Before you begin to read and think to yourself, that I am just some idiot who likes the 360, read this: I like both the Xbox 360 version and PC version of oblivion and the Xbox version and PC version of Morrowind. I find a keyboard as a controller rather clunky. THAT IS THE ONLY REASON I LIKE TO PLAY CONSOLE GAMES BETTER. I would play them on the PC, but the software for emulating a controller on the computer isn't quite as smooth as the console's.

I always wondered why Bethesda didn't take some of the best, top quality mods and choose their favorite mod every month to make a DLC usable on the XBOX 360. Of course the mods would have top be at least version 1, they would have to be very high quality, they would have to be well tested, they would have to have professional screenshots, they would have to fit the game's original rating, they would have to be in the correct format, they would have to not have any requirements, they would have to be without some parts of content (I dont think script extenders and programs would work, but I may be wrong), and they would have to e somewhat graphically downgraded. It wouldn't necessarily have to be the best in bethesda's eyes or the fans eyes, but the best that would work on consoles.

This also makes me think about how Bethesda isn't really all that sociable with it's community. It's not really my place to talk, but have you seen Bungie.net recently? I know, It is a completely different type of website. I know, Bethesda is more worried about making a quality product and leaving the community to run itself. I know Halo and marathon are completely different game genres than most of the game Bethesda makes, well... at least some of them. But weekly updates and interviews from the developers would be really awesome, and if the game producers actually ran their own site 9though there would be problems) it would be much more streamlined.

BUT, maybe i'm just some idiot Xbox player who doesn't know what he's talking about.

Feel free to add that to you signature, lol.

Too much work would have to go into using user-made mods for official content, including contact, cleaning the files, copywright, etc.

And you really only play on consoles because a keyboard scares you? You're missing out on so much.

It'd be too much work. Plus I highly doubt MS would allow it, Sony probably wouldn't either.

EDIT: You can play Oblivion fine with a 360 controller on the PC, no emulation required, so I've heard. Don't know about Morrowind.

I play both versions, in fact I play the PC version more often, i just prefer the Xbox version because i like the controller better. I have 530 something mods if that gives you a clue...



It wouldn't be to much work if Bethesda required that the mod be in a certain format and meet certain standards. If you added in a $1 fee, I don't think Sont and Microsoft would care. The mods would have to be posted as made by so-and-so and published by bethesda with possibly $100 prizes for making gamesas's file of the month and $1000 for file of the year. It would keep Xbox players involved, they would keep spendings money, and it really wouldn't be as much work as you think. All three companies would probably get their moneys worth, or at least their money

You can play computer games with a Xbox controller, but there are some bugs. Oblivion was built-in with support for the controllers though, so it requires an outside software program to work right. With a little bit of tweaking you can make the controller work very much like it's console counterpart, but you have to use the mouse for menu navigation and the control sticks CAN be a bit off.

It's not Bethesda's choice. Microsoft must approve everything that goes onto Live, and by their nature, mods are less stable than official content. The 360 users can't open up console commands when things go wrong, or directly change lines of dialogue in .ini files or what have you that might be necessary to make them work. Every time a patch for a mod is made, Microsoft has to test it. Because these mods aren't made for each other, they will almost certainly conflict and lead to complaints, and possibly borked installations. I don't know the details on how the 360 installations work compared to a PC install, but additional side programs that might be required, such as Script Extender, may not work at all. Because of Microsoft's licensing of things onto Live, and the near-certainty that these mods wouldn't be free, you get into the complicated issue of rights and payment, whereas on PC the mods are just free 3rd-party whatevers you can download and install at will. Do you need to pay the creator or have them sign a contract to legally allow the mod's sale? What if you can't contact them? Microsoft would get many, many complaints about every glitch and conflict, but would not be the makers of the mod, and would be unable to offer any real tech support.

None of which even begins to get into the mess of how you decide which mods are "best", people griping about not being chosen, or mods that need other mods to reach their potential or which are released more as tools for PC users to mod in themselves. The whole thing would be a catastrophe.

I realized as soon as I said free someone would freak out. I meant virtually free. $1 DLCs. They would have to be completely bug proof and be turned in at the end of a month to Bethesda for ranking. The ranking would be based off of Endorsemants on the nexus, total downloads, file ratings on planetelderscrolls... and if they are appropriate for the game's original rating. If they were huge downloads, maybe gamesas could increase the price to $2, or if they are huge, maybe even $5, but hardly any of the mods out there that are as big as gamesas's DLCs don't have requirements.

