- Joined
- Dec 28, 2019
Modding is the modification of game assets, data, or logic with some end goal in mind. Console game modding is better known as ROM hacking, and overlaps with the console emulation, homebrew, and console hardware modding communities.
en.m.wikipedia.org
The two biggest mod hosting sites are Mod DB and Nexus mods. They host tens or hundreds of thousands of mods for many games.
www.nexusmods.com
www.moddb.com
Mods are grouped into categories depending of the scope and nature of what they change.
Total conversions change everything in a game, in some cases recreating other games in a different engine. Example, Skyblivion:
skyblivion.com
An overhaul changes large parts of the game, but generally leaves certain parts (like the story) intact. Example, GTA V Redux:
Randomizers randomize some or most elements of the game. Here is a comprehensive list of randomizers:
www.debigare.com
Add-ons typically add some small amount of content to a game. Example of this is Useful Alteration for Skyrim:
www.nexusmods.com
A rebalance makes some aspect of the game more or less difficult. One subset, a hardtype (or kaizo for platforming games) makes the game harder. FFVII: A New Threat is an example of a hardtype mod.
ngplus.net
Unofficial patches are mods which fix bugs not handled by the developers. Most moddable games have them.
Art mods exclusively change the art and sound assets of a game. They allow you to dramatically improve the look and sound, but often require more powerful hardware.
A user interface mod improves the UI of a game, making it more convenient to play and adding options. Most major PC games have UI mods.
A mod manager is a software tool which allows you to install, configure, reorder, and remove mods. It is essential because manually managing mods is difficult, tedious, and error-prone.
Load order is the order in which mods are loaded. It matters because some mods overwrite the same data, so the order in which they are loaded alters their effects.
Mod (video games) - Wikipedia

The two biggest mod hosting sites are Mod DB and Nexus mods. They host tens or hundreds of thousands of mods for many games.

Nexus Mods :: Home
We host 249,838 files for 926 games from 103,360 authors serving 20,472,439 members with over 3.5bn downloads to date. We support modding for all PC games. If you can mod it, we'll host it.


Games and mods development for Windows, Linux and Mac
Mod DB covers game development and modding on Windows, Mac and Linux with downloads of the best user generated content.
Mods are grouped into categories depending of the scope and nature of what they change.
Total conversions change everything in a game, in some cases recreating other games in a different engine. Example, Skyblivion:
Skyblivion | The Elder Scrolls Renewal - Skyblivion
Skyblivion is a volunteer-based project by the TESRenewal modding group. We aim to bring the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to a new generation of gamers.

An overhaul changes large parts of the game, but generally leaves certain parts (like the story) intact. Example, GTA V Redux:
Randomizers randomize some or most elements of the game. Here is a comprehensive list of randomizers:

The BIG List of Video Game Randomizers
Exhaustive list of all known video game randomizers.

Add-ons typically add some small amount of content to a game. Example of this is Useful Alteration for Skyrim:

Useful Alteration
Adds 20 spells to the Alteration school to turn it into the Annoyance Removal school of magic.

A rebalance makes some aspect of the game more or less difficult. One subset, a hardtype (or kaizo for platforming games) makes the game harder. FFVII: A New Threat is an example of a hardtype mod.
Final Fantasy VII: New Threat
Gameplay overhaul mod with revised/restored script & events, new enemies, sidequests, and QoL additions.
Unofficial patches are mods which fix bugs not handled by the developers. Most moddable games have them.
Art mods exclusively change the art and sound assets of a game. They allow you to dramatically improve the look and sound, but often require more powerful hardware.
A user interface mod improves the UI of a game, making it more convenient to play and adding options. Most major PC games have UI mods.
A mod manager is a software tool which allows you to install, configure, reorder, and remove mods. It is essential because manually managing mods is difficult, tedious, and error-prone.
Load order is the order in which mods are loaded. It matters because some mods overwrite the same data, so the order in which they are loaded alters their effects.