MODS OFF

[BraveSirRobin]

Modders were not going to be adding new aircraft to BoS.  No chance whatsoever.

[SharpeXB]

Modders were not going to be adding new aircraft to BoS.  No chance whatsoever.

Yes, it would make no business sense to allow free planes to compete with the chief product they make themselves. That much should be obvious.

[Yakdriver]

But then at least say so - that money is the pivot.

not "mods have done nothing for RoF over 6 years"

This series is all about the Cash, tell ya.

[BraveSirRobin]

This series is all about the Cash, tell ya.

 

Yeah, that's why so many developers are working on WW2 flight sims.  It's all about the money!

 

Wait a second...

[Bearcat]

Modders were not going to be adding new aircraft to BoS.  No chance whatsoever.

 

I would certainly hope not.

 

I think this discussion is going wobbly...

 

First off you cannot compare mods in Il2 to anything in BoS. IL2 is 14 years old and has been cracked since 06... at least as far as to the public. There were rumors swirling around before that but it became official in 06 IIRC.

 

Second .... even if we do have mods in BoS they will not be an open book mod whatever you want kind of thing.. and it shouldn't be.

 

This thread needs to stay on topic and stay on mods in BoS and their potential NOT the pros and cons of modding. If it moves in the direction of the latter it will be locked and we can just wait and see what happens. I hope everyone is clear on that.

[SharpeXB]

 mods were the only things that made RoF Career mode playable, if you had any knowledge of WW1 aviation at all.

If you play the Career Mode with Mods On, do you not earn any points towards the awards, promotions?

[LonnyEnds]

sigh........graphics options, coop mode, mods on mode, etc, etc. I dunno Zak. Where we going with all this?

This +100. Please work with the community not assume they are all completely incompetent. I will eventually sound like a broken record but presets still, really?

 

It just seems like there has been a major shift in dynamic between the team and us that loved all that made the old IL2 what it was. Boundless optimism and embracing of the community as was seen in the earliest dev dairies have made way to countless decisions that have eroded into what seems like overtaking pessimism.

 

BOS is good and will probably eventually be great. BOM will add much needed content and sounds great. But give the community some credit and let a new era of cooperation give users the experience they desire (within reason of course)

[Yakdriver]

 

 

If it moves in the direction of the latter it will be locked and we can just wait and see what happens. I hope everyone is clear on that.

BC - even if this does not get locked, we can still only sit and see what happens.
does not make a dime of a difference concerning the subject - the decision has been taken.

Hm?

[SYN_Mike77]

The Devs have changed their minds on some pretty big things.  Oh and we shouldn't assume that the devs are united in all things.  We now know that at least one major player in the company never liked the idea of unlocks and worked within the company to affect change using the voices here as one argument for a compromise on that most hated of all things ever!  Well until the next thing to get all worked up about came along.

[Feathered_IV]

If you play the Career Mode with Mods On, do you not earn any points towards the awards, promotions?

Hi Sharpe, yes you do earn points as normal. The concept of identical user experience is a new thing with BoS.

[unreasonable]

If you play the Career Mode with Mods On, do you not earn any points towards the awards, promotions?

 

That is not how Career mode works. In game RP elements like medals and promotions are driven by victories, sorties completed etc. These are specific for each country and award. LukeFF has done a good job over some time of changing the criteria for each country's awards to give a decent fit with history.

 

This means that I can tailor my SP experience using mods with no ill effects on the game.

 

Edit: the points score only has an effect on the rather pointless career and pilot statistics pages.

Edited February 20, 2015 by unreasonable

[unreasonable]

The concept of identical user experience is a new thing with BoS.

 

Not sure about that actually...  they always seemed to be keen on identical user experience, otherwise it makes no sense to maintain the SP pilot and squadron score tables in Career mode. They seem to have given up on it with RoF  (although the tables are still there - the only things requiring always on connection as far as I can see) now it is back with a vengeance in BoS.

 

I would happily play SP without a mods on mode if I was happy that the vanilla game meets my SP needs. It did not in RoF, and mods for DM were one essential part of fixing what was wrong with vanilla SP. BoS is also unsatisfactory, so having no mods on possibility simply reduces the chances that it will ever be fixed.

[SharpeXB]

That is not how Career mode works. In game RP elements like medals and promotions are driven by victories, sorties completed etc. These are specific for each country and award. LukeFF has done a good job over some time of changing the criteria for each country's awards to give a decent fit with history.

 

This means that I can tailor my SP experience using mods with no ill effects on the game.

 

Edit: the points score only has an effect on the rather pointless career and pilot statistics pages.

