A new "modern camera" mod is now available for Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room on PC.
Modder ZealotTormunds has developed a mod that gives Silent Hill players both a first-person perspective and a more contemporary over-the-shoulder camera.
Both Silent Hill 3 and 4 typically use fixed camera angles. By freeing up these locked perspectives, Zealot provides players with the chance to get a closer look at the game's textures, enemies, and environments.
Last week, the Xitter account for H2M - a mod aiming to recreate the heyday of classic Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer inside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - announced that they had received a cease and desist from Activision Blizzard, and would shut down the project. The 2022 version of Modern Warfare 2 lacked the original’s multiplayer, and H2M was so highly-anticipated that Steam sales of the 2016 FPS balooned in the lead-up to the mod’s planned release date. It didn't hurt that Activision had it on sale, of course, but the timing lined up so well that some fans speculated the discount was a deliberate bait-and-switch on the publisher’s part to profit from excitement over a mod they were already planning to shut down.
Last week, the Xitter account for H2M - a mod aiming to recreate the heyday of classic Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer inside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - announced that they had received a cease and desist from Activision Blizzard, and would shut down the project. The 2022 version of Modern Warfare 2 lacked the original’s multiplayer, and H2M was so highly-anticipated that Steam sales of the 2016 FPS balooned in the lead-up to the mod’s planned release date. It didn't hurt that Activision had it on sale, of course, but the timing lined up so well that some fans speculated the discount was a deliberate bait-and-switch on the publisher’s part to profit from excitement over a mod they were already planning to shut down.
Some game genres are so rare, it’s a miracle when a new game releases in that style. I personally call this genre: stealth tactics. The actual genre is Real-Time Tactics, but I find that name doesn’t really cover this (sub)genre. If you have ever played games like: Commando’s, Desperados, Robin Hood – The Legend of Sherwood or Shadow Tactics… You know what sort of game I’m talking about. A game features a rag tag group of heroes. Each hero has unique abilities. They must get through big groups of enemies. They do this one by one to progress the group’s goals. The game I want to talk about today is called Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. This was the last game by the studio Mimimi. Is this game the swansong to close down this studio, or is it a game that’s better left forgotten? Before that, I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section down below. A comment with your thoughts and/or opinions on the game and/or the content of the article.
Promises of amazing treasure
In this game, you play as the crew of a special pirate ship named the Red Marley. Each main member of the crew has a black pearl in their chest, granting them unique supernatural abilities. These unique abilities come at a cost of being cursed to a sort of undead status.
The Red Marley’s captain fell in battle, and now the Inquisition is after the biggest treasure of the ship. Now, the Red Marley’s crew doesn’t want this to happen. So they do everything in their power to avoid this from happening.
The story in this game doesn’t take itself too seriously. The story is written like it’s a Saturday morning cartoon. A story arc can be contained in one or a handful of episodes, but always has an ending. While almost everything in the story ends well for the main cast, the story and writing never looses its charm. I felt like I was transported back into the time I woke up for the weekly Pokémon episode. I knew that the main problem of that week’s episode would resolve by the end. Still, I kept rooting for the heroes.
One of the biggest reasons I kept rooting for the main characters is because of the voice actors. Their performances are extremely well done. They bring a lot of personality and life to each character. They make the characters stand out like real, actual people. This script must have been immense, since the characters sometimes react on the actions you preform with other characters. There are 8 main characters, and more if you buy the DLC packs. If you start counting how many unique voice lines that bring to the table… And that’s the tip of the iceberg. The enemies for example, when they come together also have unique dialogue between them.
It’s possible to write an article by itself about the world building, story and voice acting in this game. I can also assure you that when I write this article, I’ll keep gushing about it all. A great example is how the save & load function fits into the story. It enhances the world of this game. Yes, you read that correctly. When you save, you store a memory in the Red Marley. When you load one of your saves, the Red Marley uses its powers to restore that memory. Your characters also respond to your saving and loading action and this brings even more charm to this game.
In these types of games, the replay value is quite high. Especially since you tackle all missions in various ways and each playthrough is going to be different. In this game, it’s taken even a step further. You can choose the order to revive your crew. You can also choose the order to finish the missions of that chapter. I can assure you that your playthrough will look nothing like mine.
The main quest is quite enjoyable to play through. I actually became really immersed in the world of this game. At the moment, I’m playing through the final missions of the game and the DLC missions. I’m having a blast. Thankfully, I can easily start a new playthrough of this game. Then I can experience it all of it over again and take a totally different route. And maybe I can do the little side quests and pirate tales as well. Since, that’s content, I haven’t gone into too much yet.
Your playthrough of this game will take you somewhere between 27 to 37 hours. That is, if you want to beat the main story and DLC’s. But, if you want to fully finish this game… Oh boy, then you’ll have a game that’s close to 80 hours on your hands. I already mentioned the crew tales. But there are also mini-challenges you can go for during the missions to earn badges. Let’s not forget the achievements you can earn. Well, most of the achievements are related to the main campaign.
Now, I have one complaint about the badges in this game. Earning some of these badges is extremely tricky. Sometimes, you don’t get all the information you expect to. For example, there is a badge on each map for using all the landing spots of that map. But guess what, there is no easy way to see if you already used a landing spot or not. It’s a shame that some badges work like that. Especially since some of these badges make you go out of your way to play in an unique way. A more challenging way to spice up your normal routine.
Apart from bragging trophies, these medals don’t really add up to much. But, I honestly don’t really mind that. Since, it’s fun to gather these medals and have some bonus challanges during my playthrough. It keeps me on my toes and it’s really enjoyable.
Mindblowing abilities
I’m still quite impressed at how balanced this game is. Each character has their own unique abilities. It’s best that you always have a character with an ability that can move guards from their position. If you don’t have that, the game will actually warn you. You are going to make it extremely challenging for yourself.
Personally, I’m playing through this game on the normal difficulty setting and your decisions actually matter. Before starting each mission, study the map well. Try to remember each map as well as you can. Since you are going to revisit each map at least once or twice. It’s extremely important to choose the correct landing position.
You would think that the game will be a bit boring if you always bring the same crew into missions. But, the game rewards you using different characters for missions. You gain more vigor if you play with certain crew members during certain missions. If you earned enough vigor, you can upgrade one of the unique abilities of your characters. This upgrade will give you more and better tools in your arsenal. Now, these upgrades can make the game much easier. You can always turn off the upgrades while on the Red Marley.
In the introduction paragraph of this article, I quickly explained how this game works. So, let me tell you the gist of it. In this game, you go from mission to mission, completing various goals in each one. These goals can range for example from rescuing an informant or stealing an artifact. In each mission, there are various enemies patrolling the area. Your goal is to find the weakspots in their patrols and dispose of the enemies without getting spotted.
Now, getting spotted isn’t the end of the world in this game. Depending on where you are spotted, it’s possible to escape and hide somewhere. You just have to avoid taking damage, since your health is limited, and you can’t heal during the mission. If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to get swamped or overwhelmed with guards. Especially when a guard with a bell spots you, the traces you leave behind or sees a dead body. When this happens, you have a limited amount of time to kill that guard before the bell is rung. When the bell is rung, more guards will emerge from nearby barracks and swarm to the location.
On top of that, there are also some unique enemy types outside your regular patrol goons. The first type I want to talk are the Kindred. These annoying buggers bring something quite unique to the table in this genre. Kindred are always connected with each other. If you don’t kill these all at the same time, they will revive each other. But, this is only the start of your troubles.
You also have Prognosticar. And let me tell you, these are even more challenging. To defeat these enemies, you need to have two units ready. One unit needs to be spotted or attack the Prognosticar. Since as soon as that happens, your unit gets trapped. This trap will go on and damage your unit until the unit either dies or is rescued. When the Prognosticar is using his trap, he can be attacked and killed. But do it quick. The trap is damaging your unit. You are also stuck in place. This situation is dangerous.
It also matters if the mission is taking place during day or night. The big difference is that in the daytime, the enemies have a bigger field of view. During the nighttime, some enemies will carry a torch on their patrol. This gives more light to other units. They can spot you sneaking by if you aren’t careful. There are also various torches dotted around the map, and you can put them out. The enemies can’t stand torches that are put out and will go out of their way to light them again.
It’s also important to know if an enemy stops in their patrol to talk to another enemy. Since if you kill one of them, the other enemy will start looking for them. They will start running around and if you weren’t careful, will find your tracks and spot you.
Learning those little mechanics is essential in this game. Never forget the tools you have in this game! This ranges from the abilities of each character to how for example view cones work. There is something called view cone surfing. If you want to dash to another place past some enemies… Understand that a full color in the view cone means they will spot you right away. Stripped sections of the view cone will cause you to be unseen if you crawl by. Also, it takes a few moments of you being spotted and the alarm being raised. You can run quickly enough past an enemy. Alternatively, you can run from view cone to view cone. It’s possible to get past unseen.
If you are afraid that you will get overwhelmed by all the information of all the little mechanics, don’t worry. The difficulty curve in this game is perfect. This game also has solid character tutorials. Each character tutorial guides you through 2–3 rooms, teaching you the abilities of each ability and their unique use cases. At the end of each character tutorial, you get a puzzle room. Putting to the test if you can use that character correctly. During the game, you can always open your logbook from the pause menu, where all tutorials can be watched again.
This brings me to the abilities of your characters in this game. If you have played similar games, you’ll recognize certain abilities and others will be quite new and unique. Now, some of these abilities will have a unique spin to it. For example, your sniper only has one shot. But, when you retrieve your sniper bolt… Your sniper can shoot again.
There are also extremely unique mechanics, like your Canoness has very fun abilities. She can pick up dead bodies in her canon to launch them at enemies to knock them out. But, you can also pick up allies. You can fling them over a group of enemies. This will give them a better hiding spot. Or your Ship Doctor, she can create one hiding spot out of thin air. Or your navigator, she can stop time for one enemy, allowing you to easy sneak by. And your ship cook can throw a special doll. This doll allows him to teleport to that location. He does this as soon as you click the button. Oh, and if you place that doll on an enemy, it sticks to that enemy.
You might be annoyed that I somewhat spoiled things in the above paragraph. But I have only told the tip of the iceberg here. I have left out several characters in that little summary and they have mindblowing abilities as well. Each map is created in such a way that it doesn’t really matter which characters you take into battle. Since you can finish it using any of your characters.
The Swansong of Mimimi
When Klamath and I started streaming Commandos, I wanted to play a similar game. One I haven’t played through. Since I first started playing through Desperados III again, and that was beaten in a few days. Since, I really enjoyed Desperados III, I bought the next game from the studio.
