Apperntly Beth is striving to make any kind of mod viable for consoles, so the common assumption that script extention and such might not work might not ring true.

http://www.product-reviews.net/2015/09/21/fallout-4-on-ps4-xbox-one-could-play-any-mod/

I wish them the best of luck, but I really dont envy their work they have ahead of them.

I know what goes into the making a mod and I know what goes into making it work. Most mods work fine but when you start to take on a load order of a 100 or 150, it often times requires you to get technical.

In all honesty I dont know how they are going to enable mod console users to be able to navigate off-game mod experience that is crucial for heavy modding. Let alone making mods such as Falskaar and SKUI work on consoles with such limited specs. Sure they are better than last gen but what isnt better than last gen?

I give them props for trying and hey mabye they will make 150 mod load order run seamlessly on consoles. Its just thats going to be quite an undertaking, and even if they managed to do it, they still have to deal with MicroSony to get it to work.

I really do not see PS4 or Xbox One having a script extender setup. That'd require the Script Extender team to get a SDK for those two to make it work on those consoles. And then everyone who makes SKSE extension plugins will have to get them too. I just don't see that happening. And that's even if they set up FO4 to load a script extender DLL on its own without an injector.

I've said it before... Modding is not a simple thing. If you're on the Console for its ease of use, then modding is not for you.

I'd take his words with a pinch of salt.

Still not sure how something like a script extender would even work due to the way it accesses the exe and with the consoles being more locked down, that would be a problem.

Also, something ENBs or Static Mesh Improvement Mod (SMIM) both increase hardware demands with Skyrim and can bring some PCs to their knees with Skyrim. I'd love to see how they handle complaints from someone who puts the Fallout 4 equivalent on their console and screws something up.

Basically, I still expect it to work like Steam Workshop. The console compatible mods will probably consist of just ESP and BSA and there are limits on what can be done.

Dang I've never figured out how to use the mods using script extenders on the PC (just don't like adding so many 3rd party programs), so I leave those mods alone. But if they are even considering adding that ... well dang. Perhaps it may be easier to just make the game with extended script so if a modder wants it, it's already there.

Yeah, except could they cover every eventuality that a modder might need?

Probably not, but it seems more likely that giving every line in the game editable script for the modders to use that won't screw up the rest of the game somehow.

Well, SKSE is available trough Steam now too. It isn't technically impossible to have it downloadable trough the mod system, and the current consoles are supposed to operate more like PCs. Who knows

I'll still stick with my PC


No. Neither can the xSE teams. That is why new versions are still released.

Forgive my ignorance of this subject, but is there a difference in mods created using the GECK and those not using the GECK?

The reason I ask is because if there is a difference, then only mods made using the GECK may be the only ones they intend to allow on console, and the only ones officially recognized.

I suspect the idea is that, if possible, they want it so that any mod will work (in theory, at least) on console - which is not quite the same thing as any 100 or 150 mods in combination .

There are always going to be problems with conflicts between mods even if both mods are technically bug free. Obviously, mods that only add new content will have little in the way of conflicts, but even then they may add new buildings, for example, to the same cell. However, conflicts between mods doesn't make Bethesda's aim of having any mod work on console impossible, or they statements unreasonable. It just means that console users will have to get used to a bit of either/or in their choice of mods.

True. Getting it so that any vanilla mod (i.e. limited to the contents of a BSA as described by an ESP) will work on console would still be quite an achievement, in terms of negotiation with Microsoft and Sony even if not for technical reasons

That... seems ambitious.

That is true. Managing and resolving conflicts on such large load orders requires external tools and dynamically created patches, and i doubt those can be run on consoles.

Not to mention the strain on system resources that many mods create.

Script extenders like SKSE or NVSE are made by modders. I don't think I am going to far out on a limb when I say that the vast majority of modders have no interest in playing a modded game on a console much less port a script extender over to them. There is also the issue of distribution. Steam Workshop is a horrible way to deliver mods. Its fine for simply one off mods like weapons or armor but anything involving scripts or more sophisticated mods is a nightmare because of the idiotic auto update feature. Some mods require a clean save in order to upgrade properly.

No details have been announced about distribution, but I'm dubious that consoles would get their mods from Steam workshop.

My guess is that mods for console will have to be uploaded to Bethesda.net, and the console versions of Fallout 4 will have an extension to the loader that allows for browsing, searching and downloading mods. Can consoles even download arbitrary files from their browsers? Or if they can, do those files get walled off in some way? Anyway, whether auto-updating of mods will be required, permitted or forbidden is unknown.

It'd seem sensible to me if any upload of a mod update to Bethesda.net would simply upload a separate version of that mod, which mod-users can choose to update to or not, depending on if the description states a clean game is required.

