News from The Elder Scrolls Nexus

Today we have a special treat. We caught up with Tomas Sala, a.k.a. the esteemed Skyrim modder muppetpuppet, about his upcoming game release and his history in modding. For those unfamiliar with his work, muppetpuppet created one of the first "new world" mods for Skyrim back in 2012 - Moonpath to Elsweyr.


[b][b]Thank you for joining us for this interview Tomas (aka [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/3232189]muppetpuppet[/url]). [/b]So, going back to the very start, when and how did you first get into gaming?[/b]

I actually started straight out of art school in 2001, we started a studio in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. But at that time there was no self-publishing, I think Steam wasn't live yet and iPhones would be years away. So we rolled into educational and advertising work for hire, making games for anyone and everyone, it took many years to progress into entertainment games properly eventually creating PSVR exclusives for Playstation as games for the Wii, Switch and mobile.


[b]How long have you been working in the gaming industry and what roles have you taken up during that time?[/b] 

I've been working there since 2001 and have always been a multirole person. I'm a 3D artist by trade, but I'm more than handy with a scripting language and nowadays C#. I've also been creative director and game designer over the years. I think that diversity is now coming into its own with The Falconeer.

[b]
Tomas is the sole developer of the upcoming game "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1135260/The_Falconeer/]The Falconeer[/url]". From the screenshots and gameplay videos, it looks fantastic. For our readers who've not heard of the game, how would you describe it?[/b]

Well, it's a throwback to the games I loved as a kid, [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freelancer_(video_game)]Freelancer[/url], [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_TIE_Fighter]Tie Fighter[/url] even [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_Skies_(video_game)]Crimson Skies[/url], and - of course - a good dose of open-world love inherited from Skyrim thrown in. So basically, you are a pilot or rider of a giant Falcon and you serve as a mounted warrior for your faction, doing air -combat missions as well as open-world exploration. Someone online described it as "what would happen if Gandalf had ridden into Mordor on a giant eagle..... but with lasers", which is a fair description. The actual combat gameplay is very WWI-WWII style close up dogfighting but with giant falcons, dragons and other fantastical creatures.


[center][youtube]3viT_KoZ538[/youtube][/center]

[b]It's not just the game itself you created. I've been reading the [url=https://www.thefalconeer.com/world/]extensive lore and set-dressing[/url] you've meticulously written to create a cohesive world for your story to unfold in. What can you tell us about the setting of The Falconeer?[/b]

Well, I love lore-heavy worlds, for me, it makes exploring an open world so much better if the setting makes sense and has depth. The world of the Falconeer is called the Ursee and it's a bleak yet beautiful icy ocean world. Mankind has always had a hard time surviving on it, and societies have been founded and collapsing for millennia, leaving the seafloor scattered with wrecks and ancient relics. One major faction steering these societies are the Mancer Order, an organisation that has access to a wide array of technologies hidden away in their massive vaults. They manipulate and organise the other factions by doling out these technologies through permits and grants. If a king has the Mancer's favour he'll get steam engines, if he loses it, he might find his competitor suddenly has machine guns. The Mancer order doesn't involve themselves with the daily politics of factions such as the empire in which most of the game takes place, they have a hidden agenda with a long term goal. Part of the different campaigns you'll participate in, inside this world, is to figure the true goal and history of the Mancer Order, and with it the Ursee.


[b]In a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0VJAaZpkfM]video by Digital Foundry[/url] covering The Falconeer, they mentioned that the entire game is created without using any conventional textures, is that true? If so, what made you choose this approach to game design?[/b] 

Indeed, it's better described as no pre-made textures. So I don't work with a painting or material editor or even something like photoshop to create the material expression of my world. Rather I use procedural tricks and fairly abstracted shaders to do the heavy lifting. So, for instance, the snow on objects is a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlin_noise]Perlin noise[/url] I generate in the game, and I then also use that for lava and water foam. The same goes for the colouring of the world, It's all done with gradients based on lighting and atmospheric parameters and values. It basically means I can create models and paint them fairly simple and have the game itself add a lot of detail and environmental colouring.

I've had comments saying this must be because I'm lazy, and I certainly like an efficient art pipeline. But it isn't 100% the case - the effort I put in to create certain effects would be many times less if I'd simply use a texture. Take the clouds, creating those without textures was a crazy endeavour iterated over months. The same goes for the ocean another very advanced effect, stuff that certainly wouldn't have been possible a generation or so ago.

The reason I do it is mostly twofold. One, it forces me to adhere to a very strict esthetic, and it keeps everything I make very, very compatible and unified. Giving the game a very clean and stark look while having radically different objects, buildings, vehicles and so forth in it. I both love how that looks and how "together" it makes everything feel. Secondly, it forces me to find novel and original solutions to visual designs, I cannot use "out of the box" clouds, water or lighting, so I have to take a different path to get there. Both the journey of that as well as the end result are usually novel and interesting, which is what appeals to me.


[b]The Falconeer uses Unity at its core. What did you consider when choosing the engine for your game?[/b]

I've used Unity through my work, so I was familiar with it, which is a huge boon because knowing what you are capable off is quite a good thing to have, especially alone. You don't always want to dive off the deep end. That said I'm quite attracted by Unreal's blueprints and after the Falconeer is done, I aim to dive into that for a bit as well.

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1581950089-410859194.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1581950095-1401396009.jpeg[/img][/center]

[b]Some Unity games allow mods (or can be modded with tools like Harmony), will The Falconeer have any scope for user-created content? [/b]

It's something under consideration, but modding and even game development are very distinct from enabling the creation of mods for your game. So basically because I'm working by myself it's quite a daunting task, but it is very much on my mind. It's also one of the few aspects I'd consider having external help with, as it's just such a specialisation to create adequate tooling and an open framework from the ground up for your game.


[b]In terms of modding, your biggest achievement has to be [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/9782]Moonpath to Elsweyr[/url]. When you released it in 2012, it was one of the only true "new world" mods. That must have been quite an undertaking, considering the Creation Kit had only been out for just over a week at the time. What can you remember about the process of putting it all together?[/b]

Well, I remember getting into a bit of a creative frenzy after diving into a few tutorials. At my work, we had just wrapped up a kid-friendly RPG for a local dutch theme park ("[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raveleijn]Raveleijn[/url]"), so there was lots of curiosity on how the big games did certain things.

I think there was already a group of people trying to use the existing NIF tools and update them for Skyrim. Being a 3D artist grasping some of the odd quirks and oddities of that format and the tools seemed less of an issue. And within a very short while I had some [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/10312]trees and foliage[/url] imported. I think those were the palm trees and other greeneries uncommon to Skyrim.

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1581947917-582928013.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1581947923-1718214276.jpeg[/img][/center]

From there I just went crazy, first with adjusting some of the material properties of default Skyrim objects, such as turning the snow into green moss (just fiddling got pretty good results fast). I think I then set about exploring the library of atmospheric fog and light FX and tweaking those to create a tropical vibe.

So initially I released a player home really quick, it's actually a really simple and manageable mod type to start with. What then happened is that the community just jumped on board and started offering voice acting, pointing out bugs and even assisting with my horrible spelling. That in itself was a ridiculous driver to continue, the player base (and other modders) was always waiting at the Moonpath Nexus page, ready with more feedback, more requests and more general helpfulness.

I think up to that point I had never had such a direct audience engagement, and it was a complete trip that burned away every free hour I had for about six months until most of what is now the Moonpath was there.


[b]I noticed that both The Falconeer and Moonpath to Elsweyr feature airships, would you say that's something a staple in your creative works? [/b]

I think the need to fly away and escape has a very literal form in much of the art and games I create, so I'd say that's something that's just a part of me. I'm also a huge fan of tall ships and historic sailing ships in general, so visually I'm always drawn to ships and airships.


[b]For Skyrim Special Edition, you entrusted the development of Moonpath to Elsweyr to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1240951]Illiani[/url] was this a difficult decision for you?[/b]

No not at all, there was a point where I realized I needed to focus on other things and long before Special Edition, I opened up the Moonpath and all its assets to any modder that wanted to use them. The [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/24587]Dev Aveza[/url] already showed what sharing things could lead to (I think it might actually still use my base airship model underneath all their epic expanding they did to it).

So no the community was part of creating the Moonpath and happy to see other modders take it onwards to new places. And improving it in many places I might add.


[b]How do you feel modding Skyrim helped (or hindered!) your career as a game developer?[/b]

It has been an incredible boon because the direct contact with the community is a unique perspective which is hard to get when doing a more classical game dev project.

I've also met plenty of people in the industry that played the Moonpath and it's opened many cool conversations over the years. I even met some people from Bethesda who knew it (I guess they kept close tabs on the modding scene in the early days).


[b]If you were to work on an Elder Scrolls title with everything you know now, is there anything you'd do differently?[/b] 

I have nothing but admiration for how Skyrim was made. I've made my own educated guesses on why certain choices were made and understand the lineage of the creation kit, and I think it delivered an unparalleled game world and modding environment. I wouldn't presume to be able to improve on that. I do really like the more "out there" aspects of the TES lore and would love to see that remain centre stage in a new iteration.

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1581951105-1941102210.jpeg[/img][/center]

[b]Important question - when do you expect we can get our hands on The Falconeer?[/b] 

Hahaha. Definitely later this year, working as hard as I can. ;) It'll be playable at [url=https://east.paxsite.com/]PAX East[/url] (Feb 27 - Mar 1) for those wanting a gameplay taste.


[b]Do you have any final words of wisdom for aspiring game devs in the Nexus Mods community? [/b]

I think for those who want to use modding as a stepping stone it's good to keep realizing how much a part of the wider game industry modding has become. It's part of game development. And there might be moments where people showing off their mods can get apologetic because it's "just" a mod and they fear people might still see it as something derivative or adapted from something original.

But I've never met anyone in the games industry who isn't a huge fan of mods. Mods are such creative original works of art by themselves. So if you make something don't be afraid to show it to any game developer or artist you might meet, good chance they love mods, are gamers themselves or have even modded in the past.


[b]Thank you for joining us Tomas, we wish you the best of luck with the release![/b]

[line]
A big thank you to Tomas 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]. 

[center][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1135260/The_Falconeer/]
Add The Falconeer to your Steam wishlist to get notified when it releases.
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1581950708-1759106569.png[/img][/url][/center]

A quick heads up if you've missed it: [b]Kingdom Come: Deliverance[/b] is now [url=https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/]available for free on the Epic Games store[/url] until [b]20th February[/b] (the regular price for the game is ~£24.99 or currency equivalent, so this is a big one). Make sure to grab it alongside Aztez - a unique hybrid of beat 'em up and turn-based strategy - also available free of charge!

[center][youtube]tpnuBdG9txM[/youtube][/center]
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a critically acclaimed RPG that immerses you in an epic adventure taking place in the Holy Roman Empire. Featuring a realistic medieval setting KCD offers hours upon hours of content, several DLCs, as well as [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/864]modding tools[/url] provided by the developers Warhorse Studios.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance along with Aztez is now [url=https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/]available for free on the Epic Games store[/url]. If you are in need for an epic, moddable RPG, then make sure to grab it [b]before 20th February[/b].

[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1581675057-1266848179.jpeg[/img]

While a 100% discount is very hard to beat, note that KCD is also available on both [url=https://www.gog.com/game/kingdom_come_deliverance]GOG[/url] and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/379430/Kingdom_Come_Deliverance/]Steam[/url] and currently discounted by 50% on both platforms. 

Once you got your hands on a copy of KCD, make sure to check out the vast catalogue of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/]mods available on our site[/url], or maybe even check out the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/864]modding tools[/url] and get creative yourself. If the latter sounds appealing to you, make sure to check out our [url=https://wiki.nexusmods.com/index.php/Kingdom_Come_Deliverance]KCD modding documentation[/url].

[center][b]Modded Graphics in KCD[/b]
[youtube]CZ9VG33v4nE[/youtube][/center]
Example mod list for realistic graphics in Kingdom Come: Deliverance:

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/387]Ambient Occlusion Fix[/url]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/292]Kingdom Come More Puddles[/url]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/383]HD Wood Logs WIP[/url]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/689]All the pretty horses reloaded[/url]
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/514]Pixelated edges Be-Gone[/url]

If you love gaming and have front end development experience, we may have a job for you! 

As part of our ongoing projects to improve and revitalise our website, we're looking for a junior-mid level front end developer to join our team. You'll have a major part in shaping the look and feel of our user experience across all of our services with your work being used by millions of users worldwide. This position is based in our offices in Exeter in the UK, it is not a remote working position and we cannot sponsor VISA applications so you will need a right to work in the UK or EU.

We'd rather recruit from within the community if we can and we've been very lucky thus far finding staff who know and use Nexus Mods. The full job description is below.


[b][size=4]Description[/size][/b]

We are looking for a junior-mid level front end developer to join our website development team at our offices in Exeter, UK for our main website, Nexus Mods.

Your role will be to work alongside our senior front end developer and dedicated designer to deliver high quality, responsive front ends using the latest frameworks and standards. You will become an important part of a team where every perspective is welcomed.

If you like implementing cool new features and making sleek user interfaces and want to showcase your work to a large and engaging audience then this is the job for you!

We are looking for someone who is keen to learn and flexible in their approach to problem-solving. You will need production experience working with HTML/CSS/JS (with at least one front end framework e.g. Vue, React, Angular) and working knowledge of version control.

Our ideal candidate is somebody who can work as part of a team, taking direction but also being able to use their initiative and bring a fresh perspective to our work. Experience is helpful, but having the right attitude to self-development is more important than having used our exact tech stack before.

You will need to either be a UK citizen or have a right to work in the UK in order to be eligible for this role, as we cannot provide visas at this time.

[b]In short:

[/b][list]
[*]Working with our senior front end developer and UI/UX designer to implement new features.
[*]Working with the entire web team to design new features and functionality.
[*]Participating in team meetings.
[*]Keeping track of your workflow using project management tools.
[*]Working with everyone at Nexus Mods to shape the future of our platform.
[/list][b]
Other information:

[/b][list]
[*]This is a full-time office-based position from our offices in Exeter, UK, to be worked Monday to Friday, 40 hours a week.
[*]We will offer a competitive market-rate salary dependent on your level.
[*]We will provide high spec hardware for you to work from.
[*]For the right candidates, we may be able to assist with relocation expenses and logistics.
[/list]

[b][size=4]Requirements[/size]

Essential:
[/b]
[list]
[*]Proficient with CSS, HTML and JS.
[*]Production experience with at least one full JS front end framework.
[*]Strong communication skills both verbally and written (English).
[*]Right to work in the UK.
[/list]
[b]Advantageous: 
[/b]
[list]
[*]Experience with React/Next.js or other server-side-rendering frameworks.
[*]Experience with a CSS framework (e.g. Bootstrap, Foundation, Tailwind).
[*]Experience with Ruby/Rails and/or PHP.
[*]Experience using a Linux desktop environment (though another OS can be provided).
[*]Experience or knowledge of video games is not required, but you will enjoy the job even more if you like video games!
[/list]

[b][size=4]Benefits[/size][/b]

Nexus Mods is an Alexa Top 1000 website with a user base of over 19 million users and serving over 1.5 billion page views a year. Working on such a popular site can be demanding, but rewarding, with a user base that is very loyal and very vocal!

Due to the popularity of the site, we try and work on the cutting edge of technology. If you are interested or excited by the latest advances in software and technology then you'll love working for us. We have a strong focus on researching new and upcoming tech and are always keen to explore new ways of improving the sites and services we provide through innovative means.

We are based in the heart of Exeter, a 15 minute walk away from Exeter Central station and 5 minutes from the main high street with all its shops, restaurants and the beautiful cathedral grounds.

We offer flexible working hours, provided you are in the office during the core hours of 10 am and 3.30 pm. The office environment is very casual, with plenty of lighthearted chat to break up the day, regular eating out, breaks that involve games and so on and so forth.


[b][size=4]How to apply[/size][/b]

If you are interested in the role, please submit an application through our [url=https://apply.workable.com/blacktreegaming/j/DFE40DAE84/]workable posting here[/url].

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/14173]A few weeks ago[/url], we asked you to submit your best Red Dead Redemption 2 shots in our screenshot competition in which we are giving away three Steam gift cards. The turnout has been great and our jury had an absolute blast looking through [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/?BH=0]over 250 stunning entries[/url]. 

