which landed a grant from [url=https://www.film.vic.gov.au/][b]Film Victoria[/b][/url], which I used to hire a team of experienced people, and made the better part of a game. I went to GDC (the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco) earlier this year where I met with the US Editor-in-Chief of PC Gamer (who’s a pretty cool guy) and he liked our game and story so much that he invited us to reveal it on stage at the PC Gaming Show. The reveal went so well that we just won an Unreal E3 award for being a small team and making a big splash in a crowded pool of excellent games!
[center][youtube]V4G1AeJROq4[/youtube][/center]
[b]Australian development houses seem few and far between. Is this accurate and why? How do you feel about the representation of Australian developers in the game industry?[/b]
Yes, there aren’t many well-known Australian game studios. We have a smattering of indie studios, like League of Geeks (Armello) and Defiant (Hand of Fate 1 & 2) but no Triple A studios. It’s mainly because our larger studios, like Team Bondi (L.A. Noire), were wiped out in the Global Financial Crisis, and the local industry hasn’t yet recovered.
It’s a shame for two reasons: it makes it exceptionally difficult for aspiring game developers to pursue their craft, and Australia’s economy is missing out on a proportionate slice of a lucrative global industry.
On the bright side, it does make it easier for small studios like mine to snap up extraordinary local talent!
[b]For your Skyrim mod you did the bulk of the work yourself, but your new game is made by a team. Could you tell us more about them?[/b]
I’m still doing the bulk of the work myself, out of necessity, and I work something absurd like 70 hours a week. I’m the producer, writer, game designer, level designer, character modeller, animator, actor, social media manager, casting agent, business development guy, book keeper, and in-house counsel, among other things. I’m the only full time person, but thanks to a grant from Film Victoria I’ve been able to bring on some other awesome people, who I headhunted because of their outstanding prior work:
[list]
[*]Alex Goss, a programmer and Unreal Engine Wizard, whose last job was working on Earthlight VR, a virtual reality spacewalk simulation made in consultation with NASA
[*]Laura Michet, an editor whose last project was described by the Washington Post as “a great leap forward for storytelling”
[*]John Eyre, a 3D modeler and environment artist best known for his work on Hand of Fate 2
[*]Michael Allen, a composer whose recent work includes the soundtrack for Armello
[/list]
[b]From what you’ve told us, your new game announced at E3 is described as a re-imagining of the story from your mod, The Forgotten City. What would you say makes the new game different? Anything more you’d like to tell us about your game?[/b]
The game retains all the elements the community told us they liked, incorporates their suggestions, improves on pretty much everything, and adds lots of content and surprises: a new city, re-imagined characters, original lore with fresh twists and endings, added combat and wall-climbing mechanics, an all-new orchestral score, professional voice acting, and custom motion capture animations.
The official blurb is:
[quote]Deep underground in an ancient Roman city, twenty-six trapped explorers lay dead because one of them broke a mysterious law. Within, a portal leads back into the past, allowing you to change their fate – or witness their deaths in a time loop for eternity.
Fortunately, hope remains. The Forgotten City offers incredible freedom, inviting players to manipulate the timeline, Groundhog Day-style, so events play out differently. By talking to diverse characters, making tough choices in moral dilemmas, and thinking laterally, you can unlock vastly different endings.
[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/874260/The_Forgotten_City/][b]Add it to your Steam wishlist here.[/b][/url][/quote]
[center][youtube]OsnshS-_xoQ[/youtube][/center]
[b]How would you compare working on a mod in the Creation Kit to working on a full-fledged game in the Unreal Studio? [/b]
The difference between modding and game development is like the difference between being a handyman and building a house from the ground up.
One of the really big differences is the level of difficulty in creating non-player characters: If you want a character in your game you’re going to have to model it, rig it (put a “skeleton” in it for animation purposes), make animations which sync with your voice acting, and then program the character’s behaviour yourself. As you can see from the trailer for our game, I found a way to do all that, and I did it with very cool software suites called Character Creator and iClone.
[b]"The Forgotten City" is based on the Unreal engine, what made you choose it over the alternatives?
[/b]Unreal is a cutting edge engine which makes it easy to create beautiful game worlds, and that was important to me because I want players to feel immersed in and captivated by my game world. It’s possible to make a very pretty game with Unity too, but much harder. I considered CryEngine / Lumberyard too, but at the time I was starting out they were too new; they weren’t tried and tested like Unreal was.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530533558.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1530533255.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]Do you have any advice for aspiring modders who dream of following in your footsteps? [/b]
Making mods and games is tremendously satisfying. However, most indie games die in obscurity, which is a tragedy for the game developers who spend years of their life and literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and foregone wages. This makes it extremely risky, unless you're independently wealthy, so you need to reduce those risks as much as you can. I wouldn’t recommend taking the leap unless you answer "yes" to all of the following questions:
[list=1]
[*]Do you understand what’s involved in making games, and do you have a burning desire to do it anyway?
[*]Do you have a way to survive while making your game, like savings, and/or a supportive partner?
[*]Are you resilient and able to deal with challenges, setbacks, and tedious business activities? (eg. securing finance, setting up a company, book-keeping, contract management, protecting your IP, etc)
[*]Are you are a strong networker? (are you good at forming genuine connections with peers, journalists and influencers?)
[*]Are you a fast learner with a strong aptitude for technology?
[*]Do you have a tried and tested game idea that works remarkably well?
[/list]Even if you answered "yes" to all of these, it’s still risky, but you'd have a fighting chance.
[b]Will "The Forgotten City" support mods? If not, would you ever consider making a game with modding support? [/b]
As an ex-modder myself, I’d very much like to support modding if I can. It’ll just depend on how complex it is and whether we have the resources to do it well and provide good tools and documentation for modders.
[b]Now you’ve unveiled this game to the world, do you have any plans for future stories you might want to tell?[/b]
I have a some really exciting ideas for stories I want to tell next, but what we do next will depend on the reception of our first game. If it's commercially successful, our next game will be another immersive, story-driven game with a big emotional impact.
[b]Thank you for taking the time to talk with me, it is always awesome to see one of our community break through into the games industry. We are looking forward to the release of "The Forgotten City" in 2019 and hope to catch up with you again closer to release![/b]
June Special Giveaway - Double Value
It's time for another giveaway! This month we have something special for you:
This time we are giving out [b]one[/b] [b]Steam Gift Card worth a whopping £70 (~$100) - that is twice the value we usually have for you.
[/b]That should help one of you pre-order one of the games announced at [b]E3[/b], if that sounds like something that would strike your fancy.
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning [b]a £70 Steam Gift Card[/b], pay attention to the [b]entry rules below[/b]!
Read this before you scurry off to enter or you might disqualify yourself!
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/PLWU8/june-special-giveaway]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £70 Steam Gift Card!
[/url][/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Thursday, June 28 at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
This time we are giving out [b]one[/b] [b]Steam Gift Card worth a whopping £70 (~$100) - that is twice the value we usually have for you.
[/b]That should help one of you pre-order one of the games announced at [b]E3[/b], if that sounds like something that would strike your fancy.
To participate and to not screw up your chances of winning [b]a £70 Steam Gift Card[/b], pay attention to the [b]entry rules below[/b]!
Read this before you scurry off to enter or you might disqualify yourself!
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[size=3][url=https://gleam.io/PLWU8/june-special-giveaway]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £70 Steam Gift Card!
[/url][/size][i][size=1](Entry period ends on Thursday, June 28 at 11:59 pm GMT)
[/size][/i][size=1]You can read more about why we do monthly giveaways for our social media [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url].[/size]
Meet the Man behind the Sliders - Ousnius
Today we have something special for you: meet [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/users/4291759?tab=user+files&BH=0]ousnius[/url], the man behind plenty of popular and useful utilities such as [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/25]BodySlide and Outfit Studio[/url] - tools that have accumulated millions of downloads across their respective Fallout 4, Skyrim SE, and Skyrim versions.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: Thanks for joining us today, we really appreciate it. To start this off why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]Hey, I'm ousnius. :) I'm a gamer, modder, and work as a software engineer in southern Germany. The games I've been active on as a modder so far were Skyrim, Skyrim SE and Fallout 4. People might have heard my name in association with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/2666/]CBBE[/url] (NSFW), Unified [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/6709]UNP[/url] (NSFW), [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/25]BodySlide[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/201]Outfit Studio[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4089/]SSE NIF Optimizer[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/3635]Material Editor[/url] and several other smaller mods.
I also tend to help people out with putting their outfit mods into the games or turning them into BodySlide projects.
In terms of CBBE, I have helped [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/3330686/?tab=user+files&BH=1]Caliente [/url]finish up the FO4 and SSE versions of it, converted vanilla outfits (and more) and support it over the years with the help of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/84177]Jeir[/url].
Another thing I sometimes do is look at issues with 3D models and other files to get them working properly in the games.
This is how the SSE NIF Optimizer realized itself - with the help of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/2492841]jonwd7[/url], a [url=http://www.niftools.org/]NifTools [/url]developer.
