Hello, Oddworld fellows!
2-3 years ago, I have started a discussion here at OWF about the possible modability of NnT when it comes out. I exchanged a few e-mails with Matt Glanville back then, but the team was very busy with the game as it is, and they had no chance to consider any way to let the community modify the game. (But don't worry, they are aware of the modding community).
I cannot possibly describe how much I love Oddworld games, I really can't. When I was about 5-7 years old, I used to dream of another installment, I drew pictures about how a sequel could look, drew different versions of Sligs, and thought up silly typical names for the sequel, something like "Return to Rupture Farms". I wanted to make my own content, but I simply couldn't. Meanwhile I was doing whatever I wanted in Hammer Editor for HL1/CS (although, still limited by my age), and I wished I could do that to AO/AE. When I got my hands on the Paul's Editor, I was really really excited, and I thank Paul so so much for the possibility he has given me/us. However, I was too young to make any real difference, and now when NnT rised up in 2015, I felt a glimpse of hope - AO is alive 'n kickin again! Maybe I could make some difference now, maybe I could.. do something about it!
All I could do, in the end, was crawling through Wwise soundbanks, and fixing the new Scrab howl, and replacing the Slig and Abe sounds with the old ones for fun. (
http://www.oddworldforums.net/showthread.php?t=21915)
The game was built in Unity, which is, by itself, very locked up when it comes to modifying assets. They compile themselves into partially accessible files, but very tedious nonetheless. We have a whole topic for various ways to partially tweak the Unity assets, or alter ingame features, but it's just a surface-level, some hex tweaking and messing around.
I haven't given up yet though!
I texted Matt again after 2.5 years - still waiting for answer, I know he's very busy now. But I would like to try to reach OWI/JAW (possibly Fat Kraken later, about Soulstorm modability), and let them know that it's alive in here and that we would love to create our content, just as we loved doing it for AO/AE/... I think I am experienced in Unity, and if I was given the editor with the project so I can compile it... THAT would make a huge difference. That's why I want to rise the awareness of our passion for OW, and possibly, somehow, anyhow, get a way to work with the original thing compilable in Unity.
I... was never good at doing a speech, let alone possibly influential one, but I hope we could gather here and let the world know that the modding community/our community itself is NOT dead at all. Maybe this will help. I really want to try to do something about this because I missed the first time I could have done something (because I couldn't, too young), and now I am just afraid that if I don't try to do anything now, I might miss the opportunity all together and not have a chance ever again.
What do you think? Would you like to be able to mod NnT? What would you like to edit/play with?
Thank you for reading this, and thank you for your opinions.