Mods Rule! Celebrating Mod Appreciation Week

Mods are undoubtedly one of the best things about gaming. It’s not just that you get free content to extend hours into the games you love, but that you can take into your own hands the tools that were used to build it. This week is Mod Appreciation Week, and so we’re looking back fondly on the best mods we’ve ever played, from user made games on Desura to the goodies in the Steam Workshop, and more.

Holly: As one of the world’s foremost Fallout experts (shut up that’s my title and you will address me as such) and a PC gaming enthusiast, I am often asked what my favorite mods were for Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. #ModAppreciationWeek made me realize I’ve never written them down in one place or expressed my love for mods as a whole, and what better time than a specific week set aside for that very thing? Mods have been a huge part of my life as a gamer and I’m constantly inspired by the passion and ingenuity behind each. So here are a few of my favorites!

When it comes to Fallout, I’m the type to skip the “total conversion” stuff and instead stick to the practical and the curious. In both games I loved to add more radio stations, because patrolling the Wastes could get dull with the same old music for hours on end. Some of them served as a great education in an entirely different era of music, and it sparked my interest anew in some of the bygone classics.

Nuka Quantum Pipeline I love love love love Nuka Grenades, and this mod installed a pipeline in the Nuka Cola factory that allowed you to bottle up Quantum with some empty bottles and a Bottlecap. Simple but for me, essential.

CONEL-RAD Radio The concept of this radio station was fascinating to me: it’s not only named after the actual civil defense radio station used during the 40s and 50s to keep citizens informed of local war-related disasters and emergencies, but it actually uses real PSAs from the era, as well as dozens upon dozens of royalty-free songs that all touch on the theme of war, bombs, the atomic panic, and even aliens and space travel.

Existence 2.0 This one was another radio mod, but the music is original, very good, and very creepy. This mod, as well as CONEL-RAD radio, have been since ported to Fallout: New Vegas.

Tenpenny Tower Radio

DC Interiors To me this mod was perfect because there was so much more I wanted out of the old stores and homes of the ruins of Washington D.C. Apparently, the area was supposed to be twice as large as it turned out in the final game. They should have kept it all in. DC Interiors extended the life of the game, for me.

Underground Hideout The ultimate in post apocalyptic digs, with an ammo press, science lab, grow room, weapons and armor display areas, and even a hot tub. This too was ported to New Vegas.

Marts Mutant Mod Originally an Oblivion mod, Marts Mutant Mod diversified the enemies of the Wasteland by adding everything from iguanas and geckos to more terrifying spectres like the Wanamingo. It also has a number of plugins that allow to adjust respawn rates and frequency rates to make the game harder, as well as a hunting and looting system and a “natural selection” option that will improve the enemy AI. With over one million downloads, this is probably the most popular mod on the Nexus Forums.

When Fallout: New Vegas came around, it was a bit of a hard sell for me, because it totally changed how I felt about the atmosphere and feel of Fallout itself. And after so many hours in the Capital Wastelands, the thrill was pretty much gone. But with some mods installed my experience improved dramatically, and as New Vegas became more of a challenge, my interest was secured. I think these days I may even be more fond of New Vegas than I am Fallout 3.

Blues Radio New Vegas Like Fallout 3, I needed more music to get me through the lonely hours out in the Wastes, and this station was just what the doctor ordered. There was once a marvelous station offered in the Nexus Forums that offered all the songs that had inspired the mission names in Fallout: New Vegas but alas it was taken down due to copyright issues. RIP.
Nevada Skies Probably the best mod I’ve ever played and the only reason Fallout: New Vegas was worth playing for me. It turned the landscape into the ultimate obstacle by forcing the player to deal with unpredictable weather and lighting conditions as well as livening up the scenery with stunning sunsets and cloud patterns.
Monster Mod With the stunning variety of creatures this brought to the game, between it and Nevada Skies I am endlessly entertained by New Vegas.
Two Bears High Fiving I had to, it was just too hilarious not to.
Light Up And Smoke Those Cigarettes This one let the Courier, as the name suggests, smoke cigarettes and I installed it because I’m a bad person and I feel cooler when I smoke cigarettes in the Mojave.