Without further ado, here are our top 3 picks:


[size=4][b]The Winners[/b][/size]

[b]1st place goes to...
[/b]
"Desert Beauty" by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/users/18420914?tab=user+images]Raz3d[/url] - Congratulations! The prize of a [b]£50 Steam Gift Card[/b] is yours to claim!
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/505][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1578322564-1725039219.png[/img][/url]

This image is simply stunning. From the colours and the motive to the composition itself it is a work of art. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a beautiful game that lends itself to amazing landscape shots, but what Raz3d has pulled of here is exceptional. A #1 spot well deserved!


[b]2nd place goes to...[/b] 

"Alone" by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/users/19859644]jabmasta[/url] - Congratulations on a great screenshot and on winning a [b]£25 Steam Gift Card[/b]!
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/315][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1578649229-692374004.png[/img][/url]

This aptly named shot illustrates loneliness quite well with our protagonist striking the perfect pose to complement the composition. While many amazing screenshots focus on landscape and nature, this one is about conveying an emotion in a town setting.


[b]3rd place goes to...
[/b]
"Riding into the Sunset" by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/users/34290035]itaberless[/url] - Congratulations to you, as well. A [b]£10 Steam Gift Card[/b] is yours to claim!
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/265][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1578649233-1447861893.png[/img][/url]

An excellent screenshot that must have been tricky to pull off. The sun hitting the tree in just the right angle gives the shot a unique feel with a perfect balance between light and dark colours. Well done!


And with that being said: thank you to everyone who participated! Believe us when we say that it was no easy task picking only three screenshots from the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/?BH=0]many, many amazing entries[/url] we received.

We hope to see you again in our next event. Until then, stay tuned!

[b]What has happened?[/b]

In the very early morning of 8th November 2019 we noticed suspicious activity by a potentially malicious third party actor against our services. Using an exploit in our legacy codebase, our logs confirm that they accessed a small number of user records from the old user service.

Even though we were able to secure the endpoint as soon as we discovered the exploit, as a measure of security, we are informing all of you, as we cannot rule out that further access to other user data including email addresses, password hashes and password salts has taken place.

We immediately worked to rectify the situation and, as part of the process, brought forward our release schedule for our long-planned [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/14163]new user service[/url] to ensure no other potential exploits on the old user service could be used to obtain user data. This step we took is ensuring that the new passwords are not only better protected, but that any encrypted passwords that have - potentially - been obtained from the old user service are already out of date.   

Further, and as is required by law, we have informed the [url=https://ico.org.uk]ICO[/url] about this incident and we are in the process of fulfilling our obligations related to the matter.


[b]What does this mean for you?[/b]

While we noticed the suspicious activity on 8th November 2019, and we have no evidence of past activity in our logs, we cannot say for certain whether the exploit had been used before, and thus cannot ascertain how many - if any - email addresses, password hashes and salts were accessed. 

Recognising our obligation to all of you, however, we are strongly urging you to be vigilant of potential [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing]phishing[/url] and [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credential_stuffing]credential stuffing[/url] attacks.


[b]General Recommendations[/b]

[list]
[*]If you haven’t already, please log out and back in, in order to update your account and password and migrate to the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/14163]new user service[/url]. If you’ve already used the new user service, then there is no need to change your password again.
[*]If you were using the same password you had on our old user service on other sites, please, change your password on these other sites as soon as possible.
[*]We strongly recommend using a password manager and to not reuse passwords across sites.
[*]Always use unique and strong passwords of at least 12 characters for each service you use.
[*]Consider using Two-Factor Authentication, especially if you are a mod author.
[/list]

Share your best screenshots of RDR2 on Nexus Mods and win one of three prizes in our RDR2 screenshot competition running from today, 29th November until 16th December! Simply upload them to our [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/add]image share[/url] and select the competition category "Screenshot Competition 2019". We will be judging the screenshots based on artistry, humour, and originality. Bonus points if you are showcasing mods!

[b]Please note that only screenshots uploaded on the date of the competition launch or later are eligible to win prizes. Changing the category on a previously uploaded screenshot will NOT enter the shot into the competition. This is to avoid giving older screenshots that already received endorsements/ratings an unfair advantage.[/b]

[b]
Prizes[/b]

1st place:
[b]£50 Steam Gift card[/b]

2nd place
[b]£25 Steam Gift card[/b]

3rd place:
[b]£10 Steam Gift card[/b]


[b]How to enter the event[/b]

[list=1]
[*]Create at least one ingame screenshot of Red Dead Redemption 2.

[*]Upload your screenshot to the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/add]public image share[/url] ([url=https://help.nexusmods.com/article/28-file-submission-guidelines]site rules[/url]) apply. 

[*]Make sure to choose the screenshot contest category "[b]Screenshot Competition 2019[/b]"

[*]That’s it! Simple!
[/list]
[center][img width=850,height=850]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1574071719-195362678.jpeg[/img][/center]
If you have seen some of the screenshots players have been sharing since its PC release, you know as much as I do that [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/]RDR2 is one beautiful game[/url]! The PC version has only been out for a few weeks, but already we are seeing amazing screenshots from talented people making the most of photo mode. Check out some of the best shots from our image share gallery showcasing the best of Red Dead Redemption 2:

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1574074572-2011998104.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1574074567-1314987995.jpeg[/img]
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1574074575-1162124634.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1574074569-39663061.jpeg[/img]
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1574074578-1878694869.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1574074585-1692317267.jpeg[/img][/center]
[b]Jury Selection[/b]

We will be picking winners from the top-rated images uploaded to the contest category in the week after the closing date. We won’t necessarily be picking the most popular images, but our final selection will reflect the overall ratings from the community to an extent. So, if you see a screenshot you particularly like, do leave an endorsement to give them a better chance at being picked!

Bonus points for originality, humour and - especially - if you are showing off your modded/altered game like in this example:

[center][youtube]ojwSDF5_1-o[/youtube][/center]
[b]Tips and tricks[/b]

First and foremost, check out our [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/]image share[/url] for some inspiration. 

To give your screenshots a unique look, feel free to use one of the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/mods/categories/5/]many ReShade presets available[/url] on our site.

Next, you might want to get your game set up with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/search/?RH_ModList=nav:true,home:false,type:0,user_id:0,game_id:3024,advfilt:true,search%5Bfilename%5D:hook,include_adult:true,page_size:20,show_game_filter:false]Script Hook[/url] which will allow various fun things such as the ability to spawn items, vehicles, actors. Oh, and it also makes it possible to play as any character in the game - including animals!

Consider using [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/mods/60]Red Dead Freecam[/url] to move the camera exactly where you want it.

Lastly, you can use the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/mods/55]Red Dead Redemption 2 Save Editor[/url] to unlock outfits, weapons, or items to enhance your character before taking a screenshot of all your fancy gear.

[b]
Install mods using our mod manager Vortex[/b]

As of a recent update, you can now use [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/1]our mod manager Vortex[/url] to easily install and uninstall mods that might help you create the perfect screenshot!

[center][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/68][img width=300,height=375]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1575024850-1273651828.jpeg[/img] [/url][/center]
With that being said, we wish every participant the best of luck and we are very much looking forward to seeing your screenshots!


[b]Participants - Entries - Screenshots[/b]
[spoiler]
[list]
[*]Participants are required to submit at least one (1) screenshot (i.e. an image taken in-game) in order to enter the event and become eligible for winning a prize.
[*]Submitting several screenshots is possible, however, prizes are limited to one per selected winner.
[*]All entries must be submitted between Friday, 29th November 2019 and Monday, 16th December 2019 04:00 PM (GMT).
[*]Screenshots must be uploaded to the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/images/]public image share[/url] under the contest category. Screenshots uploaded to a different category are not eligible to win prizes.
[*]Only screenshots depicting game content from the specified game “Red Dead Redemption 2” are valid entries.
[*]You must be the copyright holder i.e. creator of the screenshot(s).
[*]Screenshots must not include artwork from other creators without explicit permission.
[*]Screenshots may feature game content as well as mod content. Our site rules apply.
[*]Featured content must conform to our site rules (inappropriate content) and must not feature adult content such as nudity, swearing, sexualised content, extreme violence and gore.
[*]Entries found to be in violation of any of those rules and/or our general terms and policies will be disqualified.
[*]Disqualified entries will be removed from the final selection and any awarded associated prizes will be revoked.
[/list][/spoiler]
[b]Prizes - Jury Selection[/b]
[spoiler]
[list]
[*]In total, three (3) Steam Gift Cards will be given away as prizes during the event.
[*]One (1) £50 Steam Gift Card will be awarded to the first place winner.
[*]One (1) £25 Steam Gift Card will be awarded to the second place winner.
[*]One (1) £10 Steam Gift Card will be awarded to the third place winner.
[*]The Nexus Mods Jury will be picking the winners from some of the top rated images. However, the jury reserves the right to pick any image regardless of rating/endorsement status as winner.
[/list][/spoiler]
[b]General Terms and Conditions[/b] [spoiler]
By submitting a competition entry, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions.


[list]
[*]Promoter name. Black Tree Gaming Limited incorporated in England and Wales with company number 06360077 of 10 Southernhay West, Exeter, EX1 1JG  (referred to throughout this terms as the “Promoter”, “we”, “us” and “our”).
[*]Deadline. All competition entries must be received by the Promoter by no later than the Closing Date. All competition entries received after the Closing Date are automatically disqualified.
[*]How to Enter. You may enter by submitting a screenshot in the correct category. You must complete this initial entry to be eligible to win. You do not have to pay to enter the competition, however, you are responsible for any phone or internet charges you may incur when entering. If you are unsure about these charges, you should contact your phone or internet operator before entering. Entries will not be acknowledged and we do not accept responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed or which we do not receive.
[*]Eligibility. You must be aged 18 or over at the time of entry in order to enter this competition. We may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the competition. No purchase necessary. You must enter the competition yourself. Entries which are incomplete, removed, corrupt or ineligible will not be accepted. We reserve the right to verify any entries and winners and may refuse to award prizes and/or disqualify you if you make or attempt to make any entry to this competition which is in our reasonable opinion contrary to these terms and conditions or by its nature unfair to other entrants. This might include entries which are made by automated means, fraudulent, made in bulk, made on behalf of another person, or made by hacking, cheating or deception. You must comply with the laws that apply to you in the location that you access the competition from. If any laws applicable to you restrict or prohibit you from entering the competition, you must comply with those legal restrictions or, if applicable, refrain from entering the competition.
[*]Prize conditions. Prizes are subject to availability with no cash alternative. Prizes are not negotiable, exchangeable or transferable. The winner(s) will be contacted via Private Message on the Nexus Mods website or the email that you provided on the Google Form. You must claim your prize personally within 1 month of the Closing Date otherwise your claim will become invalid (you are solely responsible for this). The decision of the Promoter is final. We have the right to substitute any prize for an alternative prize of equal or greater value.
[*]Excluded participants and entries. Employees of the Promoters, its holding or subsidiary companies, its agents or suppliers or anyone else professionally connected with the competition, or members of their families or households. The Promoter will not admit entries which: are automatically created by a computer or bot or script or other automated technology, created in bulk, have been altered or forged or tampered with, are illegible or incomplete or which generally in Promoter’s reasonable opinion are inappropriate to admit.
[*]Selection of winners. The winner will be chosen by the Nexus Mods team. If you did not provide a valid email address when entering we may choose a new winner.
[*]Ownership of competition entries and intellectual property rights. The Promoter does not claim any rights of ownership in your competition entry. The promoter is granted a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, re-format and sublicense the competition entry and any accompanying materials for its marketing or other commercial purposes.
[*]Data protection and publicity. If you are a winner of the competition, you agree that the Promoter may use your provided information to announce the winner of this competition and for any other reasonable and related promotional purposes without any payment to you. You represent that all of the information which you provide to us in connection with this competition shall be and shall remain complete and accurate. You represent that your entry will not contain anything (i) that is or could reasonably be viewed as harmful, harassing, defamatory, libellous, obscene or invasive of another’s privacy; or (ii) which you do not have a right to make available lawfully (including any material which infringes the rights of any other). By entering this competition, you agree that any personal information provided by you with the competition entry may be held and used only by the Promoter, its affiliates, its agents and suppliers to administer the competition.
[*]Limitation of liability. Insofar as is permitted by law, the Promoter, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner(s) or runner(s)-up or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of the Promoter, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected. The Promoter will NOT accept responsibility for competition entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit for any reason or in any way.
[*]Social media. You acknowledge that the competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Google, Facebook, or Twitter. You agree to release Google, Facebook, and Twitter from any responsibility to you in relation to the competition.
[*]General. (a) We may use the information which you provide in entering this competition to contact you for the purposes described in these terms and conditions. We will process and store your information in accordance with our privacy policy which can be found at: http://help.nexusmods.com/article/20-privacy-policy
[*](b) We may wish to transfer all or a part of our rights under these terms to someone else without obtaining your consent. You agree that we may do so provided that the transfer does not significantly disadvantage you. (c) If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the Promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude you from participating in the competition; (d) The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so; and (e) These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.
[*]For questions, Please contact support@nexusmods.com
[/list][/spoiler]

It doesn't feel like it's been long since we officially launched Vortex - our new mod manager - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/news/14078]back in July[/url] but that was 4 months ago! Over that time, the Vortex team have been hard at work going through all the great feedback sent in by our community and building some exciting new features to make your modding experience even better. 

You can now update to the latest build (1.1.3) next time you open Vortex or manually install it from the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/1/?tab=files]Vortex download page[/url].

So what's new? I've prepared a roundup of the most interesting new features added to Vortex since version 1.0.0.


[b]New Games Page[/b]

In 1.0.0 Vortex had three different tabs on the games page to organise "managed", "discovered" and "supported" titles. We've revisited this design and added all games to a single scrollable page making it easier to see both your managed and other supported games in one place. 

[center][img width=602,height=356]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1574176363-695424069.jpeg[/img][/center]

Managed games appear at the top, discovered and supported games appear in the "unmanaged" section. Supported games will be greyscaled until they are detected. You can also hide games from this view or use the search box to find a game by name. 


[b]More power to Game Extensions with Harmony[/b]

Perhaps the most exciting change in this update. Our Vortex team have been working hard on integrating the Harmony library into Vortex, which will allow much more powerful mod manager support for games powered by Unity (and other engines). 

Using Harmony, modders can inject C# code and assets into the assembly of a game. This is especially useful in Unity games where they do not support mod management natively. If you have a good working knowledge of C# and JavaScript, along with knowledge of how the engine in your favourite game works, you'll be right at home creating a Vortex extension to take advantage of Harmony. 

We've made a couple of mods for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/untitledgoosegame?tab=popular+%28all+time%29]Untitled Goose Game[/url] to give you a taste of what is possible using these new features. In addition, we'll be creating more extensions and updating support for existing games to take advantage of Harmony in the coming months. You can learn more about using Harmony in Vortex [url=https://github.com/Nexus-Mods/harmony-patcher/wiki]here[/url].

[center][img width=602,height=339]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1574176370-2031893407.jpeg[/img][/center]

As part of this project, you'll also be able to make use of the Vortex In-Game Overlay (VIGO, for short) in Unity games. VIGO displays information and toggleable options for your mods while the game is running.


[b]Get extensions inside Vortex[/b]

With more and more developers creating new extensions for Vortex, we've made it much easier to browse and install themes, translations and other extensions.

[center][img width=602,height=356]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1574176368-1473073103.jpeg[/img][/center]

In the Extensions tab, you'll see a new "Find more" button which will open a list of the approved extensions ready to download. Anything you install this way will be kept up to date automatically, meaning you won't have to wait for the next Vortex release for any fixes or enhancements to be available. 

There is already a good range of localisations, themes, addons and community created game extensions. Here are some great examples of what is currently available.

Game Extensions: 
[list]
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/68]Red Dead Redemption 2[/url] support by Tannin
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/59]Final Fantasy XII[/url] support by ffgriever
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/35]Fallout 76 support[/url] by wxMichael
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/65]PayDay 2[/url] support by Evanito
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/64]Source Film Maker[/url] support by silveredgold
[/list]
Themes:
[list]
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/51]Better Compact theme[/url] by tesnexus8
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/46]VUIX theme[/url] by Bassforce86
[/list]
Addons:
[list]
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/61]xEdit Cleaning Extension[/url] by Pickysaurus (shameless plug!)
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/37]Fully Virtual Deployment[/url] by Tannin 
[/list]

As an added bonus, new games and translations will automatically appear in the games tab and settings menu respectively so you won't need to open the extension browser to find them.

