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Morning Discussion

by Jeff "geedeck" Gondek, Apr 11, 2008 5:46am PDT

Good to see that it's Friday, eh?

So Brad Shoemaker was gentleman enough to visit Bethesda for us, and with even managed to turn out a Fallout 3 preview, which is pretty keen. Also, Nick brings us a new installment of the Replay Couch, eclectic in it's choices of landsharks, Neverhood, Ronald McDonald and more. Plus, I've got a chance for you guys to win Sam & Max Season 2!


Read all the News


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  • #6870
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    By: wasylm This person is cool! x
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    After reading this thread (http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=16698147#itemanchor_16698147) that names a lot of innovative mods of the past, I was wondering:

    Do you think we've passed the peak of user mods in games?

    Quake, Quake 2, and Quake 3 all provided platforms that were pretty modest. Custom maps and art looked pretty much as good as the stuff that shipped with the game, so we had mods that were extremely polished and had dedicated fan bases. TF is a good example, this mod was big enough to warrant a standalone sequel from a major developer, it really caught on. CS has gone form HL to pretty much a game of its own too. But how many mods can you name from current gen games? Certainly nothing that is going to spin off into its own game. I don't even remember the last time I played a mod primarily, but I can remember all the ones I used to play: Team Fortress, Rocket Arena, LMCTF, Action Quake, Weapons Factory, Counterstrike, etc.

    The reason, in my opinion, is that newer games require bigger and bigger teams, and have better and better art. So much detail and time goes into games these days, far too much for a small amateur team to match. Sure, graphics aren't everything, but to attract a big audience to play your mod, it has to keep up with the times.

    I think that the only hope the mod scene has is in tools like Halo's Forge. There is lots of room for improvement, but having a simplified, user-friendly editor is the best way to get the creation tools into as many hands as possible, and hopefully produce some quality content. Maybe one day built-in editors will evolve into full game creation suites, like that RPG creation game for PS1. Basically an engine with a variety of premade content and an easy way to glue it all together. Imagine if TF2 had something like this just to build maps.

    The recent dominance of console gaming is probably contributing to this too, since mods aren't possible on consoles, and the maturity of the player base declines.

    I hope we haven't seen the last of user mods, because they really add value to games and let one generation's engine last years, meaning fewer computer upgrades. I just haven't seen any classic mods surface for the past couple generations of games, and it sucks. Are the mods out there and I'm just not seeing them?
    Apr 11, 2008 8:58pm PDT

    Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.

  • #6849
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    By: manlyman x
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    Condemned 2 is a very well done sequel. I expected no less from Monolith. The fact that discovering for the various items in the levels (antennas, responses etc.) give you upgrades is a nice touch. Also, the combat has been reworked and feels much more fluid. Pulling off combos and environmental kills all in one battle makes everything seem so much more visceral. They also seem to have done a great job getting rid of the cliche of all doors being locked in a building in an FPS, although some are present its amazing to see how large they have made the levels regardless and make the world feel alive. I will not get into how outstanding the atmosphere, sound and graphics are since that is a given. I am glad I picked this up.
    Apr 11, 2008 8:37pm PDT
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