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Mod Burnout

HalfwiseHalfwise Member Posts: 78
I'm getting really drained about mods currently, the level of changes lately is getting really hard to track compared with mods.

2.0 releases, and lots of mods need changed.
SOD releases, and people need to ensure compatibility with it.
Then they release 2.1, and that affects some mods, but there's no way for me to be 100% certain which.
I could update to 2.1, or I could stay at 2.0, but then I would need to get a older version of a mod, which feels weird.
Then there's the issue of modding both BGEE+SOD and BG2EE, and making sure that mechanic changes are the same between the two. (Don't want to accidentally have the same kit or styles with 2 different set of stats.)
This could be fixed by EET (a major reason I used BGT way back), because your installing the same mods on 1 set of data.
But then you gotta wait for EET to update to match SOD and 2.1.
And then all the mods you wanted may not necessarily be compatible with EET.
And other mods you wanted aren't necessarily compatible with 2.0, because they were last update into 2012.
And then you want to roll a [insert class] because you like the flavor, but you find that its really gimped.
So then you start looking at kits, and those aren't all compatible, or they also change things you aren't a fan of....
So you start looking at making your own kit...but you haven't got time for that. (Though you have time to look for mods non-stop,,,)


*Deep breath*

Does anyone else get burned out?
How do you deal with it?
lolienFlashburnmashedtaters

Comments

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    JuliusBorisovjackjacklolienmashedtaters
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    edited April 2016
    It's a rocky time for mods, to be sure, but I managed to install the following on BGEE (in order):
    - BG1NPC Project
    - BG1NPC Music Pack
    - BG1 Unfinished Business
    - BGTweaks v3 Beta
    - More Style for Mages
    - Rogue Rebalancing

    And the last 3 installed just fine on BG2EE, along with Dungeon-Be-Gone.

    I've also noticed people seem to be getting SCS to work as well, though I think that requires a hotfix.

    Personally, I'm waiting to purchase SoD until it works with the mods I use, where appropriate of course. I sympathize.
    JuliusBorisovPteranlolienAerakar
  • rapsam2003rapsam2003 Member Posts: 1,636
    I deal with it by updating the game and using whichever mods work. It's not Beamdog's fault if a modder doesn't properly update to handle any changes that Beamdog patches make.
  • HalfwiseHalfwise Member Posts: 78
    edited April 2016
    @Lord_Tansheron I guess it may sound like I am complaining about mods taking time to update, but that was not my intention at all.

    The point was the amount of time investment right now to get from unmodded to acceptably modded, which it seems like by that point, everything bumps up again and you start over. Which kind of ties into @subtledoctor 's latest point...

    Except I redownloaded and got the urge to play BGEE/SOD/BG2EE because SOD came out. I started a character, but it didn't work out like I planned (wasn't fun), so now i'm starting over, which also led me to start reassessing my choice in mods. Because I picked up BGEE and BG2EE with SOD, there is no "1.3" rewind option, unless i go dig out my discs.

    I even was going to start a round of Pillars of Eternity while I waited, but I wanted to see what mods there were... and its the same issue. They are releasing patches so fast that a lot of modders have just thrown their hands up and decided not to bother until things fully stabilize. This is actually not the first time this has happened, nor for only this game, but many others...which is why I was wondering if other people had experienced that weird consistent loop as well.

    I also feel the need to constantly check on status's in hopes that there's an eye to the current storm, where patches and desired mod updates all line up with the planets. As you mentioned, the big names are very good about staying up-to-date... so there's also a loop of "I'll have x updated by the weekend".. then the weekend comes and someone else says "I'll have y updated by monday".. And I keep waiting because I want it all. ><

    I would by no means urge modders to work faster... they do great work... I'm just hoping everything lines up for a brief period, and that in and of itself is very draining. (my current ratio is like 8:1 hours of checking mods/forums/updates to actually playing.)
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Halfwisejackjack
  • HalfwiseHalfwise Member Posts: 78
    edited April 2016
    PoE is moddable, but its convoluted, as with every patch, the location of all the modded values change...so literally *every* mod breaks, completely. Modders have to go find where the values they altered moved to. And there seems to be a new patch every few months. Its not hard to see why the modding community isn't doing much atm.

    The new features for BG modders is fantastic, but it lends as an additional thing to look forward to and wait for. I love BG, but I'm not sure I can play full campaign, back-to-back 2-3 times in a row to get a slightly different modded experience. Once I get going, it will be 1 playthrough, then I may play it again in 1 or 2 years. That's not to say there won't be several false starts.
    semiticgoddesssmeagolheartjackjack
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,211
    Halfwise said:

    Once I get going, it will be 1 playthrough, then I may play it again in 1 or 2 years. That's not to say there won't be several false starts.