If you've created an extension and would like to include it in the extension browser, please upload it [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/add]here[/url] and get in touch with Pickysaurus or BigBizkit. 


[b]Mod and Plugin Grouping[/b]

A feature that many users in the community asked for is a way to group your mods by category, similar to the default view in Nexus Mod Manager. You can now group your mods (and plugins for Gamebryo games) by status, author, category and more. Each category can also be expanded and collapsed to help you keep things nice and tidy. 

[center][img width=602,height=356]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1574176365-1983086562.jpeg[/img][/center]



[b]That's not all[/b]

Vortex 1.1.3 also includes several other smaller fixes and enhancements, including new options to hide or close Vortex when starting the game, mod installers (FOMODs) are now compatible with most supported games and 11 new games have been added.

We're excited about the future of Vortex, so please keep telling us what you love and what you think could be better in the [url=https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/forum/4316-vortex-discussion/]Vortex Discussion[/url] forums, our [url=https://discord.gg/nexusmods]Discord[/url] or through Vortex itself.

We have just released an important upgrade to our user and login services. This will change how you log in to your account and manage your security settings. As part of the roll-out, all users are required to update their passwords. Please make sure your email address is up to date, and - optionally - that you (re-)enable 2FA in the new user portal.

[b]Note: If you are currently logged in, you can still use the site without having to update your password just now, however, towards the end of November 2019 all users will be logged out at which point everyone will be required to update their passwords.[/b]


[b]What's happening?
[/b]
Our [url=https://users.nexusmods.com/user/edit]new user portal [/url]includes vital security updates to our login, registration, password reset, Two-Factor Authentication and account recovery processes. As part of the upgrade, users will be required to log out and update their passwords to be at least 12 characters long - including at least one capital, at least one lowercase letter, as well as a number. Updated passwords in the new user portal will be secured with new, stronger encryption algorithms. This is a necessary upgrade to reinforce the security of your account data.

We have completely reworked our registration process to make it a cleaner and more straight forward process for new users. Our new registration system no longer makes use of the Invision Board forum registration system (though your logins, whether "old" or new, will still work on the forums). This change is something anyone who registered on the site within the past 6 years will know was needed, very much.


[b]Why are we making this change?
[/b]
Over the last few years, our developers have been dedicating a lot of time and resources to reducing our reliance on the Invision Board forum which was the foundation of our user service. It has now reached a point where the only way we can be confident in the security of our user data is to build a bespoke, modern user portal.

Due to its reliance on old IP Board code, we cannot vouch for the security of the current, dated user system, as vulnerabilities in old software code may or may not become exposed as time goes on. Such vulnerabilities could potentially be exploited by malicious actors, which is why our web team has spent a substantial amount of time upgrading the user system to bring it up to modern security standards.

We understand that this may cause inconveniences for some of you, but we are convinced that this is a necessary step that will ultimately benefit the vast majority of our current and future users.


[b]What does this mean for me?
[/b]
As part of the roll-out, all users will have to update their passwords, either now, or towards the end of November 2019 when all users will be logged out. 

If you do not remember your password, you will be able to [url=https://users.nexusmods.com/auth/password/new]reset it[/url] via the new user portal that will send an email with further instructions to the email address linked to your Nexus Mods account.

Because it is our main way of identifying that you are the owner of your account, the email address that is linked with your Nexus Mods account is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, rolling out the new user service will mean that users who do not remember their passwords and - at the same time - no longer have access to the email linked to their account will lose access to their accounts. In this event, we will only be able to restore your account if you have purchased Supporter or Premium Membership in the past and send us the receipt for the purchase to [url=mailto:support@nexusmods.com]support@nexusmods.com[/url]. If you are unable to recover your account due to this, you are more than welcome to [url=https://users.nexusmods.com/register]register a new one[/url].

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1573558174-1796606148.jpeg[/img][/center]

[b]Re-enable Two-Factor Authentication
[/b]
Because the new user system comes with an upgraded 2FA system making use of authentication apps such as Google Authenticator and Authy, all users who were previously using our old 2FA system will have to re-enable it on the new user system in order to secure their accounts. 

We highly recommend [url=https://users.nexusmods.com/user/security/edit]enabling 2FA[/url] for added account security, especially for mod authors with mods and/or Donation Points attached to their accounts.

That being said - if you aren’t already - please consider following best practices for online security such as using a password manager, not reusing the same password across multiple sites, and always keeping your login credentials and emails up to date.


[b]Foundations[/b]

Moving forward, the new user portal will be expanded upon to handle our Supporter and Premium Membership systems, along with other user-related services.

Once the team are confident that the launch has gone smoothly and the dust has settled a little, work will begin on improving the checkout, payment and management sections for Premium Members as well as the support and contact systems for users trying to reach us, the staff.

We have been thoroughly testing the new portal for weeks leading up to the release, but it's always possible we missed something. If you encounter a problem, please let us know on our [url=https://github.com/Nexus-Mods/web-issues/]bug tracker[/url] or by emailing [url=mailto:support@nexusmods.com]support@nexusmods.com[/url].

[b]Today we are talking to Interkarma, developer of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/daggerfallunity]Daggerfall Unity[/url] a Unity port of The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall that brings the classic RPG to a new engine substantially improving upon stability and playability. Curious to try it out? Follow the steps outlined [url=https://forums.dfworkshop.net/viewtopic.php?t=2360]here[/url].

[center][youtube]RPEmRzxtJnA[/youtube][/center]
First and foremost: could you give us a bit of an introduction to who you are and how you got into modding / programming?[/b]
 
I’m just a normal geeky guy. I was born in Australia and have lived here my entire life. Most of my early life was spent in rural/outback regions due to my father being an opal prospector. I often didn’t have any technology around, not even a television. But comics, board games, and books were usually there to fill in time.
 
I’ve always enjoyed pulling things apart to see how they work. Once I got into computers, I started doing that with software. Early on, I had an Action Replay cartridge for the family C64 that let me pause games at runtime, inspect their assembly code, make changes, rip out sprites, etc. I had a tremendous amount of fun working out how these games did some of the things they were doing and used this to write my own small games and tools. I built tools like a sprite editor, ADSR sound editor, a basic word processor, and games like a side-scrolling shooter, that kind of thing. I kept doing this as I grew up, trying to rebuild small parts of other games to see if I could do it. I didn’t make mods so much as hack around with code and try to understand how the original game was created.
 
I’ve always wanted to create my own original games, and have dozens of ideas I want to work on. It’s only lately though that I really have the time and experience to make that a reality.
 

[b]For those who have never heard of it, how would you describe what Daggerfall Unity is in your own words?[/b]
 
Daggerfall Unity is a superset of classic Daggerfall. I like to describe it as “Classic Daggerfall Plus”. It’s not a remaster in the sense we’ve come to expect when this is done commercially. Rather, it’s a ground-up recreation of the classic game plus quality of life features and modding capabilities. The foundation of the idea was to port the classic Daggerfall experience into a modern game engine and give it modding support like later Elder Scrolls games. The default experience should look and feel a lot like classic, while providing for modders to remix, upgrade, and extend the base game in ways not possible in classic Daggerfall. With some of the mods available now, such as new guilds and airships, I feel like everything is working out even better than I’d hoped.
 
Daggerfall Unity is very much its own game though and doesn’t always do things exactly the same way as classic. Usually, this is due to bug fixes in Daggerfall Unity, or platform differences as the result of playing on a different engine, modern hardware, or higher resolutions. But we’ve worked very hard to ensure the game can be enjoyed extremely closely to its roots. Options like Retro Rendering mode are there to deliver a true 320x200 experience, most QoL features can be toggled on and off, and many control element can be finely tuned. With a bit of patience, players can dial in either an pure retro experience, or mod things closer to Morrowind/Oblivion quality levels, or find something in between. Daggerfall Unity is very flexible in what you can do with the game and most people can find a setup they enjoy playing.
 
[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1572271568-1148969596.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1572271572-2031988629.png[/img][/center]
[b]From what I have learned, the whole project has kept you busy for an unbelievable amount of time. If you had to give an estimation: how many hours/days/years would you say you have put into creating Daggerfall Unity and what kept you going during all this time?[/b]
 
This all began in the year 2001 when I started building tools to explore Daggerfall’s textures, 3D models, map layouts, etc. These were Daggerfall Explorer, Modelling, Imaging, Cartographer, and Jukebox. I started with information on Daggerfall’s file formats available from the UESP and gradually built on this with my own discoveries. I did this on and off for around 12 years, picking away at Daggerfall’s file formats and little mysteries just for my own amusement. I even had a shot at recreating Daggerfall in 2005, but lacked the experience and community then to make much progress.

While learning Unity in 2014, I wanted something more challenging to work on. My wife suggested I try porting some of my Daggerfall code into Unity, to use something familiar while learning a new tool. Because most of my code from 2009 was written in C#, it was fairly trivial to port it to Unity. This is how Daggerfall Tools for Unity (DFTFU) was born. I had model importing working in a day, locations in under a week, and the whole world working within a few months. At this stage though, it was just a toolset to import assets. There wasn’t any real gameplay.

This all re-sparked interest in recreating Daggerfall, something I was interested in again by that stage. I officially started work on Daggerfall Unity in August 2015 and it has been like a second job ever since. For the next four years, I would spend roughly 6-40 hours per week working on Daggerfall Unity, building a community, managing the codebase, and so on. I’d make the time a by creating a few hours each morning and evening, and basically sinking every weekend into it.
 

[b]What would you say is the main lesson you learned from your time working on this project? What would you tell your younger self about going into a massive undertaking like Daggerfall Unity?[/b]
 
If I was being fair, I’d probably tell my younger self to do something easier instead. Daggerfall is a huge and complex game, and my younger self made the mistake of thinking it was a simple game because it was an older game. That’s just not true, something I worked out really quickly once it came time to build some of the game systems.
 
But now that I’ve come out the other side, I wouldn’t want to change a thing. I’ve become a better programmer, learned how to manage a large project with several developers, and grow an online community. All of this will be invaluable as I move on to creating my own games, something I wanted to do in 2014. I just had to get Daggerfall out of my system first.
 

[b]Did you get a lot of support from the Daggerfall community during development?[/b]
 
Absolutely! The support from the community has been incredible, and it’s the main reason I was able to make it this far. For those first couple of hard years when I was mostly working alone, the love and support I received was the only thing that kept me going. And from around 2017, the number of top-notch contributors exploded and we suddenly had brilliant devs like Hazelnut, Pango, Nystul, Allofich, Lypyl, Ferital, TheLacus, Numidium just pushing things forwards every day with a seemingly endless stream of quality updates and information. Even when I thought we had all the people we needed, devs like Meteoric Dragon came along and added loads of improvements, JorisVanEijden helped expand knowledge of the quest system, Jay_H built, tested, and fixed hundreds of quests, and Pango became an overmind generalist who can help with practically anything including community management. I maintain a full list of contributors at the below forum link.
 
[url=https://forums.dfworkshop.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=233]https://forums.dfworkshop.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=233[/url]
 
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1572271564-410713571.jpeg[/img]

[b]Daggerfall (The Elder Scrolls II) was released in 1996, the same year Bill Clinton was re-elected, and Pokemon was first introduced to the world. My point is: Daggerfall came out a very, very long time ago! That being said, what makes Daggerfall as a game special to you and what made you want to revive it by developing Daggerfall Unity?[/b]
 
I played a lot of tabletop RPGs when I was in my teens and twenties. Games like Daggerfall gave me the feeling I was playing the videogame version of a tabletop adventure run by a great DM. There were just so many deep systems to explore and things to discover.
 
When I was playing Daggerfall back in 1996, the web was nowhere near as developed as it is now. Information was a lot harder to find. Daggerfall felt like this big black box to tease open and see how it worked. There were rumours about a dragon being in the game somewhere, and I’d set off into the wilderness looking for it like an idiot. There was always this feeling every time I went into one of those procedurally generated dungeons that I might really be the first person to explore it. There was just something very special about this game back then, and I couldn’t help but want to understand it more.
 
Everything since then has just been a gradual evolution of my love and interest in the game. It’s not something that happened all at once, but rather grew slowly over many years.
 

[b]What can you tell us about the Daggerfall and Daggerfall Unity community? Other than diehard fans who grew up with the game, do you get a lot of people who are only now picking it up to see what it’s all about?[/b]
 
I’m amazed how many younger players are still trying out Daggerfall and Daggerfall Unity in 2019. This isn’t just the domain of older gamers like myself.
 
I feel that Daggerfall Unity helps make the game more accessible to new players. It’s a smoother and more comfortable experience with a lot of QoL features and new stuff to explore through mods. Given the modern popularity of The Elder Scrolls in general, I feel like it’s a great way to experience the series roots in a more comfortable and stable manner. I also encourage die-hard retro gamers to try out the original so they can experience what Daggerfall Unity is building upon.
 

[b]Have you taken notice of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/29416]Skygerfall[/url] - a mod for Skyrim that aims to bring the entire main quest of Daggerfall into Skyrim? What are your thoughts on it?[/b]
 
It looks amazing! I haven’t had time to play it yet, but I can tell it was made with love and attention to detail. I’m looking forward to giving it some playtime in the future.
 

[b]Other than Daggerfall (Unity), do you have any other favourite games? Ever done any modding for those?[/b]
 
A few modern favourites are Elite Dangerous, World of Warcraft, Subnautica, Void Bastards, and Outer Wilds. I’ll play almost anything, but I prefer games that give me fun systems to explore and then just take their hands off. I get really annoyed when games constantly try to guide me, or too frequently break gameplay to show me a cutscene, or take away control of my camera to force me to see something.
 
I’m not much of a modder and have only tinkered with creating mods for other games. I tend to fall in love with systems first and gameplay later. Maybe because I grew up with basic stuff like card games and board games before I ever saw a video game, it feels like understanding rules and systems always comes before actually being able to play them. I’m the rare kind of person who prefers a heavy spiral bound manual filled with tables and formulas over an in-game tutorial.
 
 
[b]Daggerfall Unity is currently released as an alpha. How can people get set up and help you with development going forward?[/b]
 
There’s not much left on the development side that isn’t already allocated out or being worked on by someone. Insofar as the core gameplay, everything is done now and it’s just bug fixes, refinement, and features unique to Daggerfall Unity. It’s hard to imagine getting more help than I already am. There’s always room for more mods though. I strongly encourage anyone interested in developing for Daggerfall Unity now to check out the mod scene and build something awesome.
 
Other than that, the best thing everyone can do is just keep being awesome to each other and help others create new stuff for the game. If we all continue lifting each other up, there’s no telling what people might be creating for Daggerfall Unity in a few years.
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[b]Is there anything else you would like to say to the Nexus Mods community?[/b]

I’d like to thank Nexus Mods for supporting Daggerfall Unity and making the lives of our players easier. I also hope [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/daggerfallunity]the mods available today[/url] inspire other creators to make something new for the game. Considering some of the mods starting to appear, I can only imagine what the scene can look like in a few more years. I’m looking forward to seeing where it all goes.

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A big thank you to Interkarma for taking the time to respond to our questions. As always, if there are any mod authors or mod projects you'd like to hear about, don't hesitate to send a message to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url].

In this Mod Author interview, we’re chatting with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/4958252]JosephRussell[/url] (formerly Treacleman), the author of Skyrim’s most popular male follower mod in 2018 - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20035]Lucien[/url]. As a special bonus, Joseph has created a video version of this interview for you to enjoy!

[center][youtube]94pE2USikns[/youtube][/center]

[b]Thank you for joining us today, Joseph.
[/b]
Thanks for having me, Picky, it’s an absolute pleasure.


[b]For those in the community who don’t know you, tell us about yourself. 
[/b]
My name is Joseph Russell – I’m a full-time engineering student and a part-time writer, but I’m probably best known as the creator and voice of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20035]Lucien, the custom-voiced follower mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[/url]. I’m based in the UK, I drink an awful lot of tea, and I have a cat called Grey.


[b]If you had to pick your absolute favourite game of all time, what would it be and why?
[/b]
Oh, now without a doubt, that has to be [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croc:_Legend_of_the_Gobbos]Croc: Legend of the Gobbos[/url]. It’s a platformer from 1997 which is hated by an awful lot of players, mainly for its ridiculous control scheme, but I absolutely love it. It was the first game I ever played, it has a great sense of adventure and whimsy, it’s stuffed full of secrets and comes with what has to be one of the best video game manuals ever written. Seriously, it’s wonderful.

