Mods, Real Mods we need mods!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by WOLFHORS3, Jun 28, 2021.

  1. WOLFHORS3

    WOLFHORS3 Ensign

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    Dear Devs, Please do what ever you can to allow mods, real mods not building ships or scenarios. I know you know what I mean. This game needs mods, badly. I have over a thousand hours in gameplay. I love EGS.
    I am continually surprised at how many people have never heard of this game. IMHO this is one of the best survival rpg type games out there and the best Space survival game there is.
    But you need mods, mods like on the nexus mods, mods like skyrim, fallout and cyberpunk have (yes, I know the games don't HAVE them but they are modable) mods like, well you know what I mean. This would double or even triple your sales maybe even more. Why do you think they are still selling Skyrim and oblivion? MODS!
    Why do you think Bethesda allows mods? Because they love their customers? NO, because it makes them money! So in case you weren't getting it. I want you to allow mods and give modders the tools to mod your game.
     
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  2. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    I dont think its not allowed, its just not possible. The devs need to deliver the basecode, the coremechanics for the modders.
    Would like to know what is allready possible in this game.
    You can play around with some debuffs i think and modify them but when a modder want to make a new suit with a buff or debuff on it you need the basecode to support the bridge between wearing a cloth and apply a buff with it. So it goes with everything else, the game build the bridges and modders use them.

    Modding is mostly just using existing files which the game provides to get modified. When i see the content of Eden or "dont know the name" the other big mod everyone plays actually, there is nearly nothing. I watched some streams about it and there is absolute nothing that seems modded or extended or better or deeper. Just playing around wirth some numbers with the barely existing possibillitys the game supports to modify.

    Call the problem by the name: THERE IS NO CONTENT IN THIS GAME!
    The only content is to gather ressources to gather ressources more efficient to gather ressources even more efficient and at the point when you finally own all the ressources you ever dreamed you realize the game is over.
    There is no item in this game to find what feels like a lucky loot, a epic funny thing, a nice gadget, anything that makes it exciting to open lootcontainers. Everyone search and find the same some rare items.

    Call the problem by the name 2: THERE ARE NOT EVEN ENOUGH COREMECHANICS FOR MODDERS TO PLAY AROUND WITH!
    There is not even enough wine to dilute it with some more water aka´ stretch the existing content a bit more. Its allready streched and diluted to the max by default.

    Usually this mechanics come into the game while alphastage so you have to trust the devs there will be any deeper gamemechanic at all in the future. Because the release was just a anniversary thing and has nothing to do with the progress and state of the game.

    Maybe anytime a modder will do a thirdparty interface to implement new stuff into the game to make gamefiles editable but maybe not. But then you have to mod your game outside the workshop. Thats a other story.
     
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  3. IndigoWyrd

    IndigoWyrd Rear Admiral

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    You mean like the 10k+ Sleep-With-Anything mods? Or the One-Hit-One-Hundred-Kill Weapons mods?

    Wait, anyone actually admits to playing Fallout?

    There's a mod to stop Cyberpunk from crashing faster than it takes to open it?

    Aside from myself and a small handful of other modders from the Elder Scrolls universe, Bethesda doesn't make any money on our modwork. Yes, they took many of my original creations (openable/closable display cases (TES3: Morrowind), dismemberment/decapitation (TES4: Oblivion), and animated windmills (TES4: Oblivion), and reworked them into subsequent games. We were also aware they could and likely would do this, as it is in their EULA for the Construction Kit. But let's be real... even when the folks at Tameriel Rebuilt finish adding 1:1 Morrowind and Oblivion to TES5: Skyrim, there might be all of one person who rushes out to buy Skyrim to play their modwork.

    And developers don't generally create mods, they create DLC's. It's the community who typically does all the hard work putting mods together. If someone were to come to me and tell me "Hey, I bought Skyrim just so I could play your Skyrim: Jobs mod." I'd be flattered, and I'd send them a gift card to cover their purchase. I still haven't gotten that message yet.

    You've made a good list of Bethesda games built on the Gamebryo engine, an engine well-documented, with tons of resources available, from 3ds Max Import/Export utilities to vertex weight tables and plenty more - many of which were actually supplied to the modding community by Bethesda so we could build what we could imagine.

    Empyrion, on the other hand, is built on the Unity Engine. Vastly simpler than Gamebryo in many respects, but not as well documented, as Development teams pay for this documentation and are bound by contracts regarding what they can provide. Eleon has also done some customization to many parts of the engine that aren't going to be documented in anything except their own internal notes. This is nothing new or unusual, but it does pose more interesting challenges to any potential modders.

