I've recently just started following the modding community and I am curious as to whether the modding community has made an impact on future Fallout / TES games? I ask because many mods are the voice of fans showing devs what could have been better or where they went wrong.

Like have any Oblivion mods inspired Bethesda to incorporate something in Skyrim? Any Fallout 3 mods somehow made their way into New Vegas?

And if so, what previous Fallout / TES mods do you think should be a standard in Fallout 4? Anything like SkyUI, Better Companions, new Pip Boys, or something?

I asked this question a long time ago in the Elder Scrolls forum. Obsidian admittedly took inspiration from mods for hardcoe mode and weapon mods. A lot of Skyrim's combat was directly influenced by combat mods for Oblivion, like Deadly Reflex.

http://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-discusses-horse-armor-and-the-power-of-mods/

I think beth took some pointers from oblivions archery mod I think the creator was duke or something.

Oblivion got horses, as a modder added them to morrowind. Skyrim had horses, crafting, horseback combat, dual wielding, and a few other things that were mods on Oblivion as well. So yes, Modders DO influence the game. (and Beth even HIRED one of the morrowind modders...... )

FO:NV was developed by Obsidian, Beth was only the publisher, so, I don't think there was much in NV that mods put into FO:3. (well, maybe the crafting stations....)

FONV some of the housing mods features were worked into a DLC, hardcoe and weapon mods as well were inspired by mods.

Lol, good read. I imagine Bethesda caught hell for the Horse Armor DLC. I know modders must feel good to know that they are not only keeping the game alive but actually inspiring devs at what to improve for future releases.

Mods have definitely inspired new features in Bethesda games. One specific example I can remember is Todd Howard talking about how they made archery far more deadly based on a mod he tried for Oblivion.

Wow! Now that's a cool read right there. Had no idea even horses in general were all influenced from a mod over a decade ago. And a modder getting hired to do what they love is awesome.

I wonder if it was awkward in the studio when they were working on the Hearthfire DLC for Skyrim, and someone came out with their own "build your own home" mod before them.

Granted, Bethesda started on that concept internally only a week after Skyrim's release and revealed it with their game jam sizzle reel after that mod came out, and offered plenty of stuff it didn't (like hiring stewards and adopting your children, resplendent with voice acting), and "build your own house" isn't a difficult idea to think of.

As for what they should adopt for Fallout 4 from mods? Well, a ton of the most popular mods for Skyrim were about having more interactivity with the atmosphere itself; the NPCs reacting to the weather in Wet & Cold, and weather having a significant effect on you in Frostfall. I'd hope anything they do isn't as heavy-handed as Frostfall, though; that mod will heavily shift the focus of the game to survival unless you trim down most of its features.

Specifically for Fallout, I really hope if the Repair system is still anything like it was in 3 or NV that they'd incorporate some ideas from some of the repair overhauls in those games. Weapon overheating and Companions Command & Control are also both really good mods they could take a hint from.

The 'build your own home or shack' concept is definitely something that should be included in Fallout 4. The NPC's reacting to the weather would definitely add immersion.

Frostfall and weapon overheating may be better suited as features included for a hardcoe playthrough. I wouldn't want to worry about hypothermia, sleeping, dehydration and my weapons overheating along with repair during my first time playthrough, but I understand plenty of players would like that feature added.

Speaking of repair, some armor repair kits would be cool too this time around. It got annoying having to find similar armor to repair the armor I was using or waiting for the Jury Rigging perk in New Vegas.

Yes.

Mods from previous games that need to be incorperated into FO4

Clutter Object Placemant Assistant.

Rotate, place and glue objects for display.

Unique uniques.

Custom models for unique weapons.

Bullet Time.

Alternative to V.A.T.S.

Wasteland Settler.

Allows you to build up and or fortify structures as well as manage a small settlement of followers.

Here is a thread you might be interested in: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1514717-does-bethesda-look-at-mods-for-fallout-3-and-nv/

As I mentioned in that thread, I once made a list of over 25 mods that I thought had influenced Oblivion. I'm sure similar lists, equally as long, could be made for Fallout 3 and Skyrim.

Yah its kind of pathetic that modders can come up with better ideas than bgs.


I hope bgs is more professional in making an immersive experience.

They need to make something better than what the modding community can do.

I've heard Gopher talk about preferring Bullet Time to V.A.T.S. in his Fallout 3 playthrough. I'll have to check that out.

Good read, thanks for the link.

I agree. I think a part of it is just Bethesda figuring they'll end work on the game and let the modding community keep it alive. svcks for console gamers. I was hoping for at least two more official DLC's for Skyrim after Dragonborn. Modders went above and beyond, doing an excellent job with quest mods like Helgen Reborn and the Civil War Overhaul.

In Fallout NV the whole Black Mountain thing - Tabitha, the Nightkin leader, holding the Ghoul mechanic and possible companion, Raul, hostage, was based on a mod for Fallout 3, so I've heard.

It is mentioned on the talk page for Tabitha on the Fallout Wiki page:

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Tabitha

"Inspired by Fallout 3 mod?"

It even provides a mod link to the gamesas forums, but it's dead.

But the mod was supposedly about a super mutant running a radio station and holding a mechanic hostage. So, it's pretty obvious.

Remember that its many hundred thousand moders so you have an far lager number. they also have no time restrains.

On the other hand I was surprised how sloppy the programming was for the farming in heartfire.

They actualy used an dummy npc to keep track of status for each spot you could plant in.

using SKSE I was able to use perhaps 200 line of code, and that was dirt for planting you made yourself with an hoe.

My problem was that then putting down new piles of dirt it was not possible to align to ground.

In other words, they should be able to outdo a modding community several thousands strong in every aspect? That's hardly realistic, and neither do I expect them to nor would it be reasonable to do so.

They should produce a good reliable basis for modders to build upon and enjoy the results.

Moddability drastically increases a games lifespan.

If modders have to keep patching in leaks for menial stuff than Its obvious bgs needs to try harder.

Its reasonable for Bethesda; given the fact that they are giving us mod tools. To give us an improved game from the last. After 4 years; if it isn't realistic for them to give us a satisfying foundation.

Then it will make the modders life more difficult.

The mentality that "modders do it better the and devs are lazy" exists with every game that has any significant modding community; don't mind it too much. Coming to Elder Scrolls after seeing the Minecraft mod community, I was actually pleasantly surprised with how respectful mod authors generally are; but Minecraft has its own reasons for having such an elitist community, and Bethesda have generally been good stewards of their mod community with their tools and their EULA. Some of the devs even post in the Creation Kit forums to give advice with scripting or other things.

But I digress. My guess is, you could give any franchise the modding capabilities Bethesda does (imagine having a Creation Kit for Legend of Zelda, or Mega Man) and suddenly people will question the developer's game design abilities. It just comes with the territory.

edit: if there's any major "aesthetics" mod Bethesda should incorporate, it's the Enhanced First Person Camera mods. With that mod you still have your regular 1st person arms, but you can see the rest of your body, like your feet and even your shadow in first person. It also enables first person for most animations, so you aren't kicked into third person when you get on a horse or use a forge; in some cases this actually feels pretty great, but in others like Lycanthropy it just highlights why you go into third person for that in the first place. At any rate, it's a pretty good way to implement a first person body and it does add quite a bit.

I just hope they took insperation from the EVE - Energy Visuals Enhanced mod.