Bethesdas reliance on the Modding comunity

[plus2]

Now, I've played fallout 3 and Oblivion for some time and while did enjoy them, a fair bit, I get the feeling the Bethesda is rather lazy when it comes to making thier games. This realization dong on me while searching for mod on oblivion that made the animations more likeable. I paticular I find thier lack of decent animations and reliance on rag doll physics anoying. Is it really so much to ask for some death animations that match the way a character was dispatched?

Well anyways, I ask do you sharemy opinion about the amount of reliance Bethesda has on a very talented modding comunity, why or why not?

 

[Flames66]

I think Oblivion was good on its own, but was improved alot with mods. not sure about Fallout 3 yet cos i havn't played it.

 

[sms_117b]

A few companies are reliant on their mod communities, either making the game playable or enjoyable. they should forget about them completely until after the games been released, then quickly dispatch a mod support system, then go back to DLC, patching is also the bane of a game on release day, they all just seem somewhat unfinished.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Honestly, I played the console versions of both Oblivion and Fallout 3 and they're two of my favorite games ever.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

Tell that to the PS3 and XBOX 360 players. They had to deal with it as it was, and overall, were happy. They delivered a pretty full game, and allow gamers to extend the circle.

 

[j0z]

I can not and will not play a Bethesda game on a console.
Why?
Because once you have experienced the difference some of the mods make with those games, it will blow you away. How did I ever survive with unscaled containers? Without Midas Magick? Without Unique Landscapes? Without the mirad of other mods that have mutated my Oblivion into something completely different?
I have beaten Oblivion almost completely, but the mods and their new quests keep me coming back.

 

[azncutthroat]

I own the console port of Fallout 3 (and "borrowed without asking" my friend's Oblivion), and they felt like solid games. Until I read about and searched online for the PC mods. I feel kinda ripped off that I can't customize my game with the same $60 that PC users pay.

 

[plus2]

Tell that to the PS3 and XBOX 360 players. They had to deal with it as it was, and overall, were happy. They delivered a pretty full game, and allow gamers to extend the circle.

When you play it on the pc and look at the available mods, you get a sense of how lacking the game is, Especially when loking at the animations. For example the hand to hand animations are rather crap, but there is a mod for oblivion that makes them look like your character is actually versed in martial arts.

 

[Branovices]

Calling Oblivion and Fallout 3, some of the most massive and detailed games out there, a lazy effort? You have a very skewed perception, I think.

 

[quiet_samurai]

I'm thinking of gettin Fallout 3 for the PC, I already have it for the 360 but with the mods and DLC it looks much better. I have Oblivion for the PC, and it rocks the socks off of the 360 version.

So yeah, Bethesda mods are fantastic.

 

[DalekJaas]

I have played Oblivion and enjoyed it without mods. Then I played it with mods and it became magnificent. DOn't like Fallout3 on its own so didn't bother with mods.

If you want to see a company that's lazy - Ubisoft Montreal. Far Cry 2 has so much modding potential and they refused to release a program so it can be modded.

Also they refused to patch the annoying insta enemy re-spawn or add dangerous creatures like the promised. AT LEAST GIVE THE MODDING COMMUNITY THE TOOLS TO DO IT!

Yeah so compared to Ubisoft, Bethesda isn't lazy at all. At least they fully finish their games before their release dates.

 

[badgersprite]

I do have to say that I wonder why, with the technology at their disposal, they couldn't produce the same textures as Qarl's texture pack. oO I choose to give them the benefit of the doubt, though, and say that they just ran out of time or money. Honestly, as long as they learn from the modding communities when it comes to making their next games and include the same sort of variety of monsters and the quality of textures that the mods have offered, I'll be happy.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

Tell that to the PS3 and XBOX 360 players. They had to deal with it as it was, and overall, were happy. They delivered a pretty full game, and allow gamers to extend the circle.

When you play it on the pc and look at the available mods, you get a sense of how lacking the game is, Especially when loking at the animations. For example the hand to hand animations are rather crap, but there is a mod for oblivion that makes them look like your character is actually versed in martial arts.

Are the animations the only thing you can use to verify your point? If you think about it, there are mods for almost anything the game can offer. Yes, they do enhance gameplay, and perfect it, but certain people choose certain mods.

I only chose the animation mods because I'm in machinima. Other than that, I've chosen tens of aesthetic mods, leveling mods, quest enhancing mods, and more.

I never played Fallout 3 on PC, and in all fairness, I do fine without access to mods. They're just, in all honesty, and added bonus. The games (Oblivion + Fallout 3) are both still brilliant without the mods.

 

[plus2]

Calling Oblivion and Fallout 3, some of the most massive and detailed games out there, a lazy effort? You have a very skewed perception, I think.

Okay so maybe lazy is the wrong word to use. But it seems, incomplete.

 

[Cap'n Haddock]

I own the console port of Fallout 3 (and "borrowed without asking" my friend's Oblivion), and they felt like solid games. Until I read about and searched online for the PC mods. I feel kinda ripped off that I can't customize my game with the same $60 that PC users pay.

Not even that; Fallout 3 and Oblivion were $50 when they came out for PC, the $10 extra is tacked on by Microsoft and Sony.

 

[plus2]

Tell that to the PS3 and XBOX 360 players. They had to deal with it as it was, and overall, were happy. They delivered a pretty full game, and allow gamers to extend the circle.

When you play it on the pc and look at the available mods, you get a sense of how lacking the game is, Especially when loking at the animations. For example the hand to hand animations are rather crap, but there is a mod for oblivion that makes them look like your character is actually versed in martial arts.

Are the animations the only thing you can use to verify your point? If you think about it, there are mods for almost anything the game can offer. Yes, they do enhance gameplay, and perfect it, but certain people choose certain mods.