As somebody who enjoyed Desperados III quite a lot, I was happy to see things return in this game. I can’t tell you how much I love the speed up button. While I wish you can adjust the speed of it… The slow wait can be annoying. Sometimes, you have to get an enemy right where you want them. On top of that, you also have the showdown mode. With the press of a button, you can stop time and plan out your units their next move. Once you press the enter key, either still in showdown mode or not, the actions will be executed. It still feels amazing when you execute a well timed attack to take out difficult set of enemies.
Something that’s extremely useful is how you can rotate the camera in this game. Sometimes an enemy walks behind a building or some rocks… So, if you can’t rotate the camera, you wonder from where you are taking damage. Also, the ability of outlining the enemies, ladders and hiding spots help with that as well. As you can see from my screenshots, I always play with that feature enabled.
Sadly, there are a few ladders that don’t get an outline. Most likely since the developers forgot to put a certain tag on them. I remember one in Angler’s Grave, at the top right. It’s not too far from one of the mission objectives, the informant. Thankfully, these very minor oversights rarely happen. Overall, this game is extremely solid and blast to play through.
The controls are extremely solid. I had to get used to one thing. To execute certain actions, I had to hold the left mouse button instead of just clicking. This sometimes tripped me up but a quick reload fixed that problem. I only have one minor complaint about the controls. Depending on the camera angle, there were rare moments where your character refused to go to a location. I suspect it has to do with where you click. Your unit always wants to look for the shortest way to reach where you click. Sadly, this trips something up in the pathfinding and your unti refuses to go to their destination. Thankfully, a quick camera movement can fix these moments. And also, I’m glad that these moments are quite rare.
Something that’s even more rare are some minor visual bugs that can happen sometimes. Sometimes an UI-element refuses to dissapear. I had that happen twice, when I shot an enemy holding down an exit rift with the Canoness. The stars indicated that the enemy was dizzy. They hovered above the enemy’s head after the rift opened. Even after I killed the enemy, these stars remained visible. There are sometimes minor visual bugs happening like that. Thankfully, they are extremely rare and sometimes are quite funny. One time, one of my units was standing perpendicular on a ladder when I stopped it going up the ladder. The only annoying bug was that I couldn’t retrieve two bodies. They lay in a remote part of Angler’s Grave. It was almost impossible to get rid of two bodies. Maybe, it’s possible. I don’t know, I honestly gave up and earned the badge of hiding bodies on a later revist.
In such a big game it’s to be expected that sometimes things can go wrong. But it surprises me how little goes wrong and how polished the overall game is. Scrolling through the patch notes of this game, I noticed that the developers fixed many issues. They also added a lot of new content to the game. The last update to the game was even a modding tool for this game. These mods go from chaging your character models to adding new maps. I think I’ll play around with the mods after I have fully beaten the game. I’m extremely close, since I’m in the final missions of the game.
Now, earlier I talked about the UI. The UI is quite easy and helpful. There are several unique icons to inform you where certain things are. For example, where you left the paper doll when using the ship cook. There is only one thing in the UI I dislike. And that’s the list of save games. You get a little screenshot of the location of the save and a time stamp. And that’s it. You can’t give a special name or note to them. So if you are looking for a certain save… you either need to make notes OR just go through all them until you het it.
It’s the only real complaint I can give about this game. There is just a lot that this game does right. Like how you can scroll to zoom in or out. When you scroll again at the max zoom level, you see a live map. This map shows where all the enemies are. The only minor complaint I have about the map is that ammo chests aren’t marked on there. Also, quick note on the ammo chests… Almost every character has the same visual for their gun. Now, if another visual appears above the ammo chest, it doesn’t matter. The ammo chests are never character specific.
Visually, this game looks breathtaking. The attention to detail in this world gets a big thumbs up from me. The world really feels alive and somewhat real. The little animation details for example when an enemy stops at a prison cell to talk to inmates… This is just amazing. The immersion level is even higher with that.
The soundtrack is very catchy and a joy to listen to. It made certain moments in the game even more thrilling. The music has been created by Filippo Beck Peccoz, he also created the music for Desperados III. The soundtrack really fits the game like a glove. I’m so glad I bought the soundtrack DLC,. Now I can add the music to my music library to play while I’m at my dayjob.
This brings me to the sound design of this game. The sound design of this game is amazing. I’m playing this game with a good headset and I don’t think this game is playable without sound effects. A great example is, when you get spotted. You not only get a great visual hint of a yellow line turning red of the enemy spotting you… You also get some sound effects informing you that things are about to go down. On top of that, the sound effects add so much extra impact on taking down enemies. This makes it even more rewarding when you finally take down that one pesky enemy.
One thing I haven’t talked about yet is how flexible this game is. I have touched upon that by talking about how you can only choose three out of 8 characters per mission. And you are encouraged to experiment with different combinations. Now, when you open the options menu, you’ll be blown away. You can change almost everything. The controls like the shortcuts for abilities can be tweaked to your liking. You have quite a lot of control to tweak the volumes, the controls, the visuals… Even tweak certain game mechanics to your liking. Don’t like the save reminder? You can turn that off.
There is still another thing that boggles my mind that was added in this game. You can create a custom difficulty. The only complaint I have there is that the UI fails to explain the differences. I find it challenging to understand all the settings. You get a short explaination about the setting, and then you have a slider you can set. But, what’s the difference between 1 and 2 on the slider? That’s something the UI doesn’t really tell.
When I was writing this article, I kept looking at my notes and thought: “Oh, I forgot about that.”. There are just so many things in this game. The fact that in some missions, you must kill enemies in unique ways. In one mission, you have to lure enemies to a certain location. You need to do this 4 times. You do this instead of killing them. It’s a breath of fresh air. You’d think that having only a handful of maps would make this game boring and repetitive, but no. The maps are not only large but also used in extremely interesting ways. Revisits of a map make it easier to start, but each area is used in a mission. So, there is still a lot of challenge in the revisits.
Oh, there is one more thing. The question if you should buy the DLC’s or not. Let me just tell you this, I bought the game on sale with the DLC’s included. I’m so happy I did! Since the additional content in the DLC’s adds so much more to this game. They come highly recommended.
Now, I have left out a few things for you all to find while playing this game. This article is already getting quite long. I want to leave some things as a surprise for people interested in playing this game. I think it’s high time to wrap up this review and give my conclusion and final thoughts on this game.
Conclusion of this treasure hunt
The negatives:
-Unable to add notes to quick saves. -Some minor (visual) glitches can happen. Thankfully, they are rare and rarely/never gamebreaking. -The UI of custom difficulty could have been executed better.
The positives:
+ A masterclass in it’s genre in terms of gameplay. + Extremely flexible with options. + A modding tool. + A love-able cartoony story. + Amazing voice over work. + Superb soundtrack. + …
Final thoughts:
When I started playing Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, I had extremely high expectations. Mimimi blew me away with the amazing Desperados III. With this swansong of a game, they not only met my expectations, they blew them out of the water. This game showcases the achievements of passionate people. These individuals are dedicated to creating the game they love.
It didn’t take long before I fell in love with the cast of this game. The charm drew me into the world of this game. Apart from some minor things, it’s hard to find things to critique about this game. The only thing I can critique are small bugs that barely impact the gameplay of this game. This game really feels like a finished product and it’s a thrill ride from start to finish.
If you really want to find things this game does wrong… You’ll either need to be extremely nitpicky or just have the game not clicking with you. If you find this game too easy or too difficult, just tweak the setttings to your playstyle and voila.
If you enjoy games like Commandos or Desperados… You’d do yourself a disservice to not check out this game. Give the demo of this game a try, and see what you think. I wouldn’t be surprised that this game sinks it’s hook into you like it did with me.
It’s a shame to see that this game studio closes. Thank you to everybody who worked on this amazing title and I hope to meet your work in other games. This final game you all created together is a real piece of art. It’s a masterclass in game development and shows how well you know the community for games like this. I’m so happy that this game exists. Since it wouldn’t surprise me that I’ll play through this game several times now.
Before I ramble on and on about this game, I think it’s high time I wrap up this article. Otherwise, I’ll keep praising this game to high heavens and back. So, with that said, I have said close to everything I wanted to say about this game. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then… Have a great rest of your day and take care!
Everybody has several games that mean quite a lot to them. For me, one of these games is Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. I not only grew up with this game, but I also have a lot of memories of this game. Outside of that, I also met some amazing friends through the community behind this game. I even did several speedruns of this game, and I’m an active member of the community. Now, color me surprised that 25 years after the release of this game, we got new fan-made content for this game. Not just fan made content in the style of fan patches to solve bugs with the game, a whole new level and promises of a level editor to create even more new custom content. This blew me off my socks and in today’s article I want to talk about it. So strap in andlet’s get ready to play new content for one of the best Indiana Jones games ever made.
The new level – SED
There is a speedrunning discord server for this game. Well, it was a speedrunning discord server but for a few years now, this server has grown into a server of people who appreciate this game. If you want to join this discord, here is an invite link. When the server started to grow, several modders joined our server. One of these modders is going under the name of Urgon (currently) and what we didn’t know is that he was decompiling the whole game. Not only that, he was creating a level editor based upon an existing level editor.
This existing level editor is for Star Wars Jedi Knight & Mysteries of the Sith. Those games used an engine that formed the basis for the Jones3D engine. While he was developing that editor, he tested his skills by creating a new level. So, basically, parts of this new level are tests of the new level editor and what you can do with it.
Now, information about this new level and the download link can be found at this GitHub repository. If you want to download the actual level, you have to go to this page and click the green button named “Code”. In that dropdown, you can choose “download zip”. You’ll need that later if you want to install/play this custom level. Now, if you read the pre-mod or the installation instructions for this level, you might feel overwhelmed if you aren’t very technically inclined. That’s why two community members wrote two special tools to aid you in preparing your game.
You might ask yourself, like Klamath did in at the end of our stream of this custom level, why are there two tools for basically the same? Well, let me tell you the history about it. When I wanted to play the custom level, I had a bit of trouble myself while figuring out the tutorial. I also found that the required steps were quite a lot to do. So, I decided to start writing a PowerShell script that did all the steps. I announced that in the Indy3D discord that I was writing this. When I almost completed my tool, the_Kovic dropped his version of the tool.
Personally, I didn’t want to throw my work out the window and continued finishing my GUI version. When I finished, I didn’t convert my tool to an EXE and left it just as a script file you could run using a command line or a code editor. The next day, Kovic released a GUI version of his tool and I gave some feedback on his tool. In the days after that, I created an EXE version of my tool and we both kept adding features in our tool. He wrote his tool in C#, which is a bit friendlier to create an EXE. If I didn’t release my first version as a script only and converted it to an EXE, I think it might have been less overwhelming for people.
That said, Kovic thanked me for creating my tool since like he said on our stream: “It put my butt into gear to create a tool and write a GUI, which I normally don’t write“. On top of that, our tools aren’t meant to compete with each other. I can’t write C# and Kovic can’t write PowerShell. And it would be a shame to just delete work because somebody else was quicker or made their tool more user-friendly first. The result now is that we both have two very strong tools with a very similar, maybe even completely the same, feature set.
Outside a different choice of coding language, the biggest differences between both our tools are under the hood. In Kovic’s tool, you get more files than in my tool when you download the tool. And that’s because to prepare your game for custom levels, you need to extract several files in the resource folder. The tool used for extraction has a bug where instead of extracting the folders of the archive into the resource folder, it extracts them into separate folders, like if you would extract a zip file. Kovic packs a modified version of this extraction tool so that part of the process goes a bit faster. In my version, the tool just downloads the latest official versions of the tool and prepare the game that way.
In the end, both our tools give you the same end result. They prepare your game to install custom levels and play them. If you want to try out the_kovic’s tool, you can find the latest version on this releases page. If you want to try our my tool, you can find it on this releases page. Feedback to our tools is always welcome! If you find an issue or if you have an idea, feel free to hit us up, and we will look into it.
Earlier I talked about a stream of the level we did. Klamath, the_Kovic and me did a live stream where we played through this level. Now, I have to emphasize that release of this level is an impressive technical achievement. Creating a level for a 3D game isn’t easy and requires a lot of work. It’s even more impressive when you know that not everything is documented about the engine, and you have to decompile a lot of it. In the next part of this article, I’m going to talk about the level itself and critique it.
If you don’t want spoilers, I’d advise you to skip that section for now and come back later. Now, I want to say that I start reviewing the level in a moment, but this feedback is mostly meant for people who want to make new custom content. What did this new level do right and wrong if you look at it as a player who doesn’t know the technical background of this level? This isn’t meant to break down the amazing work the modders did to make this work.
Reviewing the new level
Editorial note: this review will spoil quite a lot. If you don’t want to get spoiled, you have to skip this section of the article. This isn’t a walkthrough of the level either. Some sections are skipped, I’m only going to talk about the sections I want to talk about.
The new level takes place 25 years after the ending of the original game. Indy returns to his Canyonlands dig site. You are set loose at the tent where Sophia picked Indy up with a helicopter to start the Infernal Machine adventure.
In terms of new content, there isn’t a lot new to see. Some ladders are missing and some parts of the level are blocked off. Also, all treasures are missing that you would usually find in the level.
Before I continue, I want to mention that some parts of this level are made quite difficult on purpose. The developer wanted to give us the feeling we were young kids again, playing this game for the first time, and have us figure out the new puzzles by ourselves. Yet, finding a correct balance between difficulty and unfair is a very fine line to thread. Personally, I think that in some sections, the developer crossed the line into unfair level design.
When running on the top section, you notice that there are some new voice lines. These voice lines are made possible with a voice cloning AI tool that was trained on lines from Doug Lee, the original voice actor for this game. The new voice lines sound amazing, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think that Doug Lee came back to record the new lines. In most cases, these voice lines really fit Indy’s personality and fit right into the game.
We come to our first snag when we want to go to the new content. I can understand not seeing the shovel and being confused, since it’s hanging at the jeep on top. And you know what’s even more confusing, the other side of the jeep model has a shovel in its texture! Anyhow, when you pick up the shovel and dig up the Infernal Machine part, it’s clear that you need to break a wall. Here comes one of the worst parts of this level. The location of this cracked wall is insanely well hidden. It’s in one of the last places you’d look, and several of the first players ran around for hours upon hours in Canyonlands before it was found. And when it was found, it made us annoyed.
It’s a clear example of how players who are used to the level, overlooking the obvious. The wall you need to break has an actual cracked wall texture, but it’s behind something you can’t see through. I think it would have been fine if the location, where it is at, had a bigger ledge so you’d notice it somewhat instead of just having to go on a wild goose chase.
Now, we enter the new area. We come to a big open space where the next set of puzzles are. The first puzzle is actually a jumping puzzle. Now, I highly advise you to not play this level if you haven’t played through most of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. Not that there are spoilers, but because some of the jumps in this level are straight up difficult and not what you really expect from this game. Kovic calls it “Kaizo Jones” for a good reason.
There are some small platforms and not having the look key working is going to be a pain in this section. Since, there are some moments where you need to be able to free look and not being able to see beneath or above you will make things a lot more tricky. After you finished these jumps, you might start to notice that the developer of this custom level added some details. Like, the rope bridges are gently moving in the wind. This is something that isn’t present in the original game. It’s a new “COG” script that makes that possible.
These cog scripts are a blessing for custom content. Since, this game isn’t hardcoded at all, so if you learn how to write these cog scripts, you can basically write new mechanics as well. It’s insane what possibilities there are going to be in the future for this game. I hope there is going to be good documentation so that custom level creaters know what’s possible and what’s impossible with the level editor.
While you are exploring this area, you notice that it’s huge. This also explains why it takes quite a while to load this level. Currently, modders are looking into why it’s running so slow. Since, we don’t really know if it’s the level size or something else slowing down the loading of this level.
So, after jumping around the central column, you’ll arive at the shed. Here you notice you can actually enter the shed from the top. Kovic explains it quite well during the stream. If you want to hear some technical explanations on how this level works, I’d advice you to watch our stream. Since there is a lot of interesting development talk in there. Later, Kovic and myself had a contest in trying to quote voice lines from the main game. We got close to 200. Kovic won that because I said a line he already said.
After you picked up everything from this shed and climbed outside, you experience another new mechanic of this game. It’s a mechanic that gets backported from Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb. The fact you can use your whip to go over a zipline.
After you returned and struggled with getting across the other bridge, you will encounter other parts of this level. Here you’ll encounter two voice lines that straight up lie to you. The first voice line is that you need more force, explosives to break a rock that’s blocking your way forwards. Here is the issue with that, you get an explosive barrel later. You need to find an extremely hidden swim tunnel in the water. It’s not the only hidden thing in the water, so investigate behind and underneath rocks quite well. Since, these puzzles in this water border in the unfair territory. What makes that explosive voice line even more evil is that there is a box of TNT in the shed earlier. But what’s the second voice line that lies to you?
Well, that is after you made your way past said boulder. You find a minecart and interacting with it, Indy says that it will run with gasoline. And there is still gasoline left in the shed. Sadly, you can’t pick it up anymore. Now, this is a red haring, you don’t need this minecart at all.
By now, you have learned that this level likes to break the rules of how the main game is designed. You’ll have to think outside of the box sometimes to beat this level. But, for some jumps, you need to use your knowledge of what’s possible and impossible to progress. This makes it quite tricky sometimes to progress. And this brings me to a conclusion we also said on stream. I think that the issue is that people expected a more tame level than what we actually got and that might turn some people off. But, I’m so glad that the quick save system exists in this game. So, abuse the quick save system and make multiple saves since you’ll need them if you aren’t a veteran player of this game.
Anyhow, let’s get back into the flow of the level. After we completed the lever puzzle, we go back towards to the huge open area and take the lift to a new location. What follows is a totally new area where it’s a good thing if you saved up on health packs and you have a great sense of direction.
So, the short minecart ridge comes to an end. It doesn’t take long before you find yourself into a watermaze. This watermaze is unfair in my honest opinion. Klamath had a tricky time solving it and he had to use almost every health pack to get through it. Without Kovic pointing out the right tunnel, I think it would have made the stream quite a bit longer. There was supposed to be a minecart section instead of this swimming maze, but the developer had a hard time making the minecart section to work and he gave up and made this swimming maze.
Now, I’m all fine with this swimming maze, but the map glitches out at certain parts. I have a mediocre sense of direction and I wanted to rely on the map. The map doesn’t always render the tunnels correctly. You sometimes swim off the map or “in nothingness”. Sadly, I have to draw my own map. I wish I still had it, since it would make for a nice screenshot here… But I threw it out but me and my clumsiness… I knocked over my waterbottle over it.
After the swimming maze, we get a new section of “Kaizo Jones”. Where we get some extremely tricky platforming. Here is where you need to use the look key again and be sure you are playing in 4:3. If you are playing in another resolution like 16:9 or 16:10, this will also be one of the moments where you don’t see all the information.
The block puzzle that follows, feels right out of Tomb Raider. The initial reviews of this game called out this game as a Tomb Raider clone. While, this game does the formula a whole lot differently. We even talked about that during the stream. In terms of theming, Infernal Machine is a lot better. Tomb Raider feels like obstacle courses. But that’s thanks to a different engine and control style. If you want to hear the whole discussion, you can watch the stream from this point. Excuse Kovic’s internet being spotty while he was replying.
After the block puzzle, a new path opens in the swim maze. Then, some platforming comes. Something I love is how there is even a troll hidden inside the platforming. It caught me off guard and made me smile. This platforming section was also love to do. It felt like a real test on how well I know the game. This platforming section feels a lot better put together and feel less cryptic on where you need to go next. You really start to notice that the developer was getting more used to the level editor and made better puzzles. The moment of having to use the whip to swing over the gap while the platform underneath you was breaking was amazing.
After that, we get into the finale of this level. We jump into a portal and we land in a playable area which is shown at the end of Shambala, the 4th level in the original game. That area that’s shown to you after you have beaten the Ice Guardian. The path that takes you to Palawan Lagoon. It was possible to explore that using cheats and modified saves, but now it’s in a level for real. Exploring the little house at the end brings us to something you totally don’t expect this custom level to do. You’ll find a parchment inside with a riddle and at the end you notice something in red saying: “MAT -> ZIP”.
There is some meta gaming now going on. You’ll need to make a hard save and exit your game. You’ll need to go to your resource folder & then open the MAT folder. In there you’ll need to rename “SED.MAT” to “SED.ZIP”. You’ll also need to enter the password for the zip, since you get a new cog script to continue the level, which you need to place in your cog folder. In there, there is another surprise. But, that’s something I’m not going to spoil. But, be sure that Kovic is playing with that surprise and maybe I’m going to dig into it. PS, the next paragraph is in white with the right spelling of the password:
Marcus
The way the level ends is bittersweet. If you solve the final puzzle, something special happens and you can beat the level. You could argue that the ending of this level is “lazy” or “creative”… But, it’s an amazing way to wrap up the story in one level with a nice bow.
At the start of the custom level, I felt that it was quite rough around the edges and it had some moments that felt badly designed. In terms of game design that is. If you look at it visually and level flow wise, I personally think that this level would fit right into the original game as a final challenge. But, the further you go into the level, the more you start to notice that the developer of this level is getting used to the tools and the editor and more polished puzzles and area’s are coming through. You notice the journey of the developer and see it becoming better and better.
