Mods.. Are they overstated?

[Pulsar_t]

The first ever mod I tried was CS1.0 ten years ago. Since then I've not downloaded many mods as they tend to be sub-par compared to the original product, often remain unfinished and glitch all over the place. I was tempted sometimes (had the bloated Orange Box install for weeks looking for worthwhile mods, and only managed to find Minerva) but eventually found myself moving on to the next game. What buggers me is when PC elitists cite mods as one of the PC's strongest points, ie to get more value out of a given game, but frankly unless you're an inclined clanner that is a weak argument to throw around in an already senseless debate. Do you often looks for mods or do you simply move on?

[Ziggy]

Are we talking ONLY about PC games?

[Pulsar_t]

Yes. AFAIK only Unreal 3 on the PS3 would allow third party mods. Hacks needn't apply. And this isn't one of those PC vs console arguments. Just wondering whether mods generally are all that great. I don't think they are, given the limited resources of their authors. It's always nice to have an SDK available to enthusiasts, but I don't believe mods have radically changed PC gaming.

[emwearz]

It's always nice to have an SDK available to enthusiasts, but I don't believe mods have radically changed PC gaming.

With the exception of Counter Strike perhaps (I have never liked CS but its impact was massive).

[Octopod]

When I used to play NWN all the time I played constantly on player made persistent worlds. Maybe not quite the same thing I guess.

[the7k]

Mods were a huge deal to me when I played the hell out of Half-Life. Mods like Front Line Force, They Hunger, Science & Industry and many more were just as good as full-fledged retail games to me, and they significantly increased the amount of time I played the game - spanning almost a decade, if I remember correctly.

Even when they aren't full games, they can be fun just to experiment with. Even some of the less polished/feature-filled mods like Holy Wars, Gangsta Wars and Goldeneye were a great deal of fun. It's great giving people all around the world their own canvas to paint on - even if the result isn't always very good, the ones that shine make it worth it.

Also, remember - the first Team Fortress was a user-created mod of Quake.

[Devezu]

http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View. ... etail&id=3


YEAH!


Mods are definitely a nice perk for a PC game... or even owning multiple games. Take for example my favorite mod - HL2 + CSS + 'Bots = CSS Sci Fi, a mod where you use the ridiculous armory of SMOD to wipe out CSS and HL2 maps full of Combine/Zombies!

[arion]

Well Quake rally was awesome back then

[CantStrafeRight]

As one of those "PC elitists" I do consider mods to be one of the reasons I go for PC versions of games.

I will admit that with PC gaming slowly dying the number of good mods for games has decreased, but that doesn't mean that there are none to be found.

[MrPopo]

Diablo 2 has a lot of nice mods that reinvigorated that game for me after I got bored with it. Mechwarrior Living Legends is an amazing mod for Crysis and the STALKER folks have taken it upon themselves to improve those flawed games and make them even more immersive than they already are. Let's not forget the modders of the Bethesda games, which range from small to massive.

TC mods like Counter-Strike are few and far between simply due to the scope. The ones that actually make it to a release are usually worth playing, and while you might not enjoy a particular one it does not diminish the strength of the platform as a whole.