Also let me make it clear that this idea is a suggestion for future gamesas games, not for the current ones. I know there are gamepads, I have used them, that wasn't the main point of this topic... i put a paragraph on my original post to try to clarify that.

You can only have 255 mods installed, though. :huh:

And I think it would cause a lot of problems if the console users had to pay (even just a buck) for mods while PC users got the very same mods for free.

Not all at the same time... I keep them seperated so I can use different ones on different saves, It requires that I backup everything. I was also however including about 50 that I have not downloaded but plan on downloading soon. I make new characters every three months or so and I combine a lot of the mods i download into different .esps. Like all of those item mods you see out there. I probably have like 30 other mods in my version of the personal file on my version of Mod Item Storage by none other than myself. I have something like 50GB of my computer dedicated to the game. I felt like an idiot when you said that becasue I only ever run like 50 mods at once...

On a side note... What is it with Bethesda and 255? Did they not like the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy? Was 42 not a good enough answer to answer stuff with... I didn't even know there was alimit to files installed at once... :ahhh: :ninja: :ahhh:

Edit: Oh and on your other point: at least they would get something... Heck if they did stuff like this, compilation mods that combine tons of mods without conflict would probably be the Beth Faves... They should call it that

There are plenty of other problems, but that wouldn't stop them...often DLC is released for free on the PC but costs, oh, roughly $7 on consoles.

I think console users would pay that seven bucks... Console users that I know... (not me, I'm actually more computer oriented) like to sped a load of money on stuff that makes their games better. Teenage boys (console users) don't care about their mom's credit card so they but new DLC on them. That way everyone is happy except parents, which makes the teenagers happier, but on the inside worse...

I don't think gamesas would have to do that much work, if they released a .bsa packer with the construction set, this could be done very easily by todays modders, we just need more professional organization.

why can't they make it so we can mod our consoles without having to crack open the console (which voids the warranty)

I agree. The massive mods could be looked over by one or two devs and cleaned and whatever and sold on X-box live for csh, depending on what the mod did. not even 1 or 2 bucks, but; for example, mods like Tamriel rebuilt would sell for 15-20 bucks easily. it doubled the landmass of Morrowind.

while i think it would be great if they could have unofficial DCLS i dont think they could, one of the reasons mods are made is because of console cuts, the consoles couldnt handle what was on the mods, so they wouldnt be able to handle the mods either right? the modders would have to know if the stuff could work with the console, so the only way to have mods for console would be if the mod was made specificly for consoles, not to mention all the Copy Right whathasyous that are involved if the mods are sold.

There are no copyright whathasyous. gamesas owns all content created via the construction set. The only problem that could arise is with unique meshes and textures, something that beth could easily deal with (by making their own). Mods requiring script extenders would have to be re-built to re-achieve functionality.

Or mods that is constantly changing with updates or there might be a bug that would damage the overall game, not to mention "best" is so subjective in the mod community. The idea of bringing in Mods and making them into DLC is definitely not a good idea.

It's a nice idea, but I don't see something like this working out for reasons previously explained.

This has come up so many times.

Arguements against them doing this.

1)Who decides which mods are best and most deserving? Are Bethesda going to employ a whole series of reviewers to test huge numbers of mods? What about those that aren't chosen, but do something similar to one that was chosen?

2)Are Bethesda also going spend a considerable amount of cash, time and resources to bug test, port, bug test, streamline, bug test and upload the mods? They'd also have to go through this step everytime the modder released an updated/ new version. Some of the best mods are never quite finished but are constantly being worked on.

3)A lot of mods are incompatble to varying degrees ranging from minor clipping to entire buildings occupying the same space. Beth would have to test for this too and inevitably you'll get people ignoring incompatibility warnings and then crying that the mods are broken.

4)Adding mods increases the amount of stuff that is being loaded as each mod is a separate file. This can increase system resource demands and consoles are made to provide exactly the amount of power the game needs to run at its baseline level. Adding mods would be a good way of overtaxing your system.