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In terms of play-time, of course, I’ve spent more hours in Skyrim than any other game by a huge margin. Even vanilla, it’s got hundreds of hours of content in there, and with modding, it’s pretty much infinite. It’s a great game to get lost in, and now I’m making content for it as well as playing it, it really is a big part of my life these days. But nonetheless, Croc has my heart.


[b]There might be some in our community who have yet to meet Lucien, what can you tell us about him?
[/b]
Well, there’s a lot I could tell you about Lucien, but I think I know someone who could do a much better job, so I’ll just [url=https://youtu.be/94pE2USikns?t=134]hand over to him.[/url]

[quote]Hello there! My name is Lucien Flavius. It’s an absolute pleasure to do this interview. As I so often seem to say, I’m a scientist, philosopher, amateur wizard, and something of a musician, though I suppose that’s more of a hobby. 

I’m here in Skyrim on an academic expedition, and I’m in need of someone a little tougher than me to show me around and make sure I don’t die. I’ll pay you handsomely for the job, and if you’re willing to train me, I’ll do my best to help you out in battle however I can. 

I’ll also sing to you, read to you, and comment on hundreds of different situations in Skyrim, including content from other mods. Ah, did I mention mods? Oops, there goes the fourth wall! Well, anyway, if you fancy giving me a go, hop onto the Nexus, Steam or Bethesda.net and download me! What’ve you got to lose? Right then, back to you, Joseph![/quote]

[b]Is Lucien inspired by a previous Skyrim character you played as or does the inspiration come from elsewhere? 
[/b]
There’s a lot of me in there. He’s very much how I think I might react to the situations Skyrim presents you with. He’s a bit of a wuss, he’s very academic, he’s more likely to run from a fight than confront it, he likes singing, he likes bad jokes… I tend to amp up those aspects of my personality for Lucien since I think it’s quite funny seeing how someone like that reacts in a world of tough, strong barbarians and assassins. 

The voice I use for him is basically mine but just a little bit posher. That’s really handy when it comes to voicing so many hundreds of lines for the mod. I know Gary Hesketh, who voices [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1461]Inigo[/url] (a fantastic mod that everyone should download), goes through this complete vocal transformation to create his character and keeps it up for over seven thousand lines of dialogue. I’m not that talented, I’m afraid, so a posher, wussier version of Joseph Russell it is.


[b]Before Lucien, your mods included typo fixes and patches for Bethesda’s Creation Club content, what inspired you to make the jump to your own fully-featured follower mod?[/b]

The typo fixes were originally made for my own personal use. As someone who does a lot of writing, spelling and grammar mistakes can really bother me, and pull me out of my immersion in-game. They’re such easy mistakes to make, and so many of Skyrim’s extremely talented modders don’t have English as a first language or don’t come from writing backgrounds, so it’s totally understandable why those mistakes sometimes slip through the net. But I thought, why let it bother me when I can go in and fix them?!

The Unofficial Creation Club Updates came much later, but stem from the same sense of perfectionism – I wanted the Creation Club DLC to fit seamlessly into the game, so set about tweaking the files to my tastes. Again, they were mainly for personal use, but I’m happy to hear some others have benefited from them.

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For all those patches, though, as satisfying as the results can be, the work itself isn’t fun. There’s no creativity in there, it’s just dull, repetitive busywork, so I always hoped to move onto something more enjoyable one day. Working on the patches gave me the skills and familiarity with the Creation Kit and xEdit that I needed, so when I set about making a story-based mod, I already knew how to do a lot of what was required. 

I tried a couple of times with quest mods that never got off the ground, and collaborated with the awesome [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/37834630]MihailMods[/url] on adding quests to a couple of his locations, but I found that quite hard technical work when what I really wanted to do was write. A follower mod really seemed like the answer to that – while there’s certainly still a lot of technical work in setting things up, the vast majority of it is writing hundreds and hundreds of lines of dialogue, and it really is a lot of fun!


[b]How many hours would you say you've put into the development of the mod?
[/b]
Ooh, that’s impossible to say, really. I started work on Lucien in September 2017, released in September 2018 and haven’t really stopped since. Thousands of hours, certainly. Lots.


[b]As you are the voice actor for Lucien, do you have any tips for budding voice actors to get that perfect recording?
[/b]
While I’ve done a bit of amateur dramatic stuff over the years, I’m not a professional, so don’t have much experience in voice acting outside of this role. However, the key thing I’ve found in voicing Lucien is that you really do have to remember to act. It sounds obvious, but it’s so easy to fall into a “reading voice” when it’s actually really important to focus on varying your pitch and tone, and sounding like you’re talking to another person rather than a microphone.

When we’re talking in person, so much of our emotion is communicated through our eyes, faces and body language, and in voice acting, all those visual components are taken away. All you’re left with is the voice, so it’s really important to pump up the emotion in all your lines to 150%. If it feels over-the-top when you’re saying it, chances are, when you listen to it back, it’ll sound just right.

Also, don’t be afraid to indulge in a little method acting every now and again. In Lucien’s training scenes, when you’re teaching him how to take a hit, that’s the sound of me punching myself in the stomach you can hear. The stamina training has me doing press-ups, and the fight scenes have me waving my fists around, ducking, dodging, and pretending to throw fireballs. It looks a bit silly, but hey, it works for me!


[b]What hardware and software do you use when working on the mod?
[/b]
I think this is really one of the most important things when you’re voicing a mod. The difference between good and poor-quality hardware is incredibly obvious to the listener, so it’s a really good idea to invest in some high-end kit. I use a [url=https://focusrite.com/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-solo-studio]Focusrite Scarlett Studio Solo Pack[/url], which comes with a great quality microphone and amplifier. I also use a pop filter, sponge cover, and shock mount to minimise the impact sounds of consonants like “t” and “p”.

In terms of software, I do all my recording and compression in [url=https://new.steinberg.net/cubase/]Cubase[/url], which came with my microphone kit. It’s also great for various vocal effects, with which I had an awful lot of fun creating the voice of Dumzbthar. When the bulk of the work is done, I tend to do a bit of tweaking, mainly batch normalisation, in [url=https://www.audacityteam.org/]Audacity[/url].

For modding, all of my creative work is, funnily enough, done in the [url=https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=Landing_page]Creation Kit[/url]. When it comes to the finetuning and bug-fixing phase of modding, however, that’s when I break out [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/164]xEdit[/url]. Where the CK is a sledgehammer, xEdit is a scalpel, and it’s incredibly handy for tweaking individual records, conditions, wording etc. in a contained environment without impacting the rest of the mod. It’s also how I clean my mods before uploading, which is a vital step I couldn’t do without xEdit.

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[b]Lucien has interactions with numerous other mods, including other followers. How did you choose each mod to add support for? 
[/b]
Well, to start with, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1461]Inigo [/url]was a no-brainer – Lucien draws so much inspiration from that mod, I simply had to have them interact in some way. After that, I just picked mods that I myself love, or that I thought would work particularly well with Lucien. For instance, Auri, from [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11278]Song of the Green[/url] by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/2424584]Waribiki[/url], has a wonderful dynamic with Lucien by way of the sheer contrast between their personalities. Writing those interactions was a delight, and I’d love to expand them further sometime.

Another example was [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4341]Moonpath to Elsweyr[/url], one of Skyrim’s first quest mods and one of the first mods I ever downloaded. It’s relatively small these days but adds an entirely new province to explore, which made it a perfect candidate for an interaction patch, with so many opportunities for lore-bites and sand-related jokes.

There are a few technical limitations that influence things – followers and locations I can interact with easily, but for quest, new-lands and weapons mods, I need a patch. This simply isn’t worth it for mods I can only add one or two lines for, so I prefer to choose mods with lots of potential for a large amount of dialogue to maximise that “value/download” ratio.


[b]Are there any other significant mods you'd like to support in future?
[/b]
Yes, lots! [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802]Legacy of the Dragonborn[/url] support has been planned since day one, but it’s such a massive mod that covering it properly would take several months of development, so I’ve been ticking off other high-priority things first. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10917]Beyond Skyrim – Bruma[/url] support is coming soon, and I plan to keep adding more and more interactions and expanding the existing ones for as long as I work on Lucien!


[b]Do you have any favourite mods or mod authors?
[/b]
Ooh, tricky question, I have so many! I’ve already mentioned [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1461]Inigo[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11278]Auri[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802]Legacy [/url]and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4341]Moonpath[/url], which I love. All of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/684492]Arthmoor[/url]'s mods are must-haves, and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/3959191]EnaiSiaion[/url]’s stuff is all fab too. I’m a huge fan of anything which adds immersion to the game, so I never play without [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/671]Frostfall[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/645]iNeed[/url], both amazing pieces of work. I could go on for hours listing my entire load order. Ah, but a special shoutout goes to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/4995023]Nuukem[/url]’s [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20061]SSE CreationKit Fixes mod[/url], for making my life about a billion times easier. 


[b]Is there anything else you want to say to the Nexus Mods Community?
[/b]
Just that they’re wonderful. I’ve been bowled over by all the love and support the community’s given to Lucien over the past year, and I can’t wait to bring everyone the next update, and lots more for a long time to come! I’m certainly not going anywhere anytime soon.

Lucien can join your adventure in [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/95029]Skyrim[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20035]Skyrim Special Edition[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimnintendoswitch/mods/46]Skyrim for the Switch[/url].

[line]
A big thank you to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/4958252]JosephRussell[/url] for taking the time to respond to our questions. As always, if there are any mod authors or mod projects you'd like to hear about, don't hesitate to send a message to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url].

It has now been well over a year since [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13611]we launched our mod author rewards program[/url] - the Donation Points system - intended to give back to the very people who spend their time creating the mods we all enjoy and love. We're very proud of what we've been able to achieve so far with the DP system and you can now get an overview and breakdown of the distribution of DP on [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/about/donation-points/]our new, dedicated DP stats page[/url]. But that’s not all: As part of our commitment to giving back to our modding community, we recently implemented a site-wide change and permanently disabled advertisements for recognised mod authors.


[b]Donation Points System Stats page is now live[/b]

Over 6,800 mod authors have made use of the DP system, opting-in more than 37,000 of their mods in the process. The DP they have earnt have been used to purchase over 370 Premium memberships and more than 400 game keys available in [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/modrewards#/store/all/1]the DP store[/url]. On top of that, over $4,000 has been donated to charitable causes including Doctor's Without Borders and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

We are thrilled with how the system has been received and as of today you can get a good overview of how much money we have put into the system thus far, get a breakdown of DP earned “by game”, see how much has been donated to charity and more on [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/about/donation-points/]our brand new dedicated DP stats page[/url]. This page will be updated automatically each month as and when payouts are made, and we'll provide a link to this page from your Wallet page in the near future for easy access.

As you can see on the stats page, we have so far put over $156,700 into the system, or roughly $9,000 per month (up from $8,000 initially) - a sum which is further supplemented every month by the generous donations of users contributing to our [url=https://www.patreon.com/nexusmods]Mod Author Donation Fund on Patreon[/url].

Seeing how well the DP system has been received by the community, we are committed to doing our part and will try to give back to mod authors where and when we can going forward.


[b]No more Ads for Mod Authors[/b]

In a similar vein, we recently implemented a change to the way advertisements are delivered on our site to include mod authors in the “ad-free” group. In other words: in addition to Premium members and supporters, recognised mod authors will no longer see ads on the site.

This effectively means that if you have released at least one mod with 1,000 unique downloads or more, or several mods that have been downloaded 1,000 times in total, you will no longer be seeing ads on the site. This will be irrespective of whether you are a supporter or Premium member of the site.

This is another small way in which we can give back to the people who are doing their part in making our modding community what it is.


With that being said, thank you to all the mod authors, and happy modding!

Today we are talking to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/67426046]Atlasroar[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/26431194]Swishos[/url], and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/5589894]GregAmazingNinja[/url] from the [url=https://discord.gg/g7F6aHw]Project Genesis World Overhaul[/url] - a massive, all-encompassing overhaul mod for [url=https://www.gog.com/game/kenshi]Kenshi[/url] - a squad-based RPG based in a desolate, post-apocalyptic world that infamously does not care about you.

[center][youtube]4SmFItVcv04[/youtube][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/projectgenesiswo/discussions/0/1634166237663341074/][/url][/center][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/projectgenesiswo/discussions/0/1634166237663341074/]
[/url][b]BigBizkit: Could you guys give us a little bit of an introduction as to what your roles are on the project?[/b]

Atlasroar: Of course! Hey all, I'm Atlas! I'm the community/server manager for the Genesis Modding Guild. I provide backend support for the server and finalize all posts made to ensure they are fun and easy to read :). I started off this journey just trying to make load orders work better for everyone. After doing a lot of research and realizing no one had any idea of what they were talking about when it comes to load orders, I decided it was time to sit down and finally try something I had 0 idea of what to do. After making a post that I was using LOOT as the basis for the idea, Greg found me on Reddit and invited me. After a month or so of pretty fast growth in Swishos' super-secret Discord, we decided to "move out". I made some recommendations on how to set things up, improve security and posts and Greg said: "You're hired".

Swishos: Hey guys I'm Sam! Or as I'm better known, Swishos. After playing Kenshi for some time I quickly began looking for mods that added to the current world. Something I always noticed was how empty a lot of the areas are, some areas of the map clearly got more love than others. Oddly enough it was Ninja Greg's [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kenshi/mods/236]Avalon Isles[/url] mod that inspired me to start modding myself. It was one of the few mods I had found that added new factions to the map but also utilized a previously empty part of the map. I had previous experience with JavaScript and HTML5 but knew nothing about Kenshi modding going in. But with how the “Forgotten Construction Set” is set up I was able to self teach myself in a week or so through trial and error ^^. 

GregAmazingNinja: Hi I'm Greg, I'm one of the leads for the Genesis team and I do most of the level data edits. I also have one of the most essential jobs which is maintaining the server that allows everyone to access the overhaul files so our team can all work on it simultaneously all across the globe. I also do the tedious job of merging all the mod files into the overhaul.

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[b]What would you say are the main features of Project Genesis World Overhaul and what was your inspiration?[/b]

GregAmazingNinja: The overhaul's main features include the complete restructure of every location with an improved version of it (larger, more decorated towns), the addition of hundreds of new locations, factions, quests, and the ability to lay siege to cities.

As for what inspired me personally, it's all my past gaming experiences that influenced our vision for the overhaul. I poured over 2000 plus hours into Skyrim during junior high school and I loved being able to go anywhere I wanted and finding something unique and receiving a quest to adventure further. I also poured countless hours into Mount and Blade Warband which had a lot of army management, politics, and fielding armies or sieging cities. With the implementation of the siege mechanics to Kenshi, I feel like we're just now scratching the surface as to what's possible with regards to how intricate and complex this game can become.


[b]To those who are only now hearing about Project Genesis for the first time, how would you describe what it is?[/b]

Swishos: The first thing I would say is that the “Project Genesis World Overhaul” and the “Project Genesis Modding Guild” are two very different things. The overhaul itself as you can imagine from the name is our planned project to fill out and expand upon the entire world of Kenshi, while keeping true to the game's lore. This includes new factions, cities, quests, dialogue and a lot more. All the new content we always try to link back to some of the vanilla lore so it feels like it was always meant to be part of the Kenshi world.

Now for the Modding Guild itself, we wanted it to be a place where any and every modder could come to share their work, help others complete their work or get the help they require. One location where we could focus all of the modding talent Kenshi has to offer in one place. Since initial conception though we have already incorporated a Mount & Blade modding community and are looking at expanding to other games in the future. Another feature of our guild is that we are happy to support any of our members whenever possible, this can come in the form of promoting their mods on release or even supporting their Youtube/Twitch accounts through our Discord server ^^ 

In the future, we are also going to be looking at a shared community account for Nexus Mods, as we have noticed a serious lack of mods being released to the Nexus which means for members/players who don't play through Steam they miss out on a lot of mods. So looking forward we plan on using this community account to upload members mods to the Nexus (with permission of course) this way it's no extra work for them but everyone gains access to all the mods coming out of our guild.


[b]Project Genesis will be touching on many aspects of the base game. One addition that stands out is city sieges - massive battles between rival factions. Could you explain how exactly sieges will work in your overhaul?

[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1570091672-446208846.jpeg[/img][/b]

GregAmazingNinja: Before we delve into sieges we need to understand how the base game handles town overrides. So when a player kills/captures a leader of a faction, the player leaves the area and when they next return the city is taken over by a rival faction. We’ve completely done away with that and replaced it with a linear progression of these massive city battles that the player needs to take part in in order for the rival faction to take over. To get technical, it is an intricate tree of yes and no statements that determine how and when sieges occur. As we continue to add more sieges it will only get more complex in structuring the world states and dialogue for it. We actually have a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/projectgenesiswo/discussions/0/1634166237663341074/]developer diary[/url] going into great detail as to how they work. 


