Staff Picks - 15 Feb 2017

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With Valentine's day only yesterday, we have all decided to give you something that we love.

SirSalami loves a good hug every now and again, I have a love of Cola (which I really need to try and break off at some point), Terrorfox1234 has found a mod to appease his love of music production and JimmyRJump / HeavyEavy just love the additional playtime that Fusion City Rising has given them. Okay, they are tenuous links at best, but you're not here to read this part of the staff picks, so crack on below and see if there is anything that takes your fancy.

We love to hear your selections, so if you have a mod you would like to submit to the community (not your own), please check out this new and handy form.

Please fill out the form completely and ensure that you add some details about the mod and why you have chosen it (similar to how we have below). Just remember that other mods on the site may do roughly the same thing, so keep your eyes peeled and understand that these are just our personal picks. That said, hopefully, you'll find something you may not have seen before. Who knows, maybe we'll even learn a little about each other along the way.


SirSalami

Mod: Free Hug Mod - A mod for love
Game: Skyrim
Author: T3nd0

Though it might be over, in honor of Valentine's day it seems a good time to bring back an old favorite. After all, there's never a bad time for a hug. Whether it's a platonic pat or romantic embrace, T3nd0's Free Hug Mod has got you covered.

With this little mod, a new dialogue option will be available allowing you to hug it out with anyone. With each squeeze, your character can receive a bit of a buff, an increase to your relationship status with your partner, and an increase to your speechcraft skill. Why? Because a good hug is worth a thousand words. You might even find that a well-intentioned embrace can defuse an otherwise tense situation. In fact, I've heard that the best way to an angry Forsworn's heart, is an ol' fashioned hug.

The best part? As the title implies, T3nd0 has ensured that these hugs are indeed 100% free! You can't argue with a deal like that! So get out there and get huggin'. Maybe even give Nazeem some love. He seems like he needs it.


TerrorFox1234

Mod: Workshop Musician
Game: Fallout 4
Author: GroveMods

This mod is a sound replacer that adds looping music samples and beats to the powered speaker. Using multiple powered speakers one can use these loops to create their own music in the Commonwealth!

The mod is pretty simple right now, with only 18 new loops available, however, I think the concept is great. I'd love to see this expanded upon in the future, which is something the author has said they would like to do, pending enough interest in the mod.

While it may be simple, I still got sucked into playing around with different loops and timing. Using the delayed starters and delayed repeaters you can come up with some pretty creative stuff. I greatly look forward to seeing more loops adds and perhaps, someday, some more control over how those samples are used and mixed.


BlindJudge

Mod: Working Vending Machines
Game: Fallout 4
Author: borjoyzee

I've often wondered, why on earth I feel so compelled to collect all the pre-war money that I find blowing around the wasteland. I check every cash register, look in every drawer, open every possible hiding place and despite knowing that it's totally worthless STILL grab the money.

So when I saw that borjoyzee had created a working vending machine where I CAN spend all my pre-war money, I just had to download it and give it a whirl. After the mod has been installed you are able to place working vending machines in any of your settlements. Yes, they do cost more than the simple decorative machines but come on, they do keep your nuka-cola nice and cold. As these are working machines they do need a fusion core to make sure they keep running so check you have a few of these spare. The cigarette machine however, is totally fusion core free.

One of the nice things with the addition of one of these vending machines in your settlement is the boost in happiness, a nice little touch from the mod author. I just need to make sure my addiction to these sugary, carbonated drinks doesn't spill into the Fallout world else my pre-war money is going to dwindle pretty quickly.


(Guest submission)JimmyRJump & HeavyEavy

Mod: Fusion City Rising - Quest Mod Plus
Game: Fallout 4
Author: Recluse and Thggysmurf

This week, we had two independent submissions from JimmyRJump and HeavyEavy suggesting the same mod, Fusion City Rising by Recluse and Thggysmurf.

As JimmyRJump describes it:
Fusion City: an underground community larger than Diamond City with a mall, subway system, fight arena, hotel, university, player home, clinic, barber, laundromat, bath house, bank, grocery store, church, bars, restaurants, art gallery, residential district, shooting range, every type of vendor, and more.

Provides hours of new content: New quests, new locations, new enemy factions, and new companions. The time to complete the main story line and all side quests will typically range between 10 and 20 hours depending on how much exploration you choose and how many terminals you read.

HeavyEavy said:
This mod is DLC level in size and content. Companions are fully voiced and fun to game with. They have some Great banter and chat. One is romance-able and She's pretty funny to have around. The quests are fun and intriguing and there is a ton of backstory and details. Very well thought out and implemented. I give it a 9 out of 10!


Every week, we feature a few mods that have caught our staff's attention, as well as some that were submitted by you, the Nexus Mods community. If there is a mod you'd like to see on this list, then please check out this quick and handy form.

If you haven't already, feel free to follow us on our social media channels where we'll keep you up to date with the latest site news, articles and much more.