I'm born '95, so compared to most other modders, I'm probably more on the younger side of things. Yes, that means I started looking at the BodySlide code when I was around 16 ;). I hang around in a lot of modding related Discord servers, you might have seen me in some of them. Occasionally, I help you guys at Nexus Mods out with testing your new sites and software.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: And we are very thankful for your help and input!
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/25][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1151/images/thumbnails/25-0-1450888735.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/201][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1704/images/thumbnails/201-1-1478034288.png[/img][/url]
BigBizkit: You are most well known for your work on Bodyslide and Outfit Studio and you have accumulated millions of total downloads with that one alone. In your own words: how would you describe Bodyslide and Outfit Studio and why did you create them?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]BodySlide and Outfit Studio are tools used to create and customize body shapes and outfits. They were created to give people an easier and more direct way to put things into the game without having to deal with other, usually bigger and more complex software first. BodySlide is the "end-user" part of it all, where you can make use of sliders for customization on already compatible mods, as its name suggests. Outfit Studio is the modder's tool to create new outfits, convert them between body types and add slider compatibility, too. Both were actually things that Caliente (creator of CBBE) came up with and created for the original Skyrim.
My work on it over the years (which must have been from 2013 to 2018+) was to improve it, add new features, fix bugs, help people use it and polish it.
I have also been doing the work to make it fully support Fallout 4 and Skyrim SE.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: What about the creative process is it that you enjoy the most?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]Since I'm less of a "regular" modder and most of my work involves things outside of the actual game, I'm gonna answer this question a little differently. Modding and programming are both things where passion, experience, fun, creativity and skill sets all come together.
That's most fun to me, all of the different skills and people intertwining to create a community and cool things.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: What was it that initially inspired you to put in the work and effort, and to share your creation with all of us?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]Usually my motivation comes from spending my time on something that will be useful to people (myself or others). When I first saw Caliente's initial version of BodySlide way back, I immediately knew that it's what lots of people wanted, including myself. This was when I was just starting out with auto-didactically learning programming, so at some point I grabbed the source code to learn from it and then contacted Caliente to help improve it further.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1151/images/thumbnails/9599-0-1454855690.jpg[/img]
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: When you are not busy modding, what other things do you like to do for fun?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]I'm a huge fan of all styles of music, so I listen to a lot of that. Of course I occasionally play some video games and the usual things people do on the internet otherwise.
Other than that, there's not much more going on at the moment - work, modding and computers take up most of my time. :)
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: Speaking of gaming: which game do you have the fondest memories of?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]I've developed huge nostalgia for certain game series and universes. There is the RPG series "Gothic", most known in Germany and parts of Eastern Europe, which I still do playthroughs of occasionally. It has a very active German/Polish/Russian modding scene as well, with a lot of total conversion or content mods that are still coming out to this day, or other things such as a DX11 renderer for it.
Other than that, I'm in love with the Warcraft universe (Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft) and still play those. I've been playing WoW for more than 10 years, so it's been a big part of my early teen years growing up and still is. There are many more (a lot of them not so well known) games that I have fond memories of. Examples are TrackMania, Tomb Raider (all of them, old and new), The Witcher 3, GTA 3-5, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Millenium Soldier: Expendable, the Pokémon games on various Nintendo systems and some adventure games I played as a kid. To a lot of people, these games will seem rather recent compared to the games people from the generations before me have grown up with.
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/gothic][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/games/cover_670.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/gothic2][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/games/cover_2006.jpg[/img][/url]
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: What games are you currently playing and what aspects do you enjoy most about them?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]Currently I've actually started a Skyrim Special Edition playthrough with the goal of completing most quests and the Dragonborn DLC, which I have still not experienced to this day. I did complete a playthrough of the original Skyrim's main quest and several side quests, but I don't really remember all that much about it anymore. Other than that, I still have Kingdom Come: Deliverance waiting for me (and a new PC). Both are games I love the atmosphere and worlds of.
While they're not the only genre of games I like (see above), RPGs have always been fun since they provide so much to see and do.
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit: Is there a particular feature or aspect of Bodyslide that you are most proud of and what would you like to improve going forward?[/color]
[/b]
[b]ousnius: [/b]It's hard to pick a specific thing. Mostly I'm proud of fleshing it out to the point people may actually consider using it more than once. Of course like most software, it's never perfect and there's always things to improve. I want to continue adding smaller and bigger features as I have the time to do so, but there are not many actual specific things planned.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: How does it make you feel that hundreds of thousands, even millions of people out there are using a tool that you developed?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]BodySlide has turned into a must-have for a lot of people who care about their character's looks in Skyrim and Fallout 4, that's definitely cool. It's fun and interesting to see so many people use it. The numbers are quite unreal, even more so with CBBE, but I got used to it quickly (I don't feel any pressure or anything that I wouldn't want). Additionally it's been a great help in figuring out how people experience your tools as a software developer by seeing how they use it and what they say or have problems with.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: We have recently rolled out our Donation Points system as well as our Patreon to help the community supplement our donation fund that we pay into ourselves. Being a mod author, what are your thoughts on this new system?[/b][/color]
[youtube]SvEUrba9Ov0[/youtube]
[b]ousnius: [/b]There's a lot of ways to screw up the relationship between modders, mod users, game developers and websites and not many to do it right. I believe the Donation Points system won't hurt anyone and it's a good, not too aggressive way, to give back a little to people who have created things many enjoy and put them up for free. So far it seems like a good compromise to me. Some people don't like the fact that unique downloads are being used (making shiny popular things get more DP), but I strongly believe that it's still the most neutral way to do it.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: Thank you for taking the time out of your day to chat with us. Is there anything else you would like the community to know about you, your plans, or future projects?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]I usually don't make long term plans. Hopefully I'll still be around for Starfield and TES 6 (and FO76?). :)
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: We'll keep our eyes peeled for "Bodyslide and Outfit Studio - Starfield Edition" then :). [/b][/color]
Thanks again to ousnius and best of luck for your future endeavours and projects from the entire Nexus Mods team.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: Thanks for joining us today, we really appreciate it. To start this off why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]Hey, I'm ousnius. :) I'm a gamer, modder, and work as a software engineer in southern Germany. The games I've been active on as a modder so far were Skyrim, Skyrim SE and Fallout 4. People might have heard my name in association with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/2666/]CBBE[/url] (NSFW), Unified [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/6709]UNP[/url] (NSFW), [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/25]BodySlide[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/201]Outfit Studio[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4089/]SSE NIF Optimizer[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/3635]Material Editor[/url] and several other smaller mods.
I also tend to help people out with putting their outfit mods into the games or turning them into BodySlide projects.
In terms of CBBE, I have helped [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/3330686/?tab=user+files&BH=1]Caliente [/url]finish up the FO4 and SSE versions of it, converted vanilla outfits (and more) and support it over the years with the help of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/84177]Jeir[/url].
Another thing I sometimes do is look at issues with 3D models and other files to get them working properly in the games.
This is how the SSE NIF Optimizer realized itself - with the help of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/2492841]jonwd7[/url], a [url=http://www.niftools.org/]NifTools [/url]developer.
I'm born '95, so compared to most other modders, I'm probably more on the younger side of things. Yes, that means I started looking at the BodySlide code when I was around 16 ;). I hang around in a lot of modding related Discord servers, you might have seen me in some of them. Occasionally, I help you guys at Nexus Mods out with testing your new sites and software.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: And we are very thankful for your help and input!
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/25][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1151/images/thumbnails/25-0-1450888735.png[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/201][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1704/images/thumbnails/201-1-1478034288.png[/img][/url]
BigBizkit: You are most well known for your work on Bodyslide and Outfit Studio and you have accumulated millions of total downloads with that one alone. In your own words: how would you describe Bodyslide and Outfit Studio and why did you create them?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]BodySlide and Outfit Studio are tools used to create and customize body shapes and outfits. They were created to give people an easier and more direct way to put things into the game without having to deal with other, usually bigger and more complex software first. BodySlide is the "end-user" part of it all, where you can make use of sliders for customization on already compatible mods, as its name suggests. Outfit Studio is the modder's tool to create new outfits, convert them between body types and add slider compatibility, too. Both were actually things that Caliente (creator of CBBE) came up with and created for the original Skyrim.
My work on it over the years (which must have been from 2013 to 2018+) was to improve it, add new features, fix bugs, help people use it and polish it.
I have also been doing the work to make it fully support Fallout 4 and Skyrim SE.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: What about the creative process is it that you enjoy the most?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]Since I'm less of a "regular" modder and most of my work involves things outside of the actual game, I'm gonna answer this question a little differently. Modding and programming are both things where passion, experience, fun, creativity and skill sets all come together.
That's most fun to me, all of the different skills and people intertwining to create a community and cool things.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: What was it that initially inspired you to put in the work and effort, and to share your creation with all of us?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]Usually my motivation comes from spending my time on something that will be useful to people (myself or others). When I first saw Caliente's initial version of BodySlide way back, I immediately knew that it's what lots of people wanted, including myself. This was when I was just starting out with auto-didactically learning programming, so at some point I grabbed the source code to learn from it and then contacted Caliente to help improve it further.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1151/images/thumbnails/9599-0-1454855690.jpg[/img]
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: When you are not busy modding, what other things do you like to do for fun?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]I'm a huge fan of all styles of music, so I listen to a lot of that. Of course I occasionally play some video games and the usual things people do on the internet otherwise.