[b]Is there a particular new feature or mechanic that you are most proud of?[/b]

GregAmazingNinja: Well we're still technically in the alpha phase. But as of now, It’s the city sieges. That’s literally the crowning achievement of our overhaul, as no one’s done it before. When it comes to other games it might be a small achievement but in the Kenshi base game you take out a leader, leave the area and another faction "takes over". And we thought "Huh… that's it?". We took that idea and ran with it. If you want to take out any leader in a movie or video game you always gotta go through some enemies right? So that's what we did. We plan to expand this system to almost every town and faction. So just that alone is a huge achievement to the overhaul itself.


[b]How did you form as a team and decide to put a massive project like this into action? [/b]

Swishos: When I released my first popular mod The Hook Expansion back in April and it caught the eye of Greg. Soon after, I got a message from him asking about concerns of compatibility of our mods. We eventually came to the conclusion that by combining our mods together it would allow us to focus all our time on a single project and not have the issue of updating/patching multiple smaller mods.

As this idea expanded we began to think why not look at other modders with similar mindsets to us? Originally using the Steam community we quickly found a lot of interest in the project which led us to creating the Project Genesis Steam group so we had somewhere to organise everything, plus a Google Drive for the team. It was at this stage Greg and I decided it would be possible for us to do a complete game overhaul with the support we were already getting.

Not even a month after this and our project had grown beyond what we had ever imagined, the demands for a Discord could no longer be ignored. However, we wanted more than just a place to talk about our mod, with so many people interested not just in the project but modding, in general, it was decided to create a modding guild. A place where anyone could come to learn how to mod, help others where needed or receive the help you need to finish your own mod. Within two months of having the Discord server we were partnered with the Official Kenshi Discord and now have 700+ members and are still growing. ^^


[b]Your overhaul is a combination of many impressive Kenshi mods, but it is also far more than just the sum of its parts. What was the process of putting all the pieces together like?
[/b]
GregAmazingNinja: The addition of other mods was an afterthought at first. We began this project with the intent of creating an overhaul that adds hundreds of new locations and quests. What posed as an obstacle was the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/kenshi/mods/211]Functioning market stalls[/url] mod. It would have taken a tremendous amount of time to create a patch for a mod like that, so I just reached out to the author of that mod and asked if he wanted his mod to be in our base overhaul. He said yes, and so did every other mod author we asked. We’ve merged a large amount of mods that we deemed “lore friendly” only in the sense that it didn’t break existing lore. Because of the massive list of merged mods, our overhaul now served a second purpose, and that was to shrink load orders. As for the process of merging mods, it’s incredibly tedious and can only be done by someone who has direct access to the main overhaul file. If the mod that I’m merging has assets like textures and meshes and tons of weapons and armor, it will take me hours to sort through everything and rewrite all the file directories.


[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1570107314-765094629.jpeg[/img]
(Image by [url=https://www.artstation.com/artwork/0Xz5R4]5518 Studios[/url])

[b]To those who have yet to play it: can you explain what makes Kenshi as a game unique and especially appealing to modders?[/b]

Atlasroar: Yes, yes I can. Chris (the creator of the game) did a wonderful job of creating this world that just doesn't care about you. As a squad-based open-world game this game just really doesn't care about you. Your starting faction name is "nameless". Yeah, you're not the hero, or the chosen one. You are literally no one. With that said, you can write any story you put into your head. You can be anyone. A mercenary, a slaver, an anti-slaver, a farmer, a miner, an explorer, you can build your own city and grow your faction. Even at "end game" the game still just doesn't care about you. You'll get sold into slavery and beaten, you'll have the wrong guy (or girl) talk to the wrong person and just like that. You're a filthy heathen and now you're a slave, or maybe you're starving and poor, get sent to jail, or maybe you're starving and poor and dying, someone might help you and give you food. Until you learn how the world works, the world will try to relentlessly kill you. When you finally do know how the world works, well that's when it really tries to kill you. When it comes to modding. The system is a mess and can be hard to work with until you really get into it and bare your knuckles. But, the people of the Kenshi community are what make this game thrive.

If you play Kenshi you earn your support and your place. That's our gatekeeper. Is this game “Dark Souls” hard? No, but this game is so stupidly unforgiving, funny, and frustrating at times that it pretty much builds your character as a person. Yet, that is what makes modding here so rewarding. You'll have random people drop by and say "hey you forgot to set up this or this",  you'll see modders sit down in one of the Discords and blow up chat for 10 hours straight as they work out how to make a custom building. It's the community as a whole that makes modding worth it for this game.


[b]What tools did you guys use to create your mods?[/b]

GregAmazingNinja: The greatest tool we have is the Forgotten Construction Set, it’s a program that comes with every copy of Kenshi and we have the developers of Kenshi to thank for that. The second most important tool we use is an SVN server. I understand that the technology for SVN servers is a bit antiquated and that everyone uses Github now, but for the purposes of our overhaul, it’s been pretty straightforward. I run a server with the main overhaul folder and everyone on the team is able to access it directly. From there, our team members create sub mods with the overhaul enabled, which in turn get sent to me so I can manually merge it into the overhaul.


[b]How did you learn how to mod the game (or other games)? Do you have any tips for budding mod authors?[/b]

GregAmazingNinja: For the longest time I’ve been obsessed with the idea of taking some of the ancient ruins you clear out as the player and turning it into a player home. Unfortunately, that wasn’t included in the base game; when I walked into a city with all these ruined buildings, I was a bit baffled as to why I couldn’t buy and repair some of them. From there I decided to try my hand at learning how to use the construction set included with the game. If there are any tips I could give new modders is to simply take what’s written in the base game already and rip it apart to understand how everything works. Dissecting and trial and error was the only way I learned. Anytime I got stuck, I’d look it up online, but for the most part, it’s experience and curiosity that’ll drive you to learn more about modding this game.

Atlasroar: My modding experience started right here on the Nexus. I haven't published anything on any account but some pictures but man have I sunk some hours into the mods I've made. When it comes to Kenshi or any game really - realistically start small. Add a unique character or learn how to create a unique asset. Once you have stuff like that down you can very easily get help expanding into different categories. Just like with any community that has mods, you'll find many people out there who really want to pass on their own knowledge. 

It might be competitive out here in the modding world but at the end of the day no one wants to see anyone fail. Even if you're just making "stuff" bounce (LOOKING AT YOU BETHESDA COMMUNITY). As for tips, the biggest tip I can give to new modders for any community is this: www.nexusmods.com. You're welcome. To the user who is reading this, you already have 100% free access to the greatest modding community of all time. With guides upon guides upon guides of how to use almost any tool under the sun here for your specific game. 

But on a more serious note. Mod because you love the game you play. Mod because you want to change something. Mod because it's fun. You think Guardly, the author of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/48593/]Really useful dragons[/url] mod was trying to become popular? No of course not.  It was fun! Modding doesn't have to be about views. It has to be about passion and fun. If it isn't fun and you are struggling to keep going then it's time to take a break. The whole point of mods is to add what you find fun and then they add it to the game for others.

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1570108668-812650890.png[/img][/center]
[b]How can people help you guys out or even join the project?[/b]

Atlasroar: While realistically we aren't actively looking for anyone, this doesn't mean we can't use more people. If anyone wants to stop by and help us out, feel free to do so by using our [url=https://discord.gg/g7F6aHw]Discord link[/url].  

While we do require you to have some knowledge of what you want to add to the game, it's pretty open-ended when it comes to joining the team. But even there at that point, what it really comes down to is we want to see that you have a passion to contribute to the team and the mod itself. 

We just recently took on someone who wanted to provide funnier dialogue and stories. They just want to provide the dialogue. They don't even want to actually put it into the game. This is a passion project, and with that said we just want to do this right. We want to really put time and effort into this to create something mindblowing for the Kenshi community to play with and hopefully set a precedent on how to mod Kenshi from here on out. We have many in our group who are constantly checking back in on older files just to make sure they are up to there own standards. As people learn and grow more in the team we have people who will resubmit mods and just say "this is a better version use this". It's stuff like that that makes the Genesis team really grow as a whole. Everyone here wants to help each other and support each other. That's what we're looking for when it comes to team members.

[line]
A big thank you to the team from Project Genesis World Overhaul for taking the time to respond to our questions. As always, if there are any mod authors or mod projects you'd like to hear about, don't hesitate to send a message to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url].

For this week's mod author interview, we're joined by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/users/87374]Lo2k[/url], who has been a member of our community since 2006 and is the author of over 50 different mods for No Man's Sky.

[b]Thank you for joining us Lo2k. To start off, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
[/b]
Thanks for inviting me for this interview on Nexus Mods. Sure. I'm Laurent Rousseau, aka Lo2k. I'm French and I live close to Paris. I'm repairing multi-function printers for a living and it provides me with quite a lot of challenges. I always wanted to create video games but heh, when I was younger, video games were "not a job" as I was told so often and I was far from the creative guys posting impressive portfolios of 3D animations to be hired. So I did 3D creations on my own, 2D editing, a bit of video editing, and finally, I dove deep into coding and I believe all of this helped me in some way to become a modder.


[b]How did you first get into gaming? 
[/b]
Gaming in general, or modding?

For gaming, I can't remember the very first time. My dad was the manager of a Xerox Store, selling the very first Apple computers well before the Apple Stores even existed. So I had a Mac SE for a long time at home and a bunch of games, even if the mac has never been a gaming platform. But at that time, PC gaming was not yet a big thing either, so I played the very first iterations of [url=https://macintoshgarden.org/games/crazy-cars]Crazy Cars[/url], [url=https://macintoshgarden.org/games/dark-castle]Dark Castle[/url] and [url=https://macintoshgarden.org/games/lode-runner]Lode Runner[/url] in black and white. At his store, there was also Amstrad 6128 and 464, so I also played some colourful oldies like the very first Gauntlet. That was another era…

Concerning modding, the story will be shorter. It really started in 2002 with the release of Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4 also known as GP4. As an F1 fan, I played GP3 a lot and saw the modding community growing. When GP4 was released, I had quite a lot of spare time so I started to look at it from the modding side and I learnt to code at the same time. This eventually lead me to create a lot of tools for this game, including a full track editor called GP4 Builder, and they are still in use today in the GP4 community. 

I left the GP4 community in 2016 after 12 "years of service" and started to look for new challenges and hobbies. Amongst them were a mobile game project and a new game I just bought and I was loving but that has a lot of tiny things that were annoying me and I would like to fix to enjoy the game even more: No Man's Sky.

[center][img width=500,height=281]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1569505480-712287964.jpeg[/img] [img width=500,height=281]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1569505475-260020764.jpeg[/img][/center]

[b]From our conversations, you seem to really like No Man's Sky, what is about the game that draws you in?
[/b]
Well, NMS was sold (mark my words) to be the best retro-sci-fi experience a boy (or girl) could have ever dreamt for. And I had this young boy vibe for colourful sci-fi worlds, travelling into a galaxy full of stars and planets, discovering new ships, new wonders, exploring hundreds of planets, each with a diversity of trees, plants and creatures we had never seen before. That was appealing, to say the least.


[b]The game had quite a negative reception when it was first released but Hello Games has managed to turn it around with the NEXT and Beyond updates. Have these changes influenced your opinion of the game?
[/b]
Well, maybe, but not in the way you might think about, because for me the game has never been a complete deception. I was awaiting a solo game that lets me explore a universe alone. And that is what was released. We can argue on diversity, on bugs, on creature animations and a million other stuff but the core feature was here for me.

Since then, each update has brought something to the game. Each one making the game a bit stronger. We got base building, we got vehicles, we got new biomes, we got freighters and then frigates, we got an attempt at multiplayer and with latest Beyond release, we got a full multiplayer experience, we got VR and changes everywhere. I'm very pleased with that and I believe everyone is.

But on the other hand, I'm a bit worried about the latest changes from NEXT and Beyond. Multiplayer is not my thing and while I'm glad they brought it to the game for all the fans that dreamt playing this game with/against other players, I just hope Hello Games will continue to give us a way to play this game solo. Sadly this is less and less the case.

To give a single example: The anomaly, the tiny and almost claustrophobic shelter of 2 outlaws has become a massive nexus with tons of NPC and land pads. It makes sense from a multiplayer point of view but it is complete nonsense if you play the game solo. In my humble opinion, Space Stations would have been a better choice for a multiplayer HUD. Polo and Nada would still have their tiny station and everyone would enjoy the game either in Solo or MP. Nevermind…

Also, the Vulkan switch they opted for just before Beyond release and that is supposed to improve framerate had an unintended side-effect which removed all the shaders from the modding scene and most of the graphical fixes and enhancements mods for NMS were done via shaders. I could cite my [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/686]UltraWide HUD[/url] mod that was bringing an unstretched HUD experience for all non-16/9 monitors NMS players. It's quite sad because not only this feature was never released for the game but now they even broke the mod that could fix it for them. Anyway, I can't blame HG because I have huge respect for all they have accomplished for NMS, from the initial development, flooding, Sony pressure, bad release and devoted commitment for years up to this day.
So all in all, yeah, we have great new things in the latest updates and a few little niggly things. And I hope we will continue to see more improvements than niggly things.


[b]No Man's Sky features a lot of procedural generation, would you say this makes it difficult to mod? 
[/b]
It depends on what you want to mod. NMS is, from the different games I looked into for modding, the one that exposes the most settings to modders. Every big or small setting is available to editing, either via a simple text file or via textures and there's not much stuff that is fully written in the stone of the EXE file.

So we can't add many features to the game if they were not designed by Hello Games, but we can tweak almost all of the existing features. Even procedural generation is based on settings, like turbulence, noise, scales, roughness... a lot of them are exposed and are used by modders as [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/users/44146502]Redmas[/url] or [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/users/37637030]Rayrod[/url] who both provide complete overhauls of planet generation.

NPC, ships and creature generation on the other side makes them difficult to mod at this time. But modders find their way. Redmas rebalanced scales of the different parts of ships and vehicles to bring more variety to them for example. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/users/2666883]WinderTP[/url] replaced the shuttle class with ships from their favourite Sci-fi movies in [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/1064]Ships of Moar[/url]. 

Buildings use an L-system I still haven't looked in deep, but which creates tiny changes in the arrangement of each building interior, even if the scale of the changes is not as noticeable as it might be.

All in all, procedural generation is tough and Sean Murray did a humongous work on terrain generation. There's still room for improvements to create a larger diversity everywhere else, but it might be their focus for the next or the next, next update.

[center][img width=500,height=281]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1569505472-294894533.jpeg[/img] [img width=500,height=281]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1569505477-29879829.jpeg[/img][/center]

[b]What tools do you use when working on mods?
[/b]
Actually, the only tools really needed are an archive extractor like Periander's [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/19]PSArc[/url] to decompress all the game files that are stored in ".pak" files and [url=https://github.com/monkeyman192/MBINCompiler/releases]Monkeyman's MBINCompiler[/url] that could convert the binary ".mbin" files into ".exml" (text) files and the reverse. From here, you can use your favourite text editor and texture editor (with a DXT plugin as textures use the DirectX format).

On my side, coming from GP4 where all the files were in the binary form like the ".mbin" of NMS, I also use a hexadecimal editor when I need. It's of great use to compare changes or to quickly update some mods when a very few values have been changed after a new update.


[b]Have you ever made any mods for other games (or thought about doing so)?
[/b]
Not really, I mostly made some tools for Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4 as I described above. I don't know if you count them as mods as tools aren't really mods but they allow others to create mods with them. I also helped in improving some tracks and textures back then nonetheless.

I also looked around Cities Skyline modding community as I love this game too and would have loved to bring some improvements here and there but the framework is completely opaque to me so I play the game within its restrictions and the great mods already published by more talented modders than me like [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1619685021]Move-it[/url] and [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1312767991]Transport Lines Manager[/url].


[b]Do you have any tips and tricks to share with others who might want to start modding No Man's Sky? 
[/b]
Hmm, not really. The first advice is to come on the [url=https://discord.gg/22ZAU9H]No Man's Sky Modding Discord[/url] where most of the modders are discussing. A newcomer will most likely ever have an answer to his questions. There's also the [url=https://nmsmodding.fandom.com/wiki/No_Man%27s_Sky_Modding_Wiki]modding wiki[/url] that provides a good overview of most of the common knowledge about NMS modding.