I’ve never just stuck to the Nexus Forums to find new things to play, I also somehow stumbled my way into playing user-made games, mostly downloaded from Desura. It was there that I first got to play Dear Esther, when it was still a Half Life 2 mod. I had one of the best horror experiences of my life by the also-Half Life 2 based mod Nightmare House 2, which haunts me to this day. Then there was White Night, built with the tools from Amnesia: The Dark Descent. And as I fondly peruse the annals of my Desura download history, I bemoan that I have not yet gotten to No More Room In Hell.

I remember when the Steam Workshop was announced, I was initially butthurt. Modding had previously been the territory for the truly dedicated, and in my insecurity as a gamer I clung to the pride of being among the few willing to go through the process. But it also opened up an entire new world to players who had never before got to experience how beautifully generous the modding community is. Unsurprisingly, I was a huge fan of Skyrim mods. I added in shooting stars, immersive constellations, rainbows, lush grass, better glacier and mountain textures, high definition plants and herbs, enhanced water and terrain, redesigned villages and towns.

I installed Midas Magic, which brought a masterful  new world of inventive spells into the game. I was enthralled with And The Realms of Daedra, and Moonpath to Elsweyr.I turned my dragons into Fluttershy from My Little Pony. I added a mod that made my mudcrabs curse and swear as they took damage. I adorned the accessories of war with Battle Chef, slaying enemies with my kitchen knife and Leek Barrage Spell. I added giant chickens, which I shot with exploding dick arrows. I unleashed hordes of tiny angry trolls with the point of my staff. I laughed hysterically at Uncle Sheogorath’s Really Helpful Hints And Tips. And many NPCs were Shouted into cheese.

I used more practical mods, improved maps, left handed rings, more visible road signs. In installed one that made all the unread books glow, another that made the ore from the rocks gleam with bright colors that could be seen from afar.

Looking back, I guess I went a little overboard! Ha, no such thing. Skyrim mods do seem to hold a particular power though--I’ve never felt compelled to download many of the Civilization V or Beyond Earth mods I’ve seen (though this impressively accurate map of Middle Earth deserves to be seen. OK and this Super Mario World one too).

I have a hard time not getting a little emotional when it comes to mods because when I first played one, for Fallout 3, I couldn’t believe that there were people willing to dedicate their time freely to creating new content for a game I loved so much. I was at a point in my time where I really needed the added distraction and it just felt like a gift from other fans. Some of the best games in history have emerged from mods. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Ian: I’ve loved mods and been in love with them ever since they were a thing. Starting with the map modding scene in Command & Conquer and Warcraft II way back in 1995, which saw the release of a number of bootleg CDs containing custom-designed maps for the game, which didn’t even have a real map editor of its own (one had to be made for it), I’ve always been intrigued by the things modders and their creations had to offer to games. For the titles that did come with map editors and creation tools, the results were even better.

Even games like Team Fortress 2, DOTA2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive had their start as mods for Quake, Warcraft III and Half-Life, respectively.

One of the most popular games currently being played on the internet is DayZ. It started as a mod for the military simulation ARMA 2, and quickly grew in popularity and scope to the point where its creator, Dean "Rocket" Hall, was hired by the studio making ARMA 2 to produce a full fledged, standalone DayZ product.

It goes without saying that mods have made careers. Many a prominent game designer started their careers as mod creators, including Dean "Rocket" Hall for DayZ, and Civilization V's Jon Shafer, the latter of whom started his career as a modder for Civilization III as a teenager.

It also goes without saying that mods have played a huge role in the video game industry. The granddad of first-person shooter games, id Software, recognized the importance of modding even way back in 1996 when it proposed paying modders for their work. Unfortunately at the time, the platforms and technology just weren’t up to par.

A big part of modding is putting into a game stuff that isn't already there--and that includes adding better graphics to spruce up the game’s visuals. Light shafts, volumetric fog, and realistic shadows are but a few of the features that were added into the likes of Skyrim, an already good looking game. Among my favorite mods for the title includes graphics overhauls and user interface mods that make the game more enjoyable to play on the PC.