Other than that, there's not much more going on at the moment - work, modding and computers take up most of my time. :)
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: Speaking of gaming: which game do you have the fondest memories of?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]I've developed huge nostalgia for certain game series and universes. There is the RPG series "Gothic", most known in Germany and parts of Eastern Europe, which I still do playthroughs of occasionally. It has a very active German/Polish/Russian modding scene as well, with a lot of total conversion or content mods that are still coming out to this day, or other things such as a DX11 renderer for it.
Other than that, I'm in love with the Warcraft universe (Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft) and still play those. I've been playing WoW for more than 10 years, so it's been a big part of my early teen years growing up and still is. There are many more (a lot of them not so well known) games that I have fond memories of. Examples are TrackMania, Tomb Raider (all of them, old and new), The Witcher 3, GTA 3-5, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Millenium Soldier: Expendable, the Pokémon games on various Nintendo systems and some adventure games I played as a kid. To a lot of people, these games will seem rather recent compared to the games people from the generations before me have grown up with.
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/gothic][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/games/cover_670.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/gothic2][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/games/cover_2006.jpg[/img][/url]
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: What games are you currently playing and what aspects do you enjoy most about them?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]Currently I've actually started a Skyrim Special Edition playthrough with the goal of completing most quests and the Dragonborn DLC, which I have still not experienced to this day. I did complete a playthrough of the original Skyrim's main quest and several side quests, but I don't really remember all that much about it anymore. Other than that, I still have Kingdom Come: Deliverance waiting for me (and a new PC). Both are games I love the atmosphere and worlds of.
While they're not the only genre of games I like (see above), RPGs have always been fun since they provide so much to see and do.
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit: Is there a particular feature or aspect of Bodyslide that you are most proud of and what would you like to improve going forward?[/color]
[/b]
[b]ousnius: [/b]It's hard to pick a specific thing. Mostly I'm proud of fleshing it out to the point people may actually consider using it more than once. Of course like most software, it's never perfect and there's always things to improve. I want to continue adding smaller and bigger features as I have the time to do so, but there are not many actual specific things planned.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: How does it make you feel that hundreds of thousands, even millions of people out there are using a tool that you developed?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]BodySlide has turned into a must-have for a lot of people who care about their character's looks in Skyrim and Fallout 4, that's definitely cool. It's fun and interesting to see so many people use it. The numbers are quite unreal, even more so with CBBE, but I got used to it quickly (I don't feel any pressure or anything that I wouldn't want). Additionally it's been a great help in figuring out how people experience your tools as a software developer by seeing how they use it and what they say or have problems with.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: We have recently rolled out our Donation Points system as well as our Patreon to help the community supplement our donation fund that we pay into ourselves. Being a mod author, what are your thoughts on this new system?[/b][/color]
[youtube]SvEUrba9Ov0[/youtube]
[b]ousnius: [/b]There's a lot of ways to screw up the relationship between modders, mod users, game developers and websites and not many to do it right. I believe the Donation Points system won't hurt anyone and it's a good, not too aggressive way, to give back a little to people who have created things many enjoy and put them up for free. So far it seems like a good compromise to me. Some people don't like the fact that unique downloads are being used (making shiny popular things get more DP), but I strongly believe that it's still the most neutral way to do it.
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: Thank you for taking the time out of your day to chat with us. Is there anything else you would like the community to know about you, your plans, or future projects?[/b][/color]
[b]ousnius: [/b]I usually don't make long term plans. Hopefully I'll still be around for Starfield and TES 6 (and FO76?). :)
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit: We'll keep our eyes peeled for "Bodyslide and Outfit Studio - Starfield Edition" then :). [/b][/color]
Thanks again to ousnius and best of luck for your future endeavours and projects from the entire Nexus Mods team.
Introducing our new Community Managers: Pickysaurus and BigBizkit
Back in February we [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13401]put out a call for Community Managers[/url], as part of the office relocation process. Now that our two new CMs have settled into their positions, we thought it would be a good time to introduce them.
Welcome to the team, Stefan ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url]) and Mike ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url])!
First off, before we dive into work related questions, let's get back to where it all began...
[b]Terrorfox1234: What initially brought you into the modding scene? What made you want to stick around?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] I’ve been modding the games I’ve played pretty much all my life. The first game I can remember that I have modded was the very first Command & Conquer. I picked up this obscure bootleg “Addon” CD that had all sorts of third party programs for it that allowed me to change what units do in the game and to create my own missions.
When I got my hands on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (one of my all time favourite games), I absolutely loved how accessible modding it was. Seeing all the different mods, ideas, and creations people of the modding community would come up with has always been a great source of inspiration for me. I have been modding for myself and some close friends, creating all kinds of quests, gameplay mods etc. for quite a while, though it wasn’t until 2015 that I released my first mods right here on Nexus Mods: the aptly named [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/62844/]Pirates of Skyrim[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/65259/]Skooming Skyrim[/url].
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1529507087.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1529507228.jpg[/img][/center]
A year or so later, I joined a team of mod authors and we embarked on the journey to make our own game using Unreal Engine. That is where I met you, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/9950988][b]Terrorfox1234[/b][/url], and when we got talking about your work at Nexus Mods, I figured there must be a way for me to join the team at some point in the future. Lo and behold, the relocation process of the team to the offices in Exeter opened up the opportunity for me to follow my passion and turn it into my profession. I had never been to England before, but I am what I would dare to describe as well travelled, so, I was willing and ready to seize the opportunity and move my life to Exeter.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] Well, I’ve been dabbling in modding on and off for a long time. I started out messing around with Garry’s Mod - adding in Stargate themed packs for it. Later I got involved in the Command & Conquer: Generals through [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/cncgenerals/mods/962][b]Rise of the Reds[/b][/url] by SWR Productions, where my skills fell short of actually making content and instead I became a Community Moderator at their forum.
I stepped away from modding for a few years to focus on my education and career but made a return when I built my first gaming rig and re-purchased Skyrim (I had it on Xbox 360 previously). After poking about in Steam Workshop, I thought “there’s got to be better mods than this!” and my Google-fu lead me to Nexus Mods. I knew nothing of modding the Creation Engine at first but found my way to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52248/?][b]Legacy of the Dragonborn[/b][/url] by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/users/2846158][b]Icecreamassassin[/b][/url], there he inspired and coached me into making [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/82998][b]my own patch[/b][/url] for it. This evolved into my contributing directly to the mod and even [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802][b]rebuilding it for Skyrim Special Edition[/b][/url]. After that I just became part of the furniture, really.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/supporterimages/110/64597-1529509532.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1529506849.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]Terrorfox1234: If you could bring one mod into every game you play, which mod would it be?[/b]
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit:[/b][/color] I would say something like [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/33395/][b]SkyTweak[/b][/url] would be a good fit for just about any game. It is a “100 in 1” mod that allows you to change a wide number of gamesettings and thus customise your gameplay experience as much as you like. I always appreciate when game developers give you loads of options when it comes to, let’s say, difficulty settings, but not all games have that. This is where a mod like SkyTweak would come in really handy allowing you to fit the game’s settings to your liking.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus: [/color][/b]See, this is a tough question. It really depends on the type of game. Although it is a little boastful because I work on the mod - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52248/?][b]Legacy of the Dragonborn[/b][/url]’s museum mechanic has always appealed to me. Having a place to show off all the cool stuff you find during the game is something I always felt most player homes lacked. So for an open-world RPG it’d have to be a mod like that. In general though I like mods that ‘freshen up’ the game with new content and mechanics.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1529505734.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/supporterimages/110/64597-1529509094.png[/img][/center]
[b]Terrorfox1234: Are you modding anything now? Are there any games you'd like to crack into and haven't yet?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] I am working on and off on an update for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/62844/][b]Pirates of Skyrim[/b][/url] and on a port of it to Skyrim Special Edition. Other than that, I also have quite a few Skyrim mods that I just never came around to releasing, which I will focus on after the port. Speaking of other games, I really love what the Dark Souls modding community has become. Things like the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/1305/][b]Item Randomizer[/b][/url] by [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/users/5805323?tab=user+files&BH=0]HotPocketRemix[/url][/b] help to give you a refreshed experience, but recently the same author has created some impressive, gameplay-altering mods such as [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/1418][b]The Scorched Contract[/b][/url] that really pushed the envelope for Dark Souls modding. I would love to crack into Dark Souls modding myself and see what I could come up with for that game, just because it is one of those games you can replay 1,000 times in different ways.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] I have shifted more from creating my own mods to contributing to larger projects recently. I am working as an implementer for both Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil (the sequel to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10917][b]Bruma[/b][/url]) and Odyssey of the Dragonborn (the sequel to LOTD). I also have update plans for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802][b]Legacy of the Dragonborn SSE[/b][/url] and a new smaller mod that is only in the planning stages at the moment. I tend to stick to Bethesda’s games for modding because, as much as some would disagree I do like the Creation Engine. Papyrus and Creation Kit are actually incredibly powerful when you learn to use them right, which isn’t a simple task. I am looking forward to The Elder Scrolls VI if it supports modding in a similar fashion to Skyrim.
