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'Teardown' gets Steam Workshop support with over 100 mods
Destruction heist game Teardown's version 0.6 brings with it support for Steam Workshop and almost 100 hundred mods.
'Cyberpunk 2077' update fixes a save file exploit on PC
Hackers could have used malware attacks in mods to take over players' systems.
CDPR urges 'Cyberpunk 2077' players to avoid using mods for now
The publisher is working on a fix for an exploit that affects mods and custom saves.
The first official modding tools for 'Cyberpunk 2077' have arrived
Intrepid gamers haven’t wasted any time deploying Cyberpunk 2077 mods — you could, for example, turn Night City into a smog-covered wasteland like Blade Runner. CDPR says it’ll continually update them alongside Cyberpunk 2077’s patches, though I’d take the developer’s promises with a grain of salt at this point. Clearly, CD Projekt Red still has plenty to fix with the game, so I wouldn’t expect modding support to be a huge priority moving forward.
Tesla thwarts performance hacks for its electric cars
Tesla's latest software update is blocking performance hacks in the Model 3 and other electric cars.
Epic Games Store adds support for community-made mods
Epic is finally adding a mod manager to the Games Store.
'Microsoft Flight Simulator' will have an in-game store for mods
Only approved partners can sell their add-ons in that marketplace.
Valve opens 'Half-Life: Alyx' level editing tools to the community
Steam Workshop support for 'Half-Life: Alyx' should enable all-new mods and levels for Valve's virtual reality game.
WCW's Nintendo 64 legacy lives again, in mod form
Growing up, my friends and I were obsessed with Nintendo 64 wrestling games. That was all thanks to THQ, the AKI Corporation, and their AKI Engine. The AKI Engine made playing as your favorite on-screen personality simple yet refined, introducing a grappling system that allowed you to perform moves a heck of a lot easier than the Mortal Kombat-level button input-system other games used. Each wrestler had individual specials, taunts, and submission moves that reminded you of who they were supposed to represent, and lent itself to a variety of gameplay tactics depending on who you chose.
Easy-to-use mods brought me back to ‘Freespace 2’
Game genres can wax and wane in popularity. It's a sad truth that two of my favorites, real-time strategy and space simulation games, have been on the decline since the glory days of Tie Fighter and Warcraft. We may never see the likes of Warcraft 3 again, but in recent years there have been some valiant attempts to revive the space sim, with releases like Everspace, Rebel Galaxy, and Elite breathing new life into the genre. But I haven't been playing any of those, because all my free time has been completely consumed by Freespace 2.
'Black Mesa,' the fan-made 'Half-Life' remake, finally has a release date
Black Mesa has had a lengthy development journey, to say the least. In 2006, fans of Half-Life decided to port the game to the then-new Source engine (upon which Half-Life 2 was based). Valve had actually done so itself, but the results were poor. Crowbar Collective aimed to make a version of Half-Life that offered the same level of polish as its 2004 sequel. But as a small team, updates have been sporadic. Finally, 14 years after the first Black Mesa mod was released, the full version of the game will launch on March 5th via Steam.
Modder makes the GameCube Joy-Cons you've always wanted for your Switch
If you're a veteran Nintendo gamer, you've likely dreamed of using a GameCube controller with the Switch -- if just to recreate that 2001 vibe of playing Super Smash Bros. Melee in the family den. For mod creator Shank, that's now a practical reality. The hardware enthusiast has torn apart a Wavebird wireless controller to turn into a pair of Joy-Cons that share nearly all the functionality of the official controllers, including the tiny shoulder buttons used for shared-screen multiplayer (it's as awkward as you'd expect, Shank said). About the only thing missing is infrared.