    That said, there are a number of mods already available, and more are being worked on even as this is written. Right now we are simply limited in scope of what we can create. As much as I'd love to drop in things like some level 30 tech to research, to allow for the creation of things like Active Motors, Rotors and Pistons, none of this will be possible any time soon. Likewise, while we can add block shapes, we cannot yet craft up something like "Flexible Blocks", which when combines with Motors, Rotors and Pistons, would enable us to free-construct things like walking Armored Mechs as a vehicle sub-class.

    Some day, in the future, perhaps this will be possible, along with other additions, such as Particle Systems, Caustics (even pseudo-caustics [see TES3: All That Glitters]), Reflections, Refractions, and custom animations and keybinds. And it's not that Unity can't handle these kinds of things - it can, and it's not a "feature" that is either enabled or disabled, it's a matter of what the community can do and what resources are available to them.

    When I created Skyrim: Jobs, I had to add quite a number of custom animations, all of which I had to create by use of motion capture, which for me, meant renting a Gypsy Wireless Motion Capture suit and either performing a number of actions myself, or using another actor to perform, then these had to be keyframed manually in 3ds Max, trimmed and integrated into the bones systems for NPC's. The majority of these sorts of things are beyond the scope of many seasoned modders, and the costs can be quite prohibitive. 3ds Max runs $1700 per year. Renting a Gypsy set me back a couple hundred bucks for a week. Given their "incredible low price" of $42,000 for the rig, I considered this a bargain (and no, just in case you're wondering, I did not rent this just to make some game mods - that was just something I did because I had access to the equipment). Modeling and animating have been hobbies of mine for well over 20 years, and something I do on the side to make a few extra bucks to support my other expensive hobbies like boating and golfing.

    So consider your request granted, because the capabilities do already exist without Eleon really having to do anything. Now we just need you to get to work and produce some mod content (preferably better than 80% of what's out there for Bethesda games. ok? ;-) ). Otherwise you're going to be at the mercy of the community to produce these, test and update these, and honestly, that's not really the best use of time at this point in time, as the game itself is still growing and evolving, which mean a lot of rewriting and reworking for mod makers. Just take a rough count of the number of ships that are out there in workshop land that haven't been so much as touched since things like CPU or Mass/Volume were added, and you'll have a pretty good idea why we're not up to our ears in mods at this point.
     
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  4. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

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    There actually is a lot possible using the current scenario mechanics. Project Eden and Reforged galaxy are constantly pushing the limits of what is possible in the game but ultimately we can't add new code, we can only use and modify what the devs have allowed access to.

    But even with the current limitations there is a LOT possible. Yes, it mostly has to be shared as a scenario instead of a modular mod system, but the mechanics are already there to do a lot more.

    There's a lot to do and find in project Eden and reforged Eden that you won't find in the default survival game.
     
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  5. ASTIC

    ASTIC Captain

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    The Reforged Eden project is the best example of what is possible - and expands the game by light years!!!!
    (Thanks to @ravien_ff and @Vermillion )

    If you then use the EmpyrionScripting (or play on a server that has that installed) you have something to do for another 1000h in the galaxy.
    And of course there are more extensions that only run in server mode.

    But of course it would be nice if Eleon would extend the ModAPI and the possibilities further.

    https://empyriononline.com/threads/mod-empyrion-scripting-mod.49290/
     
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  6. GoldDragon

    GoldDragon Captain

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    Depends on which Fallout you mean. I still play 3 and New Vegas, and 4 is still installed for me to get around to finishing the last DLC.
     
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  7. Rainbow Diamond

    Rainbow Diamond Ensign

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    First, Reforged and eden change the game in massive ways, just playing eden right now and it includes a way to get new technology's, weapons, armor, etc...if i didnt know any better, id say it was your typical mod. Honestly, i get the impression you havent even played either one of them, and if thats true, maybe you should spend some time playing them.

    Second, this is utterly disrespectful to the creator of those "scenarios" , who spend countless hours of their own time doing this for other people to enjoy. To blow it off as if they just slap together some number changes and throw it up on the workshop is so ignorant i would be embarrassed for you, if the arrogance of it didnt piss me off more.

    And so I feel that it is important to take this moment now to say a big thank you to the creators of Project Eden, and Reforged galaxy, most of us that play your content dont think its so simple and appreciate what you do and hope you will continue.

