I wouldn't expect any more tools than what the Skyrim launcher provides. It's also quite likely that the mod ordering will be done via the interface that controls mod loading and updating (similar to Steamworks, but thru the new Bethesda.net website). Console modding is going to be quite basic in what it can do, but it's a start.

Also, while Skyrim streamlined some things in modding it also took a wild hair detour and caused massive potential save game issues by putting aspects of the scripting language INSIDE the save game files.....VERY bad move. It appears Bethesda has realized this as they reported having changed this dependency. Just pointing out that all the "changes" they made to Skyrim modding weren't "brilliant" moves (but kudos to them for fixing the mistakes when possible). Don't be surprised if Fallout 4 has a few bumps in the modding road.

I will be highly surprised if the console versions of the game install and load PC mods directly (even if you could put the files in the right place). That ability just makes loading "unauthorized" mods on a console far too easy.

I expect that of this goes over well mods on consoles will be more diverse in the next console cycle.

This is definitely a test. However, consoles will always have restrictions unlike PC. This is a way for BGS to further increase the longevity of their games while Microsoft and Sony stay in the good graces of their fans. You better believe Microsoft and Sony will not want people downloading just anything. There's going to be a lot of yellow tape, much more than we currently see with Steam Workshop. That's not to say that quality mods can't still make their way to consoles, but it's going to be a long and arduous process. Rome wasn't build in a day. Modding certainly wasn't built on PC in a day. It's going to take even longer for consoles to catch up for a variety of considerations.

Yes I am just hoping that both Sony and Microsoft keep an open mind to modding. I am curious to see where this will go. I have advocated more is more on these found since I got here and I am glad console players are getting mods finally. I am sure there will be restrictions and this will be a process and I am glad mods on console is now a thing.

1. Obvious
2. WWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRONG! - What about games on the 360 (like Battlefield 3) that had HD texture packs. If Microsoft are going to work with BGS for mods then HD Texture packs would be eminently possible. If HD texture pack can work on the 360 then it would be EASY on the Xbox One.
3. Again Obvious.
4. A size limit will probably be set, like Xbox Arcade games were set memory limits.
5. Again Obvious.

I am not knocking other platforms here but could this be Playstation peeps grumbling because Sony haven't said yes to BGS' request to put mods on their console? Because some of these "IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN, MWAAAAAAA" posts seem like they want the Xbox Mods experiment to fail at the first post, before we have even SEEN the SDK and rules for creating an Xbox Fallout 4 mod.

Hell, the game hasn't even come out yet so saying what will and won't be possible is the equivalent of the naysayers who said going faster than the speed of sound would vibrate any aircraft to pieces.

I've always thought that was the ultimate irony of console gaming.

But what will happen when Microsoft add keyboard and mouse support to the Xbox One like they have promised? Do you think they will open up console commands (as in for the game, not for the console itself). Console commands have long been a PC perk... but consoles are getting closer and close to the PC... but unfortunately they will never be as good.

Yes they will pc's just need to stop advancing thats all let the consoles catch up.

I'm looking forward to seeing what can be achieved initially and what will be achieved in the years to come with the tools that consoles get.

I'd agree built in game editing tools are no substitute for re coding a game using whatever means necessary, but I think its going to be a pleasant journey for all as we see what can be created on all platforms.

If modders can access a text input interface within Fallout 4's scripting, it would be trivial to enable the command console on um, consoles. At any rate, a modder could just create a scripted cheat item that lets players access most console commands through a series of message boxes, or even dialog. That would be really clunky, though, like how mods gave you items to change their settings before the Mod Configuration Menu was born.

There have been cheat mods for Fallout that use the terminal interface: http://static-6.nexusmods.com/15/mods/130/images/49152-1-1361396517.jpg

Bethesda has already stated that the tools to make mods they put out will be PC only so I doubt seriously that ANY of the consoles get official tools of any sort. Now that's not to say tools could not be developed for the consoles, but how you get them to function becomes of matter of either a Dev Kit model or likely hardware mods to the console itself.

For the record, I haven't owned a Sony console since the PS2. I do own an X1, but I'm actually a PC gamer. This thread isn't to "trash consoles," rather it's to inform and educate that mods coming to consoles may not be as "life-changing" as BGS is promoting them to be. Yes, you'll get player-created content. However, the mods that truly transform Skyrim and are always talked about in the gaming community are more than likely never going to be available.