[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/93P3eNB.jpg[/img] [/center]
[b]Terrorfox1234: When you aren't busy being a Community Manager or modding, how might we find you spending your free time?[/b]
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit:[/b][/color] Currently, being one of the few guys in the office who care about it, I spend a lot of my free time watching the World Cup and cheering on Germany. Being somewhat of a sports enthusiast in general, I also like to work out and keep myself fit. Having just recently moved to England, there are also plenty of new things for me to discover (such as hilariously weird food). Devon is a beautiful part of the country that seems to have a lot to offer with two coastlines being somewhat close. I would love to pay either a visit soon-ish. Other than that, I like learning new languages and exploring different cultures. I am currently trying to brush up on my Portuguese in preparation for a long term goal of mine, which is to one day travel to Brazil.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] At the moment, not much. Having recently relocated to Exeter for the new job I’m still finding my feet here. I like to spend some of my free time to volunteering with the Air Training Corps, a UK youth organisation supported by the RAF. Having spent 7 years in the ATC when I was younger, I enjoy enabling others to have the same awesome experiences I had. Being in a new city, I’m also being a typical tourist and working my way around all the attractions Exeter has to offer.
[b]Terrorfox1234: Now that we know about more about you, let's talk about the job at hand. Why don't you tell us a bit about why you wanted to join the Nexus Mods team, and what it's like now that you are here.[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] The motivation for me to take this job was to combine a profession with what I love doing. I created my Nexus Mods account here over a decade ago and I was a part of the site ever since. I used and downloaded mods, commented, made and released my own work etc. over the course of several years. Due to this hobby of modding and Nexus Mods being the central place for it, the site grew to become a big part of my life. I seized the opportunity that arose from the team being relocated/consolidated locally and it has been an amazing experience ever since I arrived here in England. The atmosphere in the office is very positive and open. Everyone is encouraged and able to give their input on matters, not just relating to their respective field but also for us in, let’s say, matters having to do with web development.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] Before working at Nexus, I used to work in the technical support and repair industry. I had reached a dead-end professionally and was looking for something new and exciting to get me out of the rut I’d fallen into. I was spending a lot of my free time in the Nexus Mods community, so when I saw the Community Manager job open up I thought it was an ideal job for me. I’ve not been a part of an online community for so long before, but the people I’ve met here and the staff (shout-out to SirSalami!) have been great and I wanted to give something back. Since I’ve been here it’s been a massive culture change from my old job. It’s a very positive work environment and I enjoy being able to speak directly to the people who can fix any problems I or our users come across.
[b]
Terrorfox1234: Can you tell us a bit about what you will be doing here at Nexus Mods?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] I’ll let Picky answer the other half of it but: In general, we will be working as a direct line of communication and as the link between the community and the rest of the Nexus Mods team. We will make sure that you guys, the modders, authors, and enthusiasts are well represented and that your respective needs are taken care of.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] We also will be keeping an eye out for new modding communities who can find a home here on Nexus Mods and we’ll be helping to promote all the newest and most interesting mods the users create through our [url=https://www.facebook.com/nexussites/][b]Facebook[/b][/url] and [url=https://twitter.com/NexusSites][b]Twitter[/b][/url] pages.
[b]
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1529507724.jpg[/img][/center]
Terrorfox1234: Beyond the general overview of your job can you get into anything specific that have you been working on? Are there any exciting plans for the near future?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] We just recently launched our [url=https://www.patreon.com/nexusmods][b]Patreon[/b][/url] page, which I set up for the Mod Author Donation Fund and - thanks to Gopher - we now also have a very nice and concise intro video explaining the entire deal there. For the near future, I encourage you guys to keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming special June giveaway.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] We’re also looking to revive the popular featured articles for mod authors and mod projects that fell away a little bit once BlindJudge left. We’ve already got some big names lined up. But if there’s an author or project that our users want to hear from, drop us a suggestion via PM and we’ll see what we can do!
[b]Terrorfox1234: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions! Is there anything else you would like to say to the community before we end this?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] I would just like to thank you all for making the Nexus Mods community what it is. Your enthusiasm, your drive, and your creations all contribute to this community spirit we have developed and that Picky and I will now be doing our best to foster as much as possible going forward. I am really glad that I can now play a more central part in the future development of the community and I am looking forward to this exciting new chapter in my life and to our joint journey.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus: [/color][/b]Wow, Bizkit just made his acceptance speech for an Oscar there… I’d probably just like to empathise to everyone that we’re not here simply to ‘police’ the site, if you have any genuine concerns or questions feel free to drop either one of us a PM on the site or Discord. I look forward to getting to know everyone.
[b]Terrorfox1234: Alright, thanks again, guys! I wish you all the best for your future here at Nexus Mods.[/b]
Welcome to the team, Stefan ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url]) and Mike ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url])!
First off, before we dive into work related questions, let's get back to where it all began...
[b]Terrorfox1234: What initially brought you into the modding scene? What made you want to stick around?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] I’ve been modding the games I’ve played pretty much all my life. The first game I can remember that I have modded was the very first Command & Conquer. I picked up this obscure bootleg “Addon” CD that had all sorts of third party programs for it that allowed me to change what units do in the game and to create my own missions.
When I got my hands on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (one of my all time favourite games), I absolutely loved how accessible modding it was. Seeing all the different mods, ideas, and creations people of the modding community would come up with has always been a great source of inspiration for me. I have been modding for myself and some close friends, creating all kinds of quests, gameplay mods etc. for quite a while, though it wasn’t until 2015 that I released my first mods right here on Nexus Mods: the aptly named [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/62844/]Pirates of Skyrim[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/65259/]Skooming Skyrim[/url].
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1529507087.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1529507228.jpg[/img][/center]
A year or so later, I joined a team of mod authors and we embarked on the journey to make our own game using Unreal Engine. That is where I met you, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/9950988][b]Terrorfox1234[/b][/url], and when we got talking about your work at Nexus Mods, I figured there must be a way for me to join the team at some point in the future. Lo and behold, the relocation process of the team to the offices in Exeter opened up the opportunity for me to follow my passion and turn it into my profession. I had never been to England before, but I am what I would dare to describe as well travelled, so, I was willing and ready to seize the opportunity and move my life to Exeter.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] Well, I’ve been dabbling in modding on and off for a long time. I started out messing around with Garry’s Mod - adding in Stargate themed packs for it. Later I got involved in the Command & Conquer: Generals through [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/cncgenerals/mods/962][b]Rise of the Reds[/b][/url] by SWR Productions, where my skills fell short of actually making content and instead I became a Community Moderator at their forum.
I stepped away from modding for a few years to focus on my education and career but made a return when I built my first gaming rig and re-purchased Skyrim (I had it on Xbox 360 previously). After poking about in Steam Workshop, I thought “there’s got to be better mods than this!” and my Google-fu lead me to Nexus Mods. I knew nothing of modding the Creation Engine at first but found my way to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52248/?][b]Legacy of the Dragonborn[/b][/url] by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/users/2846158][b]Icecreamassassin[/b][/url], there he inspired and coached me into making [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/82998][b]my own patch[/b][/url] for it. This evolved into my contributing directly to the mod and even [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802][b]rebuilding it for Skyrim Special Edition[/b][/url]. After that I just became part of the furniture, really.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/supporterimages/110/64597-1529509532.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1529506849.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]Terrorfox1234: If you could bring one mod into every game you play, which mod would it be?[/b]
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit:[/b][/color] I would say something like [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/33395/][b]SkyTweak[/b][/url] would be a good fit for just about any game. It is a “100 in 1” mod that allows you to change a wide number of gamesettings and thus customise your gameplay experience as much as you like. I always appreciate when game developers give you loads of options when it comes to, let’s say, difficulty settings, but not all games have that. This is where a mod like SkyTweak would come in really handy allowing you to fit the game’s settings to your liking.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus: [/color][/b]See, this is a tough question. It really depends on the type of game. Although it is a little boastful because I work on the mod - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52248/?][b]Legacy of the Dragonborn[/b][/url]’s museum mechanic has always appealed to me. Having a place to show off all the cool stuff you find during the game is something I always felt most player homes lacked. So for an open-world RPG it’d have to be a mod like that. In general though I like mods that ‘freshen up’ the game with new content and mechanics.