    Third, you are comparing a 20.00 game to a 60.00 game, more if you count in the DLC, which you should, most mods need most DLC's. You are comparing a gigantic game company to a small company. With context, you played thousands of hours, you got your moneys worth of entertainment and then some, they dont owe you anything. Personally, i have put more hours on Empryion then i have both skyrim and fallout 4 together, i also consider it a better game then most 60.00 games i have played.

    Fourth, making a game compatible to mods in the way you would like would require a lot of man power to a already small pool, i would personally rather see them continue to work on the game, as this game still has plenty of room to grow.

    And finally, games that have a lot of mods use that aspect to make **** content, fallout is a buggy disappointing game, Ark is a buggy disappointing game, and without mods, they wouldnt be worth the time to look at them, no less play, these games need the mod crutch, Empryion, while a little rough around the edges, can stand on its own, and for 20.00, its one hell of a deal.
     
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  8. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    This last paragraph is a direct contradiction of the rest of your post. By saying that RE/ RG change the game "in massive ways" is really trying to paint "ignorant" on all players who don't care for these scenarios (and others). The problem is that all scenarios and "mods" rely on the same core functions and widgets, and obviously the only things changing is text, some icons and events. There is no way to change core content to the extent explained, for example, by @IndigoWyrd in his long post just above yours on this thread.

    I can reasonably accept seeing fanboyism being thrown around for the main game, but I hardly see anything of value when players do it for second hand content which lays on top of the core game anyways.

    I, like a lot of other players, want the game I paid for to have more options, and I don't want pseudo-mod peddlers to try to convince others that some player made content on top of the core game can compensate for improvements made to the core game, and its modding capabilities overall.

    Long story short : if instead of Empyrion we were talking about Microsoft Paint, then the OP here is asking for more tools to be added to Paint, or for more ways to make the tools ourselves, and doesn't want to be told to "get the nice pictures X players made with Paint" instead. And by doing exactly this (in a rude manner) you show you just missed the whole point.

    .
     
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    Last edited: Jul 9, 2021
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  9. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

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    For example the next version of reforged galaxy is adding classes and the next version of project Eden is adding the start of a bounty system to hunt NPCs where they will respond to you by mail when you kill them.
     
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  10. WOLFHORS3

    WOLFHORS3 Ensign

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    @IndigoWyrd
    {You mean like the 10k+ Sleep-With-Anything mods? Or the One-Hit-One-Hundred-Kill Weapons mods?}
    Don't know those mods, where are they, the workshop?

    Fallout 3, 4 and new vegas absolutely...FO76 never

    I got CP2077 for half price for PC and it ran smooth as silk and looks great. I love that game and I am on my 2nd playthru. Sorry people had probs with it but I had ZERO issues with it.

    One of the reasons Skyrim and other modded games are still selling is the modding community and yes that's money in the bank for those companies/devs. Believe it or not the facts and figures are there, so I won't argue the point. There are hundreds of mods on Nexus for a lot of these games.

    Yes I am aware that modders create mods. The Devs have to allow it and provide some of the tools. As far as Empyrion being a unity game, I think there are lots of Unity games that are modded and said mods are available on the nexus. What I'm hearing from modders, and pardon if I paraphrase, and my understanding of what they are telling me is that the EGS devs, encrytpted, coded or somehow wrote the code in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to mod the game like other Unity games because they were afraid someone would steal their code, game or whatever.

    [That said, there are a number of mods already available,]

    Where are these mods? New block shapes and block textures would be very cool and something akin to what I'm talking about but I've seen none.

    [So consider your request granted]
    Nope not granted. I want charcter model mods, added creatures, etc etc But thanks for your reply and the time and effort you put into it. One of us is misinformed about how and why there aren't ways to mod the game like you can FO and Skyrim. And if I knew how to code I would def make some mods but I wholly support the modding community and the modders that put so much time and effort into their mods.
    I want to make sure I am clear. I am not saying that modders are the reason we don't have mods for EGS. That lies directly at the feet of EGS devs.


