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Ah, the yearly ritual continues. Bethesda makes a game that needs bug fixing, let's the players fix it with mods, then B tries getting players to pay for the mods in the hopes they can finally charge money for mods that are needed to fix the game.
Classic Todd. Can't wait until he quits making games. Bethesda might actually use a new game engine besides the Creation Engine.
Just call it what it really is: Gamebryo.
The Creation Engine is not bad. It's very purpose built for RPGs and has all the frameworks for worlds, NPC AI behaviour, quests, dialogue trees etc already in it.
It also has in-built support for creating addons, which is why the modding scene is so robust.
You should install the Creation Kit on Steam to check it out.
Imo it’s not about having a new engine, it’s that they don’t make enough changes to it and it’s very apparent. On launch, their games are some of the most lackluster games visually. I remember the update from Skyrim to fallout was just that they added god rays to the engine, that was basically the only difference.
Then Fallout 76 came out and not only was it extremely ill equipped for multiplayer and online, but graphically the game suffered.
Then we talk about the quest systems in the engine, and that’s great and all, but the quest systems haven’t been fundamentally updated since Oblivion came out. Go play any other RPG, they’re running circles around Bethesda in quest design.
What’s worse is that Starfield was met with mixed reviews and showcased their inability to modernize their engine with the loading screen problem. So ES6 is set up to make or break Bethesda.
What you described are game design issues. The art is always only as good as the artist who makes it and the Bethesda game design team are not very good (or perhaps Todd is a mediocre director since he is directly responsible for almost all aspects of the game).
If you see how ENB and Sweetfx enhance the visuals you know that the engine is capable of much more. There is a mod called Enderal which is a total conversion of Skyrim that uses the same engine but improves the visual in almost all aspects: better models, better post processing, new game mechanics, etc. There is also a team working on porting Vampire The Masquerade Redemption to the Skyrim engine with all new assets (guns, etc).
So basically Bethesda games being mediocre is due to a mediocre team and direction. Even if they start using Unreal their games will still be mediocre.
Edit: Before someone points it out, I know that ENB is not a part of the Creation Engine, but an external postprocessor that hooks into the DirectX API and modifies the rendered output. I was just saying that Bethesda could use something like this to enhance the lacklustre visuals but they deliberately chose not to perhaps due to their artistic vision for the game.
This is sort’ve true but post processing isn’t where the game struggles per se. Both Skyrim and Fallout 4 lacked LOD lighting and featured prominent Z-fighting of many textures, that’s an inherent way that the LODs are calculated in the engine.
So most of what I’m talking about like lackluster quest design and poor visuals aren’t unfixable by the engine, but they’re direct results of developing using it. The quest structures are mostly the same as they have been for decades.
And yes, they could easily code something like an ENB mod but they just don’t. They’re so bad at this in fact that they can’t even get proper anti-aliasing working. If I remember right, Fallout used TAA and it was so awful that I preferred a 3rd party FXAA to their solution.
Also to be fair, ENB is similar to other graphics injectors which aren’t new on the block but you dont really want to use an injector so they’d have to code something like an ENB into their DLL and that would affect the engine so they don’t do it. It needs a big update to add stuff like that and this will be the third game they haven’t bothered to significantly change it.
Makes sense. Though I would still rather they not abandon the Creation Engine and improve its underlying technical features. The modding community has more than a decade of experience with its underlying subsystems and what actually contributes to the robust modding scene of Bethesda's games.
Idk, last time they pulled this it was at least a game people liked. What's their angle here?
We didn't like it last time, and absolutely nothing has changed.
And here we go again. Who had 'paid mods' on their bingo card this time?
I mean, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone considering they've been doing the whole paid mod thing for a good while now with Skyrim and FO4.
I know. Don't go forgetting Oblivion now 😉 Luckily, I'm not one of the people stupid enough to buy their defective shovelware anymore.
What I've learned from this thread is that bingo spot must be the FREE spot in the middle of every board lol
Pretty much. They've done it so many times now that it can't even be considered a bet to expect it at the release of one of their games.
The best part is that the free mods will end up being better anyway.
It's like Todd is an infant without object permanence.