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/2295/31179975-1529505734.jpg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/supporterimages/110/64597-1529509094.png[/img][/center]
[b]Terrorfox1234: Are you modding anything now? Are there any games you'd like to crack into and haven't yet?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] I am working on and off on an update for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/62844/][b]Pirates of Skyrim[/b][/url] and on a port of it to Skyrim Special Edition. Other than that, I also have quite a few Skyrim mods that I just never came around to releasing, which I will focus on after the port. Speaking of other games, I really love what the Dark Souls modding community has become. Things like the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/1305/][b]Item Randomizer[/b][/url] by [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/users/5805323?tab=user+files&BH=0]HotPocketRemix[/url][/b] help to give you a refreshed experience, but recently the same author has created some impressive, gameplay-altering mods such as [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/darksouls/mods/1418][b]The Scorched Contract[/b][/url] that really pushed the envelope for Dark Souls modding. I would love to crack into Dark Souls modding myself and see what I could come up with for that game, just because it is one of those games you can replay 1,000 times in different ways.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] I have shifted more from creating my own mods to contributing to larger projects recently. I am working as an implementer for both Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil (the sequel to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10917][b]Bruma[/b][/url]) and Odyssey of the Dragonborn (the sequel to LOTD). I also have update plans for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802][b]Legacy of the Dragonborn SSE[/b][/url] and a new smaller mod that is only in the planning stages at the moment. I tend to stick to Bethesda’s games for modding because, as much as some would disagree I do like the Creation Engine. Papyrus and Creation Kit are actually incredibly powerful when you learn to use them right, which isn’t a simple task. I am looking forward to The Elder Scrolls VI if it supports modding in a similar fashion to Skyrim.
[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/93P3eNB.jpg[/img] [/center]
[b]Terrorfox1234: When you aren't busy being a Community Manager or modding, how might we find you spending your free time?[/b]
[color=#ff7700][b]BigBizkit:[/b][/color] Currently, being one of the few guys in the office who care about it, I spend a lot of my free time watching the World Cup and cheering on Germany. Being somewhat of a sports enthusiast in general, I also like to work out and keep myself fit. Having just recently moved to England, there are also plenty of new things for me to discover (such as hilariously weird food). Devon is a beautiful part of the country that seems to have a lot to offer with two coastlines being somewhat close. I would love to pay either a visit soon-ish. Other than that, I like learning new languages and exploring different cultures. I am currently trying to brush up on my Portuguese in preparation for a long term goal of mine, which is to one day travel to Brazil.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] At the moment, not much. Having recently relocated to Exeter for the new job I’m still finding my feet here. I like to spend some of my free time to volunteering with the Air Training Corps, a UK youth organisation supported by the RAF. Having spent 7 years in the ATC when I was younger, I enjoy enabling others to have the same awesome experiences I had. Being in a new city, I’m also being a typical tourist and working my way around all the attractions Exeter has to offer.
[b]Terrorfox1234: Now that we know about more about you, let's talk about the job at hand. Why don't you tell us a bit about why you wanted to join the Nexus Mods team, and what it's like now that you are here.[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] The motivation for me to take this job was to combine a profession with what I love doing. I created my Nexus Mods account here over a decade ago and I was a part of the site ever since. I used and downloaded mods, commented, made and released my own work etc. over the course of several years. Due to this hobby of modding and Nexus Mods being the central place for it, the site grew to become a big part of my life. I seized the opportunity that arose from the team being relocated/consolidated locally and it has been an amazing experience ever since I arrived here in England. The atmosphere in the office is very positive and open. Everyone is encouraged and able to give their input on matters, not just relating to their respective field but also for us in, let’s say, matters having to do with web development.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] Before working at Nexus, I used to work in the technical support and repair industry. I had reached a dead-end professionally and was looking for something new and exciting to get me out of the rut I’d fallen into. I was spending a lot of my free time in the Nexus Mods community, so when I saw the Community Manager job open up I thought it was an ideal job for me. I’ve not been a part of an online community for so long before, but the people I’ve met here and the staff (shout-out to SirSalami!) have been great and I wanted to give something back. Since I’ve been here it’s been a massive culture change from my old job. It’s a very positive work environment and I enjoy being able to speak directly to the people who can fix any problems I or our users come across.
[b]
Terrorfox1234: Can you tell us a bit about what you will be doing here at Nexus Mods?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] I’ll let Picky answer the other half of it but: In general, we will be working as a direct line of communication and as the link between the community and the rest of the Nexus Mods team. We will make sure that you guys, the modders, authors, and enthusiasts are well represented and that your respective needs are taken care of.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] We also will be keeping an eye out for new modding communities who can find a home here on Nexus Mods and we’ll be helping to promote all the newest and most interesting mods the users create through our [url=https://www.facebook.com/nexussites/][b]Facebook[/b][/url] and [url=https://twitter.com/NexusSites][b]Twitter[/b][/url] pages.
[b]
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/110/64597-1529507724.jpg[/img][/center]
Terrorfox1234: Beyond the general overview of your job can you get into anything specific that have you been working on? Are there any exciting plans for the near future?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] We just recently launched our [url=https://www.patreon.com/nexusmods][b]Patreon[/b][/url] page, which I set up for the Mod Author Donation Fund and - thanks to Gopher - we now also have a very nice and concise intro video explaining the entire deal there. For the near future, I encourage you guys to keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming special June giveaway.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus:[/color][/b] We’re also looking to revive the popular featured articles for mod authors and mod projects that fell away a little bit once BlindJudge left. We’ve already got some big names lined up. But if there’s an author or project that our users want to hear from, drop us a suggestion via PM and we’ll see what we can do!
[b]Terrorfox1234: Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions! Is there anything else you would like to say to the community before we end this?[/b]
[b][color=#ff7700]BigBizkit:[/color][/b] I would just like to thank you all for making the Nexus Mods community what it is. Your enthusiasm, your drive, and your creations all contribute to this community spirit we have developed and that Picky and I will now be doing our best to foster as much as possible going forward. I am really glad that I can now play a more central part in the future development of the community and I am looking forward to this exciting new chapter in my life and to our joint journey.
[b][color=#93c47d]Pickysaurus: [/color][/b]Wow, Bizkit just made his acceptance speech for an Oscar there… I’d probably just like to empathise to everyone that we’re not here simply to ‘police’ the site, if you have any genuine concerns or questions feel free to drop either one of us a PM on the site or Discord. I look forward to getting to know everyone.
[b]Terrorfox1234: Alright, thanks again, guys! I wish you all the best for your future here at Nexus Mods.[/b]
First donation point report delivered, and recent updates to the system
[b]First report available
[/b]
Towards the end of May, we [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13611]announced and launched[/url] our Donation Point system for mod authors to receive donations directly from Nexus Mods.
While we don't send Donation Points until 3 months after the end of the month (e.g. Donation Points generated in May won't be received by users until the beginning of September) we will provide a report at the start of each month to all opted-in users, for the previous month, that shows and explains the DP you should expect to receive in 3 months time, subject to any potential moderation issues. This report will show you the total amount of DP you should receive and then break that down further so you can see exactly what mods have produced what amount of DP. It will also show you the DP you've received from others sharing their DP with you.
May's report has been delayed a little while we work on some finishing touches, but it should now be finished and available for viewing for any opted in authors from [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/wallet/all/1]their wallet page[/url]. Hopefully, from next month onwards, this report will be automatically generated and available to you within the first few working days of the month.
[b]Some figures to reflect on[/b]
We launched the Donation Point system on the 22nd of May. Within the 10 days the donation system was operational in May, 2,674 mod authors opted in 10,955 of their mods to the Donation Points system.
For the first month, Nexus Mods has contributed $6,000 to the Donation Pool, which means there were 6,000,000 DP up for grabs in May. We intend to put $8,000 into the Donation Pool for the coming month.
Between the 10,955 files that were opted in, there were 5,289,062 unique downloads, which means each unique download in the month of May will be worth ~1.13 DP.
Of the 2,674 mod authors who have opted in, 129 will receive 10,000 DP ($10) or more, 255 will receive $5 or more and 709 mod authors will receive 1,000 DP ($1) or more.
Bethesda owned games accounted for 93% of the Donation Points distribution, despite the fact total download stats (and not just opted in stats) show more of an 85/15 split for downloads between Bethesda and non-Bethesda games on Nexus Mods. This disparity is simply because not as many mod authors from other games have opted in their mods.
While Bethesda games have been our bread and butter for almost 17 years, I am very keen to foster the entire PC modding community and not just Bethesda games. I am going to reflect on what we can do to balance that out a little and ensure games other than Bethesda games receive an adequate amount of donation funding that is more reflective of their worth both to users of the site, and to Nexus Mods, in the interests of encouraging our community past just Bethesda games. More than likely, this is going to mean simply creating a separate, and much smaller top-up pool for non-Bethesda games that takes nothing away from the main pool (e.g. an additional $500 set aside each month for non-Bethesda games). Ergo costing us a bit more, but I believe we can stretch to it so we do a little better by our non-Bethesda mod authors as well.
I'll have a think about it, review the next couple of month's figures, and see what I can do on that front.
[b]Share directly with charities no matter how much you receive[/b]
Before the first Donation Points get delivered in September we'll be making some changes to our DP store (and adding more items to it). However, in the meantime, we've made a rather big change to the opt-in system.
You can now directly donate some (or all) of your DP, on a per-file basis, to one or more of the charities we have selected. At the end of each month, we'll tally up the Donation Points each charity has received and then donate the dollar equivalent to that charity. We'll likely open up these stats somewhere on the site so everyone can see how much is getting donated to charity.