My own advice to someone who would like to start modding NMS would be for him to unpack the files, look at the way files are stored into folders and the file names. Then convert the most expressive ones in mbincompiler and browse the list of settings until you find a value that could bring a change you would like to see in-game. Then recompile the mbin, repack and test your first mod.

See your change in-game and check if everything is as you expected. If not repeat until satisfaction. Modding is a trial and error game of his own. A great one though :)



[b]What are your favourite mods for No Man's Sky by other authors? 
[/b]
I browse Nexusmods every day so I see about every mod released, but I personally use very few mods from other authors in my own game (Having 60+ mods on my own already covers a wide range of improvements).

The only mods I can't play without are:
[list]
[*]Riccaforte's [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/324]RemoveIntroLogo[/url] which is one of the very first mods released for the game and that is still working today! 
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/623]Clean Space[/url] version to remove the kaleidoscopic speed lines at each pulse drive.
[*]I also loved [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/15594199]LawnReality[/url]'s Crescent Worlds but it sadly can't be used anymore as it was a shader-based mod.
[/list]

[b]Is there anything else you'd like to say to the Nexus Mods Community. 
[/b]
Well, Nexus Mods has grown a lot and now hosts probably hundreds of communities so I'm not sure what part of NexusMods audience is also interested in NMS. But if they haven't tried the game so far and would like a space sandbox game, where you start at alone and end your journey with several ships, bases, a massive fleet and a better knowledge of an imaginary universe, they might want to try NMS :)

[center][url=https://www.gog.com/game/no_mans_sky?pp=a120fe5cad51f0d0942d7c283478628047d6cfce][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1569506614-220646325.jpeg[/img]

Get 50% off No Man's Sky at GOG.com until 30/09/19![/url][/center]
[line]
A big thank you to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/users/87374]Lo2k[/url] for taking the time to respond to our questions. As always, if there are any mod authors or mod projects you'd like to hear about, don't hesitate to send a message to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url].

A few weeks ago, we launched the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/14103]beta testing phase for our new site navigation[/url]. Our design team has been hard at work implementing it, as well as working in some of the changes suggested by all of you who partook in the accompanying survey. Thank you very much for all your responses and feedback!

With that being said, we are very pleased with how well the new nav has been received, so we are now happy to roll it out for all of you.


[b]New Site Navigation - some key changes[/b]

The new navigation is meant to unclutter the old while retaining functionality and quick access to the places you want to browse, be it mods, media, the forums etc.

While we understand that getting used to something new might take a while, we are happy to say that the overwhelming consensus from the beta survey was that the new nav is easy to use with all relevant information being laid out clearly. 

That being said, there are a few new things that warrant pointing out. 


[b]More Favourites
[/b]
[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1569317864-1079241910.jpeg[/img]In the overhauled favourites menu, you can now add 12 of your favourite games (up from 8 in the old nav) for quick access. The game tiles are now in portrait mode to differentiate them more from mods. 


[b]Bringing back Mods of the Month

[/b][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1569317869-277050961.jpeg[/img]A feature of the site that was a bit lost in the old navigation and, therefore, did not get much use was “Mods of the Month”. The new nav aims to highlight this section of the site a bit more in the revised mods tab.

[i]What is “Mods of the Month”?[/i]
[spoiler]
Unlike “most endorsed mods” the best “Mods of the Month” are mods that received the most user votes in a given month (every user only has one vote per game, per month). 

Another key difference is that any mod, regardless of release date, is eligible to become one of the “Mods of the Month” at a given point in time. However, once a mod has been voted one of the best “Mods of the Month”, it will not be eligible to be voted for again. For example your mod released in 2016 could become “Mod of the Month” in December 2019, but once it’s in the list for that month that’s it, it can’t be voted for again.
[/spoiler]


[b]Shiny new Upload Button

[/b][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1569317752-1525245258.jpeg[/img]
The new “Upload” button in the top right stands out a bit more and can be used to directly upload either a mod, an image, or to add a video.


[b]Community Tab

[/b][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1569318580-1245449878.jpeg[/img]You’ll find all the relevant links such as the forums, our Discord and social media, the news section (featuring two fancy previews of the most recent news articles), and a link to our mod author donation fund in this section.


[b]Updates moved

[/b][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1569316900-1791873122.jpeg[/img]
One of the more notable changes is that your “updates” have been moved to the top right (into the bell icon) next to your avatar. Further, in order to be more consistent across the site “updates” are now called “notifications”. 

Clicking your avatar/user icon in the top right will allow you to access your profile, wallet, and user settings.


[b]Small changes since the beta
[/b]
Almost 2,500 of you have taken the time to provide valuable feedback. We listened to what you had to say about the new nav and our design team has taken some of your suggestions on board. 

[list]
[*]We brought back a link to browse all mods (mod tab).
[*]Mod categories have been added back to the mods tab.
[*]The colour scheme for the games is back.
[/list]
Lastly, we made a slight change to the nav when it comes to how you access the homepage (nexusmods.com) vs. the game homepage (in this example nexusmods.com/skyrim) and your favourites:

[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1569317704-1751070074.png[/img]

[b]What’s next?
[/b]
Going forward, our design team will be focussing on improvements to the overall layout of the site including a new homepage, game homepage(s), and mod pages. As with the navigation, once we are ready, we are going to release new features through the beta version of the site so we can test new ideas and get your feedback on them. 

We will also be testing the current colour scheme with the new navigation to ensure it passes accessibility. This may bring an opportunity to add more colours. 

With that being said, we sincerely hope you guys will enjoy the new site navigation and we are looking forward to adding more features and improvements. 

Please, feel free to leave a comment and tell us about your thoughts and experience once you have had some time to try it out. 

Good news, everyone! As of version 1.0.3, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/about/vortex/]our new mod manager Vortex[/url] now supports GreedFall - the recently released action role-playing game developed by [url=https://twitter.com/spidersgames]Spiders[/url] (not actual spiders!).

[center][youtube]aDnfDJ_T5ks[/youtube][/center]

[center][url=https://twitter.com/NexusSites/status/1174594155194068992][img width=350,height=608]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1568881942-1831078983.jpeg[/img][/url][/center]

[b][size=3]Get the best GreedFall Mods[/size][/b]

Since the release of GreedFall last week, we have already seen an outpour of creativity from our modding community with various visual and quality of life mods being released by talented modders. Check out some of our favourites:

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/8?tab=description]Camera Overhaul[/url] by Shawnikaros

Allows you to customise the camera, FOV, removes bobbing and auto-centering if you play with a controller, and more!
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/8][img width=750,height=214]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2945/images/8/8-1568364382-20803466.png[/img][/url]


[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/6]Visible Sheathed Weapons[/url] by Andouce

Your fancy sheathed weapons no longer disappear into the void but are displayed visibly on your character.
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/6][img width=750,height=214]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2945/images/6/6-1568382527-542992926.png[/img][/url]


[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/23]Play as Anyone in the Game[/url] by hqqttjiang

Adds a staggering 400(!) presets for character creation based on NPCs from the game.
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/23][img width=750,height=421]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2945/images/23/23-1568464477-996933394.jpeg[/img][/url]

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/9]Slots for every Weapon[/url] by pablot

This mod will add upgrade slots for weapons that don't have any, simple but effective!
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/9][img width=750,height=349]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2945/images/9/9-1568279331-1501693045.jpeg[/img][/url]

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/22]Minimalist HUD[/url] by SEED3733

Overhauls the HUD and removes the XP bar and skills info.
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/greedfall/mods/22][img width=750,height=422]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2945/images/22/22-1568458784-1404637212.jpeg[/img][/url]

[b][size=3]
For mod creators[/size][/b]

Moreover, multi-variant mods - that’s mods that give you multiple options, for example for different damage values on weapons etc. are possible and supported through [url=https://wiki.nexusmods.com/index.php/How_to_create_mod_installers]mod installers[/url] when used together with Vortex.

For anyone who is interested in learning how to create mods for GreedFall, we wrote up a short guide on [url=https://wiki.nexusmods.com/index.php/Creating_basic_Mods]basic GreedFall modding[/url] on our wiki.

[b]Today we are talking to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com//users/6960827?tab=user+files]ElSopa[/url] - long-time member of the site, texture artist, and creator of "[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/78537]I can't believe it's not an ENB[/url]" as well as several SkyUI themes and widget designs.[/b]

[center][youtube]MA8w4yABPPQ[/youtube][/center][center]Note: features swearing/inappropriate language.[/center]
[b]BigBizkit: To start this off, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?[/b]

ElSopa: Well, first of all, I want to thank you guys for giving me this space, as you have given other super talented authors!

About myself, well it's kind of, let's say, complex?

Years ago I used to play this online game, and to make it as short as possible, some really troubled guy got obsessed with me and then I found that he even travelled to my neighbourhood to find me, it was really creepy. Some sort of dangerous stalker, since then I'm very very reluctant to talk about myself online, I hope you understand!

But I can say I'm a dentist and I live in Argentina (I found some people who think I'm a woman... sorry guys!).


[b]Your username translates to “The Soup”. How did you come up with this soup-erb username?[/b]

LMAO

When I was young (even younger than today!) I used to watch a TV show called "The Soup". In this online game I mentioned I had a different name in Spanish that sounds really controversial in English, so I changed it to "Soup". Many players were from Argentina and called me "Sopa", so that's the origin of my name. 

(I wonder why that question surprises me coming from someone called Bizkit).

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1567086818-1251225847.jpeg[/img][/center]
[center][quote][b][size=3][i]"Fun fact: I don't like soup."[/i][/size][/b]
[i][size=2]- ElSopa, modder named after a creamy, tasty liquid commonly known as "soup"[/size][/i][/quote][/center]
[b]What kind of mods do you make mostly? How would you describe them?
[/b]
90% of my modifications are textures, then there are replacers for icons and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/25417]my beloved SkyUI theme[/url] (it's not abandoned, stop asking :D ).

And how would I describe them? Hmmm, I try to add some spark of creativity when possible, for example, I remember a grindstone retexture I did, I added the mark of the foot to the wooden pedal, I guess it's reasonable after so much use.

[b]
You’ve been a member of the site for over six years now. What got you interested in modding initially and what was your modding journey like?[/b]

Oh, my first contribution was [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/38026]a SweetFX preset[/url], it's still there, it's not too nice tbh, but I tried my best to make it better, and after that, I did one called "[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/48554]I Can't Believe It's Not an ENB[/url]". I had a pretty weak PC and running ENBs was impossible for me, so I made this preset to be used in combination with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/17802]Climates of Tamriel[/url] (a weather mod, for those who don't know) trying to make it look like an ENB. It got super popular and people loved it (even Gamwich praised it, I even embedded a screenshot of that to the description page haha). It's still being downloaded years after! After that, I made 3 more ICBINEs. And never had so much fun: for each one I made [url=https://youtu.be/bEAvPB-13Wg]a short animation of a guy having bad experiences with ENBs[/url] and moving to my preset. Watch the 3rd one, it's my favourite. Watching the YouTube views counter explode after each release was so satisfying  :)

After that, I realized I couldn't achieve anything better with the shader injectors and stopped for a while. I tried making one for Skyrim Special Edition but I never liked it - maybe there are better alternatives. Then I tried my luck with textures until today and I am still learning.


[b]How do you usually go about creating your mods/textures? What tools do you use and how did you learn to use them?
[/b]
Well, I find something that I think I could improve (at least for me) then I search for textures I like and that are royalty-free, that's important since I don't want to get banned.

About the tools I use: I love Paint.NET, it's super lightweight and you can add plugins for many things, I'm really used to that, I tried Photoshop once to warp some textures for a strider but never used it again. I use a program called Mindtex2 for some normals, it's a clone of Crazybump but way cheaper, and Materialize, which is better in my opinion. Then GIMP for giving the final touches on the normals, oh, and I am slowly learning Substance Painter and even more slowly I am learning Blender. That's basically it. I also use Adobe Flash for my icons and all the UI mods -  I was lucky because I got used to it from making animations, without that practice I doubt I would ever touch it, it's kinda tricky and weird.

Oh! and how did I learn to use them? Trial and error AND MOTIVATION (aka fun), I get frustrated really fast so I guess those programs are easy to use.

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1567086745-1236365862.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1567086748-1697701146.jpeg[/img][/center]
[b]How much time passed between you realising that there are ants in Skyrim (yes, it’s a thing!) and you deciding to create [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/26715]a retexture for them[/url]? Could you even play the game without an HD ant retexture at this point?[/b]

Hahahaha, well to be fair, my ants retexture must be the 3rd on the site at least. There were others before me I realized later. Yeah I can forget about retextures in-game because I haven't even played the game lately, lol. when I'm sitting in front of the computer I'm making textures, or experimenting to learn more stuff (there are some atrocious experiments that I guess will never see the light of day).


[b]Have you ever collaborated with other modders on projects? What was the experience like?[/b]

Yeah! Now I can't remember exactly how it was, but thing is, I ended up making some icons for the unique weapons on iEquip (be sure to find them all, there are some cool easter eggs) - it was a great experience, Dunc (the author) was nice and often gave me raw meat, and he even allowed me to go outside the basement dungeon for a bit before resuming my work on the icons. I was also force-... I mean invited to watch all the seasons of Airwolf until I liked it (chained to the wall sadly). Hi Dunc!

I was contacted by the Beyond Skyrim team once, too, but I didn't feel I could contribute in a way that was fun to me, so I left.

Oh, also I helped some Spanish speaking guys with translations of their modpages, and other small things. And apparently my name will be added to an easter egg for a... uhm... certain Solitude mod.


[b]Do you have any favourite mods from other authors?[/b]

You know what, I could name the obvious more popular mods everyone already knows, but I'll take this opportunity for naming some talented mod authors that deserve at least a peek at their profiles:

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/470953]mnelson999[/url] is an incredibly talented guy, I used his Nexus Mod Monitor since the ICBINE days until lately when the site changed and made it obsolete, check his profile now!!!

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1892037]MrNeverLost[/url], what a guy! He helped me a lot with stuff I didn't know about modding, and he is always so kind.

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/55773412?tab=user+files]RayMaster901[/url], he's new to texturing and learning fast!

Also, I want to thank [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/28794?tab=user+files]Schlangster[/url] for giving me permission to mod his incredible SkyUI!!!

There are others that I'm not mentioning because they are recognized widely, like: [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/34063535?tab=user+files]Dunc001[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/13953925?tab=user+files]Kojak747[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/3447031?tab=user+files]QueenieAngel[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/92893]Cuyima[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/39335975?tab=user+files]Rallyeator[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/52194591?tab=user+files]Winedave[/url], sorry if I forgot anyone!!!! Also, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/11835658]Nazenn[/url]! he's super cool! and we're working on something amazing!


[b]What other hobbies do you have?[/b]

I love playing the guitar, singing, and keeping up to date with the UFO investigation scene (which is in a sad state lately). Oh and if there's anyone from Argentina (zona sur) playing instruments I want to form a band.


[b]Do you have any tips for people who are interested in getting into modding themselves?
[/b]
Find something you think you could do better or different, and forget about getting instant big results, start with something minimal and see it in-game, even if its some simple line on a texture or whatever. First time I edited a texture, when I saw it in-game, it was like drawing a moustache on Captain Picard's face. 

Ask for help, watch a lot of youtube tutorials.

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1567086742-915956581.jpeg[/img][/center]
[b]Is there anything else you would like to say to our community?
[/b]
That it's great when you find good people and sad when you find the wrong people - focus on the good ones and have lots of fun!

And one last message for the people in Argentina please:

Aguante los Redondos, Soda, Avant Press, Spinetta y Charly papá!

[line]
A big thank you to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com//users/6960827?tab=user+files]ElSopa[/url] for taking the time to respond to our questions. As always, if there are any mod authors or mod projects you'd like to hear about, don't hesitate to send a message to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url].

Starting today, we're rolling out an opt-in beta version of the site that will feature a new header, footer and updated game tiles. The new layout features a minimal design that includes all the key features from the current version. If you are interested in taking it for a test drive, click the "Take a look" option in the banner at the top of the website (or [url=http://www.nexusmods.com/activate-beta-features?beta_code=1337k04l4]click here[/url]). 

[img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1567077253-543275399.jpeg[/img]

Once you've given yourself some time to adjust to the new design, we'd love to hear your thoughts. You can leave feedback by clicking the link to the Google survey just below the new navigation. 


