How important are Mods to you?

[Pink Gregory]

Just thought it might be an interesting discussion.

How important to your experience are mods? This could include anything from total conversions to UI tweaks to maps.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Very important.

Mods: fix bugs, add features, allow people to learn more about game design within the confines of one engine, allow creativity.

That said, there are games that I think are fine without mods, and don't need them. But what I demand is that developers not discourage mods, they don't need to encourage them, but the former is tyrannical.

 

[hazabaza1]

They're cool. I'll use them if I get bored with a game.
But I won't not buy a game because it didn't have mods.

 

[Violator[xL]]

Not important anymore. Example:
When BF1942 was around, there were dozens of mods worth playing within a short time after it's release. And they were POPULAR. I mean, Desert Combat, Forgotten Hope just to name the two biggest (I think).

Now, in the age of Battlefield 3, there is no real prospect of a mod coming out for it any time soon. And the mods for BF2 weren't there until much longer after the initial game release.

This is because of two things. EA/Dice isn't as friendly to mod teams as it used to be, but much more so, and this goes for ALL games, they really get more complicated. Models take more time to create, physics, lighting, everything is bigger (and better) then it was. So it is much harder for mod teams to complete a rich filled release before the game's population has declined and moved on to the next thing.

 

[Zhukov]

"Not much. I generally just can't be bothered with them. Besides, the quality is usually terrible."

That is what I would say if I hadn't been spending ridiculous amounts of time playing Day Z lately.

 

[Mental Cosmas]

It has been THE reason I've played some games, although honestly in those cases the mods are the kind of thing that are real game changers, like Just Cause2 on PC and the new Multiplayer mod, or Warcraft 3 and the custom maps.

Games that tend to only have minor mods I usually don't care about.

]Not important anymore. Example:
When BF1942 was around, there were dozens of mods worth playing within a short time after it's release. And they were POPULAR. I mean, Desert Combat, Forgotten Hope just to name the two biggest (I think).

Now, in the age of Battlefield 3, there is no real prospect of a mod coming out for it any time soon. And the mods for BF2 weren't there until much longer after the initial game release.

This is because of two things. EA/Dice isn't as friendly to mod teams as it used to be, but much more so, and this goes for ALL games, they really get more complicated. Models take more time to create, physics, lighting, everything is bigger (and better) then it was. So it is much harder for mod teams to complete a rich filled release before the game's population has declined and moved on to the next thing.

Gotta agree here as well. Newer games don't tend to have the kind of mods I enjoy. Minor tweaks at best. There are exceptions I imagine (Skyrim perhaps) but yeah.

 

[distortedreality]

For open world games like Fallout, Elder Scrolls etc I find mods great, as they are a way to keep the world interesting if you think you've seen all there is to see in the vanilla game world.

For a lot of other game genres, I don't find them as necessary, but there is still great potential there. The world of starcraft mod was great, mods for CS such as surf, football etc are awesome. The graphic upgrade mods for games like GTA IV are superb, not to mention all the unique items people have made.

So I guess that while I don't find them necessary, they can be (and often are) a welcome addition to a lot of games.

 

[Smooth Operator]

If the game is lacking then they are extremely important, a whole bunch more games could be brought up to the next level if they left things open.
Heck if it weren't for mods then Dark Souls would be up on ebay the week I got it, and I still keep all TES games because of them.

 

[Goofguy]

I don't use them all that often unless I've already beaten the game and want to try some fun ones. I like playing games through the way the developers made it. Some of the performance or aesthetic improving mods are worthwhile but for the most part, I don't really use mods.

 

[DoPo]

Quite important. I wouldn't miss out on a game if it isn't moddable but I'd certainly be more likely to get one that is. This is the entire reason I got Oblivion and Skyrim. If there weren't mods there, I could have skipped them. Or at least Skyrim, since Oblivion was really underwhelming vanilla.

 

[EscapeGoat_v1legacy]

They're not essential, but I do enjoy having them around. I mean, most of the time, they can inject new life into a game I've beaten, like Oblivion, or Torchlight, but it's not like I can only enjoy games with mods.

I guess the only real exception is when the mods are bug fixes, which are pretty important. I mean, as much as I enjoy Knights of the Old Republic II, I can't imagine going back to the vanilla version now that I've played the Restored Content mod, which fixes a ton of bugs as well as restoring all that delicious cut content.

 

[Dandark]

I consider them really important. I wouldn't miss out on a good looking game just because it doesn't have mods but it would definatly be a point against it for me, not just because of lack of mods but because I hate it when developers/ Publishers take that stance.

A game with a good modding community will usaully be improved greatly, I would have never gotten as much enjoyment as I did out of the STALKER series if not for mods. I have Skyrim and it's DLC dawnguard on Xbox but bought it again on PC just so that I can play with mods. They can only improve the game and take nothing away from the developer other than the option to milk us with bad overpriced DLC that modders would have put to shame.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

I will get games without mod-ablity but being able to add bug fixes and new free content is a big draw-card for me.

 

[CommanderL]

Important If t

Quite important. I wouldn't miss out on a game if it isn't moddable but I'd certainly be more likely to get one that is. This is the entire reason I got Oblivion and Skyrim. If there weren't mods there, I could have skipped them. Or at least Skyrim, since Oblivion was really underwhelming vanilla.

Ninja Like what Mr dopo said I am more willing to send money on a game with a few great mods becuase it adds so much to the game as in mount and blade warband the mods add so much I cant play vanilla any more and smart developers look at the mods and see what they can add to the next title

 

[aguspal]

SAY NO TO MODS. (IMO anyways).

While I guess its okey than the fanbase tries to fix, improve and whatnot the game with mods, I rather personally would want a profesional rather than some random dude fixing/improving my games, thank you very much. As in, I avoid mods whenever possible. So far, I avoided pretty much every single one...

Except those that fix serious stuff like gamebraking glitches. If the dev dosnt fix them first, then I am going to take the mod, but other than that, nope.

 

[Mekado]

Very important in Bethesda games (Fallout,Skyrim) not so much in other games (Dragon age,etc...)

Vanilla Bethesda games are always missing a little something, even though they're huge. There's also a very talented modding community for these.

 

[Random Argument Man]

It mostly depends on which game I'm playing. I haven't had a gaming pc in a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonng while. Although, I was happy with KOTOR 2's restoration mod.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Console player here, so not really important in the slightest. However, when playing Football Manager on my laptop, I enjoy having the latest transfer updates, that are mostly done by other players of the game, so if you consider that a mod, then slightly important for one series.