The idea here is that there are going to be a not insignificant percentage of mod authors who only receive a small number of unique downloads each month and who might never actually reach the $10 minimum payout we have on the store. However, we can make the DP these less popular files receive still have some significance by allowing them to be pooled together for a number of good causes.
We'll continue to improve on this and we will change the charity system in our store so you can donate any number of DP, starting from just 1 DP, instead of having to wait until you have 10,000 DP. Thus, even if you're not sharing your DP directly with charities and you don't want to give 10,000 DP, you can give whatever you can or want and it will still make a difference when pooled with everyone else's donated DP. Donated Donation Points. Classic.
[b]Fixes to permissions and you can now see what mods are opted in[/b]
We have now added some additional text to the "Permissions and credits" section of a mod page that will tell you whether a mod has opted into the Donation Points system. Mod authors need to be able to see and know if other mod authors have opted mods into the system to ensure any permissions or rights issues are being kept to and followed as necessary. This is necessary for us, and other mod authors, to properly moderate the system and is therefore non-negotiable. We will not remove this notification and there is no option to do so on your end.
A few mod authors reported some oddities with the opt-in permissions that you can set for allowing the use of DP, and that should now be cleared up and a bit more logical. Let us know if it still needs some tweaking.
[/b]
Towards the end of May, we [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13611]announced and launched[/url] our Donation Point system for mod authors to receive donations directly from Nexus Mods.
While we don't send Donation Points until 3 months after the end of the month (e.g. Donation Points generated in May won't be received by users until the beginning of September) we will provide a report at the start of each month to all opted-in users, for the previous month, that shows and explains the DP you should expect to receive in 3 months time, subject to any potential moderation issues. This report will show you the total amount of DP you should receive and then break that down further so you can see exactly what mods have produced what amount of DP. It will also show you the DP you've received from others sharing their DP with you.
May's report has been delayed a little while we work on some finishing touches, but it should now be finished and available for viewing for any opted in authors from [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/wallet/all/1]their wallet page[/url]. Hopefully, from next month onwards, this report will be automatically generated and available to you within the first few working days of the month.
[b]Some figures to reflect on[/b]
We launched the Donation Point system on the 22nd of May. Within the 10 days the donation system was operational in May, 2,674 mod authors opted in 10,955 of their mods to the Donation Points system.
For the first month, Nexus Mods has contributed $6,000 to the Donation Pool, which means there were 6,000,000 DP up for grabs in May. We intend to put $8,000 into the Donation Pool for the coming month.
Between the 10,955 files that were opted in, there were 5,289,062 unique downloads, which means each unique download in the month of May will be worth ~1.13 DP.
Of the 2,674 mod authors who have opted in, 129 will receive 10,000 DP ($10) or more, 255 will receive $5 or more and 709 mod authors will receive 1,000 DP ($1) or more.
Bethesda owned games accounted for 93% of the Donation Points distribution, despite the fact total download stats (and not just opted in stats) show more of an 85/15 split for downloads between Bethesda and non-Bethesda games on Nexus Mods. This disparity is simply because not as many mod authors from other games have opted in their mods.
While Bethesda games have been our bread and butter for almost 17 years, I am very keen to foster the entire PC modding community and not just Bethesda games. I am going to reflect on what we can do to balance that out a little and ensure games other than Bethesda games receive an adequate amount of donation funding that is more reflective of their worth both to users of the site, and to Nexus Mods, in the interests of encouraging our community past just Bethesda games. More than likely, this is going to mean simply creating a separate, and much smaller top-up pool for non-Bethesda games that takes nothing away from the main pool (e.g. an additional $500 set aside each month for non-Bethesda games). Ergo costing us a bit more, but I believe we can stretch to it so we do a little better by our non-Bethesda mod authors as well.
I'll have a think about it, review the next couple of month's figures, and see what I can do on that front.
[b]Share directly with charities no matter how much you receive[/b]
Before the first Donation Points get delivered in September we'll be making some changes to our DP store (and adding more items to it). However, in the meantime, we've made a rather big change to the opt-in system.
You can now directly donate some (or all) of your DP, on a per-file basis, to one or more of the charities we have selected. At the end of each month, we'll tally up the Donation Points each charity has received and then donate the dollar equivalent to that charity. We'll likely open up these stats somewhere on the site so everyone can see how much is getting donated to charity.
The idea here is that there are going to be a not insignificant percentage of mod authors who only receive a small number of unique downloads each month and who might never actually reach the $10 minimum payout we have on the store. However, we can make the DP these less popular files receive still have some significance by allowing them to be pooled together for a number of good causes.
We'll continue to improve on this and we will change the charity system in our store so you can donate any number of DP, starting from just 1 DP, instead of having to wait until you have 10,000 DP. Thus, even if you're not sharing your DP directly with charities and you don't want to give 10,000 DP, you can give whatever you can or want and it will still make a difference when pooled with everyone else's donated DP. Donated Donation Points. Classic.
[b]Fixes to permissions and you can now see what mods are opted in[/b]
We have now added some additional text to the "Permissions and credits" section of a mod page that will tell you whether a mod has opted into the Donation Points system. Mod authors need to be able to see and know if other mod authors have opted mods into the system to ensure any permissions or rights issues are being kept to and followed as necessary. This is necessary for us, and other mod authors, to properly moderate the system and is therefore non-negotiable. We will not remove this notification and there is no option to do so on your end.
A few mod authors reported some oddities with the opt-in permissions that you can set for allowing the use of DP, and that should now be cleared up and a bit more logical. Let us know if it still needs some tweaking.
Win a copy of Surviving Mars, The Witcher 2 and more with GOG.com
Our friends over at [url=https://www.gog.com?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfceA]GOG.com[/url] are having their Summer Gaming Sale and with the generous [b]100 Game Codes [/b]they've provided to give away to our community, we're joining in on the fun!
It's a great opportunity to get your hands on a new game to tide you over until the titles announced at E3 are released. We're super excited to be able to give these games to you, but be sure to read the rules below before entering - we'd hate for you to disqualify yourself.
In order to ensure the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps to ensure your eligibility.
[list]
[*]Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want (site rules still apply)
[*]Log into the Rafflecopter widget with your preferred method. (Facebook/Email)
[*]Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
[*]Enter your full Nexus Mods username into the field (check your spelling!)
[/list]
If you forget to leave a comment or don't include a valid username, you'll lose out on your chance to win.
While you're here, check out the [b][url=https://www.gog.com/partner/summer_nexusmods?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfceA]Nexus Mods Summer Collection[/url][/b] for our picks from GOG's sale and don't forget to snag your [b]free game[/b]: [url=https://www.gog.com/game/ziggurat?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfceA]Ziggurat[/url]. It's a fast-paced FPS dungeon crawler with Roguelike sensibilities. That's a mouthful, but it's a great game for short play sessions.
Good luck! And we'll be contacting the winners on Friday!
[url=http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2af42f461/?][size=5]Click here to enter for you chance to win 1 of 100 Game Codes from GOG.com[/size]
[/url][i][size=1](Entries close at 11:59 GMT on 14th June 2018 - all prizes must be redeemed before Monday 18th June or they will expire.)[/size]
[/i]
Complete list of prizes up for grabs:
[*]5x Surviving Mars game codes
[*]10x The Witcher 1 game codes
[*]15x S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game codes
[*]20x S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat game codes
[*]25x The Witcher 2 game codes
[*]25x Hat in Time game codes
[i][size=1](Disclosure: We are a member of GOG.com's affiliate program. This means if you use any of the links in the article above to make a purchase from GOG.com, we get a very small cut. It's another way to help us keep the lights on and we're always happy to promote such a great company!)[/size][/i]
It's a great opportunity to get your hands on a new game to tide you over until the titles announced at E3 are released. We're super excited to be able to give these games to you, but be sure to read the rules below before entering - we'd hate for you to disqualify yourself.
In order to ensure the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps to ensure your eligibility.
[list]
[*]Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want (site rules still apply)
[*]Log into the Rafflecopter widget with your preferred method. (Facebook/Email)
[*]Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
[*]Enter your full Nexus Mods username into the field (check your spelling!)
[/list]
If you forget to leave a comment or don't include a valid username, you'll lose out on your chance to win.
While you're here, check out the [b][url=https://www.gog.com/partner/summer_nexusmods?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfceA]Nexus Mods Summer Collection[/url][/b] for our picks from GOG's sale and don't forget to snag your [b]free game[/b]: [url=https://www.gog.com/game/ziggurat?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfceA]Ziggurat[/url]. It's a fast-paced FPS dungeon crawler with Roguelike sensibilities. That's a mouthful, but it's a great game for short play sessions.
Good luck! And we'll be contacting the winners on Friday!