How many times are they going to try this shit?
Every time
A-fucking-gain?
Did the shitstorm that happened last time teach Bethesda nothing?
What am I saying, no, of course it didn't.
Feels ritualistic at this point.
Bethesda does the thing; gamers and modders do the thing. Bethesda says, "Whoops!" We all laugh.
Only difference this time is it feels like 76 has been out longer than when they usually try this.
They definitely did learn. They learned that they could charge for mods and people, sadly, will pay. They’ve learned that they can make more money by paywalling what should be essential patches and bugfixes. They learned that the average gamer is willing to be fleeced. They learned that they can run an IP into the ground and still extract maximum cash from it.
They’ve learned. They just didn’t learn the lesson that we here on Lemmy wanted them to learn. That’s a sad fact of being part of a minority community.
Last time Bethesda just moved then out of steam and made money off of them on their own platform.
To be fair, it's a pretty common play. Company makes unpopular decision, walks it back, tries again a little later once the novelty has worn off and the MSM doesn't care to pick it up again.
I think this particular move is pretty ballsy with how egregious it is (especially considering that starfield didn't do anything particularly outstanding to overshadow it), but I don't doubt they'll try it again. If people keep buying their games, where's the risk? At worst they'll still get a few dollars from those who, for whatever reason, buy it, and then it's forgotten by the next time a game comes out.
Bugthesda. Bugthesda never changes.
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live service game launch | Paid mods offered | Exclusive title goes multi-platform | Game delays announcement | Microtransaction controversy |
| Hyped game under-delivers | Free-to-play game launch | Studio acquisition by big company | Annual sports game update | Game shuts down servers |
| Battle royale mode added | Remastered version of old game | New console hardware rumor | Cross-play feature added | Esports tournament scandal |
| Celebrity endorsement | Game leaks before official reveal | "Surprise" loot boxes backlash | VR game release | Mobile version of popular game |
| Season pass sold before release | Crowdfunding campaign for game | Game streaming service launch | "Early Access" game stays in beta for years | Influencer caught in controversy |
It’s not just the fact they are paid but also they removed part of a quest, paywalled it for a lot and you still need to buy the rest of the quest not out yet!
Did someone make paid horse armor yet? Lol
I have nothing against supporting paid mods, if the modder wants it to be monetized. It should be the decision of the modder. Not everything must be free of charge. As long as the modder can decide it.
That's what "buy me a coffee/beer" and commissions are for. Not Todd Howards attempt to skim the mod community.
If Bethesda created a paid mod market where creators could charge for access and Bethesda only took a super nominal amount of those payments to cover transaction fees (say, 2-3%) I would so be in favour of that. I love the idea of passionate creators being rewarded for their work, and frankly it could (and should) create a new employee pipeline for them.
Sadly though, then Bethesda might make 0.01875% less profit this quarter than they did last quarter, which these days is the death knell of the capitalistic venture.
Wait wait wait, someone got a free coffee from OUR game? This should be my coffee, i want coffee too. Tod Howard probably
Howard, "We make money off the game sales and the mods that people make. It just works!"
Exactly. I was extremely disappointed in the community reaction when Steam was going to implement the option for modders to get paid. Instead of focusing on the legitimate issues with the proposal (pay ratios were off, mod dependencies and ripoffs need to be addressed) it boiled down to "rah, I don't want to pay for things I didn't used to, rah. Real modders give me stuff for free."
I think we're missing out by not having this as an option. Modding can provide a good stepping stone into full game development, and if people can earn money for their work, they can justify spending more time on it or potentially even doing it full time.
I think we’re missing out by not having this as an option. Modding can provide a good stepping stone into full game development, and if people can earn money for their work, they can justify spending more time on it or potentially even doing it full time.
Yes. Those who don't want to monetize their work (which is actually respectable) would standout even more. In example there could be two versions, one free version and one paid version with a few little extras to support the developers. This is a way to handle paid software even in Open Source, in example on Android where such a payment system is integrated.
There is no need to have an account on a different platform, so I can support the developer, and another account for another platform that wants my bank accounts. I speak about patreon and and the likes. It's all here, with my Steam account and money from Steam.