F1 2012 F1 2012: The End of Modding?

[Petar Tasev]

If Dirt Showdown is anything to go by, CM are hiding away the database.bin which has been the key files to many great mods around this community. Whether they are doing the same thing in F1 2012 or not, I don't know, but please come support me to make sure that they leave the file like in the past so that we can continue to make great mods:

Thanks!

Sign this thread with a comment below to support us and we will send it to Codemasters

 

[Gerald Chinoy]

Yes off-course, full support to modding community guys.
CM might be jealous about the fact, that we r trying to make the better then original.
Let's just hope that it is just a speculation.
And CM won't be that mean to hide the database.bin file from us.
Let's keep our fingers crossed.

 

[skidmark33]

I should add that we are our own worst enemies if we make full season mods that allow an owner of F1 2010 to race the 2012 season with full drivers and liveries. Sure, they are great (and I'm sure very satisfying to make) but mods that stop people buying the new game will ultimately kill the game. Why would Codemasters risk investing a fortune to develop F1 2012 or 2013 if people can race these seasons with mods of old games? CM have to get a fair return for their investment or they won't make the game.

A mature approach to modding would be to make improvements to current season only - like the brilliant AI Tool kit (which was sorely needed), or HD tyres or helmets or whatever, but not new seasons. If we do that, Codemasters will walk away (I would) and then we all miss out.

I realise this idea of modder self-regulation is probably unrealsitic but I suggest that everyone think about this: how can we have mods without destroying value for the company that makes our game?

We have to co-exist.

I wonder if Codemasters can lock out mods that install whole new seasons, but could allow and even encourage mods and improvements to the current season?

Something to think about.

 

[Kartik Sri Harsha]

I should add that we are our own worst enemies if we make full season mods that allow an owner of F1 2010 to race the 2012 season with full drivers and liveries. Sure, they are great (and I'm sure very satisfying to make) but mods that stop people buying the new game will ultimately kill the game. Why would Codemasters risk investing a fortune to develop F1 2012 or 2013 if people can race these seasons with mods of old games? CM have to get a fair return for their investment or they won't make the game.

A mature approach to modding would be to make improvements to current season only - like the brilliant AI Tool kit (which was sorely needed), or HD tyres or helmets or whatever, but not new seasons. If we do that, Codemasters will walk away (I would) and then we all miss out.

I realise this idea of modder self-regulation is probably unrealsitic but I suggest that everyone think about this: how can we have mods without destroying value for the company that makes our game?

We have to co-exist.

I wonder if Codemasters can lock out mods that install whole new seasons, but could allow and even encourage mods and improvements to the current season?

Something to think about.

Well Cm can't lock out something and Give other side to Modding
Cos it was a structure
And the Driver's and Car's of Seasonal Changes are almost Graphical changes which can make a Seasonal Mod but we are requesting CM to Let the Database.bin to be Allowed to edit
Almost by the Mods the Other people are Playing the Game which left some time ago and i'm also one of them
I can change my Season order in tracks and more Aggressive AI tire life Engine Power etc etc are all done by only one file it was database.bin if that was locked down then we need to play the game like the Xbox and PS3 players where no changes can be done.
Yeah you can argue that the Mods are taking players away from Players for buying new versions but i believe Mods are making only a game which was good but they are Surely not enough to stop Buying a latest version of game.
You can't make the Full manual Pit stop or cannot give Full control to player under SC
But I respect your Thought

 

[Nicolas Vial]

Signed

 

[David Palavandishvili]

Signed

 

[Tom]

Until now, it's not sure how it's going to work. I might be too positive with this but I believe we shouldn't feel (yet) as if we've been let down by CM already.

 

[Tadhg MacConeely]

I don't see why Codies should lock us out. In the past & up to & including the 2011 release they've been very good at providing us with a basic, knocked-together scaffold to work from. From there & because of open-source, we have been able to create great games for them, fix alot of their ****-ups & have a good time doing it. Why change a winning combination that works.

Signed.

 

[Matthew Loudoun]

Signed

 

[Andy_J]

A mature approach to modding would be to make improvements to current season only - like the brilliant AI Tool kit (which was sorely needed), or HD tyres or helmets or whatever, but not new seasons. If we do that, Codemasters will walk away (I would) and then we all miss out.
Something to think about.

I for one wish that CM would walk away and let a passionate developer take control. We want an F1 game with passion, not just the need for greed and regular annual car shape changes and drip fed add on's. In my opinion, Codemasters have completely ruined the idea of an F1 race sim.

 

[xkorganx]

Signed.

I'll add if I may that some of the greatest games became the greatest games because the dev's allowed and took great interest in what the modding community was doing and later implemented it or a version similar to it. Modded or no, I will always buy the next installment of a game I enjoy, so long as the developer keeps supporting its fans.

 

[Diego Lopez]

we dont even own the game so im not judging.

its their game, their policies, their product.

not signed, til release.

 

[Scott Tanner]

Blizzard use the large add on database for improvement to their own game WoW. They copy the features of really good add-ons (the most used and downloaded) and implement it into their game making the game ultimately better. Blizzard see the free R&D they get with allowing a plethora of add-ons to be created for their game.

Bohemian Interactive have made more money from Arma:CO because of a mod one of their own developers made (Day Z). Its back on top of the Steam top ten because of this. EA made a tonne of extra cash because of a mod made for BF:1942. Skyrim sells well still because of mod support. There are reasons to allow mods most of them very positive. Disallowing mods is much more negative.

Codemasters should take a look at the most used mods like the AI mods for example and implement it into the f1 series. The mods are only tweaks to the original game code anyways so why not release support patches based off the most downloaded mods. Add an extra difficulty setting lets say which has all the changes that the AI mods and the tyre changes make. After release for example.

