Are mods usually confusing as hell or am I just an idiot?

[stamets@lemmy.world]

I'm newish to modding games. I have been on a console my whole life and PC gaming is still relatively new to me. I've been modding a few games lately like Mass Effect and Baldurs Gate 3... It's like a whole ass research assignment to figure out how to load mods. Each one different with different rules. I decided to not even bother with a significant number of mods because they just seemed mind numbingly confusing to set up.

I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering if I'm missing some trick or something.

[tootsweet@lemmy.world]

Most games were never made to be modded. The communities are hacking mods into these games, many of which were even designed to make modding harder. (Because mods compete against sequels or something? I dunno. Intellectual property is a mental illness.) It's not terribly surprising that games that weren't meant to be modded have confusingly inconsistent methods for loading mods. Because those mods work fundamentally differently from game to game. If a mod happens to be easy-ish to install, chances are it's either quite a simple mod (a model/texture replacement or some such, or just something that's not terribly hard to mod) or a lot of work has been put into naking it easier.

[bread@feddit.nl]

Can't say that I've ever had this issue. Usually mod authors will tell you where to install them, or package the files in a folder structure such that there is no thinking involved.

[strayce@lemmy.sdf.org]

Not familiar with those particular games, but if you're lucky there might be a third party mod manager that takes some of the hassle out.

[agent_karyo@lemmy.world]

You're not missing anything. Modding older games PC can be a pain in the ass.

You can usually find a somewhat coherent and structured guide that will give you a step by step process, but will still be time-consuming (and there will likely be exceptions or outdated information).

The best option is to keep mods to minimum unless you know what you are doing and it's a game that you play on a permanent basis.

[rentlar@lemmy.ca]

As the name suggests, a mod is "modifying" the game, in ways that the original creators never intended to support. That's why out of very few exceptions (such as Paradox and Steam mods), there is not a centralized hub maintained by the creator to organize and apply mods.

The process tends to be different for every game because every game is made differently. To boil the concept down, basically if there's no official interface for custom functionality (such as a plugin system), then modders will usually "hack" this in themselves. Installing the mod often means replacing a game file with one that hooks into the game, to be able to load custom code and custom game resources.

[pacman@sh.itjust.works]

Depends on the game and how the mods work. I just did a bunch of mods on Morrowwind and there was a tool for it and it was straight forward. GTA IV was super straightforward loading the mods I thought. Dolphin game mods I thought where a little funky till I spent a little time with it and was like oh this makes sense they way they are doing it and I was being a dummy not fully reading the instructions

[die4ever@programming.dev]

(Because mods compete against sequels or something?

yea sequels, expansion packs, and DLC

[die4ever@programming.dev]

Heavy modding of older games PC can be a pain in the ass.

Sometimes the older games are the easy ones to mod, and the new games make it intentionally difficult. Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Deus Ex are all mod-friendly.

It can also depend on how much work the mod developer puts into making it easy.

[stamets@lemmy.world]

So I'm just an idiot.

Sounds about right.

[stamets@lemmy.world]

I was so confused for so long here. I forgot that Men in Black were in Deus Ex. I was just like "How the hell does Tommy Lee Jones connect with this?!"

[pedro@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

Are you using nexus mod manager, vortex? Makes modding somewhat friendlier

[mitm0@lemmy.world]

Relatable, Mods do be tricky to implement

[adam_y@lemmy.world]

"If it was easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it'd just be the way. "

Modding varies from game to game, but having been doing it for nearly 40 years now, I can say it has generally become easier in the titles that want you to and harder in the ones that don't.

[reseller_pledge609@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

Like most things, you're just "an idiot" until you figure it out. Like any skill, the more you practice the better you get. Just take the time to understand it better and it will start making more sense eventually.

[kipo@lemm.ee]

Also the timeline usually matters. Mod methods can change as game patches are released. Mods can have mod patches. Mods can be deprecated for new mods or mod methods. Mods can have other dependencies. Install order sometimes matters.

I think OP is right; mods can be messy, complicated, and a lot of work.

[poopfeast420@discuss.tchncs.de]

Yeah, I usually just follow the instructions, which seems to work 99% of the time.

[lunarloony@lemmy.sdf.org]

This just reminds me of the mod situation for early versions of Minecraft. These days it's as simple as pressing a button and dropping your mods into a folder, but back then it was a case of directly modifying the main Java file, removing specific bits, adding specific bits in specific places... not smooth at all

[hexesofvexes@lemmy.world]

For every mod you add, complexity usually increases exponentially.

Depending on the game, difficulty also varies: modding stardew valley is joy (117 mods in a pack, easy afternoon sipping tea), modding skyrim less so (oh god,these two amazing mods tweak the same tree, time to go patch hunting, 2 weeks later you play it only to spot obscure graphical glitches, all hail wabbajack automation!), trying to make a working multiplayer mod pack for rimworld is pure suffering (why do you hate me, why do two compatible mods generate mass instability?!? 4 months of bug hunting and unsalvageable runs due to strange mod interactions, gave up for now).

[bananatrifleviolin@lemmy.world]

Genuinely not had a problem with mods, and I've been PC gaming for decades. Of course sometimes mods don't work but thats life. Just be patient, you'll get it done.

Decent mods have a readme file - follow the steps strictly - no skipping thinking you know better - and they should work.

Also look on YouTube or search online for guides - people often provide step by step guides to mod games purely out of a love for gaming.

Keep going - mods can be great, and its one of the many benefits of PC gaming. You'll get there!