Ok thanks. Just curious about that. I know it used to be different and I guess I lost touch with how it all worked.

[Yakdriver]

Definitely not the end of the world...but it may signal the end of user made skins unless some kind of approval system is in place like in RoF (which we haven't seen or had any hints towards thus far in BoS). Even though you can make skins and check them in the viewer, without a mods on mode you will never be able to use them or test them in-game unless they are approved.

???

[BraveSirRobin]

Definitely not the end of the world...but it may signal the end of user made skins unless some kind of approval system is in place like in RoF (which we haven't seen or had any hints towards thus far in BoS). Even though you can make skins and check them in the viewer, without a mods on mode you will never be able to use them or test them in-game unless they are approved.

 

Mods have nothing to do with skins in BoS.  You can use any skins you want.  However, other people in the server won't see your skins unless they have downloaded them.

[Requiem]

Mods have nothing to do with skins in BoS.  You can use any skins you want.  However, other people in the server won't see your skins unless they have downloaded them.

Ah yeah that's right, sorry about that. Minor short circuit there

[FlyingNutcase]

Mission creation is one form of creative outlet; thankfully we'll get that. It's a real shame that mod creation will be isolated to a few select individuals at best. A game community surely needs creative outlets to thrive, filling in the gaps that the devs can't or aren't interested in working on. Gah.

[BraveSirRobin]

Ah yeah that's right, sorry about that. Minor short circuit there

 

If it makes you feel any better, they screwed up the skins process by making summer skins as default on a winter map, therefore screwing anyone who used a custom skin because it shows up as default if you have not downloaded it.

[Urra]

Mission creation is one form of creative outlet; thankfully we'll get that. It's a real shame that mod creation will be isolated to a few select individuals at best. A game community surely needs creative outlets to thrive, filling in the gaps that the devs can't or aren't interested in working on. Gah.

I tend to think of such tools as "mod" creation as a bonfire by which people sit down and gather, play banjo, whatever. In the end it's another extra form of glue that holds a community together... also Hope the FMB doesn't get thrown in a bonfire.

[BeastyBaiter]

This needs to be put in perspective, missions, skins and so on are not mods. And if we are being honest, there wasn't much beyond that likely to be created anyways. Maybe a map at most, but that will still be possible it seems. How do I know this? Take a look at RoF. It's basically the same engine and has been around for 5 years. In that time, there haven't been many mods made for it. There is a gunner AI mod and a fictional island map (now part of the core game) but beyond that, I can't think of any. You might say that's because it's a WW1 CFS with a smaller player base to which I counter look at Red Baron 3d. Red Baron 3d had all sorts of mods for it that kept it alive until RoF was in good working order. And believe me, that took some time after the initial release. As incomplete and frustrating as BoS is at this time, it is a whole hell of a lot better than RoF 1.0 was. Look at the gem it has become over the years, all without any modding community of note. I'm not saying I agree with the decision to abandon a mods on/off option, but I don't think it is a major concern.

[Feathered_IV]

If they could at least allow mods in Offline mode like the third-patry missions, that would be okay.

[FlyingNutcase]

I tend to think of such tools as "mod" creation as a bonfire by which people sit down and gather, play banjo, whatever. In the end it's another extra form of glue that holds a community together.

 

So very true. I probably wouldn't make mods but I'd certainly like to enthuse and use others'. I feel like the future is a little more sterile, but hey the main thing is that the series is continuing. Everything else is the cherry on top; perhaps.

[Bearcat]

I am curious... What kind of mods would you like to see made for BoS aside from objects and maps?

 

A general "you" not one directed at the previous poster....

[IRRE_Belmont]

I am curious... What kind of mods would you like to see made for BoS aside from objects and maps?

 

A general "you" not one directed at the previous poster....

 

*Clear throat*

-Texture mods

-Cockpits mods

-Sounds mods

-Aircrafts mods

-Scenery mods

-Total conversion mods

-SP and MP gamemodes like DCG.

 

The possibilites are ENDLESS

 

I can't wait to dogfight a 109 with my brand new Russian X-WING

Edited February 20, 2015 by SYN_Belmont

[Tektolnes]

+1 Belmont. There's lots of little mods that users could do that would not dramatically change the game but would allow users to make things more to their taste or make some improvements. DCS has a lot of these types of mods and some of them are fantastic. BOS could really do with some HD cockpit mods for one thing and I'm sure there's people in the community that would do this for free. Shouldn't even need a mods on / off setting for those kinds of tweaks.

[Feathered_IV]

I am curious... What kind of mods would you like to see made for BoS aside from objects and maps?

