Are The Modders On Strike?

[Malakie]

I would love to see many many many new ship types added like in X4. I have 400 ships added to one of my X3TC games.. Can only imagine that in X4 for now.. Would love to see a lot more mission types including more chain campaign type missions too.

[Observe]

Consider that a lot of modders who were prolific in X3/TC/AP did not enjoy playing Rebirth and subsequently left Egosoft games for other pastures. For some, changes in X4 were not sufficient to draw those modders back to the game. Very few will mod a game that they don't like. Therefore, many of the current modders for X4 are new blood. This is a well-worn story of dissatisfaction that was told over and over again when Rebirth came out. The volume of complaints has largely subsided, because so many have left the scene entirely.

I did a little bit of modding in the previous titles, but I am one of those who found no pleasure in Rebirth and I have zero interest in playing X4. However, It is good to see new modders enjoying this hobby. May they have many hours of fun doing so.

[RoverTX]

Consider that a lot of modders who were prolific in X3/TC/AP did not enjoy playing Rebirth and subsequently left Egosoft games for other pastures. For some, changes in X4 were not sufficient to draw those modders back to the game. Very few will mod a game that they don't like. Therefore, many of the current modders for X4 are new blood. This is a well-worn story of dissatisfaction that was told over and over again when Rebirth came out. The volume of complaints has largely subsided, because so many have left the scene entirely.

It’s been 10 plus years and plenty of people are still around. Considering that life goes on I think the number of mod makers at any one given point has been pretty steady.

In addition given that ships now have cockpits and many more moving parts it’s no big surprise that there are fewer ship mods. It’s also higher resolution so modeling requires more effort. So it’s far harder now to just kitbash some stuff together and slap some turrets on a ship and call it done.

[Malakie]

Consider that a lot of modders who were prolific in X3/TC/AP did not enjoy playing Rebirth and subsequently left Egosoft games for other pastures. For some, changes in X4 were not sufficient to draw those modders back to the game. Very few will mod a game that they don't like. Therefore, many of the current modders for X4 are new blood. This is a well-worn story of dissatisfaction that was told over and over again when Rebirth came out. The volume of complaints has largely subsided, because so many have left the scene entirely.

It’s been 10 plus years and plenty of people are still around. Considering that life goes on I think the number of mod makers at any one given point has been pretty steady.

In addition given that ships now have cockpits and many more moving parts it’s no big surprise that there are fewer ship mods. It’s also higher resolution so modeling requires more effort. So it’s far harder now to just kitbash some stuff together and slap some turrets on a ship and call it done.

Yea I keep running into people that used to play X3TC and mod it big then got dismayed by X Rebirth so they have not even given X4 a chance now.. I have swayed a couple I know to finally take a look but it is not easy. I just don't get their idea that out of the entire series, because one title was not up to their expectations, anything after that will be not good either.. Their loss though.. but it would be nice to have a lot of those older modders return.

[adeine]

The game is still changing quite quickly (for the better!) and I don't want to "fix" something if there's a good chance Ego will get to it in time.

Due to the history of modding support from earlier titles some types of mods are relatively fast to make for a recently released game, but contents of patch notes show there are still key issues being resolved and chances of more lurking beneath the code are still too high for me to be willing to keep up with them.

Definitely this, not to mention X4 is more difficult to mod than prior titles. Both due to its detail (interiors, etc.) as well as being based on a largely new system of abhorrently illegible xml, whereas X3 was iterative over X2.

I think we will see more development once the core gameplay and balancing has settled down/been properly addressed and a healthier selection of community tools exist to facilitate the modding workflow (tools to deal with models, scripting, etc.), assuming the game can maintain a player base. It's a lot of work, and not many people will be motivated to sink time and effort into something that will break or become obsolete a couple weeks down the line (cf. what 3.0 did to ship mods).

I'd also imagine it doesn't help that Egosoft are actively cutting people off from gameplay features for having modded installs.

[docwho83]

While I have played X3:TC, X rebirth. Enjoyed both. Modded some in Rebirth but found issues that made it impossible to mod what i wanted to fix. The other note is Egosoft has once again made it where mods break things but still have the online stuff poping in to my games even tho i am modify. I like the idea of the online stuff silly but interesting. It is funny when they do not want mods but then take ideas that everyone from the mod community enjoys and add them to the game. Which is great that us modders are getting things added to the game.

[RoverTX]

Definitely this, not to mention X4 is more difficult to mod than prior titles. Both due to its detail (interiors, etc.) as well as being based on a largely new system of abhorrently illegible xml, whereas X3 was iterative over X2.

I don’t see anything off spec with the XML or the XML patching.

Also XML patching is far more powerful and targeted with way less chance for conflict between mods than the CSV t file replacement from X3

[Min]

The game is still changing quite quickly (for the better!) and I don't want to "fix" something if there's a good chance Ego will get to it in time.

Due to the history of modding support from earlier titles some types of mods are relatively fast to make for a recently released game, but contents of patch notes show there are still key issues being resolved and chances of more lurking beneath the code are still too high for me to be willing to keep up with them.

Definitely this, not to mention X4 is more difficult to mod than prior titles. Both due to its detail (interiors, etc.) as well as being based on a largely new system of abhorrently illegible xml, whereas X3 was iterative over X2.

I think we will see more development once the core gameplay and balancing has settled down/been properly addressed and a healthier selection of community tools exist to facilitate the modding workflow (tools to deal with models, scripting, etc.), assuming the game can maintain a player base. It's a lot of work, and not many people will be motivated to sink time and effort into something that will break or become obsolete a couple weeks down the line (cf. what 3.0 did to ship mods).

I'd also imagine it doesn't help that Egosoft are actively cutting people off from gameplay features for having modded installs.

Which features are they cutting people off from for having mods? I've always played with mods am I missing out on essential content?

[Buzz2005]

ventures, see wiki for explanation, but there is a offline mod for it too

[Rastuasi]

You're restricted from sending ships on ventures, you'll be able for still receive guests in your game, that is NOT a bug like a previous post says. Bernd mentioned this in a few videos early on. Personally, ventures are so small, that I find them a worthwhile loss. Plus, there's a mod already out, that enables offline ventures for modded games.

[Mike7495]

A fair amount of X4 mods exist on the Nexus. But most of them are old. Some are updated for 2.50. Hardly any new releases. Same at Steam Workshop. Are the modders on strike, or are mods hiding somewhere I do not know about?

Granted I've never released any mods for any of the X series. I have for Arma 3. I made the mistake of releasing it when the game was fairly new. I had to update it very often till finally I got so burned out of rewriting the mod that I gave it up. So I'm guessing these modders being more seasoned than I. Know better. lol Be patient. Eventually we will see Star wars, Star Trek, Battle Star Galatica, and much much more. Just wish Crylow was still doing his thing.

Edited: What would really help. Is if someone willing and with time could create a few video tutorials. I've got tad bit experience in coding, but none in creating modals. I'm dieing to create some star trek ships. Unfortunately my time is limited. Video tutorials would cut back on frustration, time researching and I'm great with following examples, but suck at reading and comprehending.