[url=http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2af42f461/?][size=5]Click here to enter for you chance to win 1 of 100 Game Codes from GOG.com[/size]
[/url][i][size=1](Entries close at 11:59 GMT on 14th June 2018 - all prizes must be redeemed before Monday 18th June or they will expire.)[/size]
[/i]
Complete list of prizes up for grabs:
[*]5x Surviving Mars game codes
[*]10x The Witcher 1 game codes
[*]15x S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game codes
[*]20x S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat game codes
[*]25x The Witcher 2 game codes
[*]25x Hat in Time game codes
[i][size=1](Disclosure: We are a member of GOG.com's affiliate program. This means if you use any of the links in the article above to make a purchase from GOG.com, we get a very small cut. It's another way to help us keep the lights on and we're always happy to promote such a great company!)[/size][/i]
Patreon page for our Donation Points system
In May we announced our [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13611]Donation Points system[/url] for mod authors on Nexus Mods. The premise of the system is (relatively) simple, each month Nexus Mods has committed to donating $6,000 - $10,000 from our own funds towards a donation pool for mod authors to benefit from. If you'd like to read more about the Donation Points system please read our [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13611]launch news post[/url] and our [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/faq]FAQs section[/url].
Today we have launched a [url=https://www.patreon.com/nexusmods]Patreon donation page[/url] to crowdfund a supplement to our donation pool so that our site users can also contribute to the system. Thus, whatever you, the users, raise on Patreon each month will go towards the next month's mod author Donation Points pool, on top of what Nexus Mods is already putting into the pool that month.
We're keeping it simple. There is one tier, with one purpose! Pledges go from you straight to our modding community and every penny you donate (except for Patreon and PayPal processing fees that we have no control over) will go towards the Donation Pool for mod authors.
We are a site built by modders, for modders, with the sole focus of providing the best support we can for our modding community of various video games. If you're a regular user of mods on Nexus Mods and would like to give something back to the mod authors who provide all their work free of charge, this is a great way to do it!
Any amount helps the mod author community and our one and only tier is open-ended starting from as little as $1.
Please be aware, this does not replace any sort of direct donation you can make to mod authors. If you'd rather donate directly to a specific mod author, nothing has changed! This is simply a way normal users of the site can donate towards all mod authors who have opted their mods into the donation system.
Today we have launched a [url=https://www.patreon.com/nexusmods]Patreon donation page[/url] to crowdfund a supplement to our donation pool so that our site users can also contribute to the system. Thus, whatever you, the users, raise on Patreon each month will go towards the next month's mod author Donation Points pool, on top of what Nexus Mods is already putting into the pool that month.
We're keeping it simple. There is one tier, with one purpose! Pledges go from you straight to our modding community and every penny you donate (except for Patreon and PayPal processing fees that we have no control over) will go towards the Donation Pool for mod authors.
We are a site built by modders, for modders, with the sole focus of providing the best support we can for our modding community of various video games. If you're a regular user of mods on Nexus Mods and would like to give something back to the mod authors who provide all their work free of charge, this is a great way to do it!
Any amount helps the mod author community and our one and only tier is open-ended starting from as little as $1.
Please be aware, this does not replace any sort of direct donation you can make to mod authors. If you'd rather donate directly to a specific mod author, nothing has changed! This is simply a way normal users of the site can donate towards all mod authors who have opted their mods into the donation system.
GOG Summer Sale Now On
[b]GOG's Summer Gaming Sale[/b] has begun! Between now and Monday 18th June, you can bag big discounts on a generous range of DRM-free games.
If you've been considering picking up a classic Bethesda game like Morrowind, Fallout: New Vegas or Oblivion you can get them for ~50% off during the sale. Or if you fancy trying something new like Divinity: Original Sin 2 or Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire they're on sale too!
We've curated our list of top games with mod support as well as a few of our favourites. So if you’re looking for a new game, check out the [b][url=https://www.gog.com/partner/summer_nexusmods?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Nexus Mods Summer Collection[/url] [/b]at GOG. If you make a purchase by following one of the links on this page, you'll be supporting our site as Nexus Mods gets a kickback for every purchase - at no extra cost to you!
If you want to get even more out of these games, here are links to the Nexus sites for a few of the games we featured plus a selection of mods you may want to try out:
[b][size=4][url=https://www.gog.com/game/pillars_of_eternity_2_game?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire[/url] | [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2]Nexus (50+ Mods)[/url] | Released 2018[/size][/b]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/43][img]https://i.imgur.com/isKp3Ef.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/71][img]https://i.imgur.com/3chn6F2.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/72][img]https://i.imgur.com/tZBZjWj.jpg[/img][/url]
[b][size=4][url=https://www.gog.com/game/divinity_original_sin_2?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Divinity: Original Sin 2[/url] | [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2]Nexus (300+ Mods)[/url] | Released 2017[/size][/b]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2/mods/87][img]https://i.imgur.com/rQDdt5L.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2/mods/229][img]https://i.imgur.com/6VNtx7p.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2/mods/13][img]https://i.imgur.com/09fKr91.jpg[/img][/url]
[b][size=4][url=https://www.gog.com/game/fallout_new_vegas_ultimate_edition?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Fallout: New Vegas[/url] | [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas]Nexus (19,000+ Mods)[/url] | Released 2010[/size][/b]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/38719][img]https://i.imgur.com/trhNNpO.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39531][img]https://i.imgur.com/CK5AWLW.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39873][img]https://i.imgur.com/IBWUA2K.jpg[/img][/url]
[b][size=4][url=https://www.gog.com/game/elder_scrolls_iv_oblivion_game_of_the_year_edition_deluxe_the?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]TES4: Oblivion[/url] | [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion]Nexus (28,000+ Mods)[/url] | Released 2006[/size][/b]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/44676][img]https://i.imgur.com/pdPcD92.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/37952][img]https://i.imgur.com/fImcthY.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/45749][img]https://i.imgur.com/M1gLoS4.jpg[/img][/url]
[b][size=5][center]Stay tuned for more games on sale and a special giveaway later this month![/center][/size][/b]
If you've been considering picking up a classic Bethesda game like Morrowind, Fallout: New Vegas or Oblivion you can get them for ~50% off during the sale. Or if you fancy trying something new like Divinity: Original Sin 2 or Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire they're on sale too!
We've curated our list of top games with mod support as well as a few of our favourites. So if you’re looking for a new game, check out the [b][url=https://www.gog.com/partner/summer_nexusmods?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Nexus Mods Summer Collection[/url] [/b]at GOG. If you make a purchase by following one of the links on this page, you'll be supporting our site as Nexus Mods gets a kickback for every purchase - at no extra cost to you!
If you want to get even more out of these games, here are links to the Nexus sites for a few of the games we featured plus a selection of mods you may want to try out:
[b][size=4][url=https://www.gog.com/game/pillars_of_eternity_2_game?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire[/url] | [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2]Nexus (50+ Mods)[/url] | Released 2018[/size][/b]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/43][img]https://i.imgur.com/isKp3Ef.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/71][img]https://i.imgur.com/3chn6F2.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/pillarsofeternity2/mods/72][img]https://i.imgur.com/tZBZjWj.jpg[/img][/url]
[b][size=4][url=https://www.gog.com/game/divinity_original_sin_2?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Divinity: Original Sin 2[/url] | [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2]Nexus (300+ Mods)[/url] | Released 2017[/size][/b]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2/mods/87][img]https://i.imgur.com/rQDdt5L.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2/mods/229][img]https://i.imgur.com/6VNtx7p.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/divinityoriginalsin2/mods/13][img]https://i.imgur.com/09fKr91.jpg[/img][/url]
[b][size=4][url=https://www.gog.com/game/fallout_new_vegas_ultimate_edition?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]Fallout: New Vegas[/url] | [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas]Nexus (19,000+ Mods)[/url] | Released 2010[/size][/b]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/38719][img]https://i.imgur.com/trhNNpO.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39531][img]https://i.imgur.com/CK5AWLW.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39873][img]https://i.imgur.com/IBWUA2K.jpg[/img][/url]
[b][size=4][url=https://www.gog.com/game/elder_scrolls_iv_oblivion_game_of_the_year_edition_deluxe_the?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce]TES4: Oblivion[/url] | [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion]Nexus (28,000+ Mods)[/url] | Released 2006[/size][/b]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/44676][img]https://i.imgur.com/pdPcD92.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/37952][img]https://i.imgur.com/fImcthY.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/45749][img]https://i.imgur.com/M1gLoS4.jpg[/img][/url]
[b][size=5][center]Stay tuned for more games on sale and a special giveaway later this month![/center][/size][/b]
May Giveaway #2
It's time for another giveaway!
For those of you that may have missed the initial announcement; as part our initiative to increase our social media following and presence, we will be running a giveaway twice a month.
Why do we care about our social media presence?
Why not just run ads on social media?
You can read more about that [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url][/b]!
Regardless of our reasons, we're giving away free stuff! A £35 Steam Gift Card to be precise!
[i](Approximately $50 USD depending on daily exchange rate)[/i]
[b]Read this before you scurry off to enter or you might disqualify yourself![/b]
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[b][size=3][url=https://gleam.io/ZQBq1/may-giveaway-2]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card!
[/url][/size][/b][i][size=1][b](Entry period ends on Wednesday, May 30 at 11:59 pm EST)[/b][/size][/i]
For those of you that may have missed the initial announcement; as part our initiative to increase our social media following and presence, we will be running a giveaway twice a month.
Why do we care about our social media presence?
Why not just run ads on social media?
You can read more about that [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url][/b]!
Regardless of our reasons, we're giving away free stuff! A £35 Steam Gift Card to be precise!