I want to give a big congrats to everybody who was involved in releasing this custom level. It’s a blast to play and I can’t wait to see more custom levels. The stream I did with this level was one of the best streams ever and it was also quite a lot of fun to write the tool to help people play this custom level. I’m curious what you think about this custom level and/or the content of this article. Feel free to drop something in the comment section down below.
And with that, I have said everything I wanted to say about this for now. I want to thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to welcome you back in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
So, when I’m writing this, it is 2024. I turned 31 years old back in February. I still love playing video games and surfing the internet since I was a young lad. Besides that, I also have a fascination for anything that has to do with dreams and their meanings. And then a game called Hypnospace Outlaw turns up on my radar. A game that promises to bring back the early years of the internet that I remember. Not only that, we are going to have to moderate the internet with a new technology that allows people to surf the internet while they are dreaming. We have to play as an unnamed enforcer to keep the internet safe and on top of that, we can create our own pages and mod this game easily. But before we start spending time on that, let’s find out if the base game is actually good and if it’s worth to start playing this game or if it’s something we should skip. Also, feel free to leave your thoughts and/or opinions on this article and/or the game in the comment section down below. Besides, dear enforcer and MerchantSoft, this isn’t harassment, this is a fair review/critique of the game. Removing this from HypnoOS isn’t the solution.
Dreaming Up Nostalgic Investigations
In this game, you play as an unnamed enforcer for MerchantSoft. A company that developed a headband that allows users to surf the web in their dreams. Your goal is to clean up the HypnoSpace for everybody. You start in late 1999, where your first case is assigned. When your first case is assigned, you are left to your own devices, and you can explore the internet by yourself. And let me tell you, there is a lot of internet to explore.
The story of this game is fascinating. You get to dive and explore through various pages on the internet about various things. A long time before social media was a thing and everybody had a website for their own creations. The HypnoSpace has several zones, with each their own theme. If you remember AOL, you will know what I’m talking about.
If you want to get the most out of this game, I highly advise you to take your time with this game. Don’t rush it at all. This game is sadly rather short if you only follow the main story of the game. It’s only 6 hours long and shorter if you know what you are doing. I mean, the speedruns are only around 11 minutes. The strength of this game is the depth it has. This game has three main chapters, and there are clear triggers that separate the chapters.
The deeper you dig and the more you read up, the more interesting lore gets revealed. I actually started a second playthrough to try and find the things I missed. And honestly, this game is one that gets ruined by playing it with a guide in any sort or form. Do not play this game with a guide. It’s a lot less rewarding if you play it with a guide in your first or second playthrough. The wonder of getting lost in all of these pages is just so nostalgic.
Now, while I was playing, I was wondering if it would appeal to the younger players out there. I’m somewhat on the fence about that. While it tackles a lot of subjects that are still somewhat relevant, I honestly think that it’ll mostly click with those who grew up with the internet of the ’90 to early ’00. With that said, I think that it still might click with the younger people, but know that the internet was very different back then.
Point-And-Click Detective
This game is a point-and-click adventure game in any sense of the word. You get a case, and you have to explore the internet to see if anyone broke the rules or not.
Each infraction you find, will reward you with HypnoCoin. You can use these coins to buy various things in the Hypnospace. This can go from stickers, wallpapers, themes, applications to so much more. But be careful, it’s quite possible that some of these downloads are infected with malware. And back then, malware was a lot more visual and less aimed at serving you a lot of ads or stealing your information.
The controls of this game are quite easy. You mostly click with your mouse and input things sometimes in the search bar. If you know how to do basic things with a computer, you’ll very quickly find your way around with this game as well. While I sometimes struggled with opening apps, I didn’t have too much trouble with the controls. Thankfully, there are some options to tweak the controls to your liking, like disabling that double-clicking opens apps. But, I’m a Windows user and the double click to open apps is just hardwired in my brain.
Visually, this game really looks like you are playing with the old internet. When I noticed that there was a mod that changed the OS into Windows 95, oh boy, I was sold. There are various themes for the OS in this game, and they go from amazing to silly. There is even a fast food theme. Now, if you read that this game is mostly created by a team of 5 people, it’s even more impressive. Not only that, one of the main designers of Dropsy is part of the team.
The creativity of this game never ceased to amaze me. Let me continue on the trend of the visuals and say that the little details on how the webpages look is just so realistic. The little typo’s here and there, the rabbit holes you can jump down, the crazy visuals on various pages… Even the “help me, I can’t remove this” and “Test 1 2 3″… I made me crack up and remember my early days when I used to write webpages in plain HTML with barely any coding knowledge as a young teen.
While I knew that wiggling the mouse sped up the loading of the webpages, I just never really did. I just enjoyed the webpages loading slowly and having that experience again when I was a teenager before Facebook or any other big social media started to take over. Yes, even before MySpace. While I only experienced the late “pre-social media internet”, I do have amazing memories of it.
On top of that, you have the amazing wallpapers and sticker packs you can buy and play around with. With this, you can really make your desktop your own. But, something that really triggered memories for me were the viruses you can encounter. Back as a young teen, I was a lot less careful in what I downloaded and seeing the visual mess some viruses can create in this game, it triggered some nasty memories.
Memories like how one time, I got a very nasty variant of the SASSER worm and each time I installed something new, my computer would lock up and crash. Yes, even when you tried to re-install Windows, it locked up and crashed the installer. After a lot of digging, I found that it was caused by a program starting with boot and I had to screw out my hard drive, connect it with somebody’s computer and then remove the start-up file from there. I also had a piece of malware that looked like the ButtsDisease virus in this game. Where it started to change all the text on a webpage to another word. Oh man, those were the days.
So, during your investigations you can encounter various things. Things like people breaking the rules, and you have to report those. You mostly need to focus on one of 5 categories. Copyright infringement, harassment, illegal downloads/malware, extra illegal commerce and illegal activity. Each law gets several infractions, and you do have to look for them. At one moment, I really that to take notes. I really have to say, taking notes for this game is really helpful, you even have the notes’ app in HypnoOS.
Sticking in your brain
Now, something I have to commend the developers for in this game is that they also took accessibility into account. Something I have to commend the developers for as well is the amount of content in this game, even when the main story is extremely short. I already talked about the visuals and how much I love them, but the music in this game is something else.
Some of the music tracks are really stuck in my mind and I wouldn’t be surprised that if I ever write another article in my favorite game music series, some of them will pop up in that. Some tracks are real earworms and got stuck in my brain. The music for some of the parody products in this game is so good, that I wish they were real.
The music in this game is a mixture of various styles, and I find some of them more catchy than the others, but it’s really impressive at how many styles there are in this game. If you know that this game has over 4 hours of music in it, that’s an amazing feat.
There is even a whole suite where you can create your own pages, music and mods released by one of the main developers of this game. It works only on Windows and you can read more about it on the itch.io page of Jay Tolen here. There were even various community events where your stuff could appear as an Easter egg in the main game. Yet, these tools are now part of the main game and are in your installation folder.
Speaking about this, modding this game is extremely easy. There is even a build in mod browser, and it’s a piece of cake to install and downloads mods. If you use the in-game mod menu, you don’t have to reboot the game for most mods to take effect. Just go to the main menu, choose the mods button and install the mods you want. Now, there are a lot more mods out there then just what you can find in the in-game mod browser, so check them out here.
The game has an autosave, it doesn’t really show when the game gets saved. There are three save slots, so if you want to replay the game, you can pick another save slot. Now, if there is one mod I highly advise is he expanded endgame cases mod. This mod expands the game quite naturally and is a lot of fun and additional challenge. But don’t read the description when you haven’t finished the game, since it contains quite a lot of spoilers.
This game can be quite tricky. Sometimes the solution isn’t the easiest to find. It’s even possible you don’t find the solution to every puzzle out there. Now, there is a built in hint system for this game. It’s somewhat hidden to avoid immersion breaking, but for a small HypnoCoin fee, you can get a hint to progress. I really love this system, since I rather have you getting a crowbar to get yourself unstuck than you getting a guide where it’s very easy to other things and spoil the whole experience. Since the fun of this genre depends highly on solving the puzzles with what’s given to you. If you want to get a hint, just search hint.
Overall I have been extremely positive about this game, and I have to say that overall this game is extremely well-made. I rarely found any moments where I thought, this isn’t right. But does that mean that this game doesn’t have any negatives? Well, sadly enough there are a few things I didn’t like about my experience and that I want to talk about.
First of all, I wish the default text-to-speech voice wasn’t the default language of your system if you aren’t English. I’m from Belgium and my text-to-speech voice reads English extremely weird. Thankfully, I had the English soundpack installed on my computer so after I went into the BIOS settings, I was able to quickly change it to the English one and it sounds a lot more natural and better.
Secondly, this is an issue in general with point-and-click games but the replay value just isn’t here. Once you explored everything, you have seen everything. There are various mini-games, but those are quickly beaten. While I personally don’t really see this is a negative, since not every game needs high replay value and sometimes playing it once and having the whole experience engulf you is the idea… I want to mention it, if somebody is looking for replayable games.
Third, you can find more infractions than what’s required to close the case. While I can understand that the game doesn’t tell you how many other things there are out there for immersion reasons, as somebody who wanted to experience everything, I was sometimes a bit annoyed that I couldn’t make sure I found everything. If only there was an option you could toggle to see completion percentage or something of that nature. Since, because of this, it’s possible to lock yourself out of achievements or content in this game.
Yes, this game has achievements and some of them are extremely tricky to get. It took me a lot of researching and exploring in HypnoSpace to find all the material. Thankfully, taking notes really helped me to find it all.
And the final thing is that the final chapters of this game feel a bit rushed and undercooked. One of the final cases is a breeze to solve if you have written notes during your playthrough and it feels like there is content cut out of the game. The ending comes a bit out of nowhere and if you didn’t explore everything or didn’t register certain things, the ending won’t make sense to you and it will loose it’s impact. Thankfully, the mod I shared earlier resolves this to a degree.
That’s all the negative I could say about this game, in my honest opinion. When this game clicks with you, it clicks really well and doesn’t let go at all. But, I’ll leave my final thoughts after the summary of this review. So, I think it’s high time for that since I have touch upon everything I wanted to in this review.
Summary
The bad:
-Text-to-speech should use English by default
-It’s possible to miss content or lock yourself out of it.
-The game is rather short.
-Rushed ending.
The good:
+ Amazing nostalgic trip
+ Amazing music
+ Fantastic writing
+ Easy to use mod tools
+ Great puzzles
+ Great controls
+ …
Final thoughts:
Hypnospace Outlaw is an amazing nostalgic point-and-click adventure trip through the late ’90’s internet. This game might not be for everyone, but when it clicks… Oh boy does it really click. Now, this is also a game you shouldn’t rush. The charm of this game is in all the little details and references that are hidden in the pages and the world building of this game.
