Fallout 4 and Skyrim: Special Edition Will Not Receive Mods On PS4
Sep. 9, 2016Fallout 4 and Skyrim: Special Edition Will Not Receive Mods On PS4
Addressing a question that has been increasing in volume recently, Bethesda today announced on theirdev blogthat mods will not be coming toFallout 4orSkyrim: Special Editionwhen it releases on October 28th. Bethesda had these words to say:
After months of discussion with Sony, we regret to say that while we have long been ready to offer mod support on PlayStation 4, Sony has informed us they will not approve user mods the way they should work: where users can do anything they want for either Fallout 4 or Skyrim Special Edition.
Like you, we are disappointed by Sony’s decision given the considerable time and effort we have put into this project, and the amount of time our fans have waited for mod support to arrive. We consider this an important initiative and we hope to find other ways user mods can be available for our PlayStation audience. However, until Sony will allow us to offer proper mod support for PS4, that content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim on PlayStation 4 will not be available.
We will provide an update if and when this situation changes.
Not the best news for Playstation owners who have been anxiously awaiting the dynamic world of mods, but hope is not lost as the message seems to imply there is a chance that something can be worked out.
Thoughts on the news? Hope for the future? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Editor at Fextralife. I look for the substantial in gaming and I try to connect video games to the emotions and stories they elicit. I love all things culture and history and have an odd fondness for the planet Jupiter. I think my dogs are pretty awesome too.
Sony might have been more co-operative if Bethesda hadn’t messed it up so bad. That said, it does suck.
As far as breaking your stuff goes, modding requires a certain level of responsibility. It is easy to break a game and force a re-install, and while it’s quite difficult to fry a part it is technically possible if you overload your system and didn’t set power limits properly. I don’t really know why they thought it was a good idea to suddenly give people who likely never had that type of responsibility the tools to break their stuff with like, no guidance. Most PC mod authors give very specific instructions on how to do everything and what isn’t compatible and how it can be made so (if possible) specifically because even people who know what they’re doing and how to spot and resolve conflicts will avoid potentially having to re-install everything by simply being told before hand what will break things. Also PC modders build for PC, so knowing what will work ok on consoles and what will tank the framerate by taxing the CPU is probably not especially easy.
i don’t really know what they could have done to fix problems like that. Creation kit with stricter limits that prevents simply importing PC mods unlikely to work maybe? Probably other stuff too.
Having already played modded games and knowing how much better they can be, If I’d bought it on the PS4 I’d be furious. I just know better than to buy Bethesda (the dev team, not the publisher) products on Sony hardware because something like this always happens. Remember the crippling save game bloat of Bethesda games on the PS3?
I do know they shuoldn’t have bothered with their official mod site for PC because nobody uses it (because they have, by necessity, overly strict rules and nexus mods/LOOT are better anyways) and they definitely should stop deactivating all my mods every time they release a patch.
No, no , no, no, no, no. I’m so tired of hearing this when it’s so not true.
If you put in the effort to build a PC, you know your relevant system specs off the top of your head and so also know if you can play a game or not. most games are built to work on like 8 year old computers with 5 year old graphics cards, so it’s really not an issue as far as just getting it to run goes. Not to mention the whole “Consoles have to download and install and update games just as often as PC does” thing that started this gen.
Total of$448.
PS4 pro? 400. 3 years of PS+ (ie just up to date, not counting the 3-5 years left in the console life time?) 150. Total?$550.More realistic total that includes online play for the full 6-8 years of the consoles life?$700
And the computer is well over 40% more powerful (specifically the GPU is 41% more powerful, the CPU is far more,) with the same storage capacity. It will max modern games at 1080p with a solid 60 FPS the vast majority of the time, even in games well known for hating AMD hardware (like shadow of mordor) and it even manages 40+ with maxed settings most of the time in Rise of The Tomb Raider (which also hates AMD hardware) even when it has to deal with the stupid ****ing hiarworks that doesn’t look any different but tanks performance on AMD cards (because Nvidia middlware always tanks performance on AMD cards.) It’s worth noting, max settings are wholly unncecessary as many settings hit performance hard for very little benefit, enabling noticably higher framerates and nearly identicle visuals. (x16 anisotrpoic filtering hits performance pretty hard over x4 or x8 and makes little to no visual difference, the same is often true of the highest levels of AA and object detail fade distance.)