 

A general "you" not one directed at the previous poster....

 

I can answer that.  I had previously extracted the GTP files and these are the specific mods I was personally looking forward to producing:

 

• Better Briefings  Corrections and improvements to English language version of campaign briefings and notifications.  Such as replacing Action-Point phrase with more appropriate label.  More detailed/less terse briefing text.  Correcting the many spelling and grammatical errors like the Olegish, You have successfully took off etc. 
• Bf-109 Cockpit Textures    Improved texture for kick plates on cockpit floor.  Current texture has simulated weathering that does not match the contours of the component.
• Airfield textures and bump maps Gumrak and Pitomnik received extensive damage which is not shown in the game.   Improved textures to show recent craters and discolouration.  Modified bump maps to suggest older snow covered craters, vehicle and troop tracks through snow etc.
• Better Crater Textures  Replacing the almost jet-black crater textures with a lighter, more detailed replacement.
• Better Smoke Textures  Tone down the blue-black hollywood smoke.  Add more grey and brown suggest more organic fires.
• Expert Icons  Blank texture for aircraft icon.  Preventing the intrepid navigator from peeking at their true position on the map, even when pressing the I key.
• Troop animations  Tweaks to soldier running animation to make it look as if they are running from danger - not trotting towards the toilet with a full nappy.
• Sky Texture  Improved upper sky texture without the very obvious repeating stratus cloud stripe.

Unfortunately, it looks like none of this is possible now.  I really can't tell you how disappointed I am.

[Blooddawn1942]

Those are the kind of mods I was looking forward too.

Little things that in the end vastly improves the immersion.

 

You made many good points, feathered!

 

None can expect from the developers to cover every little detail. (but looking at the changelog of 1.09 , they try to catch a lot of those ' little things' which is outstanding in my opinion)

This is, were the community jumps in and provides such things.

[No601_Swallow]

I can answer that.  I had previously extracted the GTP files and these are the specific mods I was personally looking forward to producing:

 

• Better Briefings  Corrections and improvements to English language version of campaign briefings and notifications.  Such as replacing Action-Point phrase with more appropriate label.  More detailed/less terse briefing text.  Correcting the many spelling and grammatical errors like the Olegish, You have successfully took off etc. 
• Bf-109 Cockpit Textures    Improved texture for kick plates on cockpit floor.  Current texture has simulated weathering that does not match the contours of the component.
• Airfield textures and bump maps Gumrak and Pitomnik received extensive damage which is not shown in the game.   Improved textures to show recent craters and discolouration.  Modified bump maps to suggest older snow covered craters, vehicle and troop tracks through snow etc.
• Better Crater Textures  Replacing the almost jet-black crater textures with a lighter, more detailed replacement.
• Better Smoke Textures  Tone down the blue-black hollywood smoke.  Add more grey and brown suggest more organic fires.
• Expert Icons  Blank texture for aircraft icon.  Preventing the intrepid navigator from peeking at their true position on the map, even when pressing the I key.
• Troop animations  Tweaks to soldier running animation to make it look as if they are running from danger - not trotting towards the toilet with a full nappy.
• Sky Texture  Improved upper sky texture without the very obvious repeating stratus cloud stripe.

Unfortunately, it looks like none of this is possible now.  I really can't tell you how disappointed I am.

 

There are some great ideas there. I was wondering if it might be possible to do "templates" for battle-scared Gumrak and Pitomnik. You were way ahead in your thinking. Fingers crossed that we can prise the door open a little. The Devs' embrace of the V-Luki map and the new browser-based "SMB" bode well, he says optimistically.

[Feathered_IV]

I really do hope they reconsider and add the mods-on mode to the game. Zak's message left me feeling like a teenager who's just been dumped by his girlfriend...

[Tektolnes]

I really do hope they reconsider and add the mods-on mode to the game. Zak's message left me feeling like a teenager who's just been dumped by his girlfriend...

 

All those things you listed above don't even need a mods on / off mode. They only slightly affect the look of the game for the user and it should just be that if somebody makes these types of mods that they can be downloaded and enabled by a user if they want them through JSGME. Though given the lockdown by Loft over even simple graphic settings it's not going to happen.

[unreasonable]

I am curious... What kind of mods would you like to see made for BoS aside from objects and maps?

Since you ask: tweaks that effect gameplay for SP, a few examples:

 

- AI routines that force ground attack tasked aircraft to attack ground targets unless actually fired on by enemy a/c

- Default formations to get them closer to RL usage

- DM to tone down small caliber MG damage

- Less "Hollywood" smoke effects

- Adjustable flak lethality

 

These kinds of thing have been suggested in the official thread many times. All of these could be done officially - they do not have to be mods - but so far have not been addressed.