While the game is rather at the shortside for point-and-click games, I don’t see it as a big problem to be honest. The journey that this game took me on was a lot more worth it to me than having a long game. Since, I think it would have lost it’s charm if this game kept going and going.
While I personally have more memories with the internet time period that came right after it, the developers are already working on the sequel to this game called Dreamsettler. I honestly can’t wait to play that one, since the quality that this game has is just top notch. The music is catchy, the visuals are amazing and it alls comes together in an amazing nostalgic trip that makes you want to play more.
There are some minor blemishes on this game, but you can work with them. Like I said before, when this game clicks, it really does click extremely well. I’d compare my experience with games like There Is No Game or SuperLiminal. Amazing small titles that leave a lasting impact on those who play it. All of these games are passion projects that turned out amazing and get a recommendation from me.
If you enjoy playing unique point-and-click games and/or if you have nostalgia for the old ’90’s internet, I highly recommend that you give this game a try. While this game is on multiple platforms, I highly recommend that you play the PC version since it has mod support that gives you even more toys to play with and expands the game even more.
I had a blast with this game and it’s a breath of fresh air for me. I’m angry at myself that I rushed my playthrough, but now I have installed several mods and I’m so going to replay this game after I have published this article. I also want to earn every achievement in this game, since I really want to see everything. I’m also extremely hyped for the sequel to this game and I can’t wait to start playing that, since that is going to be an even bigger nostalgic trip for me than this game. And with the amazing set of developers behind this game, I think we get another gem in our hands.
And with that said, I think it’s high time to wrap this article up. I want to thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
Gun Club came out for PSVR back in 2018 and it has been one of my most played VR games since then.
Now 5 years later it has made its way onto the PSVR 2 and luckily its been updated perfectly to fit the new controllers, haptics and it even includes an reduced price for people which own the original PSVR version.
Jagged Alliance 3 is out, bringing the tongue-in-cheek banter and insane explosions back to PC after many years in hibernation. And with it, comes legendarily...
Modder ‘reV’ has released version 0.9.3 for his RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod for Sonic Adventure. According to the modder, this mod is 90% complete. Moreover, you can find a new trailer for it below. So, if you are a Sonic fan, I highly recommend trying it. As with most RTX Remix Mods, this mod … Continue reading Sonic Adventure RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod is 90% complete→
Modder ‘Nell Drakebane’ has released a new fan expansion for Bethesda’s space RPG, Starfield. This mod, called Faction Story Expansion – Trackers Alliance, brings new free content to the game. Moreover, it adds three new quest storylines. So, let’s dive in and see what’s in store for you. The first destination or the starting location … Continue reading New Starfield Fan Expansion Adds Free Content & 3 Quest Storylines→
Fallout: London, the massive fan-made Fallout 4 mod set in Poundland Prime (No Elephants, Some Castles, Canary Wharfare) has finally got a release date. Happy days, it’s actually today, Thursday 25th July. The news comes from Inverse, who’ve sent their dear alsatian companions sniffing around the mod’s Discord. Yesterday, Team FOLON lead Dean Carter shared the song I Just Can't Wait (For Tomorrow) then, when sniffed at harder, confirmed that the 'Tomorrow' part meant tomorrow (as in, today), "Unless nuclear war happens."
Fallout: London, the massive fan-made Fallout 4 mod set in Poundland Prime (No Elephants, Some Castles, Canary Wharfare) has finally got a release date. Happy days, it’s actually today, Thursday 25th July. The news comes from Inverse, who’ve sent their dear alsatian companions sniffing around the mod’s Discord. Yesterday, Team FOLON lead Dean Carter shared the song I Just Can't Wait (For Tomorrow) then, when sniffed at harder, confirmed that the 'Tomorrow' part meant tomorrow (as in, today), "Unless nuclear war happens."
Modder ‘Wombat’ has released a new mod for Fallout: New Vegas that completely updates the first-person movement animations. This mod makes the main character’s movements much better. It’s a must-have for anyone who wants to replay this classic Fallout game. So, let’s take a closer look at it. Enhanced Locomotion updates all animations, like running, … Continue reading Fallout: New Vegas just got a complete first-person locomotion animation overhaul mod→
On June 21, 2024, X (Twitter) user nightshademagia released a Hardcore Mode mod for Stardew Valley that’ll delete your save file if you open up the Wiki for the game. This was based off a joke article from Hard Drive.
You can find the source code via Github here. There’s also a clip showing how it works. In the clip, they load up their file as per usual. Then, in another window, they open up the Stardew Valley Wiki. As soon as they do so, the game forces them back to the title screen and when they try to load up a game, their save file is gone.
The original article was from satire website Hard Drive, stating that the new default Hardcore Mode erases your save file if you open the official wiki. The article includes false quotes from players expressing their outrage, including a fake quote from ConcernedApe, the creator of Stardew Valley. Some players tend to use the Wiki to help them optimize their farm or game. For example, you can look up what gifts certain characters prefer or how to catch certain fish.
Stardew Valley is readily available for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, macOS, and mobile devices. It is one of the best-selling games of all time, selling over 30 million copies by February 2024.
Modder ‘Safemilk’ has released some new screenshots for his upcoming RTX Remix Mod for Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. These new screenshots showcase some high-polygon models that the modder plans to add to the game. So, let’s take a closer look at them. Safemilk claimed that for his RTX Remix Mod, he aims to replace a lot of … Continue reading Here are some new screenshots from the Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines – RTX Remaster→
FromSoftware is known for making exceedingly challenging games, yet plenty of fans have found Shadow of the Erdtree, the first and only DLC expansion for Elden Ring, to be too difficult even for them. We have several guides for helping you in your journey through the Realm of Shadow (including one on the best early weapons in the DLC), but if you're really struggling, there are PC mods that aim to tone down the difficulty.
Such mods have been popping up over the weekend, and come in a variety of flavours. One simply titled Easy Shadow of the Erdtree just reduces the amount of damage enemies deal by 25%, while another reduces the damage you take by 50%, doubles your own damage output, gives you regenerating health and Focus Points, and lets you recover Runes immediately. That second one is fittingly dubbed Wolverine Mode.
Image via FromSoftware
Another one is called No more Scadutree grind, which outright removes the Scadutree fragments introduced in the DLC and readjusts the damage scaling to be similar to how it is in the base game. Scadutree fragments are how you increase your character's strength and defence in Shadow of the Erdtree but, clearly, some fans aren't too keen on it and would prefer if leveling up worked like it did in Elden Ring. There's also a mod that's meant for taking screenshots (appropriately named Screenshot Difficulty), though its creator advises against using this if you actually want to play the game since it "makes you take way, way less incoming damage."
It's fascinating seeing modders craft their own easy modes for Shadow of the Erdtree when people have been so vehemently against the idea of FromSoftware games adding difficulty options, since the high level of challenge is the point. And yet while Elden Ring has maintained an overall Very Positive user rating on Steam, user reviews on Shadow of the Erdtree are mixed. Some criticisms, though, aren't solely about how difficult the DLC is, and are lobbied against its performance and frame rate issues.
There are also more positive user reviews than negative, with plenty of fans perfectly content with how difficult the DLC is and, unsurprisingly, telling complainers to simply get better. Not to mention Shadow of the Erdtree has been a critical darling, earning high scores from most outlets and overtaking The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion as the best-reviewed DLC on Metacritic.
Despite being a huge success, Oblivion has no doubt been overshadowed both by time and its loftier successor, Skyrim. Still, The Elder Scrolls 4 exists as a major player in the RPG genre, but that hasn't stopped someone from wanting to blend the two games together. Sort of.
The "Skyrim Border" mod comes from the mind of Nexus Mods user JoopvanDie, and is essentially a way of bringing a bit of TES5 to Cyrdoiil, the province where Oblivion takes place. Anyone who knows the map of Tamriel is aware that the latter game borders the former, though players are unable to cross.
Image via JoopvanDie/Nexus Mods.
However, JoopvanDie invites us to step a little bit into Skyrim, giving us a small area to trek around in, perhaps breathe in a bit of that cold, dragon-y air.
Just a quick pop by to say hello
As the name suggests, the mod by no means allows you to traverse the whole of Skyrim's landscape or cross over into any other part of Tamriel that's not officially part of the game. That would be far too ambitious. And, in fact, there is already a fan-made project that covers that idea.
What this does is bring just a little bit of the border within our grasp inside Oblivion. While there's not a huge amount there – no new quests, for example – there's enough that's worth a quick visit. This includes:
an area for you to explore
one small village with NPCs
few small caves
two ingredients
one new creature (Frost troll)
new armor and a medieval Scandinavian(ish) helmet
treasure hunting
If you want to get to the area, the description says to go to the Echo Cave (shown just west of Bruma, which you can see in the image above) and follow the road to the northwest. Say hi to Paarthurnax for me if he's there.
A Mortal Kombat YouTuber and modder is accusing Warner Bros of "threatening to destroy" his YouTube channel.
In a lengthy statement on social media platform X, ToastedShoes - an Australian YouTuber with 800K subscribers and 1.7m followers on TikTok - claims he has received an "Intellectual Property Infringement Notification" directly from Warner Bros which asks him to delete "all Mortal Kombat 1 videos from [his] channel or else".
"This morning I received an IP infringement notification directly from Warner Brothers stating that the Mortal Kombat mods in my content 'infringe' on their intellectual property rights," Toasted said. "I've been requested to delete all Mortal Kombat 1 videos from my channel or else they will issue copyright strikes and essentially delete my channel in its entirety.
Modder ‘TaxEvasionMaster’ has released a new amazing mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. This mod adds high-polygon heads and hair physics to pretty much all NPCs. And, since this mod will greatly enhance the game’s graphics, we highly recommend trying it. Going into more details, this mod overhauls over 3000 NPCs. As … Continue reading New Skyrim Mod Adds High Polygon Heads & Hair Physics to All NPCs→
Modder ‘FCH823’ has released an HD Texture Pack for BioShock Remastered that overhauls over 2300 textures. This pack is 5GB in size, and it’s a must for everyone who wants to replay this classic shooter on PC. BioShock Remastered came out in 2016. Disappointingly, though, the remaster still had a lot of low-resolution textures that … Continue reading BioShock Remastered just got a 5GB HD Texture Pack that overhauls over 2300 textures→
Hexagon Codes has just released a must-have mod for the classic adventure game that was remastered in 2015, Grim Fandango. This mod upscales the original Grim Fandango assets to high-resolution 2560×1920 with full 32-bit color. As such, you will be now able to enjoy this adventure game in high resolutions. Grim Fandango Remastered HD tries … Continue reading Grim Fandango Remastered HD has just been released and it’s a must-have for all adventure fans→
I've clocked up nearly 400 hours playing BioWare's big fantasy RPGDragon Age: Inquisition, which is not a stat I'm particularly proud of. I'm not ashamed either, partly because, as has been identified by artist Corey Brickley, via the Maw, there's a lot of filler. Brickley has collated a list of suggested mods to slim down Dragon Age: Inquisition from a potentially 80 hours-long epic to a trim 40 hour story-focused romp, which means you might be able to play through it again in time for the launch of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf - which is a direct sequel to Inquisition.