    @Kassonnade
    Thank you, that's what I'm saying

    @Rainbow Diamond
    I apologize for upsetting you. I did not mean to, in anyway, to disrespect workshop creators. Just to build a decent ship can take hours and hours of hard work, I can't even imagine how much work goes into Scenarios. However if you create it in the game itself then that's not the "type" of mod I'm referring to and probably not something the modding communtiy would consider modding. Really just a case of semantics. Both take time and hard work but they are two completely different things.
    BTW it doesn't take a ton manpower to make the game compatible with mods, they TOOK a ton of manpower to MAKE it incompatible with mods. That's what I'm being told by the modding community. EGS devs were afraid someone, maybe modders, would steal their game.
    I'm not sure what "arrogance" you're talking about. I'm asking for something. Creating Scenarios, ship, bases and etc. within the confines of the game mechanics is just not the same animal as the type of mods I'm talking about. I have even had some modders become triggered when I mentioned the EGS workshop "mods".
    So I'm just trying to define the fact that the workshop mods are NOT what I'm talking about.
    And finally when you say that the "other" mods are just **** content that seems a little disrespectful and arrogant towards the entire modding community. I have played morrowwind, skyrim, FO3, Fo4, FONV, grounded and NMS to name just a few. I was able to mod all of them.
    The content that the modders provided for free has fixed, enhanced or expanded all of those games. It used to be when you bought a game and played it and thought "gee I wish it had this or I could do that" it was just a wish. Now modders give us that abillity.

    @ravien_ff
    I'm sure that's an awesome addition to the game but if it's something you make USING the game mechanics then it's not really wat I'm talking about.

    Finally, I'm not sure why get people so angry about this. Obviously workshop created content is not the same as mods you find on Nexus for SKyrim,FO, surviving mars etc etc etc. I just want that for EGS which is one of Fav all time games. I love it. I love the workshop content.
    I just want my fav game to have the same advantages those other games do. And believe it or not Devs,it would be awesome for your game and your wallet if you made this possible with EGS.
    Thanks guys for your time and sorry to anyone I triggered. I'm out!
     
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  11. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

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    Most mods are using the mechanics of whatever game they are modding in. I wish Empyrion had the same modding capabilities to add new things like you see from other games such as Space Engineers or Avorion, but it doesn't. Even adding new NPCs or block textures would, ultimately, still be using the game's mechanics. Most mods do not write their own code, and even the ones that do are usually limited by whatever mod capabilities the developers themselves add since you will almost never have access to the game's base code.

    Scenarios are modding, it's just done in a clunky, awkward, and limited way. I wish we could add custom turrets, NPCs, gravity generators, constructors, weather effects, block shapes and textures, terrain stamps, etc, but all of those things would still be making use of the game's base mechanics. They would require no programming and no access to the game's source code. Something that almost no game offers access to. Not even Avorion or Space Engineers allows you access to the source code, and attempting to access it is often a breach of your license agreements and may even be illegal and grounds for civil or criminal action.

    I can't believe that I have to say this but: unless it's open source and/or you otherwise have permission to access and modify a game's source code, you are not allowed to do so. And almost no game will allow this.
    Not only can it be theft, but also a security risk. Most games that allow modding either involve specific mod functions the developers allow you access to, or they use viewable editable configuration files where you can change things out.

    Again, I want to stress that I do want more modding capabilities, but adding new block shapes or textures or NPC models doesn't require access to the source code, it requires the developers to give us access to adding those things and that does require work on their end. I hope they do this, I think it's really important to the game.
     
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  12. WOLFHORS3

    WOLFHORS3 Ensign

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    Oh for the love of... OKAY FINE! They are all mods! workshop content and mods on Nexus are EXACTLY the same thing. I give TF up! Oh and modding apparently is now stealing LMAO. WTF is wrong with people. Goodbye, I'll try to get an answer somewhere else without the philosophical discussion of what IS a mod. Anyone who doesn't understand what I'm talking about and wants to make the point "there are already mods in the game" either doesn't want to understand or is too stupid to understand. This has been an eye opening hoot. XD
     
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  13. ASTIC

    ASTIC Captain

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    @WOLFHORS3 Of course we would like to have more possibilities for modding like in other games. But the problem is that few have the time, skills and commitment to build GOOD mods. On the scenario side there are @ravien_ff and @Vermillion and on the API side I am the only one who makes complex (and working) mods publicly available and maintains them over the time - with an enormous effort.

    And so please at least take what is there without reaching for the stars, which the MUCH smaller community of Empyrion can't exploit anyway.
     
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  14. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    Spot on. We're on the same page here.

    Some people around here really do enjoy trying to exploit other player's lack of knowledge to stuff them with their BS. I'm not going to take his whole post apart but ravienff has a nasty habit of doing this when he feels he can push for his damn scenario to get some more clicks. And that's about the only thing that matters now when reading his last message, mixing up all kinds of things and sticking the "MODS" sticker on them all equally.