I only chose the animation mods because I'm in machinima. Other than that, I've chosen tens of aesthetic mods, leveling mods, quest enhancing mods, and more.

I never played Fallout 3 on PC, and in all fairness, I do fine without access to mods. They're just, in all honesty, and added bonus. The games (Oblivion + Fallout 3) are both still brilliant without the mods.

Well in oblivion the there is also the weakness of group combat and the generally unforgiving nature of the npcs when you hit them on accident. Would it be so hard to program them to give a couple of chances or the benifit of a doubt, especially if you are in a pitch battle against the hordes of Oblivion. I am not a programer so I wouldnt know. so if am wrong please call me on it.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

Tell that to the PS3 and XBOX 360 players. They had to deal with it as it was, and overall, were happy. They delivered a pretty full game, and allow gamers to extend the circle.

When you play it on the pc and look at the available mods, you get a sense of how lacking the game is, Especially when loking at the animations. For example the hand to hand animations are rather crap, but there is a mod for oblivion that makes them look like your character is actually versed in martial arts.

Are the animations the only thing you can use to verify your point? If you think about it, there are mods for almost anything the game can offer. Yes, they do enhance gameplay, and perfect it, but certain people choose certain mods.

I only chose the animation mods because I'm in machinima. Other than that, I've chosen tens of aesthetic mods, leveling mods, quest enhancing mods, and more.

I never played Fallout 3 on PC, and in all fairness, I do fine without access to mods. They're just, in all honesty, and added bonus. The games (Oblivion + Fallout 3) are both still brilliant without the mods.

Well in oblivion the there is also the weakness of group combat and the generally unforgiving nature of the npcs when you hit them on accident. Would it be so hard to program them to give a couple of chances or the benifit of a doubt, especially if you are in a pitch battle against the hordes of Oblivion. I am not a programer so I wouldnt know. so if am wrong please call me on it.

Look, they did the best they could with the stuff they had. It takes a very long time and alot of hard work to program a realistic AI. They wrote a fair one, and then let it loose.

 

[plus2]

Tell that to the PS3 and XBOX 360 players. They had to deal with it as it was, and overall, were happy. They delivered a pretty full game, and allow gamers to extend the circle.

When you play it on the pc and look at the available mods, you get a sense of how lacking the game is, Especially when loking at the animations. For example the hand to hand animations are rather crap, but there is a mod for oblivion that makes them look like your character is actually versed in martial arts.

Are the animations the only thing you can use to verify your point? If you think about it, there are mods for almost anything the game can offer. Yes, they do enhance gameplay, and perfect it, but certain people choose certain mods.

I only chose the animation mods because I'm in machinima. Other than that, I've chosen tens of aesthetic mods, leveling mods, quest enhancing mods, and more.

I never played Fallout 3 on PC, and in all fairness, I do fine without access to mods. They're just, in all honesty, and added bonus. The games (Oblivion + Fallout 3) are both still brilliant without the mods.

Well in oblivion the there is also the weakness of group combat and the generally unforgiving nature of the npcs when you hit them on accident. Would it be so hard to program them to give a couple of chances or the benifit of a doubt, especially if you are in a pitch battle against the hordes of Oblivion. I am not a programer so I wouldnt know. so if am wrong please call me on it.

Look, they did the best they could with the stuff they had. It takes a very long time and alot of hard work to program a realistic AI. They wrote a fair one, and then let it loose.

Okay I will admit defeat on that point. As I said Im not a programer so my knowlage in limited to what I learn from others.

 

[EMFCRACKSHOT]

I thank the lords of kobol for the modding community. They keep me coming back to oblivion time and again. And the new KOTOR 2 mod, magnificent. They keep the games fresh and replyable, they improve them all round really, so who cares if it allows bethesda and others to be a little lazy

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Tell that to the PS3 and XBOX 360 players. They had to deal with it as it was, and overall, were happy. They delivered a pretty full game, and allow gamers to extend the circle.

When you play it on the pc and look at the available mods, you get a sense of how lacking the game is, Especially when loking at the animations. For example the hand to hand animations are rather crap, but there is a mod for oblivion that makes them look like your character is actually versed in martial arts.

Are the animations the only thing you can use to verify your point? If you think about it, there are mods for almost anything the game can offer. Yes, they do enhance gameplay, and perfect it, but certain people choose certain mods.

I only chose the animation mods because I'm in machinima. Other than that, I've chosen tens of aesthetic mods, leveling mods, quest enhancing mods, and more.

I never played Fallout 3 on PC, and in all fairness, I do fine without access to mods. They're just, in all honesty, and added bonus. The games (Oblivion + Fallout 3) are both still brilliant without the mods.

Well in oblivion the there is also the weakness of group combat and the generally unforgiving nature of the npcs when you hit them on accident. Would it be so hard to program them to give a couple of chances or the benifit of a doubt, especially if you are in a pitch battle against the hordes of Oblivion. I am not a programer so I wouldnt know. so if am wrong please call me on it.

Look, they did the best they could with the stuff they had. It takes a very long time and alot of hard work to program a realistic AI. They wrote a fair one, and then let it loose.

From what I've read, they had to dumb down the "Radiant AI" they'd developed because the solutions it developed to situations that arose in the game weren't exactly sensible or even gameplay-conducive. For example, when one NPC was awakened by her dog's barking, her solution was to blow the dog away with a fireball and go back to sleep. Critical NPCs seem to get themselves killed easily enough in Oblivion; why make it easier?

Myself, I am beyond thankful that Bethesda allowed modifications to be made to the game. Do I wish they'd done a better job addressing the problems the game had at launch? Sure. But I wouldn't have logged upwards of 600 hours playing the game so far (on seven or eight different characters) if I was confined to just the vanilla game.