[size=4]Site Design Survey Results and Focus Groups[/size]

It's been a few months since we asked for your thoughts in our Site Design Survey and you've provided a load of excellent feedback for us to really sink our teeth into. Thank you! 

Overall the comments were positive. You told us some of the reasons you love Nexus Mods and gave constructive criticism on the things we could do better. Here are just a few statements pulled from the results:

[list]
[*]Only 43% of users said they visit Nexus Mods from a mobile device, with an average review of 6 out of 10. We'll be looking into the improvements and feature suggestions you sent in while working on our new designs for mobile.
[*]When searching the site, around a third of you say that you sometimes resort to using an external search engine rather than the one built into the website. We also noted some really good feedback as to where our current search can be improved. 
[*]A lot of you really miss Mod of the Month being prominently shown on game homepages. We'll be looking into bringing it back into the spotlight in future revisions.
[*]Many users have requested the ability to add more games to their favourites tab.
[*]Users have also requested a better way of keeping track of their favourite content. 
[/list]
We’re aware that there are other issues with the consistency of the site, and we will be working through these in the background. We have invested a lot of time talking to the users who were selected to join our initial focus groups about various ideas our design team had for changes to the site. We will be sending out invites to a few more of you over the coming days, so if you said you were interested in shaping the future of Nexus Mods, keep an eye on your PMs. 


[size=4]Introducing our new front end developer[/size]

For a long time, we've been unable to give the front end of the website the time and resources it deserves. This year we have made it a priority to improve this with the aim of delivering a much better experience across the entire site. This is no mean feat for a design project the size and importance of Nexus Mods and we wanted to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/13966]hire someone[/url] to work very closely with our designer to implement new designs and functionality to bring the website to life. I am privileged to introduce the newest addition to the Nexus Mods team, [b]themagickoala[/b].

[quote]Hi, I'm Rory, aka themagickoala. I started at Nexus Mods in June as the new front end developer. Since then I've been hard at work on the redesign, starting with this new beta release. Some fun facts about me:

[list]
[*]I used to work in cybersecurity, but switched to web dev because I liked looking at the pretty pictures I made;
[*]I've also worked in predictive analysis and in the automotive tech industry;
[*]I eat JavaScript for breakfast as part of a healthy balanced diet;
[*]I am literally a koala.
[/list][/quote]
[size=4]What's next?[/size]

This is just the beginning of a much larger project. Our beta section will be running alongside the current Nexus Mods site. This will give us the opportunity to share new features and designs with you. When we are happy that we have developed the core features of the site, we will review all of your feedback and look at releasing beta. This will be announced well before the full release to ensure we have covered users feedback.

The next release will feature a new login and registration system. Once this goes live, users will be required to update their passwords. More news will be announced when we’re closer to releasing the feature.

What do you think of the new look? Let us know in the comments below.

This week we're talking with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/users/46021252]FlashShifter[/url], creator of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/3753]Stardew Valley Expanded[/url], a massive overhaul mod for the titular game.

[b]Thank you for joining us FlashShifter. To start off could you please tell us a little about yourself? 
[/b]
I’m glad to be here and grateful to have this opportunity for an interview! My name is Devin. I graduated from university a couple of years ago with a BA in accounting. Moved to Seattle with my girlfriend to seek out employment. I enjoy video games, art, piano, and modding!


[b]You've been a member of our community since 2017, how did you first find Nexus Mods? 
[/b]
I originally joined Nexus Mods for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/starwarsbattlefront22017]Star Wars Battlefront II mods[/url]. My little brother showed me Stardew Valley in 2017 and I played the heck out of it on the Nintendo Switch (over 200 hours). I wanted to experience more of the game, so I became active in the Stardew Valley modding community to enhance my experience.


[b]What would you say are your favourite games and what do you like about them?[/b]

Some of my favourite games are Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, LoZ: Breath of the Wild, Bloodborne, Super Smash Brothers, and Red Dead Redemption 2. I love games with exploration and a good story. I also enjoy fast-paced games too!

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1566393785-1374693356.png[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1566394178-953737027.jpeg[/img][/center]

[b]Stardew Valley Expanded is the biggest and most popular mod for Stardew Valley in the last 12 months, but for anyone who hasn't played it yet. Could you tell us about the mod? [/b]

Stardew Valley Expanded is the largest mod for the game. From the mod description

[quote]This mod features 17 new locations, 63 new character events, 3 new NPCs, over 500 location messages, reimagined maps and festivals (all maps), a huge remastered farm map, a new world map reflecting all changes, and many miscellaneous additions. [/quote]
I aim to add over 30 hours of brand-new content, expanding the universe ConcernedApe created.


[b]What inspired you to create mods for Stardew Valley?[/b] 

Modding for Stardew Valley requires very little to no coding knowledge, so it was easy for me to pick up and learn. There were many things I wanted to add to the game I enjoyed. The project was originally only supposed to incorporate some map edits, but it kept growing and growing. To this day, the mod is still expanding!


[b]Have you ever created mods for other games? [/b]

I have not. I am open to the idea in the future, but I am currently focusing on Stardew Valley.

[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1303/images/3753/3753-1554699004-1117718845.gif[/img][/center]

[b]Are you the only one working on the mod or do you have a team of modders?[/b] 

I am the only developer for SVE and the creator. [url=https://twitter.com/mojav1a]Mojavia[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/41168370]HopeWasHere[/url] have helped me with the portrait art of the NPCs and new buildings. Other developers have added/tweaked their frameworks for SVE. Some people have assisted me in creating compatibility patches for other mods and streamlining installation. I also have used assets from other modders, acknowledged in the SVE credits section. But for the most part, I am the only person actively working on SVE and maintaining it.


[b]Many talented Stardew Valley mod authors have contributed assets and even entire mods to SDVE. What would you say are the challenges in bringing these all together?[/b] 

The toughest challenges I would say was asking for permission, ensuring proper credit was given, and tweaking/implementing these mods to mesh seamlessly together.


[b]If someone wanted to start making mods for Stardew Valley, what advice would you give them?[/b]

My first piece of advice is to ask yourself what you want to add and why you want to make it. The resources I used were primarily the [url=https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Index]modding wiki[/url], the map editor “[url=https://www.mapeditor.org/]Tiled[/url]”, the [url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CpDrw23peQiq-C7F2FjYOMePaYe0Rc9BwQsj3h6sjyo/edit#gid=239695361]Events Google Doc spreadsheet[/url], and the [url=https://discord.gg/stardewvalley]SDV Modding Discord[/url] for help.


[b]What other mods would you recommend when playing Stardew Valley?[/b]

I have a Mod Recommendations section on the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/3753]SVE page[/url] detailing what mods I recommend!


[center][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1566394618-1252089923.jpeg[/img] [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1566397812-1158571790.jpeg[/img][/center]

[b]Do you have any future plans for your mods you'd like to share? [/b]

SVE is still growing! I have plans to add more unique locations, more NPCs, more events, new activities, new festivals, new sprites, and more! If anyone wants to help with portrait art and C# coding, I would love to have a chat with you!

[line]
Follow [url=https://twitter.com/FlashShifter]@FlashShifter[/url] on Twitter to keep up to date on the development of his mods. You can also join in the Stardew Valley discussion on our [url=https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/forum/3641-general-stardew-valley-discussion]forums[/url] and the Nexus Mods [url=https://discord.gg/nexusmods]Discord server[/url]!

A big thank you to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/46021252]FlashShifter[/url] for answering our questions. As always, if there's an author or mod project you'd like to know more about, send your suggestions to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597][b]BigBizkit[/b][/url] or [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975][b]Pickysaurus[/b][/url]. 

[b]Today we are talking to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/34063535?tab=user+files]dunc001[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1892037?tab=user+files]MrNeverLost[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/5687342?tab=user+files]Fudgyduff[/url], the team behind [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/27008]iEquip[/url] - a very clever equipment management overhaul for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/97177]Skyrim[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/27008]Skyrim Special Edition[/url].[/b]
 
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/27008][img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1565793261-453370779.jpeg[/img]
 [/url]
[b]BigBizkit: To start this off, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself and your modding journey thus far?[/b]

Dunc001: Hi, my name is Dunc (short for Duncan), I am 46 years old, Scottish, a husband, father, company director, and I have absolutely no formal programming training! Other than hacking Windows Mobile phone games back in the day to increase gold levels, Skyrim is the first and only game I have any experience modding. Until I made the switch from console I had no idea the PC modding scene even existed, and my mind was blown by the amount of content available. I ditched the XBox, switched to PC, and spent the next two years building ever more ridiculous load orders (I think I peaked at over 1600 mods at one point) and learning the ins and outs of the Creation Kit and xEdit.

Fudgyduff: Hi, my name's Ryan and I go by Fudgyduff on the Nexus. I got invested in the modding scene when I started working on the Special Edition port of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/21085]QuickLoot[/url]. It's easily been the most challenging thing I've ever worked on as both a modder and a programmer. For some background, I went to college to learn how to program, primarily in C++, and SKSE plugin development has helped cement the theory I learned in my classes, as well as teach me a lot about the languages I never knew before.

MrNeverlost: Well, first off thanks for having me! My name is NeverLost, and I am a 22-year-old Norwegian university student. Few if any know me on the Nexus, as I have participated in exactly zero modding projects before. Probably for the best, as I am quite the clumsy guy :) (And Dunc can surely attest to that).

As for my modding journey, it probably started with Oblivion which I initially played on the PS3. I went a bit overboard with modding it initially, and it was not until the release of Skyrim that I tried my hand at making mods myself. 

I started with some simple xEdit patches, then moved on to the Creation Kit, and finally last year I tried my hand at papyrus scripting (Skyrim scripts). Later, I reached out to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/13953925?tab=user+files]Kojak747[/url] who at the time was asking for help with realizing LODs (Far distance objects) for the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/24587]Dev Aveza[/url] airship mod. He mentioned a guy to me called Dunc who he said could need some help with iEquip - and the rest is history!

 
[b]To those who are unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe the kind of mods you make?[/b]

Dunc001: I make what we would call “quality of life” mods, UI mods (obviously), and control mods.

Fudgyduff: I tend to make SKSE plugins.

MrNeverlost: I try to make mods that I need or want in my own game (In which my character is still level 2). I made [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/26122]Slick Sneaking[/url] because I wanted a way to play a sneaky character in my own game. I made branch animations for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/97215]Vurt's bent pines[/url] mod because he asked me to, and I figured a massive tree without moving branches is scandalous. I made the missing amethyst claw for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1394?tab=logs]John's Dragon Claws[/url] because I needed the complete package. And finally, I contributed to iEquip because I had the chance to - and let's not forget it's a kickass mod!

[center][img width=500,height=254]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1565793509-1486566526.jpeg[/img] [img width=500,height=254]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1565794127-1045864852.jpeg[/img][/center]
 [b]Your recent mod that drew a lot of attention is [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/27008]iEquip[/url] - a mod that completely overhauls the way you manage your equipment in Skyrim and Skyrim Special Edition. How would you describe iEquip and what are its core features?[/b]

Dunc001: iEquip is intended as a way to move as much of the Inventory Menu equipment management as possible into the game HUD to cut down on the amount of stop/start/pause in gameplay. It allows you to cycle through left and right-hand items, shouts, powers, ammo, potions, consumables and poisons, and to apply poisons or recharge enchantments, all without leaving the game. It also has a wide range of advanced features designed to quickly equip something suitable for any given situation you might find yourself in, such as needing to quickly grab a ranged weapon or a shield/ward, or a light source, or a healing potion/spell, and so on.

 
[b]Is there a particular feature of iEquip that you are most proud of?[/b]

Dunc001: The things I am most proud of, and which took the longest to realise, are elements which most users probably won't pay much attention to! Things like the Edit Mode selected item highlighting, the Queue Management Menus, the Preselect Mode animations and the custom colours in the Edit Mode colour picker took more time than most of the gameplay features! There is so much of it that I am really happy with, but I guess my favourite single feature would have to be the poisoning system. I hope it makes poisoning a more viable gameplay option because with mods like Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul, Smithing Oils and Tactless Toxins there are some really fun poisons out there that don't get nearly enough love because of the clunky vanilla poisoning system.

MrNeverLost: Most people probably won't notice it, but because the iEquip MCM is so large (we even broke some scripting limits), we had to figure out a new way to split the backend into smaller, more manageable pieces. So we did just that, and it turned out to help tremendously with keeping the ever-growing amount of options under control. It helps me keep my sanity, which is probably the best thing I can ask for!

 
[b]What was the inspiration for iEquip and what made you want to create it?[/b]

MrNeverlost: Dunc is probably better equipped to answer this than me, but personally I joined the project because I wanted to see a proper UI/Equipment mod released. One that can circumvent the problems that many other mods face dealing with Skyrim's many many quirks.

Dunc001: I have played a lot of mobile games with HUD inventory quick slots and action controls and I love that quick, unpaused access. SkyUI was the first mod I installed, and not long after I discovered [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/72238/?]Souls Quick Menu[/url]. Whilst I loved the idea of it, it just never worked perfectly for me and I wasn't that happy with the layout. I dabbled with a couple of bits of free software and managed to tweak it slightly, but realised that I was going to have to build my own mod if I wanted new functionality.  

I reached out to the Souls Quick Menu authors and they very kindly provided me with the original files, including the flash source, and I used that as the original inspiration (although it has all long since gone in the numerous rewrites). The other big source of motivation and energy to keep going with iEquip has come from my son who has provided constant encouragement, testing, and feature suggestions.

[center][img width=900,height=480]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1565859165-480972382.jpeg[/img][/center]
[b]Another impressive mod of yours that works well together with iEquip is [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/27007]Gamepad Plus Plus[/url]. Can you give us an overview of what it does and talk a bit about the development process of both mods?[/b]

Dunc001: The original version of Gamepad++ was actually the first mod I published. It was designed to give gamepad players access to more hotkeys so they didn't have to rely on playing with both the gamepad and keyboard. It works by having the player set keyboard keys as mod hotkeys in all their other mod MCMs, then using SKSE's TapKey function to emulate those keyboard keypresses when actually pressing gamepad button combos. 

When I later started working on iEquip I had it planned from the outset to have all the iEquip controls available to gamepad players by utilising single/double/triple press, hold and combos. As this was obviously going to have an impact on Gamepad++, I realised that mod would also have to be completely rewritten to avoid conflicts, and that then allowed us to build in integration between the two mods so that the controls didn't overlap or risk triggering unwanted actions. 

The real genius behind the key handler code in both mods is MrNeverLost. The iEquip key handling code is so complex and he has done a brilliant job of making it all work seamlessly.  That made it very easy to simplify and transpose into the new version of Gamepad++ along with the new blocking code which each mod uses to avoid conflicting with each other.


[b]What kind of mods do you like to use in your own game and which mods would you say work well together with your own?[/b]

Fudgyduff: I'm a big fan of third-person gameplay, so I like 360 animations, head-tracking, and player voice sets. Unfortunately, a consequence of making mods for the game is that I don't spend a lot of time actually playing it, so I couldn't tell you what goes well with my mods.

MrNeverLost: I like to use a lot of gameplay overhauls like Ordinator and Apocalypse that spice the game up a bit. For graphic mods, I use a mix of what I find on the nexus and edits/fixes that I make myself.

Dunc001: Well first off, iEquip is designed to work with pretty much everything and has built-in provision for many of the more popular mods out there which add content that iEquip may end up displaying and handling. We have also included a very easy to use patch framework which allows users to identify mod-added items and spells so they adopt specific icons and behaviour as required.  

As far as my game goes I am absolutely useless at combat so I am much more interested in exploration and discovery as a result, so my big vice is quest/dungeon/new lands mods.  I love cities, towns and villages overhauls as well: so mods like [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/27816?tab=posts]Kojak's new Enhanced Solitude[/url] are mana from heaven for me. And I love a good companion, so I am really looking forward to getting to know [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20035]Lucien[/url] and see the interactions with [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1461]Inigo[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11278]Auri[/url] on my next playthrough.

[center][img width=450,height=300]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1565861524-1304717958.jpeg[/img] [img width=450,height=300]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/93729/93729-1565861522-856716496.jpeg[/img][/center]
[b]What sort of mod from other creators do you find the most awe-inspiring? Are there any mods out there you find to be particularly impressive?
[/b]
Fudgyduff: [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/82725]Customizable UI Replacer[/url] is a mod that really blew me away when it came out. I'm a terrible artist so I'm jealous of people who can make nice looking UI mods.