Console gaming is really, really, not cheaper, even talking performance per dollar. Less work? Yeah, you don’t have to put it together and install the OS (or pay someone else to do it) but you only actually have to do that once and it you want to settle for an inferior experience with a more limited selection of games you can stick strictly to steam w/o mods and have everything be just as easy to download and install as it is on a console. Is it Cheaper? No.
Have you published mods or worked within the game industry? (just asking because I have had little time to read over every post) Low level API access is not an issue here. There are a lot of self-publishing software. XBox one has the Game Development software and PS has a dev kit. The issue is taking an already published game and rights of distribution and rights of intellectual property. When Bethesda tried to launch their mod hosting service they did it wrong and they did it bad. Piracy was more rampant than a 16th century brothel. There are already “mods” out there for FO4 on console… 90% of them are stolen. This was made to pass because Bethesda forgot that Nexusmods wasn’t built in a day. They were stupid to try to launch their own and should have partnered up with people who know how to release mods and protect intellectual property.
Now here is a point I might get smacked for, and I am okay with that: Who the heck do console people think are modding their games? People with PCs usually. So if you want to mod a game you need the hardware and software for it. It is a slap in the face when our PC mods are stolen by console users. Report theft of mods, be aware of the mods that are on reputable websites, help us out! Get involved, test some demos, etc. I will happily mod for consoles once I know there is the right mind set for it
I hope this sounds like a good conversation in your head. I say everything with passion and respect!
It’s great to do what you love. I too enjoy crafting clay to form, but my interest in such arts extends only to that of the concrete. For virtual, I prefer to let others do that. I did quite enjoy level and item creation in Little Big Planet though. My main interest is in game writing, story, characters, events, that sort of thing.
I’m sure the issue with Sony was security related. To get better performance than comparable PC hardware consoles have to provide very low level API access. That’s means a certain level of trust of the code is required on Sony’s part. That’s not a problem for the big AAA publishers or even most small independents since they sign contracts that makes them accountable for their code. Trusting largely anonymous mod authors with security is another matter entirely, and I’m sure Sony had very real (and not entirely unfounded) worries that code could be put in FO4 or Skyrim mods that would allow the system to be rooted.
If paid mods hadn’t died it’s possible that there would have been the resources and financial incentives to deal with any problems. I expect at one point that was probably Bethesda’s plan (they might even have moved Skyrim to a “free to play” model where they provided the game free and updated the engine regularly with revenue from mods) but as it stands nobody has the financial incentive to get the system working.
Instead of trying to get PC mods on consoles, I think they should focus on making their own “create your own game” type games like Little Big Planet, or the new game Dreams coming out. I find those to be fantastic for what they do.
lol anytime. Modding is something that I just love to pieces. And I would love love to mod for consoles because I think it would be fun but alas they do not make it easy for usWell, I should state, I love modeling. Taking a blank lump of clay, virtual or otherwise, and making it into something allows me to feel… um. I think the word is “productive?” “accomplished?” I am unsure the proper word but that is along the lines.
And I will state here that anyone can do it. No really, anyone can. I started with zero training skills, I am a complete internet noob and I can barely change a light bulb without electrocuting myself. It just takes time
Most consoles, like the PS4 have extremely strict processes to add content to it and if you make something for PS4 you are signing your creative rights to them. They can use it for something else if they want. With PC mods, WE OWN THE MODS. They are ours and we control the licensing.
Machinima released a video about mods not coming to PS4, and the comments section is ripe with Sony hate and disappointment, and some Xbox master race stuff too. I do think it is for the better though. It didn’t seem like mods on console was turning out as good as hoped or promised for modders or console players.
Thank you for the answers. I have looked into how modders do what they do, but I wanted to hear some things straight from the horse’s mouth.
I have a finished mod that is public here:http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/75295/” rel=”nofollow?
So here are the programs I use
When you ask “What goes into modding?” a lot of time and effort. Mod theft is a serious blow to the gut. It is SO FREAKIN HARD to mod for consoles. Look: consoles are great for what they are but they are not made like a PC. TV screens are not computer monitors. My files have thousands of polygons that would break a general user. It would be like trying to fit a rocket into your grandma’s kitchen… something will break! lol
I have also created a lot of other assets which I have not released for the public. I have a follower but when I asked a couple friends to test him the first thing they asked was “So can you have sex with him?” I decided not to release him. I have lots and lots of other models but because I make everything from scratch they are very high poly count and most computers cannot run them.