I find this list of mods interesting! It's a way to change the game quite substantially without exactly transforming it, and it's very in-keeping with my campaign to make games 60% smaller. Still, there's at least one item on there I'd push back on, but also this isn't really a new problem for Dragon Age as a series.
While we wait (and wait and wait and wait) for Bethesda to say literally anything about what's happening with The Elder Scrolls 6, let's talk about Skyrim. That should kill a bit more time. Specifically, let's talk about modding Skyrim.
Since time immemorial (well, 2011), TES5 fans have been modifying the game, improving it several folds, adding new content, fixing bugs...just generally getting as much life out of the ol' beast as they can. It's almost as if some people took one look at Skyrim in its vanilla form and went, "nah, mate."
Far be it from me to tell you there are countless ways to tinker with this aging epic RPG. But if you're new to playing, or you just want a quick rundown on some of the better mods out there, I've cobbled together a list of what I feel are some pretty essential ones. You may agree with this list. You may not. I will be answering no questions.
NOTE: I will attempt to provide links to mods that are for the Special Edition of Skyrim where possible.
Skyrim Script Extender
Screenshot via Destructoid.
When I talk about "essential mods," you can probably interpret that as just meaning a "generally solid modification that many players highly recommend." A lot of it will come down to personal preference and how you want to alter the game.
However, with Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE for short), this one is pretty vital. If you ask people in the community – especially the PC community – what to install first when it comes to modding Skyrim, this will likely be your first port of call.
As the description itself says: this is a tool "used by many Skyrim mods that expands scripting capabilities and adds additional functionality to the game." You'd be pretty lost without it. The version linked here has already been downloaded over 1.4 million times, and it was only uploaded in 2019.
Unofficial Skyrim Patch
Image via Arthmoor/Nexus Mods.
Bethesda games have bugs. The sun is a large ball of burning gas. Everyone knows the uncomfortable sensation of having one shoe tied slightly tighter than the other. Microsoft is pure evil. Oh, sorry. I thought I was just listing things that can be filed under "the bleeding obvious."
Yes, Skyrim has been laden with glitches and issues since the day it landed in video game stores (remember them?) While over the years, the developer has attempted to quash some of the major ones, there are still plenty of bugs that exist, even in the Anniversary Edition which came out some tens after the vanilla release.
That's where the Unofficial Skyrim Patch comes into play. It is, as the name suggests, an unofficial mod for the game with an eventual goal of fixing every single bug TES5 has, and we all know that is quite the mammoth task. The most recent version was uploaded on April 18, which means the team is still hard at work. This is another must.
SkyUI
Image via schlangster/Nexus Mods.
As gorgeous as Skyrim is (or was) when it first came out, there were some criticisms aimed at the game's standard user interface. While I personally didn't have much of a problem with it, I could see why it wasn't everyone's favorite.
If you've played the game, you'll surely have your own opinion about it. Which is why we have SkyUI. This is described as an "elegant, PC-friendly interface mod with many advanced features." Even from the single image above, you can see the differences between the vanilla version and the mod.
Is it fair to say it's more "intuitive?" I'm bold enough to go along with that. While there hasn't been an update for SkyUI since 2017, Nexus Mods registers over 4.8 million downloads, so they must be doing something right.
Open Cities
Image via Arthmoor/Nexus Mods.
A game like Skyrim consistently delivers and entertains, largely because of its immersive quality. Forget the fact that it's now an older game. When it dropped all those years ago, it was a triumph. It drew people in with its utter splendor, enormous world, and cast of characters that were believable (well as believable as role-playing characters living in a fantasy world full of dragons can be).
However, some of that immersion does fall to the wayside slightly when you enter a new city, like Whiterun. Upon opening the main gate, you find yourself confronted with a black loading screen. It's understandable. Bethesda couldn't have put all the interior aspects of a city within the main world.
However, someone did just that. From the same modder that brought us the Unofficial Patch, we have Open Cities Skyrim. This is a mod that fluidly blends the game's city limits to whatever's outside its walls. The loading screens are now gone, which keeps you immersed. Plus, it means you can now ride your horse straight into places like Riften. That can only be a plus.
Alternative Start
Image via Arthmoor/Nexus Mods.
When I first got the game in 2011, I was enthralled by the opening. A few days later, a friend came round because they wanted to see it, so I booted the game up, loaded a new save, and proceeded to go through the intro cut scene again. Then some time later, another friend wanted to see what all the fuss was about. By this point, my character's head had been cut off enough times to satisfy a revolution.
What I'm saying is, even before Skyrim had the long legacy it enjoys today, I had seen the opening section dozens of times. If you are a bit bored with that lengthy introduction, say hello to Alternative Start. Oh look, it's another mod by Arthmoor.
With this, you get to opt for a different beginning to your Skyrim playthrough. You can choose to be a hunter living in the woods, a vampire hiding in a cave, or maybe you've been shipwrecked. The good thing about this mod is it doesn't just give you an alternative starting point, it changes things about your character and doesn't immediately put you on the main quest path.
Helgen Reborn
Image via Mike Hancho/Nexus Mods.
Speaking of that opening section, we don't get to experience Helgen much before it's terrorized by a dragon and left to burn in the ashes of its wake. It's there and then, in the blink of an eye, it's left in ruins as you run for your life and, presumably, bugger off to literally anywhere else.
With Helgen Reborn, the city gets a second chance. Modders Mike Hancho (aka Balok) didn't just turn the opening location on its head by rebuilding it. No, they went above and beyond, bringing something that is more than just a surface restructuring. The mod description tells it best:
Helgen Reborn is a fully voiced adventure with over 20 superb voice actors. As you help rebuild the town you'll reunite two old friends, uncover an underground slavery ring, battle in an arena and many other adventures!
A Quality World Map
Image via IcePenguin/Nexus Mods.
Skyrim's map is pretty good, says I. Not just a facsimile of the world you walk around. It's actually the real thing, just zoomed out immensely. It would have been easy for Bethesda to phone it in with a standard scroll-like map or something more cartoon-y. Well done to them, I say.
However, it can always be better, and that's what IcePenguin's A Quality World Map does. With over three million downloads on Nexus Mods, it presents itself as the last word in Skyrim topography. Consisting of high-detailed textures, AQWM (as I'm taking to call it) is a tasty visual addition to your game. I'd say it pairs nicely with SkyUI as well.
Also, it doesn't just have this 3D map, either. It comes in a vivid style and even a paper version, if you want something that's perhaps a bit more Lord of the Rings-y.
Towns and Villages Enhanced
Image via Aplestormy/Nexus Mods.
After a while, you start to see the same old Skyrim. It's pretty enough, even for a game that's 13 years old, but it would be nice to have something else to look at. If this is you, you may be interested in Aplestormy's Towns and Villages Enhanced mods.
The interesting thing about this project is that there isn't one single download that alters every location in the game. Instead, they come in separate files. There's one for Whiterun, Windhelm, Solitude, Riften, Riverwood, and some of the smaller villages.
As described, they basically "enhance" a lot of areas in Skyrim with tweaks and fresh design choices. Here's what the Whiterun mod adds and/or alters.
Trees (Including new GKB Models)
New Design - Less Trees, more Detail
Shrubs and other Foliage
Rocks and small Details
New Lighting
Clutter
Architecture
Alchemist Plants
Effects
Chickens
Skyrim 202X
Image via Pfuscher/Nexus Mods.
I've said it a few times already, but Skryim is a pretty old game at this point. As such, it's not as visually arresting as it once was. Back in 2011, though...wowee. There wasn't much like it. However, things have changed. We want our collective eyes melted out of our faces with graphical brilliance.
If you want nothing more than to make Skyrim look prettier, maybe even more modern, there are a wide range of options available in the modding community. Howver, one that comes highly recommended is Pfuscher's Skyrim 202X. This is a high-resolution overhaul of how the game looks.
It boasts more than 2,000 files (which come in several parts) and is a visual feast. It's been worked on since 2016, with the latest version going live on April 15 this year. It has over 1.8 million unique downloads, and it's easy to see why. It's. Just. So. Pretty.
Immersive Interactions
Image via JaySerpa/Nexus Mods.
Anyone who's seen me talk about Skyrim mods before may be familiar with the name JaySerpa. They are, by far, one of my favorite modders working on the game currently, and it's mainly because of how they change the game to be that extra bit immersive.
I'm choosing Immersive Interactions to put in this list, but really, I could have selected any one at random to showcase how simple tweaks can up the alluring quality of role-playing in Skyrim. This one in particular allows your character to perform "context-aware animations," which includes being able to greet NPCs and generally interact with the world.
We’ve been talking a lot about video game mods recently, typically not for happy reasons. There is a spectrum out there when it comes to how developers and publishers react to organic modding communities that spring up around their games. On one end of the spectrum, typically inhabited by larger companies, are those that somehow see mods as a threat to the game to be combatted and tamped down by any means possible. On the other end are the more reasonable folks, those who realize that modding communities represent some of the most passionate fans of their games, and that mods often times make games more attractive for purchase, or extend their gameplay lifecycle.
Manor Lords is a city building game with a third-person camera view. One modding community, Flat2VR, dedicates itself to making non-VR games playable in a VR format. And they did so with Manor Lords.
The community’s Twitter account announced the achievement, saying: “Seven years in development, Manor Lords was the most wish-listed Steam game & released in EA this past week. It has the highest concurrent user counts ever on a city builder. Thankfully, it works perfectly in 6DOF VR with Praydog’s UEVR!” They also confirm that the mod uses M&K, but with Demeo or Little Cities-like motion controls to help players navigate their budding villages and towns.
The short video attached alongside the announcement also shows how this VR mod allows you to do pretty much everything you’d normally do in Manor Lords, including building roads, managing resources, and walking around the streets as the Lord you’ve chosen to embody.
Imagine how the companies I mentioned before might react to something like this. Bandai Namco might just issue takedowns for the mods without explanation. The Pokémon Company would probably just scream “INFRINGEMENT!!!” while doing likewise. Rockstar could issue takedowns over some potential paid expansion pack including VR or some such nonsense.
To quote some of us from ten years ago: that’s it, that’s the tweet. Or X. Or whatever.
In any case, you will notice that the developer didn’t then follow up with a threat of a takedown, discussions of intellectual property laws, or really any hand-wringing whatsoever. Nope, just an acknowledgement of an awesome mod on the game’s official ExTwitter account.