 

Similar changes have been made in RoF by modders and transform SP Career into an almost very good game/simulation of WW1 combat, which it is not without mods.

 

Unfortunately it looks as though the possibility of adjusting SP to suit a range of tastes has been fatally undermined by the unlock driven business model. We cannot even use custom skins in Campaign mode....  

 

[Yakdriver]

I am curious... What kind of mods would you like to see made for BoS aside from objects and maps?

 

A general "you" not one directed at the previous poster....

textures... that's the first thing that comes to mind.

 

i for one would like to replace the "caponier" textures. The camouflage netting looks a bit too regular to me.

i would like to see a mod to randomize textures, for AI planes[markings!], for vehicles, for static (active/passive) objects random effects[variations] textures...

i would like to clean up the Russian windscreens - either dirty or poor quality, dunno.

effects textures - the white streak from the coolant leak looks wayyyy too white to me - like smoke from an airshow...

Pic of my GF on my Dashboard. fun stuff like that.

find a way to adjust the bumpmapping, having a go at metallic skins a la Mustang

repaint the GUI if somehow possible, get rid of the hangar textures and have new ones... too damn dark in there!

 

content:

naval and land units, guns, sounds, maybe planes- but only for offline mode (testing of betas before sending them off to the devteam for incorporation...)

[MarcoRossolini]

Tis a great and crying shame guys.

 

I'm no modder but I love trying out mods people create.

Rather saddened to say the least.

[voncrapenhauser]

Tis a great and crying shame guys.

 

I'm no modder but I love trying out mods people create.

Rather saddened to say the least.

Same here

[Livai]

I can answer that.  I had previously extracted the GTP files and these are the specific mods I was personally looking forward to producing:

• Better Briefings  Corrections and improvements to English language version of campaign briefings and notifications.  Such as replacing Action-Point phrase with more appropriate label.  More detailed/less terse briefing text.  Correcting the many spelling and grammatical errors like the Olegish, You have successfully took off etc. 
• Bf-109 Cockpit Textures    Improved texture for kick plates on cockpit floor.  Current texture has simulated weathering that does not match the contours of the component.
• Airfield textures and bump maps Gumrak and Pitomnik received extensive damage which is not shown in the game.   Improved textures to show recent craters and discolouration.  Modified bump maps to suggest older snow covered craters, vehicle and troop tracks through snow etc.
• Better Crater Textures  Replacing the almost jet-black crater textures with a lighter, more detailed replacement.
• Better Smoke Textures  Tone down the blue-black hollywood smoke.  Add more grey and brown suggest more organic fires.
• Expert Icons  Blank texture for aircraft icon.  Preventing the intrepid navigator from peeking at their true position on the map, even when pressing the I key.
• Troop animations  Tweaks to soldier running animation to make it look as if they are running from danger - not trotting towards the toilet with a full nappy.
• Sky Texture  Improved upper sky texture without the very obvious repeating stratus cloud stripe.

Unfortunately, it looks like none of this is possible now.  I really can't tell you how disappointed I am.

 

 

Cloud texture that I made for RoF. Performance Mods that improve the Performance with the same Image Quality and a lot other mods. Works great with BoS, tested today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yakdriver]

^^
provided you give them a bit more of a "WWII" themed look, i am game!

[yeikov]

Do you guys know which type of mods do work right now? I think some of the object mods in RoF work in mods-off, but don't know which ones (the site in under upgrade right now so cannot check...)

 

P.S. Tiger, you did it again? 

Edited February 20, 2015 by yeikov

[BlackDevil]

I really do hope they reconsider and add the mods-on mode to the game. Zak's message left me feeling like a teenager who's just been dumped by his girlfriend...

You should talk to devs with your list. Offline it should run anyhow. And they promised to support creative guys like you !

[beepee]

 

 

It may prove tricky to prove ones skill without being able to create or test a working mod to begin with.  I'd like to be able to use a mod creation version if at all possible.  I hope the oppurtunity might come in future.

 

We can live in hope.

 

I will continue to support the game, but this is disappointing to hear. 

[216th_Jordan]

Absolutely a big PLUS to Bearcat's post on the first page and Feathered's post on the 4th page!

 

Dear Devs, please reconsider,

in the end you have people creating excellent content for basically no money (aside from putting out a mods-on version)

with a lot of attention to detail and effort in it.

 

I'd see this as a core point in flightsim design.