I hope that answers some of your questions
Given that most consoles are basically really cheap gaming computers running special software, I don’t see why mods shouldn’t be allowed, regardless of what crashes happen.
What the problem is in my eyes, is that a console is bought for easy access and reliability in gaming. If you want to run a game, all you do is put the disk in and off you go on console. On PC, you have to check your system specs, upgrade if necessary, load game and then play.
A PC needs updating every few years. It’s also a little more expensive, and not as easy as a console. You have to buy a bunch of parts, put em together, troubleshoot the resulting system, and so forth. A console, you plug in 2-3 cords and push the power button, and you’re playing.
I think the mod related crashes are a bit less of an issue on pc, where it’s expected and is where the modding community is rooted.
Is the concept of mods on consoles just something that should be restricted to console created stuff that limits what can be done to keep it from affecting the console’s performance, since consoles can’t quite operate in the same way PCs do? I suppose I can see why it would be problematic for a console manufacturer to permit outside modifications be imported within the architecture, although admittedly I am not as well versed in these kinds of things as others. I really appreciate the insight from the comments here.
I remember installing the unofficial patch for Skyrim to fix all the minor bugs. It crashed the game repeatedly and was one of the few mods I ever tried on Skyrim that ever managed to crash the system too.
I’m sure they mean well and for some people the mod may actually help but I find the best way to deal with bugs in Bethesda open world RPGs is 1) wait at least 1 years after release, then 2) live with the relatively few remaining bugs.
The only shame is PS4 users missing out on the Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch, clears all the minor (and major) jank that Bethesda doesn’t bother to address post support out the door and is just a great and quick QOL for the games in general.
The Xbox effort was a disaster though. I think Bethesda needs to go back to the drawing board and really rethink hard if they are going to go for another attempt at this in the future.
Maybe this is why Sony cut the deal. They saw what it turned into for Xbox, and they figured it wasn’t worth the effort or burden.
It’s also funny to think of PC gamers complaining about stealing software and putting in DRMs to their stuff, and then there’s people pirating games with the justification that, “since code doesn’t really exist as a concrete thing, I’m not stealing”. I know they’re not necessarily the same group, but it’s still a funny turn around.
My brother is helping with the Moderns Weapons mod, and I heard no end to the complaints about the xbox users wanting things that couldn’t run at all and outright stealing mods to reupload. I even heard about a few modders adding in DRM, disguised as save file bloat and strings of code that would crash an xbox (and possibly brick it).
A few questions, what’s it like being a modder? How skilled are you? How do you do it exactly? Though I’m not interested in mods, I am interested in how a lot of modders do it. I know most modders mostly just use the construction set to add some new items and locations (my father did it a lot in Morrowind, but other seem to be on the level of pro game devs, just using Bethesda’s basic assets.
This is interesting. I was anticipating more of a negative reaction to the news but early feedback seems more practical.
Sorry hate to say this but: I am kind of glad. A lot of mods were stolen by people like Elianora who had been trying to work with people to get her content out there. Likewise as a modder, I am glad I do not have to worry about theft. I had been approached by 20 people for my assets… my assets would have crashed their consoles like a cannonball out of a wet paper bag. I have more thoughts but work calls
I bet the modders are glad about this as well. I hear they were pissed off by console gamers demanding them to make their mods (for free) for them like, and I quote from at least one modder, “whiny entitled brats”.
As someone who will be getting these games for console, I’m not really disappointed. I don’t care much about most of the mods, the graphics refinements, reskins, and new items, and the ones that do add significant redesigns and additional content, while interesting, aren’t that big of a draw to me.
Given how mods for the Xbox1 turned out, I’m kinda glad they didn’t go for it. I mean, it would be nice, but they had so many issues with piracy, crashing consoles, complaining people, and so on that they should’ve worked out first, that I’m glad mods on ps4 ended up a dud.
Plus given the “paid mods” fiasco, and Bethesda basically copy/pasting mods into DLC and charging for them, I’m over Bethesda’s games for a while.