As for HD texture packs, the likelihood of them being on consoles is slim to none. Want to know why? Fallout 4 is being made for consoles. The game looks the way it does so Fallout 4 can achieve 1080p 30fps on the X1 and PS4. Higher resolution textures, as I'm sure you are aware, would replace lower resolution textures (there will be plenty on the console version) causing more demand from your GPU. If BGS has already pushed consoles to their hardware limits, what makes you think you will be able to make the game look prettier? You will either have terrible performance (less than 30fps) or your console will crash. Consoles do not have the upgrade capabilities of a PC. PC gamers can use HD texture mods because we can buy more powerful GPUs. This is why HD texture packs of any magnitude will likely be non-existent for console modding.

Why would they make a devkit for the consoles, anyway? That's like porting 3D modeling software or a digital audio workstation onto a console. The editor is unwieldy enough as is; I can't imagine what the Creation Kit would be like without keyboard and mouse support, and importing assets like meshes, textures, and audio would be way more complicated.

Didn't the Xbox 360, PS3, and GameCube have keyboard and mouse support? Consoles have had USB ports for a while now... I doubt console commands would ever be available for consoles. That would defeat the purpose of playing the game as many would just cheat their way through. It would be a waste of the developer's time. They don't care on PC as the community is smaller and not as crucial. Consoles are different.

Tell that to big business and capitalism. Nvidia and AMD have a built-in model where they can increase the polygon count of their GPUs by at least 22% every year. Technology is always going forward. You want to be on board? You've got to shell out the money.

I doubt it will happen. I couldn't see modding on consoles directly being practical unless they were very basic mods perhaps. Really, seeing how BGS plans for this to all work is going to be more interesting than anything else. It's unlikely most, if not all, PC mod authors would even bother to make sure their mods are compatible on consoles. Modding is a community-driven experience. Regardless of what BGS says, they have no control over whether it would be a success on consoles or not. That will ultimately come down to how much support consoles get via modding.

You're speculating and making things up. Todd has said himself that he wants console gamers to be able to break their game as wildly as PC gamers are able to. However, there will be systems in place to ensure that the game is not a total loss when that happens.

You also seem to be ignoring the fact that Bethesda does not believe in curating mods. The only time Bethesda steps in is when a MOD violates copyright laws. The consoles, of course, have their own rules that will need to be followed. If a MOD does not violate copyrights, the rules of the console (like six or nudity) and does not require a third party program (like FO4SE or the various patches), there is no reason to think it will not be allowed. Oh, and how a console gamer uses their hard-drive space is their own business. Declaring that Bethesda/Microsoft/Sony wouldn't allow large mods is a gross assumption.

Mods on the consoles will likely be required to contain a .esp or .esm and a .bsa, kind of like the Steam Workshop. This would allow for simpler installation of the mods. Yes, this would keep them from using many of the more complex mods, but they also don't have direct file access like PC gamers do.

I imagine that there will be some curated list or something.

The postivie side of that, is that the X1 mods will probably be of pretty decent quality.

The negative is that you won't be able to get all the silly not high quality mods that are fun to mess around with.

Technically, even complex mods can be put down into one single BSA file as well. But ye'h, this is how I'm seeing it will become...

Since I've used programs to open up Xbox 360 files (for Rock Band 3 customs mostly)... It's probably gonna be the Xbox File itself with an ESP (or ESM) and BSA file inside, and that's about it. Though it can be pretty complex.

I know in a Rock Band 3 file, it's actually split into four sections. One for the Xbox Icon, the song itself, the MIDI chart, system info... So it shouldn't be too hard for a mod to be packed up into one Xbox file. (Playstation, I have no idea).

As said above, mostly any mod will be allowed as long as it doesn't go against Bethesda's copyright rules and Microsoft's censor rules (nudity + six), and doesn't require 3rd-party programs (like Script Extender). So those silly small mods would be allowed. I don't see why not.

What you call "speculating" and "making things up" is what I perceive to be using rational thought and reason to come to obvious conclusions. Todd Howard stated he wanted console gamers to break their game to a point. Again, it's counterintuitive and potentially problematic if mods on consoles were to be handled in such a manner that was leading to games breaking in alarming amounts. You would be a fool to believe there will not be some level of regulation on consoles.

BGS does not believe in curating mods on PC. Consoles are an entirely different beast with an entirely different community. Even with BGS were not to assert some sort of control over what mods are available, you better believe Microsoft and Sony would. They put their businesses at risk by allowing player-generated conent, of which could be anything, on their platforms. They aren't just going to allow people to create and make available whatever they want. Consoles are NOT an open platform like PC.

What I was suggesting is Sony and Microsoft would likely limit the size of the mods that could be downloaded. Again, the largest mods, such as an HD texture pack, wouldn't function on consoles anyways for obvious reasons. I find your hostile and condescending tone to be counterproductive and unnecessary. You are playing semantics when in actuality you are agreeing with the OP.

This thread was created with the purpose of cautioning console gamers and bringing awareness to what will likely be possible and what will be prohibited. There are a multitude of barriers and obstacles that are going to have to be overcome to make modding even halfway decent on consoles. There are a lot of parties involved and we'll have to see exactly what kind of foundation BGS and Microsoft puts in place for mods on consoles.

I have to disagree with you on one point, the other four a certainly valid if for no other reason than hardware limitations, however on point number 4, I don't think that is going to be the case. As far as I can tell, with everything Microsoft has announced regarding the Xbox One this year, they seem to be trying to entice the PC gaming crowd to, at least, also be Xbox One gamers. If that is the case, then they are going to have be as unrestrictive as feasible, given the aforementioned hardware limitations. This also means making the mod development and publishing process as simple and easy as possible, which means being able to just port the mod over rather than having to develop from the ground up. It would seem possible given the ability to create universal apps for PC, mobile and Xbox, I would imagine the porting process to be an extension of that software philosophy(Of course it could natively support the mods as long as they are properly published to the Xbox Store, with certain restrictions, of course. Who knows, its a long shot, but then again, who would expected mod support like this on console in the first place). As of right now, the only size limits that I have heard of, and if anyone knows of any others, please just say so with links, is the save game files for Xbox One have a hard size cap, beyond that, I don't think Microsoft put any size limits on additional content for the Xbox One, or if they did, it certainly much, much larger than the 2 GB DLC size limit on the 360. But to be honest, I think they have pretty much done away with size limits with the Xbox One.

One other thing I have to disagree with you on, and that is whether or not Sony is going to have mods. I have my doubts, because I don't think that the current iteration of the PS4 OS has the necessary framework to support mods. To be fair, I don't think the current iteration of the Xbox One OS does either, as it was designed from what makes sense from a corporate standpoint, not a gaming standpoint(Look at the Xbox One reveal for evidence). As such I suspect it would take a massive overhaul of the PS4 OS, like what is happening with the Xbox One, to allow mod support and I don't think that Sony has the drive, or interest to do so at this time. Of course it could be coincidence that the big OS update for Xbox one is coming the same month Fallout 4 is scheduled for release.

Just one last item, and this is to add to the list: temper your expectations as to how well mods are going to work. Unless I have missed something, mod support testing looks like it is largely going to be internal, if at all. If that is the case, we are all going to be a part of one great big experiment, and stuffs probably going to be broken for the first little bit. On paper, it would seem things would go well given how similar the Xbox One OS is going to be to Windows after the update, but never trust how things on paper sound, ever, ever, especially when it comes to computers.

Honestly on my console fallout 4 I would give anything just to have the console editor for bug fixes and workarounds. Since that doesn't look to be happening I am praying for unofficial patches to be available. Some simple housing reskins and other basic items. I'll wait on a GoTY version for pc. By the time I get around to it there should be plenty of good mods available.

yo watch it be simple as hell to use PC mods on Xbox One hahaha that'd really grind some gears

On the contrary that would be a very good thing. If modding were to be popular on consoles with Fallout 4, it would encourage more developers to invest in modding. Everybody would win.

I just want to know if I can get weapon and armor mods. Which is all I care about.

While that certainly is true, many of the more complex mods also rely on multiple .esms and/or .esps. They're often needed customizations or for patches so they can play well with other mods. It'll likely be limited to one .esm or .esp and even if it wasn't, there likely won't be any way to do that kind of custom installation.