[i](Approximately $50 USD depending on daily exchange rate)[/i]
[b]Read this before you scurry off to enter or you might disqualify yourself![/b]
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[b][size=3][url=https://gleam.io/ZQBq1/may-giveaway-2]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card!
[/url][/size][/b][i][size=1][b](Entry period ends on Wednesday, May 30 at 11:59 pm EST)[/b][/size][/i]
Donation Points system now live for mod authors on Nexus Mods
Back in December [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13371]I announced our intention[/url] to create and release a system that provided some modest rewards to mod authors on Nexus Mods.
It's taken us a bit longer to implement than we initially anticipated, but I am happy to announce that from today, any mod authors on Nexus Mods will be able to opt their files into our Donation Points system.
The premise of the Donation Points (DP) system is relatively simple on the surface. Each month Nexus Mods will donate a set amount of money into a central donation pool from which the total DP available that month will be calculated. At the end of each month, mod authors will receive DP based on how many unique downloads their mods received that month. How many DP your mod(s) receive will depend on a number of factors including how much money we have donated into the pool and how many unique downloads all the other opted-in files from other authors have received.
1,000 Donation Points will be worth $1 and mod authors will be able to choose from a number of ways to spend their DP, including receiving straight up Pay Pal donations, buying Premium Membership from Nexus Mods, donating their DP to a number of charities or sharing their DP with other users on the site that they like or have received help from. We hope to expand on what's available in our store over the coming months and years while promoting exactly how much has been donated to mod authors (in a general sense) and how much we've given to charities on their behalf.
You've probably got some questions about this system so we've setup a [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/faq]Frequently Asked Questions section[/url] that should hopefully answer all your questions in detail.
There is a 3 month delay before any payouts happen so we've still got plenty of time before the first Donation Points are handed out to mod authors who opt into the system. We've done the bulk of the work on this system, but it's still early days and we've got a little ways to go before it's fully complete. However, we'd really like to get the ball rolling and letting mod authors opt their files into this new system is the first milestone.
In the first couple of months the money we donate into the pool will be lower than what we hope to donate each month. This is because we know it will take time for word to get out and we'd like to give all mod authors a good opportunity to gain from this system, rather than chucking a load of money into a big explosive opening only for a limited number of authors to benefit from it. However, I've set aside a budget of $100,000 from Nexus Mod's own funds over the next 12 months to this system. Our gesture of thanks from Nexus Mods, and the users of Nexus Mods, to all the mod authors who use our site and share their work freely with the internet. Looking forward, we would also like to introduce a crowd funding mechanism that will allow users of the site to donate to the monthly pool and top up what Nexus Mods is already paying in each month.
Also of note, we've updated our permissions system on mod pages to include an area where you can specify whether you'd like others using your assets/mods to be able to receive Donation Points for their mods and whether you'd like to be contacted for permission first. If this is of interest to you, please update your "Permissions" on your files accordingly.
Because our Donation Points system makes extensive use of the "Unique Downloads" stats, we have had to make a tough choice and remove our "guest downloading" system entirely from the site. For those not aware, up until this point we allowed non-members and users who are not logged in to download files that were less than 2MB in size. Unfortunately, with the prevalence of proxies, VPNs and services like TOR it has become impossible to accurately track unique downloads from these users and it opens up an avenue for abuse in our Donation Point system. As such, we had to choose between those downloads not counting in our Donation Point system or removing the guest download system entirely. We felt not counting these downloads would significantly impact some of the smaller mods out there (of which very popular mods, like SkyUI, are a part) and thus, we've decided to make it so that you need to be logged in to Nexus Mods in order to download all files on the site now. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
For more information on this system please read through [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/faq]our FAQ section[/url]. If you're a mod author and would like to opt-in one or more of your files, head on over to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/mods/1]our opt-in page[/url]. You can access this page at any time from the "Mods" drop-down in the top-nav or in the bottom-nav of the site. And if you'd like to see what you can buy with your future DP then you can check out our [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/store/all/1]store page[/url].
It's taken us a bit longer to implement than we initially anticipated, but I am happy to announce that from today, any mod authors on Nexus Mods will be able to opt their files into our Donation Points system.
The premise of the Donation Points (DP) system is relatively simple on the surface. Each month Nexus Mods will donate a set amount of money into a central donation pool from which the total DP available that month will be calculated. At the end of each month, mod authors will receive DP based on how many unique downloads their mods received that month. How many DP your mod(s) receive will depend on a number of factors including how much money we have donated into the pool and how many unique downloads all the other opted-in files from other authors have received.
1,000 Donation Points will be worth $1 and mod authors will be able to choose from a number of ways to spend their DP, including receiving straight up Pay Pal donations, buying Premium Membership from Nexus Mods, donating their DP to a number of charities or sharing their DP with other users on the site that they like or have received help from. We hope to expand on what's available in our store over the coming months and years while promoting exactly how much has been donated to mod authors (in a general sense) and how much we've given to charities on their behalf.
You've probably got some questions about this system so we've setup a [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/faq]Frequently Asked Questions section[/url] that should hopefully answer all your questions in detail.
There is a 3 month delay before any payouts happen so we've still got plenty of time before the first Donation Points are handed out to mod authors who opt into the system. We've done the bulk of the work on this system, but it's still early days and we've got a little ways to go before it's fully complete. However, we'd really like to get the ball rolling and letting mod authors opt their files into this new system is the first milestone.
In the first couple of months the money we donate into the pool will be lower than what we hope to donate each month. This is because we know it will take time for word to get out and we'd like to give all mod authors a good opportunity to gain from this system, rather than chucking a load of money into a big explosive opening only for a limited number of authors to benefit from it. However, I've set aside a budget of $100,000 from Nexus Mod's own funds over the next 12 months to this system. Our gesture of thanks from Nexus Mods, and the users of Nexus Mods, to all the mod authors who use our site and share their work freely with the internet. Looking forward, we would also like to introduce a crowd funding mechanism that will allow users of the site to donate to the monthly pool and top up what Nexus Mods is already paying in each month.
Also of note, we've updated our permissions system on mod pages to include an area where you can specify whether you'd like others using your assets/mods to be able to receive Donation Points for their mods and whether you'd like to be contacted for permission first. If this is of interest to you, please update your "Permissions" on your files accordingly.
Because our Donation Points system makes extensive use of the "Unique Downloads" stats, we have had to make a tough choice and remove our "guest downloading" system entirely from the site. For those not aware, up until this point we allowed non-members and users who are not logged in to download files that were less than 2MB in size. Unfortunately, with the prevalence of proxies, VPNs and services like TOR it has become impossible to accurately track unique downloads from these users and it opens up an avenue for abuse in our Donation Point system. As such, we had to choose between those downloads not counting in our Donation Point system or removing the guest download system entirely. We felt not counting these downloads would significantly impact some of the smaller mods out there (of which very popular mods, like SkyUI, are a part) and thus, we've decided to make it so that you need to be logged in to Nexus Mods in order to download all files on the site now. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
For more information on this system please read through [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/faq]our FAQ section[/url]. If you're a mod author and would like to opt-in one or more of your files, head on over to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/mods/1]our opt-in page[/url]. You can access this page at any time from the "Mods" drop-down in the top-nav or in the bottom-nav of the site. And if you'd like to see what you can buy with your future DP then you can check out our [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/store/all/1]store page[/url].
May Giveaway #1
It's time for another giveaway!
For those of you that may have missed the initial announcement; as part our initiative to increase our social media following and presence, we will be running a series of giveaways.
Why do we care about our social media presence?
Why not just run ads on social media?
You can read more about that [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url][/b]!
Regardless of our reasons, we're giving away free stuff! A £35 Steam Gift Card to be precise!
[i](Approximately $50 USD depending on daily exchange rate)[/i]
[b]Read this before you scurry off to enter or you might disqualify yourself![/b]
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[b][size=3][url=http://2nex.us/oPdM30jWMl4]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card![/url][/size][/b]
For those of you that may have missed the initial announcement; as part our initiative to increase our social media following and presence, we will be running a series of giveaways.
Why do we care about our social media presence?
Why not just run ads on social media?
You can read more about that [b][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13406]here[/url][/b]!
Regardless of our reasons, we're giving away free stuff! A £35 Steam Gift Card to be precise!
[i](Approximately $50 USD depending on daily exchange rate)[/i]
[b]Read this before you scurry off to enter or you might disqualify yourself![/b]
In order to make sure that the winner comes from the Nexus Mods community, there are some mandatory steps for ensuring your eligibility.
1. Leave a comment on this article. You can say anything you want. (The site rules still apply!)
2. Log into the contest entry form with your preferred method.
3. Click the second entry action that says "Leave a comment on Nexus Mods"
4. Enter your Nexus Mods username into the text field.
[i](If you didn't leave a comment here before going to the contest entry form, be sure to follow the link back here and do that.)[/i]
No comment or valid username = no Steam Gift Card for you.
[b][size=3][url=http://2nex.us/oPdM30jWMl4]Click here to enter for your chance to win a £35 Steam Gift Card![/url][/size][/b]
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