5)What about mod requirements? Some mods require other mods to run, such as compatibility patches for larger mods (ie: Better Cities and Uniqiue Landscapes have several such patches both to work with each other and with other smaller mods)

6)It's all well and good saying that Beth owns the license on anything made with the GECK, but if they start selling other peoples work without giving them a penny, then that would pretty much cause a lot of anger in the mod community. Many modders spend ages on their work and do it because they enjoy it, but if Beth started making a profit off their work, then those modders would probably give up and move onto other games.

7)Both Microsoft and Sony are reluctant to allow mods for this kind of game on their consoles. Unlike maps made with Halos Forge or ported over for UT3, the mods for Beths games are intergrated in the game world and not separate maps like those mentioned. That increases the chance of a bad or corrupted install screwing a game up.

It just isn't something thats workable.

System A. The mods that are overall ranked highest for each month by the major websites such as TESNexus and Planetelderscrolls are the "best." These best cannot always be picked because of requirements, so mods with requirements would need to combine into one for the purpose of a DLC. The authors would work out an agreement for making it one file. Bethesda or a small group for this purpose in Bethesda will contact you if your mod meets requirements. The mod must be well playtested before Bethesda will consider a mod. They could perhaps make a DLC out of the top five files of a month. A file could still run for this in another month. Every year, Bethesda could choose ten mods (not already chosen) to put in as DLCs. They could also give their ranking of the top 10 DLC mods that year even if already chosen for prizes. They could also give out prizes for monthly mods: for 1st in a monthly mod $250, for second $150, third $100, and for fourth and fifth $50. For 1st in yearly $500, second $350, third $200, fourth $150, fifth $100, and the rest $50. For best overall of a year: $1000 for first, $500 for second, $250 for third, and $75 for the rest. People will want to make their mods better to win the prize...

System B. People upload their mods to a gamesas page to apply for consideration. You would need to fit certain requirements to be picked. Prizes would be the same.

For those not chosen: secondary prizes: Free version of the months DLCs for top 25 participants. (console users in mind) Possibility of being hired. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Possible other prizes.



Bug testing etc. would be mostly up to the modder. If they want their mod as a DLC they should make their mod as good as possible. The modder would not be able to constantly make new versions. Perhaps an update every three months could be used. My idea tries to keep the strain on gamesas away, and leave it to the modders. They would need to be at at least version 1.0 to be considered (or a working version that is considered complete). For those never finished mods, they would be PC exclusive.



Most incompatibilities are obvious enough... Just make your mods elsewhere... If someone makes a new province, there will be tons of room, or if someone makes a portal to another worldspace, the same thing applies. If two really good mods are in the same place, perhaps the two modders can join together for a single mod for DLC purposes only.



There would not be any higher res textures than a 360 or ps3 can handle, not all mods would have to be active at all times, you just get that missing plugin pop-up if on an old save-file. One of the requirements to be a DLC mod would be being able to work on both consoles, that means no outside source code or programs, unfortunately. Bethesda would have to make the game for the consoles with mods in mind... This doesn't mean they couldn't give you a full disk, It means there may be multiple disks, or something along the lines of that.



Where normally you have requirements and patches, people would have to combine a file into one file (authors fight it out) and a special DLC only version of both mods as one would be created.



Read the above section on posts and this one about prizes and rewards.



Oblivion mods are very similar to Bethesda's official DLCs. If there is money involved, Sony and MS won't care as long as it is well tested and well made. You don't screw up a console game unless you install it onto your hard-drive or screw up your disk. It doesn't take long to install a game to hard-drive and all it does is make it run a little faster, so it wouldn't be gamebreaking. If the DLCs didn't install correctly... well that already happens, so there are ways of fixing it.

Also, sorry if it seemed like I singled you out.

Vanilla Oblivion is my favourite version personally. When adding mods it just felt like I was cheating. When I did use mods they were not as good as the content in the game. I play Oblivion on the computer with no mods. I play Oblivion on the 360 and I like it better.

Why it hasn't been done? Because it seems like a bad idea - for all the reasons mentioned above. It's way too much of a hassle for what it's worth. Besides, I've never even seen a mod that I'd want to pay for...

Mankar Camoran> I want to be able to enjoy some of the mods without feeling like I am cheating, that is part of the reason I want some of these mods on there.

M'aiq the Liar> I have described why it wouldn't be a hassle for those who play it, only for those who make it, and that is how it is already. This would probably need an extra 30 minutes to 3 hrs of most modders time extra, which considering most modders, isn't much. Also they wouldn't make you pay for much.

