Found here.
"It is evident from analysing both the data structures in the provided module files and from decompiling game code that modding capabilities were not a consideration in the development of the game engine up to now. This can also be inferred from the fact that there has been no quality assurance testing of modding functionality from Bethesda, as various current engine bugs that appear in the context of using mods would have been obvious showstoppers. Any existing modding capabilities appear to be incidental, stemming from the engine's legacy code base and the required work needed in that context to maintain functionality within the confines of editing Starfield.esm using the internal version of CK2." (Emphasis mine). Juicy asteroid-fucking crust, that's just pathetic.
Halgari boils this down to simpler terms for me. "It's essentially a hack, like they built this game thinking they would add modding some day, and they haven't actually added it yet," he explains. "The only reason we can mod it already," he continues, "is because we've modded the other games using the same engine and we know what to do. But a lot of stuff is really broken compared to the other games." Halgari estimates the modding scene for the game won't take off until next year once Bethesda releases official mod tools.
The sentiment is backed up by Cartogriffi, community content manager at Bethesda, who explained in the Starfield Modding Discord why Bethesda's website was given a UX revamp pre-pandemic for all sections other than Mods. "Mods was dead last for priority," Cartograffi explained, "and when the pandemic hit it was easy to put it on the backburner".
That's fucking sad, y'know?
Mods. DEAD LAST. The SINGLE THING THAT MADE THESE GAMES LAST SO LONG. The SOLE REASON Skyrim went as big as it did. I mean that. If not for modding, Skyrim would have been a popular flash in the pan that people binged and dumped. Mods made Bethesda what they are. Mods made Oblivion possible because Morrowind was so long-lasting and popular. Mods made Skyrim possible because Oblivion took off after modding capability expandded. Modding is SO important to the success of Bethesda/CK games that they PUT MODDING ON CONSOLES FOR IT. A previously completely undesirable task, fraught with security and stability risks for consoles.
NOT EVEN IN CONSIDERATION DURING DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGINE. They're literally not thinking about mods at all.
THIS is modern Bethesda. Fuck 'em.
Fucking sad.