Hennessey Performance's first EV mods will go on the Porsche Taycan
We've been waiting years for tuner culture to catch up with electric vehicles, and now Hennessey Performance Engineering is promising to get in the game, starting with the Porsche Taycan. According to its founder and CEO John Hennessey, the company will start with "simple modifications such as wheels, tires and interior upgrades as well as exterior modifications such as more aggressive front and rear bumpers." Coming more than five years after Saleen showed off a hot-rod Model S P85 called the Four Sixteen -- with some tweaks that are similar to changes Tesla itself made later on -- all we can say is that it's about time. Other tweaked EVs have included the Nismo Leaf RC and this function-over-form battery status monitor.
Fan-made 'Half-Life' remake 'Black Mesa' is nearly complete
Want to feel old? The original Half-Life has turned 20. Valve released its definitive shooter on November 19th, 1998, both stretching the possibilities of the genre (both in technology and storytelling) and laying the groundwork for the company's gaming empire. But it's not Valve celebrating the momentous occasion -- instead, it's up to the fans. Crowbar Collective has released a trailer for the final portion of its Black Mesa remake, introducing its take on the strange Xen dimension that ends the first Half-Life game.
Modders turn Nintendo Switch into a full-fledged Linux tablet
For all of its Nintendo customizations, the Switch is ultimately a tablet running a garden variety NVIDIA Tegra processor -- and that means it can potentially handle the same software as other mobile devices. To prove that point, the fail0verflow team has shown a Switch running an honest-to-goodness Linux distribution. The touchscreen, networking and accelerated 3D graphics are all functioning, as evidenced by the modders tweeting from the Switch and running a benchmark. You're not about to run Steam games on it (many Linux apps aren't built for ARM-based chips), but you could theoretically use the Switch as a basic computer.
‘Super Mario 64’ is an online multiplayer game thanks to hero modders
Super Mario 64 turned 21 years old back in June, but the classic title lives on in the hearts and minds of players. A new fan project has taken that collective nostalgia to another level with a downloadable version of the game allowing up to 24 friends to play through the (formerly) single-player adventure. But given Nintendo's extremely low tolerance for unauthorized versions of its games, play it now before the company DMCA's it off the internet.
Upcoming Moto Mod could add a 360-degree camera to your phone
Motorola's Moto Z Mods have quite a bit of promise to turn your phone into pretty much anything, including a gamepad, a walkie-talkie, and even a mobile Alexa station. The company has been pushing these pretty hard lately, holding hackathons that produced some pretty innovative add-ons and promising at least 12 of these new peripherals each year. At a small event in Ghana, West Africa, Motorola showed off a few new Mods, including a 360-degree camera, two Marshall-branded audio Mods and a DirecTV Mod, which seems to come with a Chromecast-like HDMI stick to plug into your HDTV. The presentation also included a DSLR Mod, along with a rotatable, GoPro-style action cam Mod.
Rockstar Games, Take Two seem to back off of PC game modders
Earlier this month, Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two angered the PC gaming community after sending a cease and desist letter to the developers of the OpenIV modding tool. OpenIV allowed people to create modifications for GTA IV and GTA V single player, but according to its creators, the letter said their tool could "allow third parties to defeat security features of its software and modify that software in violation Take-Two's rights." Facing the threat of legal action, they announced on June 14th that they would stop distributing OpenIV.
Future Moto Mods could offer sticky notes and improved audio
In its continuing bid to stay relevant in a competitive market, Motorola is trying to build up a community of hardware designers for the Moto Z's modular add-ons. Yesterday, the company brought together several winners of regional hackathons to a pitch event in Chicago, hoping to find the best of these innovative, indie creations. The judging panel -- which includes execs from Lenovo and Verizon -- selected two teams for up to $1 million in investment funding from Lenovo Capital, as well as eventual distribution by Verizon.
Motorola and Amazon will bake Alexa into Moto Mods and phones
You just can't stop Alexa. According to Amazon and Motorola representatives here at Mobile World Congress, the two companies have teamed up to explore ways to bring Amazon's voice-controlled assistant onto Motorola hardware. Amazon's Jon Kirk took the stage at a press event to run through a very short concept video in which a Moto phone was connected to a Harman Kardon-made speaker Mod that doubled as an Amazon Echo.