MrNeverLost: Rather than the mods themselves, I find the creators inspiring. I've always looked up to the [url=http://skse.silverlock.org/]SKSE[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12604?tab=posts]SkyUI[/url] team for the amount of work they've put into their respective projects. Especially considering that their mods have pretty much become the backbone of every Skyrim mod list out there. It's really amazing that a mod can have such a big impact on a community.

Other creators I really like are [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/4995023?tab=user+files]Nukem[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/2025634?tab=user+files]Aers[/url], and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/5687342?tab=user+files]Ryan[/url]. They've all brought so much to the "modding table", and I am very grateful that they've decided to spend their time making modding Skyrim so much better.

Finally, my friends [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/13953925?tab=user+files]Kojak[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/6960827?tab=user+files]Elsopa[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/34063535?tab=user+files]Dunc[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/43673957?tab=about+me]Looland[/url] always bring a laugh to the table when It's needed.

Dunc001: It goes without saying that the SKSE and SkyUI teams deserve huge respect, but I am also constantly amazed by the work that people like [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/5687342?tab=user+files]Ryan[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/2148728?tab=user+files]powerofthree[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/9663214?tab=user+files]DavidJCobb[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/2025634?tab=user+files]aers[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/4995023?tab=user+files]Nukem[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/2964753]meh321[/url] have and continue to produce. The level of knowledge and skill they have just blows my mind. I also find it incredible what some authors are able to achieve without the use of SKSE, in particular, mods like [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/26627]Spellsiphon[/url] which released recently.  

And finally the content creators: those who spend their lives in the Creation Kit imagineering new lands and locations for the rest of us to enjoy. The huge modding teams are incredible and some of the upcoming content looks absolutely amazing, but I have to take my hat off to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1819137?tab=user+files]razorkid[/url] - what he has managed to achieve largely on his own in [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3008?tab=files]Beyond Reach[/url] is simply staggering.


[b]Are there any other games you like to mod? What are some other games you play regularly - if any?[/b]

Dunc001: I never have much time for playing, all my game time for the past two years has gone into building iEquip! I downloaded Kingdom Come Deliverance the day it came out and have yet to launch it, similarly about two years ago I installed Oblivion and Morrowind but I haven't opened them yet either! 

MrNeverLost: I really like the game Rimworld, and mod it infrequently. It's neat taking a break from Skyrim and looking at what the other modding communities out there are doing. Other than that, I just play whatever interesting RPG I can find.

Fudgyduff: I've tried modding other games, and you may come across some of my mods for them, but there's no other game on the market with the same community and modability that surrounds Bethesda games. When I try modding other games I always get frustrated that I can't do this or that, but when I mod Bethesda games using xSE, the only roadblocks I can't overcome are self-imposed ones. C++ is a very powerful language and I can leverage it to make mods that would be impossible in other games, or even in this game using native modding tools like Papyrus or the Creation Kit.

Recently I've been playing Tales of Berseria. I really like games with a good story and this one has amazing writing with really good voice acting.

 
[b]Do you have other hobbies outside of modding and gaming?[/b]

Dunc001: Being outdoors - I'm a mountain man at heart and I find something magical about being out in nature, particularly landscapes with scale (probably one of the reasons I like Skyrim so much as it reminds me of Scotland!).  When I can I like to get out on the mountain bike, and my wife and daughter have horses which are a huge part of our life and take up most weekends competing all over the country. I'm also a light aircraft pilot and although I haven't flown for a couple of years now I'm hoping to get some hours in again soon.

Fudgyduff: Programming is my hobby, so I really enjoy making mods for this game since they present interesting challenges that I get to solve using my reverse engineering/programming experience. It's a really nice hobby to have because when you finish coding something, you can compile it and get immediate results telling you whether it works or not.

MrNeverLost: I wish! I used to go mountain trekking before, something I want to start doing again in the future. Maybe when The Elder Scrolls 6 comes out? But for now, I am pretty occupied with uni, work and modding though :).
 
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[b]Last but not least: is there anything you would like to say to our community?[/b]

Fudgyduff: Don't be scared to try SKSE plugin development. If you've never done reverse engineering before, it can be very confusing to open up SKSE's solution and see 100's of class definitions with no comments on how to use them or what anything means, but I'm glad I tried it and didn't give up on learning how to do it. I've made some efforts to write some tutorials and wrappers for using SKSE's interfaces, and while I won't write your plugin for you, I'm willing to at least give some guidance on what to do - also, I like new challenges, so I might be interested in partnering up with other people to make cool new mods.

MrNeverLost: To all aspiring modders out there that struggle with motivation: take everything as a learning experience. Everybody gets discouraged from time to time, but there is no such thing as lost time. Sometimes I stop and wonder if I am wasting my time when modding, but I always feel better when I know I've learnt something new, or made something someone else will enjoy. Enjoy the small accomplishments, and don't focus too hard on the setbacks - that's the way to go in my opinion.

Dunc001: You're all awesome!  I have had so much help and support with iEquip and Gamepad++. I've asked endless questions and begged endless favours, and every single one of you I have reached out to has been so friendly and willing to help. iEquip really is a community mod, so many people have had input (directly or indirectly) and so much of it wouldn't have been possible or as polished as it is without that help.  Together great things can be achieved. So if you are just starting out on your modding journey and are wondering whether or not you can do it, yes you can. And we're all here to help you.

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A big thank you to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/34063535]dunc001[/url], [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/5687342?tab=user+files]Fudgyduff[/url], and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1892037?tab=user+files]MrNeverLost[/url] for taking the time to respond to our questions. As always, if there are any mod authors or mod projects you'd like to hear about, don't hesitate to send a message to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url].

Today's guest in our Mod Author interview series is [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1733280]PrimeSonic[/url] - creator of a number of super useful feature mods for [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica]Subnautica[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnauticabelowzero]Subnautica: Below Zero[/url].

[b]We'll start as we always do. For those who don't know you, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
[/b]
Hi there. I'm PrimeSonic and I've been using this name on the internet since the very early 2000s, back when "Web 2.0" was still in its infancy. I've been a modder on Nexus for just over a year now, although I joined long ago as simply a gamer looking for mods. My day job is in business software, which isn't remotely as sexy as video games, but it pays well and still scratches that "problem-solving itch" more often than not. I've been working as a professional software developer for about ten years now and I took my first steps into computer programming almost ten years before that. I'm a PC hardware enthusiast and you could call me a gamer in that games have always been an will be an important part of my life.

And since we're here to talk about my Subnautica mods, remember that all my mods are open source and publicly available on [url=https://github.com/PrimeSonic/PrimeSonicSubnauticaMods]GitHub[/url].


[b]Given your handle - PrimeSonic - you must be a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. Which game would you say is the best in the franchise?
[/b]
The best Modern Sonic experience is still [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/71340/Sonic_Generations_Collection/]Sonic Generations[/url] (Get it on PC for mods). The best Classic Sonic experience is still somewhere between [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/584400/Sonic_Mania/]Mania[/url] or the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=674578957]Sonic 3 & Knuckles Complete romhack[/url].


[b]How do you feel about the upcoming Sonic movie?
[/b]
As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't exist.

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[b]Could you tell us a little about your gaming history? 
[/b]
My earliest gaming happened on an NES at the babysitter's and whatever demos I could get on our 486 machine downloaded off AOL Kids. I've been a SEGA diehard since the early 90s but Nintendo has certainly had a special place in my heart too.

To list off the consoles I've personally owned myself: Genesis, Game Gear, Gameboy Color, Dreamcast, DS, Gamecube, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, Switch. But no matter what the generation of console, I always had games on my PC.
 
My fond gaming memories are plentiful. I could probably play Sonic 3 & Knuckles in my sleep after all the time I devoted to it. Even after years of exploring the world of Arcanum, I still managed to keep on discovering new things, long after I thought I knew the game in and out. I remember eagerly jumping on Sonic Generations when it released, rushing to buy a new and better graphics card so I could actually play it. I did a couple of tours of WoW with good friends back in the day. In the future, I will get to fondly remember FF14 as the MMO I played side by side with my wife.


[b]All of the mods you've shared with our community are from the Subnautica series. What was it about these games that inspired you to start modding them?
[/b]
It was one of those "right place, right time" things.

One of my favourite YouTube gamers ([url=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/videos/660]MegaGWolf[/url]) was doing a Subnautica series and I was really liking what I was seeing. Once the game came out of Early Access and I tried it for myself, I was absolutely hooked for weeks following.

There were a respectable number of mods out at the time and used a fair number of them from the get-go. But it was the moment that I looked at some of the open-source mod code for myself that everything clicked. This was C#. I knew I could do this. Heck, I do stuff like this for a living. All at once I felt the rush of being able to apply my coding skills to something I was truly passionate about for the first time.
 

[b]Your newer mods include a suite of upgrades for the Cyclops Submarine. Could you talk us through some of them?[/b]

Yeah. Once I saw how big [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/101]MoreCyclopsUpgrades[/url] was getting, and just how much code reuse there was, I knew it was time to break it up and let people pick and choose the parts they want.

[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/273]CyclopsSolarUpgrades[/url] - It's finally its own mod again!
This is somewhat of a spiritual successor to one of my earliest (and long deleted) mods: CyclopsSolarCharger. This mod adds an upgrade module for the Cyclops that works just like the Seamoth Solar Charger. Unlike the one on the Seamoth, you can add multiple copies of this upgrade module for added effect. Later on, it can be upgraded to a better version, just to give you something to work towards as you get into the later game.
 
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/277]CyclopsBioReactor[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/274]CyclopsNuclearUpgrades[/url] - I put these mods together as they were developed in collaboration with the guys of [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/users/66012691]FCStudios[/url].
I don't have any 3D modelling skill or experience. Heck, I can barely make any 2D sprites as it is. But these guys made such awesome work on their own I just knew we would be able to bring our skills together to make something awesome.

In both cases, the mods add a new type of reactor that you can build in the Cyclops: a smaller Bioreactor and a smaller Nuclear Reactor. Both will feed power into the Cyclops similar to how those reactors would work in a base. The extra cool thing is that these mods were designed to give players more late-game stuff to work towards. Each one of these mods also includes new upgrade modules that can be equipped to the Cyclops that will enhance all of the bio/nuclear reactors on board at once!
 
[url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/276]CyclopsAutoZapper[/url] - The newest entry (and with updates to come in the future).
This mod adds a new upgrade module that taps directly into a docked Seamoth's Electrical Defense System, overcharging it to fend off would-be aggressors. The cool thing is that it's completely automatic. If the Cyclops is under attack, it will engage. It's not really a mod I'd recommend for a player's first play-through, but for Subnautica veterans looking for a new tool to defend the Cyclops, this can make for a fun addition.
 
There's plenty more, so check out the Requirements tab and see just how many mods were improved, or entirely made possible, by [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/101]MoreCyclopsUpgrades[/url].

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[b]If you had to say which one of your mods you are most proud of, which would it be and why?
[/b]
That honour probably had to go to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/114]CustomCraft2[/url]. Not just because of how feature-rich it became over time or for how it opened up the door to many non-coders to make some of their own Subnautica Mods. No, the main reason I'm proud of it is because that was where I put my brain to the test and created my own C# serialization language from scratch, complete with its own parser.

I rarely get the chance to write code that complex, so to see it come together and prove to myself just what I was capable of was sheer joy. I'm just amazed that I was able to wrap my head around the problem in the first place considering that I had never done anything quite like that before.


[b]When you play Subnautica, which difficulty setting do you prefer? [/b][b]I've always played on Survival but never actually finished the story.
[/b]
You really should complete the story at least once. It really does bring everything to a close.

As for me, I very much enjoyed my first play-through on Freedom mode, since I was new to the whole survival genre of games and I really didn't want to stress myself over it. But on my second play-through, I understood just how rewarding it can be to play in Survival mode. There was a real sense of progression between having to catch my every meal in the early game to having a replenishing stockpile of food ready to feast on at any given time.

These days, when I actually play the game, I spend more time in Creative mode just enjoying the scenery or tinkering with a new base idea.


[b]What are your top 3 essential Subnautica mods?
[/b]
There's so many to pick from and I use so many myself, but if I had to pick just three that all players of all play style preferences should have:


[list]
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/24]EasyCraft[/url] - Makes crafting fun again by taking away the tedium. Once you've used EasyCraft, you won't want to go back.
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/12]SubnauticaMap[/url] - A well-balanced map feature that feels like a feature that could have been there all along. With the fog of war enabled, I feel it perfectly complements the game's exploration loop.
[*][url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/207]Radial Tabs[/url] - Fixes the crafting trees so you don't have to worry about having too many crafting nodes. With how many crafting related mods there are, this mod here will guarantee that you never have to worry about crafting icons going off-screen.
[/list]

[b]What tools do you use when creating mods for Subnautica?
[/b]
It's important to remember that Subnautica wasn't created with a modding framework. So all the mods you see are, more or less, forms of code injection. Mods are made by adding to or replacing the original game code with the mod's code at runtime.
 
As for the tools to make this happen, I'll list the 2 most important ones.

[url=https://github.com/0xd4d/dnSpy/]dnSpy[/url] - Because Subnautica is developed in Unity, and Unity is developed in .NET, the DLL files themselves actually contain a surprising amount of meta-data, rather than just being binary blobs. On that note, dnSpy is a crucially important piece of software because what it does is read all that byte code and metadata and reassemble something that looks very close to the original source code. Sure, it's not a perfect recreation in that you lose some of the syntactic sugar, but it's enough for modders to be able to peek into the game's original code and see what we can do with it.
 
[url=https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/]Visual Studio[/url] - Looking at the original game code isn't very useful if you can't also write your own and for writing C# code, Microsoft's own Visual Studio arguably sets the bar for what all development tools should offer. I've been using the various versions of Visual Studio in my professional work since the old 2010 edition. It's still a fantastic development environment and, best of all for young coders, it can be free! I may use an Enterprise version of Visual Studio at work, but at home, the Community edition offers everything I could need.
 
Beyond these tools, everything else is in software libraries that make some aspects of modding Subnautica easier, or just outright possible in the first place. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/subnautica/mods/152]You can find more details on all this in oldark1's Modding Tutorial[/url].
 

[b]If a modder wanted to get started making their own Subnautica mods, what advice would you give them?[/b]

Make sure you're comfortable working with C#, with object-oriented programming, and be ready to learn a few things about Unity along the way. I would also say that creating mods for Subnautica can arguably be harder than it was to write some parts of the game in the first place.

Remember, we are injecting and replacing code here. There are no files to play around with. No text to tweak.
The game doesn't officially support modding. The only modding framework that exists was created by the modding community. So be prepared to dive into some real challenges. You'll be faced with not just expressing your own ideas in your code but also with figuring out how to make them work around someone else's code.

But if you're ready to do all that, there is quite literally no limit to what you could do.

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[b]Have you ever thought about making mods for other games?[/b]

At this point, I know I could dive into modding any Unity-based game. Knowing what I know now, a lot more games just became "mod supported" for me, whether they were intended to be or not. 
But for right now, I still have Subnautica mods I want to create and others I want to improve. With the limited free time I have to do all that, it may be a while before I dive into modding for another game. It's certainly possible, but likely won't happen for a while.


[b]As a Mod Author do you check out other Mod Authors to either compare or learn from?[/b]

Absolutely and all the time.

I wouldn't have started making any mods in the first place if it hadn't been for the modders who came before me.
Their open-source code was an invaluable resource in getting me started. Even today, I'm always checking out what other modders are making. Maybe they've come up with a creative solution to a problem I never thought about or maybe they know Unity well enough to be able to do more with it.

Heck, some of the best mods I'm attributed to came from direct collaboration with other modders who shared their skills. Some mods of mine, in part or in whole, simply wouldn't have been possible without the tips and insights I got from other modders in the community.


[b]Are there any Mod Authors that you look up to or who inspire you?
[/b]
In the interest of time, I will pick one: The legendary [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/9322077]RandyKnapp[/url].

This was the guy whose works got me into modding in the first place and whose large collection of high-quality mods made me want to make more of them.


[b]To wrap things up, is there anything else you'd like to say to the community?[/b]

Never let anyone tell you that you're playing the game wrong.

Whether you use one mod over another or none at all, whatever makes the game most enjoyable to you is how you should be playing it.

[line]
A big thank you to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/1733280]PrimeSonic[/url] for taking the time to respond to our questions. As always, if there are any mod authors or mod projects you'd like to hear about, don't hesitate to send a message to [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/31179975]Pickysaurus[/url] and [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/users/64597]BigBizkit[/url].