Book Covers There are dozens of books to be read in Skyrim and one of the biggest problems with wanting to read all of them, as one is accustomed to doing, is the fact that they all look alike. It’s hard to tell what books you’ve read or have on your shelf (yes, bookshelves actually work in the game) when they all share the same few covers. The purpose of the Book Covers mod is to give each book in the game its own unique identity, much like books look like in real life. Best of all, it completely fits into the game’s lore, so you won’t find any sort of modern day cover art gracing the covers of each of these books.

WATER - Water and Terrain Enhancement Redux The WATER mod is described as a "total reimagination" of the game's waterways and ocean. It comes with a host of new effects, textures, and all the waters in the game have been remade to look more realistic than ever before. Instead of having flat, boring water textures, WATER gives players and anyone viewing the game the impression of seeing water with some actual depth. This mod is now a part of a mod pack called The Ruffled Feather.

Enhanced Distant Terrain Once independent, but now a part of The Ruffled Feather mod pack, this simple mod enhances what distant terrain looks like in the game.

Vivid Clouds and Fogs Much like the WATER mod before it, this mod serves to replace all of the vanilla and Climates of Tamriel (another great mod) cloud textures and fog textures with high resolution versions. It even replaces fire smoke to make it actually look like smoke from a real fire. Fog on the ground no longer looks like it was blown into place by a fog machine, either. And finally, it replaces all of the steam in the game, be it from Dwemer robots, waterfalls, and naturally occuring steam.

Climates of Tamriel Climates of Tamriel is a weather patch for Skyrim that's a part of the Project Reality series designed to bring heightened realism into the game. While I'm not a big fan of "realism" in general, the stuff CoT brings to the table is well worth getting, as it changes up the weather patterns to be more diverse--adding over 500 unique weather systems into the game for thousands of different days, nights, sunsets, and sunrises. No day is ever the same.

SkyRealism - Shiny Weapons and Armor Mods This particular mod doesn’t really do much, but its development took a whole lot of effort as its creator decided to replace each weapon and armor texture in the game with a high resolution version that happened to also be shiny--like real metal is.

Enhanced Lights and FX The goal of this particular mod is to create a more dramatic mood within the game's indoor environments by adding all manner of lights and light sources, and removing lights that have no source. Did you know that some lights in the game just float about in the middle of nowhere, seemingly without rhyme or reason? What gives, Bethesda?

Enhanced Blood Textures Blood in Skyrim is unsatisfactorily tame. It just looks unrealistic, like a PG13-rated film for kids. Ever wish you could make the game look a bit more gorier? This mod bumps the blood up to an R rating. Unfortunately (or fortunately, for those among you with weak stomachs) it doesn’t come with gore.  

Thanks to the game’s console-centric controls, the need for a dedicated UI for the PC was among one of the first mods crafted for the game, and remains to this day one of the most downloaded and regarded as a “must have” mod for anyone serious about playing Skyrim with the mouse and keyboard. That mod is SkyUI.

Despite the fact that Skyrim has been out for several years now, the modding community remains strong and invigorated despite a few minor setbacks (cough Steam Paid Mods cough) and work on these various projects continues to improve. Mods packs, such as Project Realism and The Ruffled Feather offer newcomers to the game much easier ways of grabbing whole sets of mods and installing them all in one go without too much hassle, allowing modders to consolidate their efforts and polish what they have.

I can’t wait to see what the modding community does with newly released open-world games like The Witcher 3, Grand Theft Auto V and upcoming games like Mad Max, and Just Cause 3. Already, there are mods for The Witcher 3 that allow players to cheat, because why shouldn’t players able to play the games in the manner in which they prefer, right?

To celebrate with the rest of the community be sure to hit up the #ModAppreciationWeek hashtag on Twitter, and check out the Steam Workshop, Desura, and Nexus Forums and root around, you never know what you’ll find a hidden gem!