It sure would be nice if more developers, and the larger companies, realized why this is the perfect reaction to someone making your game better and more attractive to a wider audience. That such enlightenment remains so elusive is a puzzle I have been unable to solve.
We’ve been talking a lot about video game mods recently, typically not for happy reasons. There is a spectrum out there when it comes to how developers and publishers react to organic modding communities that spring up around their games. On one end of the spectrum, typically inhabited by larger companies, are those that somehow see mods as a threat to the game to be combatted and tamped down by any means possible. On the other end are the more reasonable folks, those who realize that modding communities represent some of the most passionate fans of their games, and that mods often times make games more attractive for purchase, or extend their gameplay lifecycle.
Manor Lords is a city building game with a third-person camera view. One modding community, Flat2VR, dedicates itself to making non-VR games playable in a VR format. And they did so with Manor Lords.
The community’s Twitter account announced the achievement, saying: “Seven years in development, Manor Lords was the most wish-listed Steam game & released in EA this past week. It has the highest concurrent user counts ever on a city builder. Thankfully, it works perfectly in 6DOF VR with Praydog’s UEVR!” They also confirm that the mod uses M&K, but with Demeo or Little Cities-like motion controls to help players navigate their budding villages and towns.
The short video attached alongside the announcement also shows how this VR mod allows you to do pretty much everything you’d normally do in Manor Lords, including building roads, managing resources, and walking around the streets as the Lord you’ve chosen to embody.
Imagine how the companies I mentioned before might react to something like this. Bandai Namco might just issue takedowns for the mods without explanation. The Pokémon Company would probably just scream “INFRINGEMENT!!!” while doing likewise. Rockstar could issue takedowns over some potential paid expansion pack including VR or some such nonsense.
To quote some of us from ten years ago: that’s it, that’s the tweet. Or X. Or whatever.
In any case, you will notice that the developer didn’t then follow up with a threat of a takedown, discussions of intellectual property laws, or really any hand-wringing whatsoever. Nope, just an acknowledgement of an awesome mod on the game’s official ExTwitter account.
It sure would be nice if more developers, and the larger companies, realized why this is the perfect reaction to someone making your game better and more attractive to a wider audience. That such enlightenment remains so elusive is a puzzle I have been unable to solve.
A new update for Fallout 4, intended to improve the game, has done quite the opposite for many players. As a result, many PC users are using Steam guides and downloading mods en masse to roll back the annoying “next-gen” update, making these Fallout 4 guides and mods extremely popular.
Modder ‘JaySerpa’ has released an amazing new mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition that adds a dynamic sanity system to it. This is a must for everyone who wants to replay this classic TES game. So, let’s take a closer look at it. The “Stress and Fear – A Dynamic Sanity System” … Continue reading The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim now has a cool dynamic sanity system→
One of the year’s most popular shows is Amazon Prime’s Fallout, a television series based around the long-running post-apocalyptic sci-fi RPG franchise. The show is fantastic thanks to great action, great characters, and great writing, and as a result of all this greatness, the Fallout titles have seen a resurgence in…
Fallout 4 (and other franchise entries from Bethesda) are currently enjoying an unexpected surge in popularity thanks to the Fallout TV show. As modding is a key part of the Fallout experience on PC, it should come as no surprise that Nexus Mods, too, is buckling under pressure.
Notably, Nexus Mods is one of the biggest mod-hosting websites on the Internet, and it's been struggling with the sudden influx of Fallout traffic for days now. As per Nexus Mods' own report, the site has been experiencing "much more traffic than usual due to the popularity of the Fallout TV series." The announcement explains that the site has already deployed additional resources and monitoring to keep up with the demand, but the problems are persisting still.
Nexus Mods is having trouble keeping up with Fallout 4's new burst of popularity
The Nexus Mods' status tracker page reports that all of the following site features are currently experiencing problems with degraded performance: the website itself, the Nexus Mods API, the CDN, and the forums. In other words, if you're trying to download some mods for your burgeoning build of Fallout 4, the odds are good that you're having trouble.
The first report of problems was posted on Friday, April 19, and Nexus Mods staff is still dealing with the fallout, if you'd excuse the pun. "We are continuing to investigate this issue," says the update posted earlier today, on April 22.
The Fallout TV series isn't the only one to blame for this, keep in mind. Following the series' launch on Amazon Prime, Bethesda was quick to announce that a "next-gen" update for Fallout 4 would be dropping soon. On PC, specifically, this means support for ultra-wide resolutions (21:9 aspect ratio) and some additional Creation Kit goodies. Arguably, the biggest "feature" of the update is the fact that it's bound to break a bunch of mods. Mods that are now being aggressively downloaded by PC Fallout fans.
It's not all grim, mind. Bethesda claims that it's worked to "minimize impact to the majority community mods." We don't know yet what that means, exactly, but it's better than nothing. Not that it helps the situation with one of the biggest Fallout 4 mods we've seen yet: Fallout: London, the release of which was postponed following Bethesda's next-gen update announcement. It'll be an interesting couple of weeks for the Fallout 4 modding community, that's for sure, as while many modders are sure to update their releases to accommodate for the new game update, others may leave them behind entirely, causing problems with legacy support and beyond.
The Nintendo Wii is relatively small by game console standards, measuring 157 x 60 x 197mm (6.2″ x 2.4″ x 7.8″). But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be smaller. Hardware modder James Smith took the guts of a Nintendo Wii and put them into a new custom case that’s about the same size as a […]
I have on my list of things to write about the effect of the mods we have chosen for our current run through Valheim, how they have worked out and how they have changed our play style. There have been some obvious impacts.
I wrote about the six we initially chose a while back, but we added a seventh to the list, and I want to write about that one today because it had a rather poor impact on our game this past weekend.
First, it allows you to have bigger stacks of things… which I guess is kind of obvious by the name. By default it allows you to have stacks 10x the size of the Valheim defaults. So if you could only have a stack of 100 arrows before, you can now have a stack of 1,000. If ore was limited to 30 in a stack, it is now 300. If wood was 50 before, it is 500 now.
You get the idea. It looks like this,
Bigger stacks of things
The reason we wanted this was because inventory management… and base storage management… is a royal pain the the ass in Valheim. We burn through wood by the thousands of units at times, so we needed stacks and stacks of chests. Food was always overflowing our storage as well.
And Potshot had built a big storage room for our main base, with a nice curve to it so that you could stand in the middle and access all the chests. But once we got into smelting tin and copper and scrap iron, the chests began to overflow and it was either build a whole adjunct set of storage that we would need to manage or find a mod that allowed bigger stacks. Since we were already on the mod train, that won out.
Our storage space
The other thing this mod does is allow the weight of items to be reduced and, by default, with the mod installed, things weigh just 10% of their default game weight.
Now this balances out in a way. If you could carry a stack of 30 scrap iron before, you can now carry a stack of 300 scrap iron. Your stack carrying ability remains the same, even if you are hauling 10x the count.
I was a bit dubious about this aspect of the mod. It felt like we might be crossing the line from quality of life improvements… which bigger stack definately fell into… and into down right cheating, or at least going easy mode to the point of removing too much of the edge from the game.
You can configure the stacking and weight reduction. It could be changed to 20x stacks or half weight rather than 10% weight, the latter being something I tried to set. However, the client doesn’t pay attention to how the server side gets configured. The client side config wins in any conflict. So I left that alone.
And, we got used to the weigh reduction pretty quickly. It mostly meant fewer trips back and forth, which is a pretty nice QoL improvement, while we still had to ship ore and metal manually because it cannot go through portals. There is a mod for that, but we haven’t gone there.
This past weekend Bung got back online after being busy and away for the last few weeks, and I got on with him and explained where we stood in the game, encouraging him to go pick up some of our raw material so he would get the new recipes, starting with the chest where we kept our refined metal.
He then went over to the workbench and forge to check out the recipes while I peeked in the chest just to remind myself how much refined metal we had built up. It should have been a lot, but when I opened up the chest there was very little metal.
Then I realized that every stack he picked up and been reduced to the default stack size of 30. He did not have the new mod and, in the conflict between the server and the client, the client won. Default Valheim says those metal stacks should include no more than 30 pieces so it simply deleted anything in excess of 30. I was very quickly saying, “Oh shit!”
Stacks after I consolidated the remaining iron and silver
There had been almost 700 units of iron and 500 of silver in there along with a lot more bronze, tin, and copper.
I asked if he had seen the mod in the pinned list on our Discord. He had not, which was reasonable. You have to go look at it and we had added that mod while he had been away. It wasn’t an obvious change and I had not considered the consequences of somebody showing up without it installed. It is one of those mods that doesn’t prevent you from logging in, the way OdinShip does.
So we had our first mod-inflicted issue.
He went and got that downloaded and I started looking into what else he had touched. Fortunately, he had stopped at that chest to investigate new recipes.
So we decided to put in some work getting new raw metals back to base, starting with a visit to the swamp. This was a bit of an issue because he was still wearing black forest level gear… troll hide leather… and the swamp… the swamp can be a tough place. A dragur one-shotted him literally two steps out of our swamp base.
That didn’t go well
He grabbed some fully upgrade bronze kit that we had in the backup gear chests and came out in that.
We did get into a couple of crypts after that and were able to load up on scrap iron.
Down in the crypt
Then we sailed that back to our main base. But scap iron wasn’t in short supply. I actually later found a couple stacks of 300 raw scrap iron in another chest that we just had not processed yet. Silver though… that we were now very short on. But getting us up into the mountains… he would need more than bronze.
Fortunately, I had made an extra wolf hide cape the day before… one of my more common mistakes is going to upgrade something and accidently making another one… so he was able to grab that. Then I gave him my fully upgraded iron gear because we had just enough silver to make the first tier of the wolf armor, which has the same armor protect stats.
Then we ran back to the swamp and killed Bonemass to get another wishbone for him. Also, we now have a Bonemass trophy to hang on the wall.
Finally, we headed up to the mountain outpost that Potshot put together and went to work excavating a silver node, doing the routine where you dig it out until it is floating in mid-air, then hitting it a few times until it fractures and all the silver lands on the ground in one big jackpot. Lots of fun.
However, the game had some plans for us. As we were almost done with that, we got the “you are being hunter” message, which is the mountains wolf event. This is a tough one to deal with, as a swarm of wolves will mess you up pretty quick.
We thought for a bit we might be safe. We were down in the mining pit with no ramp down, so the wolves couldn’t get to us. But then they began pushing against each other at the end of the pit until the ones up front started spilling down into the pit where we fought for a while before succumbing to the wolf mass.
This is why we keep meads of frost protection back at the base.