    I think that's totally fine. The game has survived with me for 10 years and more, but that doesn't mean I was playing it CONSTANTLY. But overall, it is the game I have played the most of - not in one session, not in two sessions, but drizzled over a long period. And a large part of why that worked and was entertaining were mods. I get that it's annoying when things break (oh believe me I do), but ultimately it's a long-term, big-picture thing. Being able to refresh a game via mods even years down the stretch... that's quite something.

    I'm shocked to hear about PoE not being easily moddable, by the way. I would have expected a game like this to be predestined to be built from the start with mods and modders in mind. Guess I was wrong.
    HalfwisejackjacksemiticgoddessGreenWarlock
  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,579

    I have the simple answer for you already--don't use mods.

    An even simpler answer: Don't install the updates.
    lunar
  • mashedtatersmashedtaters Member Posts: 2,266
    You can always do both: install updates and mods. It just requires some foresight to back up your games in a separate location so that you can go back if you need/want to.

    Of course, if you didn't have that foresight, than you're screwed.

    I definitely get attached to certain mods, and refuse to play without them, just like @subtledoctor said. It is a mistake that I make, but only with one or two mods. I really can't play BGEE without the BG1NPCProject, anymore. It is an absolute must for me. I also love the G3Tweaks mod, but that one is not an absolutely necessary mod, and I can play without it. It is just so darn convenient to have those infinite stacking items! The other mods that I use certainly enhance my gaming experience, but I can do without them until they get updated.

    I know how you feel, though. For the longest time, when BGEE came out, everyone was waiting for an updated version of Weidu so that the modders could figure out how to get the BG1NPCProject to work...something about journal updating, I don't remember. I purchased BGEE, but didn't play it until the BG1NPCProject was ready. That was a long wait.
    HalfwiseGozetajackjack
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    To me, my heavily modded, tweaked to perfection game is more important than what 2.x version brings, so I did not make the change. For now. Maybe in the future, when mods are more compatible and the version changes are stabilised. I can make the change then.
  • TStaelTStael Member Posts: 861
    Admiring the modders with the love I extend to the game developers - because personally I have not developed a game, nor would I know how, and same goes with mods.

    Is it not thought widely that certain "soulless" productions such as Oblivion or Skyrim are rather much elevated by modders?

    I would deal with it by demanding portability and easy integration from publishers/developers whom benefit from imagination and love and hard work from the modders.

    And thanking the modders. Thank you! :-)
  • TStaelTStael Member Posts: 861
    Halfwise said:

    I'm getting really drained about mods currently, the level of changes lately is getting really hard to track compared with mods.

    *Deep breath*

    Does anyone else get burned out?
    How do you deal with it?

    Have you ever partaken to developing a mod? Or just enjoyed them?

    If the latter, I would suggest directing your frustration to back-end rather than front-end. Or to the core. The game publishers should make modding easy to integrate, alike Unity Engine. Portability.

    I might idealize modders, but I totally admire them, because their love of gaming is so generous, and hands on. Yet the back-end integration is industrial, which either empowers or not modders by clear tool-sets and standards. Or am I naïve?
  • lololo555lololo555 Member Posts: 66
    I don't get burned out but I get frustrated because some mods mess up spells. Suddenly physical mirror is useless, spell trap gets bypassed with spell thrust (sic) and many others.
  • OnestepOnestep Member Posts: 225
    Just do a relatively mod-low run until it's sorted out.
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963


    I'm shocked to hear about PoE not being easily moddable, by the way. I would have expected a game like this to be predestined to be built from the start with mods and modders in mind. Guess I was wrong.

    A cynical person might say PoE was built from the start with mods in mind - and purposely handicapped in order to make sure the content people get when they want more content is paid content.
    jackjack
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    I must be a cynic.
    smeagolheart
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    I've come to share @Halfwise 's mod burnout. Given the frequency of updates and patching now that the whole gaming business is internet-based, modding is just too much trouble for me to want to bother with it any more.

    As for BG:EE, I think Beamdog has done an excellent job of finding a good balance of just the right adjustments and changes to the original game that we used to need mods to get. That was a big selling point of the EE's from the start.

    I'm playing 2.1 with SoD and liking it. I seriously doubt I'll ever use BG mods again. For some reason, it just feels really good to me to play a "clean", un-tinkered with game, where I don't have to worry about updates and patches breaking anything. This attitude for me is carrying over to other games as well, even Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, and other games that have become all about modding them to the ninth hell and back for most people.
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Ardulmashedtatersjackjack
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