And you expect that to work? You have no idea how much trouble Microsoft and Sony can be - they're hesitant about uploading official patches made by real developers on the PlayStation Network and Live, let alone a community mod... even if approved by Bethesda.

It's not a bad idea but with the way MS and Sony are set up it simply isn't a practical idea.

When MS and Sony allow people to release their own mods for consoles the system will work, even if that system isn't as smooth as the one we see on PCs. However as it is now even if we can overcome the problems of Bethesda selecting mods they'd still have to put them through QA and then have MS and Sony put them through QA. That's a lot of testing to release one mod on consoles and Bethesda simply isn't set up for this.

Mod conflicts, and mod load order, and console limitations just take a messy and complex process and make it even more difficult to overcome. Many PS3 users encounter serious memory problems if they try and tackle several DLC - how could they add user-made mod on top of that? The XBox 360 may handle things better but it has it's own limitation.


As I see it the ball is in Microsoft and Sony's court. Both have put out some feelers in relation to user modding (it seems Sony more than MS) but this clearly isn't something they're comfortable embracing yet. And until they do the process Bethesda would have to go through is simply too laborious to work.

I'm pretty sure that if

A. Modders completely test their mods and make sure it is basically bug-free ( they get to this stage anyway most of the time) -Fairly Simple
B. The mod is finished -Simple
C. The mod fits under a Mature rating or Teen if that is the case -Problem for some mods
D. The mod uses some amount of lore, or at least make the mod work with lore -Fairly simple (just make a portal or underground cave to your mod)
E. Modder can make a .BSA (will probably be easier in TES 5) -Difficult now, but will become streamline and very simple
F. Bethesda can test it with a small (3 or 4 person) team and find it successful (would take probably 3 hrs to 12 hrs depending on the mod (for Huge mods, the might want to start months before release) - Fairly Simple
G. The modder agrees that Bethesda can use their content as an official DLC, which will be rewarded with a prize - Depends on modder
H. The price is reasonable - Fairly simple (just depends on the companies)
I. Sony and MS get a cut - Simple
J. Bethesda can afford it (very likely if modders do their jobs) - Depends on gamesas and modders, but will likely be a simple problem
K. Sony and MS test it with their team of 50 for like 40 hours -They have streamlined this...
L. Mods run on consoles without much requirements (hardware wise) - You can't run ...many mods at once... but why would you anyway?
M. Mods are fairly small- Most are, a lot of mod-DLCs would be compilations though...

it will work. For MS this would be a very small check list. Most of this would require a little more time for everyone: about 3 hrs more for modder, 12 for gamesas, and 12 for MS and Sony, it would take about 3 business days to test and get it running. For an end of the month deal, that isn't bad. They would likely streamline a system as well, so it would only take a day or so for each mod. Most of these things are easy to work out things people can do without hassle.

Waits patiently to have topic locked...

I think QA would disagree with you here. Remember that the mod has to be thoroughly tested and it likely has to be tested with multiple set ups.

And that's not taking in to account how many mods would likely be submitted, which could easily be hundreds a month.


Again this doesn't seem to take into account how time consuming QA is and how many mods they'd likely need to process.


Even if Bethesda with processing tremendous numbers of mods, and they aren't, I seriously doubt MS would accept such a workload.

Also, your process has not taken in to account that QA is a two way street - bugs are found, the mod is returned, and then presumably fixed and resubmitted. This is fine when QA is dealing with only a few products at a time and only a few developers at a time. When you ramp that number up things aren't streamlined, they get more difficult.


This suggestions has unfortunately come up many times in the past, first for TES III then TES IV and then Fallout 3. I certainly understand how this would be awesome but ultimately it just isn't practical. Chances are given how MS and Sony view user-made mods it probably isn't even possible.

If you want to see something like this in the future you should tell MS that you want to see better support for user-made content. The more people who say this the more likely they'll listen. Eventually I hope to see user-made content as the "next big thing" for next generation consoles (at the moment it seems to be motion capture).



Meanwhile I'll continue to boost for keyboard and mouse support on consoles because I too am very particular about game control even if I have the opposite preferences. (Although as others have pointed out any GFW title should work with an XBox 360 gamepad.)