We ate some food, got a mead each, then took the portal back to the base. Running back it seemed that the event was over, so I jumped back into the pit… only to be reminded that the wolves don’t necessarily despawn. There were five in there waiting for me, so I was soon back at base eating food and getting another frost resist mead.
The wolves couldn’t get out of the pit and all our gear was down in the pit. So we grabbed a couple of finewood bows that Potshot had hung on the wall as decoration, grabbed some arrows out of the supply chest, then went back to the mountains and stood on the edge of the pit and shot the wolves. Problem solved.
Dealing with the wolf menace
We were then able to pop the silver vein and haul it back to the mountain base for later transport down the mountainside to our small dock in order to sail it back to be smelted.
Silver is actually considerably heavier than iron, tin, or copper, so has ended up being the first point we hit where we couldn’t just load up and carry about all we wanted. So even with weight being down to 10% of default, there are still limits.
Anyway, we have the three of us now up to date, have recovered a bit on the silver front, and are now live in the mountains
A mountain vista
We have a couple of items on our list still. We need some drake trophies in order to upgrade to the mountains level wolf armor set head piece. We need more silver. And we have to find where Moder, the next boss, spawns.
Modder ‘MetVarner99’ has released a must-have mod for those that playing The Witcher 3: Next-Gen with Ray Tracing. This mod solves the poor ray tracing bouncing optimization when moving inside closed places. For those unaware, in the vanilla version, when you enter a dark environment (especially caves), you have some weird “web look-alike” artifacts around … Continue reading The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Mod Fixes the Ray Tracing Bleach Issues→
I have on my list of things to write about the effect of the mods we have chosen for our current run through Valheim, how they have worked out and how they have changed our play style. There have been some obvious impacts.
I wrote about the six we initially chose a while back, but we added a seventh to the list, and I want to write about that one today because it had a rather poor impact on our game this past weekend.
First, it allows you to have bigger stacks of things… which I guess is kind of obvious by the name. By default it allows you to have stacks 10x the size of the Valheim defaults. So if you could only have a stack of 100 arrows before, you can now have a stack of 1,000. If ore was limited to 30 in a stack, it is now 300. If wood was 50 before, it is 500 now.
You get the idea. It looks like this,
Bigger stacks of things
The reason we wanted this was because inventory management… and base storage management… is a royal pain the the ass in Valheim. We burn through wood by the thousands of units at times, so we needed stacks and stacks of chests. Food was always overflowing our storage as well.
And Potshot had built a big storage room for our main base, with a nice curve to it so that you could stand in the middle and access all the chests. But once we got into smelting tin and copper and scrap iron, the chests began to overflow and it was either build a whole adjunct set of storage that we would need to manage or find a mod that allowed bigger stacks. Since we were already on the mod train, that won out.
Our storage space
The other thing this mod does is allow the weight of items to be reduced and, by default, with the mod installed, things weigh just 10% of their default game weight.
Now this balances out in a way. If you could carry a stack of 30 scrap iron before, you can now carry a stack of 300 scrap iron. Your stack carrying ability remains the same, even if you are hauling 10x the count.
I was a bit dubious about this aspect of the mod. It felt like we might be crossing the line from quality of life improvements… which bigger stack definately fell into… and into down right cheating, or at least going easy mode to the point of removing too much of the edge from the game.
You can configure the stacking and weight reduction. It could be changed to 20x stacks or half weight rather than 10% weight, the latter being something I tried to set. However, the client doesn’t pay attention to how the server side gets configured. The client side config wins in any conflict. So I left that alone.
And, we got used to the weigh reduction pretty quickly. It mostly meant fewer trips back and forth, which is a pretty nice QoL improvement, while we still had to ship ore and metal manually because it cannot go through portals. There is a mod for that, but we haven’t gone there.
This past weekend Bung got back online after being busy and away for the last few weeks, and I got on with him and explained where we stood in the game, encouraging him to go pick up some of our raw material so he would get the new recipes, starting with the chest where we kept our refined metal.
He then went over to the workbench and forge to check out the recipes while I peeked in the chest just to remind myself how much refined metal we had built up. It should have been a lot, but when I opened up the chest there was very little metal.
Then I realized that every stack he picked up and been reduced to the default stack size of 30. He did not have the new mod and, in the conflict between the server and the client, the client won. Default Valheim says those metal stacks should include no more than 30 pieces so it simply deleted anything in excess of 30. I was very quickly saying, “Oh shit!”
Stacks after I consolidated the remaining iron and silver
There had been almost 700 units of iron and 500 of silver in there along with a lot more bronze, tin, and copper.
I asked if he had seen the mod in the pinned list on our Discord. He had not, which was reasonable. You have to go look at it and we had added that mod while he had been away. It wasn’t an obvious change and I had not considered the consequences of somebody showing up without it installed. It is one of those mods that doesn’t prevent you from logging in, the way OdinShip does.
So we had our first mod-inflicted issue.
He went and got that downloaded and I started looking into what else he had touched. Fortunately, he had stopped at that chest to investigate new recipes.
So we decided to put in some work getting new raw metals back to base, starting with a visit to the swamp. This was a bit of an issue because he was still wearing black forest level gear… troll hide leather… and the swamp… the swamp can be a tough place. A dragur one-shotted him literally two steps out of our swamp base.
That didn’t go well
He grabbed some fully upgrade bronze kit that we had in the backup gear chests and came out in that.
We did get into a couple of crypts after that and were able to load up on scrap iron.
Down in the crypt
Then we sailed that back to our main base. But scap iron wasn’t in short supply. I actually later found a couple stacks of 300 raw scrap iron in another chest that we just had not processed yet. Silver though… that we were now very short on. But getting us up into the mountains… he would need more than bronze.
Fortunately, I had made an extra wolf hide cape the day before… one of my more common mistakes is going to upgrade something and accidently making another one… so he was able to grab that. Then I gave him my fully upgraded iron gear because we had just enough silver to make the first tier of the wolf armor, which has the same armor protect stats.
Then we ran back to the swamp and killed Bonemass to get another wishbone for him. Also, we now have a Bonemass trophy to hang on the wall.
Finally, we headed up to the mountain outpost that Potshot put together and went to work excavating a silver node, doing the routine where you dig it out until it is floating in mid-air, then hitting it a few times until it fractures and all the silver lands on the ground in one big jackpot. Lots of fun.
However, the game had some plans for us. As we were almost done with that, we got the “you are being hunter” message, which is the mountains wolf event. This is a tough one to deal with, as a swarm of wolves will mess you up pretty quick.
We thought for a bit we might be safe. We were down in the mining pit with no ramp down, so the wolves couldn’t get to us. But then they began pushing against each other at the end of the pit until the ones up front started spilling down into the pit where we fought for a while before succumbing to the wolf mass.
This is why we keep meads of frost protection back at the base.
We ate some food, got a mead each, then took the portal back to the base. Running back it seemed that the event was over, so I jumped back into the pit… only to be reminded that the wolves don’t necessarily despawn. There were five in there waiting for me, so I was soon back at base eating food and getting another frost resist mead.
The wolves couldn’t get out of the pit and all our gear was down in the pit. So we grabbed a couple of finewood bows that Potshot had hung on the wall as decoration, grabbed some arrows out of the supply chest, then went back to the mountains and stood on the edge of the pit and shot the wolves. Problem solved.
Dealing with the wolf menace
We were then able to pop the silver vein and haul it back to the mountain base for later transport down the mountainside to our small dock in order to sail it back to be smelted.
Silver is actually considerably heavier than iron, tin, or copper, so has ended up being the first point we hit where we couldn’t just load up and carry about all we wanted. So even with weight being down to 10% of default, there are still limits.
Anyway, we have the three of us now up to date, have recovered a bit on the silver front, and are now live in the mountains
A mountain vista
We have a couple of items on our list still. We need some drake trophies in order to upgrade to the mountains level wolf armor set head piece. We need more silver. And we have to find where Moder, the next boss, spawns.
Modder ‘Cristiferbeast’ has released a new mod that allows you to experience NEOWIZ’s Bloodborne/Dark Souls-inspired game, Lies of P, in first-person mode. This is a really a really cool mod for those who have completed it but want to replay it. So, if you are one of them, make sure to download it. Since Lies … Continue reading You can now play Lies of P in first-person mode→
Now here is an amazing modification for the classic Nintendo 64 game, Super Mario 64. Created by ‘TwilightPB’, this project adds infinite randomly generated levels to the game. And this, right here is why modding is so amazing. Hear that Nintendo? This random level generator for Super Mario 64 uses libsm64 and Godot Engine as … Continue reading Super Mario 64 now has infinite randomly generated levels on PC→
HDPacks has released a must-have HD Texture Pack for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that weighs around 17GB in size. This pack will update all of the game’s textures, and it’s a must for everyone who plans to play it. According to the modder, every texture in the game has been upscaled, … Continue reading The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Just Got a Must-Have 17GB HD Texture Pack→
Zelda fans, here is something special for you today. A team of modders has just released an Online/Multiplayer Mod for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. By using this mod, you can experience this Zelda game with your friends. Now what’s cool here is that you can enjoy this mod on PC. PC gamers can … Continue reading The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Online Mod Released in Early Access→
A new Persona 3 Reload mod changes the main character in the game to the Female MC Kotone Shiomi. The mod is currently being worked on and updated, but it already exists in a playable state.
The mod currently adds a new Kotone Shiomi model for the main character in P3R, new custom animations for her, and exclusive female voice lines for the English dub. The mod even changes the blue color scheme of the game's menu to the original Female MC pink color scheme that appeared in Persona 3 Portable. Additionally, many of the UI elements have been replaced with pink and the Kotone model.
However, Kotone still uses Makoto’s sword weapons instead of her naginata weapons from P3P, and the battle UI elements are still tinted blue. The FeMC Reloaded Team is currently working on custom physics for the skirt and hair. The team’s goal is to replace all 3D assets and 2D interface elements with the Female MC. This means that the Female MC Social Links will not be modded and added to the game.
You can check out a showcase video for the new mod below. The video is 7:38 minutes long, and the footage was recorded and edited by Persona YouTube content creator Faz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SacwPbPmLPw
Similar to this recent mod, Persona 5 Royal received a mod that allows players to control a female Joker, and it appeared on April 30, 2023.
Persona 3 Reload is immediately available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam. The Persona 3 Reload Kotone Shiomi Female MC mod is only available on PC and can be found on Gamebanana.
Modder ‘Cristiferbeast’ has released a pretty cool new mod for Palworld that allows you to play this Pokemon-like game in first-person mode. As its name suggests, this mod will allow you to play Palworld with a first-person camera viewpoint. It’s a simple mod that may interest some of you. Now since Palworld was never meant … Continue reading You can now play the Pokemon-like Palworld in first-person mode→
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Update: Oh, hey. 
