So, after recently reading an article on Gamespot that further clarified that the golf clip they showed at PAX was indeed made with modding tools, I figured that I would do my over analyzing I had done for this game in the past and translate some obscure menus and stuff to get a better sense of what the editor is capable of at least from what was presented at PAX.
First off, the footage is pretty low resolution and everything moves at a blur. I'd like to be able to get ahold of the video they used to showcase these features so I could get better stills for translation, but I have to work with that I'm given. So, that being said, some stuff will likely go untranslated and unknown. Also, keep in mind, everything is subject to change when the full modding tools come out in the fall.
Here's the first shot we get of it when we slow the footage down, this is a clean graph with just the basic editor.
First, let's look at the hierarchy on the left hand side, I'll list off the first few under the folder that's being used for this area to get an idea of what's in it.
- *map_leide_hammer_head_a_modlevel
- *mod_sequence
- spawnpointnodeentity01
- start_point
- target_point
- asset_food(?)
I colored a few things that are important to notice. First off, the map name contains hammer_head and modlevel which goes with what we know about being able to create and edit our own levels. Secondly, the mod_sequence which is what we see being edited in the center of the screen with the graph here. Something to point out the * before the names implies likely that this work hasn't been saved yet. Lastly, we see what's likely an asset_food folder (hard to read) with both food01 (those deserts) and triggerentity01 listed inside. These are going to be used in the graph, so it's important to mention them.
The first thing they do is drag
triggerentity01 from the left side into the graph which creates the first node. This is a
Actor Entity node which immediately identified as
[TriggerEntity] and shows us the name
triggerentity01 that was created. At the bottom is the node's output, which I have a hard time reading what it says, but I assume it says
Actor(s) as this
is the
Actor Entity but it could say
Action(s) but who knows.
Anyway, they create a node with
Trigger which has a few outputs including
Touch which obviously triggers when you... touch it. There's also attack and a few other ones, but it's really hard to see, especially with the background being yellow.
They connect
Touch to a node called
Actor Status (something) which they plug in an
Actor Object to which they select some value related to PC (playable character).
So, the flow of this graph is the Trigger Entity which is a physical game object that gets connected as a trigger in the graph. From there, they bind the touch event to a status node which connects to an Actor Object with some PC (something) selected as the object and then... the video cuts.
I'm not sure if there's more to this graph, but we don't really see food get referenced here. However, we got a basic understanding of how the graph system works at least. Basically, we're able to create game objects and then control them in "mod_sequences".
In game, the effect is that Noctis walks up to the trigger, the deserts disappear, and Noctis is given some sort of effects. Pretty cool, and pretty powerful. But, not too exciting right? That's where golf comes in to make things really exciting...
There is a lot to take in from this one screenshot alone which shows just how powerful the modding tools will theoretically be.
First off, let's look at the UI on the screen: We have the information about the game/score at the top left which shows information on the current hole, how many yards to the hole as well as the par. At the top right we have a wind direction and speed. Bottom left there's the current club as well as controls to swap clubs. Directly at the bottom is the power meter for the swing. Bottom right is the position on the ball to hit. Then on the right is a map. From the video, we know that the power bar can move up and down, once you hit the ball there's also a way to hide the UI and show a message like "Nice Shot!"
This is
extremely powerful stuff. For those that might not grasp what the potential is just from golf alone, I'll try to explain.
Based on everything here, we know that we'll have control over variables (values for certain things) like shown here for the current hole, how many yards, etc. We also of course have full control over the UI and ways to bind input to values like controlling where we're hitting the ball or what club we're using. And the wind is another variable that also can influence the UI.
Being able to create and control variables means we can effectively create
anything we want. In combination with this we have direct control over UI elements and the ability to create complex UI interactions like with the power bar, wind direction and ball hitting position. This means we'll be controlling the UI with a graph that updates in real time with the game with variables we define.
So, what about in the game itself? Well, obviously we can import new 3D models which we know about from the custom weapons and clothing. We also see here that Noctis has a custom animation for holding and swinging the club. So, we're able to control Noctis' animation as well as give him custom props to hold like the club here.
Then of course he swings the ball and it goes flying... not surprising. But, that means we have control over physics objects as well. Again, this is all pretty obvious just from looking at it, but the implications of this are incredible. Being able to manipulate physics objects means again we can do anything we want in the game.
So, other implications we have that aren't shown are that Noctis will be able to either walk or teleport to where he hit the ball, so we'll be able to create sequences like this where you move around free from player control or relinquish states from a golf mode and regular movement. Also, of course, the fact that you have multiple holes obviously means that you can save information about these holes in data. So, you effectively have custom saved information that you can reference to create complex features like this.
So, what sort of things can we create?
Here's an interesting idea that is very much in the realm of possibility: how about FFXV with turn based battles! Yes, this is completely possible with what we've seen just from golf. Turn based battles boil down to random numbers, controlling variables like HP, custom animations, etc. You could remove all the enemies on the map, create a random encounter system, relocate the party to a spot on the map based on their current location like Leide as the backdrop, drop in some enemies from a pool of potential monster groups, set up the UI for the battle and boom... turn based RPG in FFXV.
All of this is possible, and it's really exciting. SQEX seems to effectively be giving us the keys to kingdom with what they've shown off. This is really exciting stuff. I've always been interested in game development and game modding for years now. Seeing the potential FFXV holds for modding is probably the most I've been excited for this game in a long time.
That's pretty much it for what I wanted to talk about. I did want to translate a few more things, but it's too much work for what it's worth.
What do you think about all this? Do you guys have some cool ideas of your own? What would you create? Also, I think it would be cool for us as a community here on Mognet Central to work together to create our own mod(s). If anyone has some ideas, please leave them here.
I'll be watching the thread and discussing stuff for anyone who wants to hype about modding.
Thanks for reading!
