modders Archives

AppWizard

May 14, 2025

Modders use reverse engineering to bring Mario Party 4 to PC, more GameCube games to follow

The gaming community has seen a rise in reverse-engineering source code from retro console games, particularly from the Nintendo 64 era and earlier, leading to native PC ports. The decompilation of Mario Party 4 is nearly complete, making it the first fully decompiled GameCube title, which will facilitate unofficial PC ports. A port of Mario Party 4 with online multiplayer is in development. Other GameCube titles like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Metroid Prime are also being targeted for decompilation. An unofficial PC port of the Xbox 360 game Sonic Unleashed has been completed. Previous titles such as Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time have received PC ports with enhanced features. Modders are experimenting with advanced technologies like ray tracing for classic games. A modding tool has improved the recompilation process, but technical challenges remain. Nintendo has not taken legal action against these decompilation efforts, and modders use clean room tactics to avoid legal issues, requiring ownership of the original game for PC ports.

AppWizard

May 8, 2025

Mojang has just killed support for Minecraft VR, an underrated but very flawed VR experience

Mojang has announced the discontinuation of VR support for Minecraft, with plans to cease support by March 2025 and a suspension of VR functionality that occurred in May. The transition away from VR has received mixed reactions, as the experience was often described as temperamental and underwhelming. Alternatives like Vivecraft, a fan-supported mod, allow players to enjoy Minecraft in VR on PCs, but come with challenges such as requiring additional setup and coordination among friends. The decision to discontinue support likely stems from Minecraft's evolving nature, which complicates development and leads to the obsolescence of older versions.

AppWizard

May 8, 2025

Mojang’s big Minecraft VR mistake

Mojang has officially discontinued VR support for the Bedrock version of Minecraft on PCs, ending a VR initiative that began in April 2016. The Gear VR version was initially available on devices like the Oculus Go and original Oculus Quest, but support for older games on the Oculus Quest 2 rendered these experiences obsolete. Modders, particularly through the Vivecraft mod, have filled the gap left by Mojang, with QuestCraft being a notable port for Meta Quest headsets. Despite Mojang's claims of lacking resources for VR, the company has over 55 million daily active players and a workforce of more than 600 employees, indicating financial stability. The demographics of the Meta Quest user base suggest a strong potential interest in Minecraft if officially supported. Recent collaborations between Meta and Microsoft hint at potential opportunities for an official Minecraft VR port, yet progress remains stagnant. The QuestCraft Discord server has 80,000 members, indicating significant interest in a VR version of Minecraft, which could attract hundreds of thousands of active users.

BetaBeacon

May 5, 2025

This Majora’s Mask port now supports mods, and more recompiled N64 games are coming

The N64: Recompiled tool has been updated by Wiseguy, making it easier to create native ports of N64 games. The latest update improves the renderer, allowing N64 games to run at full speed with 4K texture packs even on older hardware. Mod-supporting ports of various games are coming soon, with the ability for modders to change virtually anything in the game. Currently, Zelda 64: Recompiled supports Majora's Mask, with Ocarina of Time on the way. Other recomps for games like Kirby 64, Quest 64, and Banjo-Kazooie are also in progress.

AppWizard

May 2, 2025

The best Oblivion Remastered mods

The modding community has become essential to the experience of Bethesda RPGs, particularly with the launch of Oblivion Remastered. Modders are updating existing mods and creating new ones, although the introduction of Unreal Engine 5 alongside Gamebryo may slow the maturation of the modding scene. Key mods include: - Oblivion Script Extender: A crucial tool expected to support complex customizations. - Ultimate Engine Tweaks: Helps alleviate performance issues by allowing players to disable certain visual effects. - Universal Achievement Unblocker: Prevents mods or console commands from blocking achievements. - Better HUD: Provides smaller compass options and minimalist designs for a more immersive experience. - No HUD No Effects: Toggles off UI elements and visual effects for distraction-free gameplay. - Unleveled Item Rewards: Ensures players receive optimal quest reward items. - Difficulty Slider Fixed: Balances difficulty settings for a consistent challenge. - Auto Local Map: Automatically opens the local map when entering an interior space. - First Person Horse: Allows first-person riding, despite some clipping issues. - Faster Sleep and Wait: Speeds up the waiting process for players.

AppWizard

April 24, 2025

The secret weapon every PC gamer needs is 30% off

Cheat Happens offers a Premium Lifetime Subscription that provides access to cheat trainers and mods for over 6,000 games, allowing users to enjoy features like unlimited health and infinite ammo. The service is distinguished by its commitment to quality and security, featuring in-house developers and tools like CoSMOS for creating custom cheats. Users can request custom trainers for unsupported games, ensuring timely access to tailored cheats. A promotional code, CODES30, allows access to Cheat Happens for .99, reduced from the standard price of .99.

AppWizard

April 20, 2025

‘We encourage mods’: REPO devs love mods, but they’re begging creators to ‘please optimize’ to keep server costs under control

The development team behind REPO appreciates the community of players and modders but reminds modders to optimize their creations to maintain server stability. They expressed concerns about mods that increase the player count beyond the default limit of six, which can strain servers, similar to issues faced by other indie games like Content Warning. The team hopes modders will avoid creating disruptions due to limited resources. While larger teams can enhance excitement, they can also lead to chaos in gameplay and communication. However, there are many creative mods that do not strain server performance, such as the MoreHeadPlus mod, which offers cosmetic enhancements for robots. The developers encourage a balance between creativity and performance to ensure a positive experience for all players.

TrendTechie

March 29, 2025

Overclockers.ru: InZOI оказалась доступна на торрент-ресурсах практически сразу после релиза

The game was released on March 28, 2025, and received a warm community response, though it drew comparisons to a scaled-down version of GTA. It was quickly pirated on various torrent platforms. The developers initially used the Denuvo anti-piracy system but removed it after criticism regarding its negative impact on game performance and restrictions on modding. Players reported that Denuvo hindered performance and limited user-generated mods, essential for the game's longevity. In response to these challenges, inZOI Studio and Krafton focused on community support, leading to modders releasing enhancements. The game featured unexpected mechanics, such as fighting NPCs, kidnapping children, and running over pedestrians, prompting comparisons to GTA. The development team has since addressed some of these mechanics and bugs.

AppWizard

March 14, 2025

Despite its history of taking action against GTA mods, a Rockstar-approved GTA 5 modding tool is on the way to “assist the modding community” in the wake of the recent PC upgrade

Rockstar Games has aligned the PC version of GTA 5 with current-generation consoles and announced that the Cfx.re modding team will release an official asset conversion tool for modders. This tool will help adapt assets from FiveM and GTA 5 Legacy to the new game version, as custom assets will not be natively compatible. The conversion tool will ensure compatibility for specific file types, including .ydd, .ydr, .yft, and .ytd files. This announcement marks a significant shift in Rockstar's approach to modding, moving towards support rather than restriction. Additionally, Rockstar is pursuing legal action against a website selling hacked GTA Online accounts.

BetaBeacon

March 14, 2025

RTX Remix leaves beta, boosting classic games with new AI tools

RTX Remix brings AI-powered upgrades for modders to enhance classic games, including tools like DLSS 4, RTX Neural Radiance Cache, and PBRFusion 3. PBRFusion 3, created by modder NightRaven, upscales textures and generates high-quality maps for materials. NVIDIA claims that with RTX Remix, older games can have their low-resolution textures upscaled up to 4x, making them look more modern and visually appealing on newer hardware. This enables smaller modding teams to extensively remaster classic games with less effort.