    Don't waste your time here, you'll only get more of the same. Stay tuned for some more tricks Eleon might allow us to do in the future, as they often mentioned "not planned BUT..." and they might create some openings later on to make not only custom models but also customize the scripts that drive the gameobjects.

    This "source code" BS has nothing to do with the topic. When making models with 3d software then using Unity to pack them into game assets, this is very far from "using game mechanics" so you can see right here how someone is trying to mislead you. Why he's doing so is the big question. And it's not the first time I see this.

    Like @ASTIC wrote there's the API, and there are scenarios, and then you saw there is .ecf file tweaking, and we can add custom stamps even if ravienff says "no" and ... well just a bunch of things here that allow to change many aspects of the game, but this becomes more semantics. Not going into this, you got the whole point quite well the first time.

    .
     
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    Last edited: Jul 12, 2021
  15. ravien_ff

    ravien_ff Rear Admiral

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    Well thanks for coming here, insulting everyone, then leaving.
     
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  16. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    What are the awesome feature of Reforged and Eden.
    I read here: actually is a lot possible using the current scenario, pushing the limits and alot, a lot, alot, change the game in massive ways, and expands the game by light years!!!!

    Just to explain my understanding of this words:
    I as example 7days2die i would use the same arguments like pushing the limits and improves it massive. There are complete new worlds, 40 different cars modpacks, bosszombies, complete new zombiemechanics created, tons of every weapon you like, attackhelicopters, new quests, new items, new workstations, new MODELS, and much more even NPC are added. There are model packs with hundreds of models to use ingame.

    Thats just what i remember instanly. This is what i would call a massive improvement to the game and pushing it by lightyears.

    I just wondering what is new in reforged and eden. I watched some streams, not to much but i have seen absolutely nothing new. Thats why my question. What did i miss?

    edit: like anyone mentioned here its offensive against actual modmakers. This is no critic to them with their for sure epic work. Everyone loves their stuff it seems. My critic is adressed to the devs dont give this motivated guys some proper possibillitys.
    Modmakers, mods, admins and staffmembers sacrifice a lot of their lifetime and heart to improve your experience with the game and community. All honor to you guys!
     
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    Last edited: Jul 12, 2021
  17. IndigoWyrd

    IndigoWyrd Rear Admiral

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    @Kassonnade : https://empyriononline.com/threads/modding-models-for-blocks.96541/page-6#post-437173
    You should be aware of this, since you posted in this thread. It covers custom models rather in-depth.

    There are limits to what we can, or are allowed to do, so I've said pretty much everything I'll say on this subject.

    It is possible, depending on what kind of licensing agreements are involved with Unity, that we will be given more tools. It is also possible Eleon either cannot or will choose not to release these to us. It's out of our control.

    Will we ever have something like The Creation Kit? No, because that is part of Bethesda's Creation Engine, which is a derivative of the Gamebryo engine, which itself was derived from the NetImmerse Engine.

    Will Eleon develop their own version? That will depend on what their licensing allows - I've never built anything using Unity, so I cannot speak on their licensing agreements. Even if they are permitted though, there's no guarantee they'll release anything of this nature. We have a handful of tools right now - they may be all we ever get, or we may get a lot more - HOWEVER, and this is perhaps one of the most important things far too many people want to forget about:

    Empyrion is not a "final release" game at this stage. It is still very much in development, still growing and changing, and it is entirely possible that whatever the final release version is, will be different than what we have right now, and user-made mods may loose compatibility, even irreparably - which is why I have not, to this point, put any effort into mod-making.

    But the foundation support for it IS already present in the game, as shown in the thread above.
     
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  18. IndigoWyrd

    IndigoWyrd Rear Admiral

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    Well, I mean in general - I can find someone who decries each version as "the worst thing ever" with minimal effort. I've never actually played any of them - but to be fair, they're not really of a genre I prefer, so there is that.
     
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  19. IndigoWyrd

    IndigoWyrd Rear Admiral

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    Skyrim Nexus. I've tried browsing through the Steam Workshop for things Skyrim, and I only walk away disappointed. I find it messy, disorganized and with no idea what Filters or Categories mean.

    Here's one of thousands of examples of over-statted weapons: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop...ection=readytouseitems&requiredtags[]=Weapons

    There's another 9,999+ where that came from though.

    Oh, and Companions... there's at least 100k of those too.
     
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  20. IndigoWyrd

    IndigoWyrd Rear Admiral

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    As part of "Everyone" I am not insulted. It would take considerably more effort and ability to actually insult me though.
     
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