Editorial Criticizes Modders Falsely

[Messiah Complex]

I figured RGN was the best venue to post this. I don't want to be the only one pissed off about it.

N4G linked to an editorial by Loren Nikkel entitled: "Nerd Rage: Top 10 Things I Hate About Online Gaming (http://www.themarriedgamers.net/?p=12714)." The #1 thing he hates:

1. Modders

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_QDQxU81Fwe4/TYvUpxhjTlI/AAAAAAAAAaY/vSrll3xsDvY/shot0003.jpg

Aimbots, invincibility mods, noclip mods, you name it, I’ve seen it. My first experience with Modern Warfare 2 online ended with a modder demonstrating his “superior skills” over my entire team. He thought it was funny to have an infinite ammo mod on allowing him to spam grenade launcher rounds throughout the entire level like a gatling gun. Can I get a banhammer please? I play online to have fun and to go up against the competition. When you take a game and mod the heck out of it you stop it from being fun for the rest of us. You may think it’s funny that you can mess with people like this, but in reality you are a jerk. The makers of these games worked hard to make a unique online experience, and when you go and figure out a way to mod or glitch the game you are undoing their work. Play smart, play fair, and above all else play to have a good time.

You'll probably recognize the mod he's slandering by association from the screenshot. I sent the author an email explaining, politely, why he's a jackass, but I doubt he'll post a retraction. I'll give him 24 hours, and then I'll ask you all to bomb the comments section of the page.

[Messiah Complex]

I suppose I should post my email:


Mr. Nikkel:

As number 1 on your list, you cite "modders" among the top ten things you hate about online gaming. (The Married Gamers: article) Aimbots, invincibility hacks, and noclip hacks are cheats, they are not mods. Mods are content modifications and additions that are made with tools provided by the developer of a given game. The most well-known mod is the original Counterstrike, which was made with the SDK provided by Valve to enable the creation of new games based on the Half-Life 1 engine.

The picture you embedded under the "modders" heading is a screenshot from an actual mod: Kill3r's "K3" mod, which provides a boatload of new features for players that choose to join unranked servers running it. The mod does not allow players to cheat, and if you want the "unique online experience" Infinity Ward created for the stock PC game, you are free to limit yourself to a multitude of (unmoddable) ranked servers.

I can understand your mistake, given that you appear to be primarily a console gamer. To speak of a "mod" in that context generally implies a modification of the hardware to facilitate cheating or piracy. In PC gaming, mods are creative works. For many die-hard PC gamers, mod tools are a selling point, because they allow anyone to put their own stamp on the game.

By conflating modders with cheaters, you're slandering the former, especially the maker of the mod you pictured.

A number of developers started out as modders, including Tripwire (Red Orchestra) and Kaos (Homefront). The original incarnation of Team Fortress was a Quake mod that was eventually ported over to the Source Engine when Valve hired the entire mod team. You've slandered them as well.

[Wizz]

Well said Messiah Complex, awesome reply to Mr. Nikkel. Can not say it any better than what you did.

Wizz

[Mike Nomad]

Well said Messiah Complex, awesome reply to Mr. Nikkel. Can not say it any better than what you did.

Wizz


Agreed. Loren Nikkel, a console gamer, has no idea of what he's talking about. That's obvious by his castigating modders and their mods when he should've been addressing hackers and their hacks/cheats.Nikkel is so typical of grandstanding by uninformed people today, running off at the mouth without any basis in truth to back up their rants.
Nikkel owes a sincere apology to all modders.

[Tally]

This is a common misconception - that console mods and PC mods are the same thing. I have corrected plenty of idiots at the official IW forums, and the Treyarch forums for attacking PC modders when they ask for mod tools, because the idiot makes the mistake of thinking a PC mod is like a console mod. I really wish they would invent another term for console modding. It should be something like console hacking, or something along those lines.

[Dak Knight]

Excellent reply..and all i can say is thank god for those who mod and map as well
For me the stock games run pretty thin in time and the enhancements to these games are much appreciated for the extended hrs of enjoyment.

[OneShot]

Excellent reply..and all i can say is thank god for those who mod and map as well
For me the stock games run pretty thin in time and the enhancements to these games are much appreciated for the extended hrs of enjoyment.

You echo my sentiments as well sir! :wink1: