It started out as any week in the modding community does, a little bit of Mass Effect, some Cyberpunk 2077 fixes here and there, etc. But then, a new – or rather, old – face showed up: The Simpsons Hit & Run. This childhood favourite made modding news not once, but twice this week, as a fan-made remaster went live…before being taken down just as swiftly.
From 2003 GTA clones to 2020 RPGs, here are all the modding stories from this week.
Related: 10 Best Half-Life 2 Mods
Cyberpunk 2077 “Mega Mod” Goes Live
The recently released Full Gameplay Rebalance mod for Cyberpunk 2077 has been making waves online, as it completely changes the way you play the game. From stealth, consumables, perks, and much more, modder Scissors123454321 has reworked every gameplay element, going further than the official hotfixes and patches. While some areas have been made more difficult – enemy AI now actually has intelligence – others have actually become more user friendly, as companions now stand a better chance in battle.
Fallout Modder Gets Job At Bethesda
Speaking of mammoth undertakings, the impressive-looking Fallout London was back in the news this week. The mod’s project head announced that lead writer, Stephanie Zachariadis, has been scooped up by Bethesda itself, and now works as an associate quest designer at the studio. This shouldn’t affect the story of Fallout London, as this has apparently been ironed out. Instead, any new writers that come on board will just be finishing up the dialogue.
The Simpsons Hit & Run’s First Mission Is Remade In Unreal Engine
Believe it or not, this much-adored 2003 sandbox title does have a modding community, albeit one that doesn’t tend to make the news. That changed this week however, as YouTuber reubs remade the first mission of Hit & Run in Unreal Engine 5 in just one week. This remake breathes new life into the game, with the glossy new models and environments giving us a glimpse of what an official remaster could look like. But with that said, I guess we really need an official remake if we have this now right?
…And Is Then Taken Down Over Copyright Concerns
Well, it wouldn’t be a mod roundup without news of a takedown, would it? Sure enough, this is always happening in the modding community, however, this Hit & Run remake may just win the record for the quickest deletion. YouTuber reubs simply said the demo was taken down due to "copyright concerns" surrounding the work, and did not elaborate further. If we’re remaining optimistic, this might be because an official remake is in the works. But if not, it might just be Disney flexing its legal muscles for the sake of it.
Mass Effect Mod Lets You Say A Longer Goodbye To Anderson
Back to Mass Effect, as usual, and we have another original trilogy mod being ported over to Legendary Edition. This time, it’s Anderson's Final Conversation Restored mod, which adds an extra minute of dialogue to Mass Effect 3’s notoriously devastating death scene. The mod restores cut audio in which Anderson laments on how he never started a family, and urges Shepard to do so. Y’know, in case you weren’t crying enough I guess.