But honestly, this is all just speculation. There's no information to go on - and certainly no information to be worried about. Being worried about the lack of information is something else

I cannot imagine that "any mod" includes script extenders. Even if Bethesda wants them to bring to consoles, Sony and MS will just simply deny it. Above all console makers are overly concerned that someone may break their precious DRM ("ease of use" is just one side of the console business, the other is creating an environment that does allow console users only to do approved things. Hell, Sony even removed the feature to run Linux on the PS3 at the slightest indication that someone may have broken their DRM). And executing code (e.g. script extenders) on consoles that comes from a non approved entity is just something that will never happen as it may give the opportunity to break the DRM. One easily overlooked feature of script extenders is that they allow other modders to write native plugins, so even if Sony/MS will allow script extenders, they will definitely make sure that script extenders cannot load arbitrary plugins. And there are mods out there that need one or more of these plugins to function correctly.

1. Pete Hinds is not the technical guy (by his own admission).
2. Pete Hinds has made many a mistaken comment in the past. He's the Marketing guy. The only job that is paid more to "bend" the truth is a Lawyer.
3. His comment is that they would LIKE to make all mods work...not that they can (or that the console makers would let them).
4. This publication is taking the comment out of context and trying to make some news out of it.
5. I fail to see HOW any type of 3rd party script extender will ever get installed on a console (sans hacking it).

This is all a pipe dream console gamers are smoking hard....

Note that the site has a big image stating, "Fallout 4 Creation Kit for Xbox One and PS4!", so that should give a hint as to how informed they are about modding on a console.

There is one very significant point you've kind of glossed over - they would like to make all mods work. As opposed to a popular thread of speculation, which can be summed up as 'of course Bethesda/Sony/Microsoft will ruthlessly limit what mods will work on consoles'.

Intent shouldn't be dismissed, even though it is far from achievement.

Honestly I dont care that mods are coming to consoles it was one of the least exciting news at e3 for me. if there in or not I dont care.

They've said before you use any mods, the game will make a save just before, so if a mod breaks the game, you can still go back to vanilla.

They used Workshop for Skyrim mods and that came out fairly early on in Skyrim's life and Bethesda didn't seem to feel the need to manage those 100,000+ mods. Workshop also works on both the PS4 and Xbox OneR as far as I know. If anything Microsoft and/or Sony would be the ones that might try and set up another site in order to control which mods can be downloaded and installed. Being that there is no "anti-virus" on a console, at least not that I am aware of, preventing malicious trojan mods would be high up on their list since people will be using their CCs to purchase games online in many cases. I think in the end it won't be technical issues but legal issues that will once again bar mod use by consoles. I am old enough to remember the last bunch of times this very subject came up. Its always the lawyers that get in the way.

Does it? I can't find any mention of that. Do the browsers on Xbox One and PS4 really allow users to just download arbitrary files to arbitrary locations on the hard drive? I'd be very surprised if they do. I mean, downloading confirmed media (images, video, sound) to specified user libraries, sure, but that won't do it for mods - and Steam Workshop kinda relies on that.

[edit] Bit of a late-night brain-fail there. Steam doesn't even run on consoles, and since Workshop is integrated with Steam then that won't work on consoles either. Unless anyone knows different [/edit]

Vanilla Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Skyrim mods contain no executable code and have no access to the file system. The game scripts run in a closed off virtual machine. So negligible risk of viruses - and if Bethesda have half a brain they won't have any buffer overrun issues that could be exploited. I suspect Fallout 4 mods will be the same (I can't think of any reason they wouldn't), so "trojan mods" is a red-herring.

Lawyers advise their employers about what is legal and what isn't. It's their employers who set the agenda and the end goal, the lawyers just say if it can be done legally or not, or how it must be done for it to be legal.

If Microsoft and Sony want mods on console, it'll happen. Microsoft have said they do. There may be some liability issues, if mods are implemented in a way that can cause detriment to the console gamers, but the solutions to those (making sure mods don't wreck a console, savegame or whatever) will be technical.

Cost of implementing those technical solutions may be a sticking point.

I know what none of this stuff means.

Doesn't matter one bit whether M$/Sony allow mods. I have a feeling big modders won't care really if there mods work on consoles or not. As long as PC's work that's what'll matter I feel. They're not going to care to develop for 3 different platforms no matter if next gen are technically PCs...

I was actually dismissing the fact that Mr. Hinds tends to twitter off the cuff and uniformed internet "media" sites tend to read way too much into his twits....

I have no doubt they WOULD like to make them all work, but I seriously doubt they CAN. I also seriously doubt Mr. Hinds has EVER installed a mod for a Beth game on a PC but that's another subject (tho related).

So why bother posting here then? Just to display your apathy for the subject matter?

I dont know I just wanted to share my opinion about mods coming to consoles.