 

[Scott Tanner]

I should add that we are our own worst enemies if we make full season mods that allow an owner of F1 2010 to race the 2012 season with full drivers and liveries. Sure, they are great (and I'm sure very satisfying to make) but mods that stop people buying the new game will ultimately kill the game. Why would Codemasters risk investing a fortune to develop F1 2012 or 2013 if people can race these seasons with mods of old games? CM have to get a fair return for their investment or they won't make the game.

A mature approach to modding would be to make improvements to current season only - like the brilliant AI Tool kit (which was sorely needed), or HD tyres or helmets or whatever, but not new seasons. If we do that, Codemasters will walk away (I would) and then we all miss out.

I realise this idea of modder self-regulation is probably unrealsitic but I suggest that everyone think about this: how can we have mods without destroying value for the company that makes our game?

We have to co-exist.

I wonder if Codemasters can lock out mods that install whole new seasons, but could allow and even encourage mods and improvements to the current season?

Something to think about.

We could presume that most of the time disallowing mods means that developers are being told not to allow these features because of publisher and stock holder pressure but it also means that they are not keen on continued development of a game once its released because being active in the community and constantly working on improvements means development time.Which many publishers do not like. I get the feeling that like EA, Codemasters racing as they are now known will have skeleton crews working on f1 2012 once its been release and those few will mainly be community managers and the odd patch writer.

Mods that improve a game shouldn't be shunned it should be embraced, its free research and development for them for heavens sake.However i do agree that co existence is needed to some degree but the issue with delayed season releases means that for a while the 2012 game wil be fresh but come next year the 2013 season wil already begin and players will be keen to race all new liveries and teams/drivers etc.

So why do Codemasters not make a CORE F1 engine and then release new databases/ expansions like ISI do with rFactor to keep the game fresh and preemptive rather than old as soon as its release? Work on things constantly work on net code? Sounds like a keen developer would want to do this right?

Perhaps its not just about being keen, its how tight that leash is that the stock holders are holding onto. Because transparency is non existent in the game industry we wil always have to speculate i guess

 

[stevles]

The entire reason why the GTA game series was so damn popular from GTA:VC onwards is simply due to the highly modifiable game files.
If Codemasters think this will do anything apart from slash their PC game sales in half... They are dead wrong.

 

[Markus Neumann]

The entire reason why the GTA game series was so damn popular from GTA:VC onwards is simply due to the highly modifiable game files.
If Codemasters think this will do anything apart from slash their PC game sales in half... They are dead wrong.

Doubt it. Most copies of GTA are being sold on consoles with no access to mods. And while there are certainly a number of great mods (mostly additional car models as well as graphical updates (ENB series mainly)) for the GTA games, the vast majority of the mods is superfluous and downright juvenile crap The reason why the GTA games are so successful is simply because they are awesome
GTA is a good comparison to the F1 games from Codemasters in one regard though: Neither have officially supported mod tools and you have to dig deep into the data files of the game which is incredibly annoying

Blizzard use the large add on database for improvement to their own game WoW. They copy the features of really good add-ons (the most used and downloaded) and implement it into their game making the game ultimately better. Blizzard see the free R&D they get with allowing a plethora of add-ons to be created for their game.

Perhaps not the best example since WoW mods merely affect the interface. Warcraft and Starcraft maps are more fitting. Just think DOTA.

As far as Skyrim (and the other TES games) is concerned: just as with GTA, most sales come from consoles. I absolutely love mods though and am also modding myself. Oblivion wasn't even fun without mods. The buggy CS (between Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, Bethesda doesn't seem to have learned much) has definitely caused me to nerdrage many, many times though

 

[Ho3n3r]

Since T4RG4 blocked me from his Twitter because I criticised some of their design choices, I have had no interest in this game. Maybe it's a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'. And regarding the modding, plenty of other games which cater much better for it. Not many other arcade games though.

 

[Cheeba]

signed...

 

[Steven Poirier]

I should add that we are our own worst enemies if we make full season mods that allow an owner of F1 2010 to race the 2012 season with full drivers and liveries. Sure, they are great (and I'm sure very satisfying to make) but mods that stop people buying the new game will ultimately kill the game. Why would Codemasters risk investing a fortune to develop F1 2012 or 2013 if people can race these seasons with mods of old games? CM have to get a fair return for their investment or they won't make the game.

A mature approach to modding would be to make improvements to current season only - like the brilliant AI Tool kit (which was sorely needed), or HD tyres or helmets or whatever, but not new seasons. If we do that, Codemasters will walk away (I would) and then we all miss out.

I realise this idea of modder self-regulation is probably unrealsitic but I suggest that everyone think about this: how can we have mods without destroying value for the company that makes our game?

We have to co-exist.

I wonder if Codemasters can lock out mods that install whole new seasons, but could allow and even encourage mods and improvements to the current season?

Something to think about.

Really really not agree....

The community isn't enough big to say that... GP2, GP3, GP4, F1 99-02 got really really more mod than F1 2010 and F1 2011

For now;

A lot of 2012 mod....
One suppose complete mod 1999 ( miss a lot of thing )
Almost of mod didnt change any driver suit, garage and pit box...
Mostly of mod are Helmet and some tweek AI

Sincerely our community aren't really big and before to make CM afraid because too mucch mod are coming out from us... its will be take long time.

 

[Tom]

The F1 community is actually pretty big on RD, to be frank.

 

[Steven Poirier]

The F1 community is actually pretty big on RD, to be frank.

May be a lot of member... but a lot of different mod... not really.
Complete season mod are not so many
But i know a lot of single skin car...