 


Thanks, and have fun modding!

28 comments

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  1. Smannesman
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    In response to post #47805140.


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    Smannesman wrote:
    Well whitewashing your comment section by moving reviews and comments you don't appreciate to the bug reports section is definitely clever.
    And then immediately banning those same people when they have the audacity to try to be heard is undeniably effective.


    Again, let's look at facts:

    - Only 2 people have been banned. You and one other person, out of 130k downloads. That should speak for itself.

    - There are currently over 1700 posts, some positive, some negative. We've highlighted many of the negative well written and/or humorous reviews by duplicating them on a separate Article page, and linking to those comments on the main page.

    - And for the best negative comments (e.g. AlChestBreach), we've used them to overhaul parts of the mod (v0.99b) and then personally thanked the commenters and given them kudos. Constructive feedback, good or bad, is always appreciated. Feedback that's a result of the commenter not reading the mod page, skipping over parts of quests, not reading notes/terminals, and then not understanding aspects of game play or lore, also happens frequently as well, and we try to help those folks too as long as they're being nice.

    - As stated in the sticky post, bug reports get moved to the bugs section, and your posts mentioned several bugs. When multiple users have the same issues, it's much easier, both for us and for users, to troubleshoot when bug reports are consolidated into a manageable number of bug threads rather than sifting through 65 pages of comments. If you ever decide to release a DLC-sized quest mod and then provide support for it, you might understand why that's a necessary protocol.

    So anyway, I get that you're not happy. Sort of curious what would make you happy since you clearly didn't enjoy and don't intend on ever playing the mod again.

    We make mods for fun and for free. There's not even a donation button. An occasional thank you is nice, but all we really ask in return is that people don't repeatedly harass us about providing free content, and 99.9985% of the community so far seems to think that's a reasonable bargain.

     


    Again, moving non-bug reports to the bug report section and immediately banning people when they post said non-bug report again after a week of no response to 'this is not a bug report' is not what I would consider to be appropriate behavior.
    Although I have to admit it is behavior that is to be expected from someone with your nick.
    1. Thuggysmurf
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      You claim we had "a week of no response" to your posts. The bug report is still up for anyone to see, and it shows the time-dated replies. The longest we took to reply to you was two hours and 13 minutes.

      We also did not immediately ban you. We tried to address your concerns and responded to your posts promptly.

      The sticky post to the mod at the top of the comments section clearly states:

      "PLEASE READ THE ABOVE BEFORE POSTING - Posts already covered in the links above, plot spoilers, political comments, endorsement ransoming, reposts, idiocy, and rambling incoherent posts will get deleted. Repeatedly rude users may get blocked."

      Four days after our last response to you, when you decided to disregard the sticky post guidelines, and it became abundantly clear that you had an ax to grind, that is when you got banned.

      Just 2 people have been banned from accessing the mod out of 130k downloads. You might find that's a pretty tolerant ratio compared to some other mod authors.

      Are there any other allegations you would like to make before the moderators eventually lock down the thread?
    2. Ethreon
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      Why is this comment section muddied and why do you bother to answer to a child that won't understand or accept his fault?
    3. Thuggysmurf
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      Was just waiting for you to show up brother :) I'm out, if you want to take it from here.
    4. L0tek
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      Wow. I have an immense amount of respect for you thuggysmurf, not that i didnt already highly respect you but your level of maturity and hospitality is almost unheard of. I honestly do not understand how an actual human being can be so dense and completely lacking of any moral responsibility and be soo unwilling to admit any fault of their own, as obvious as it is to everyone. Meanwhile you were trying to hold their hand through it all and actually give them a life lesson on how the actual world works lol. You my good sir are the definition of patience and maturity. Although you did not break through to this individual as that has proven to be impossible, you did succeed in teaching me a lesson in greater humility, so thank you.
  2. Smannesman
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    Thank you for your opinion, unasked for and worthless though it may be.
  3. Smannesman
    Smannesman
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    In response to post #47835045.


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    Smannesman wrote:
    Again, moving non-bug reports to the bug report section and immediately banning people when they post said non-bug report again after a week of no response to 'this is not a bug report' is not what I would consider to be appropriate behavior.

     
    In response to post #47805140.


    Spoiler:  
    Show
    Smannesman wrote:
    Well whitewashing your comment section by moving reviews and comments you don't appreciate to the bug reports section is definitely clever.
    And then immediately banning those same people when they have the audacity to try to be heard is undeniably effective.

    Again, let's look at facts:

    - Only 2 people have been banned. You and one other person, out of 130k downloads. That should speak for itself.

    - There are currently over 1700 posts, some positive, some negative. We've highlighted many of the negative well written and/or humorous reviews by duplicating them on a separate Article page, and linking to those comments on the main page.

    - And for the best negative comments (e.g. AlChestBreach), we've used them to overhaul parts of the mod (v0.99b) and then personally thanked the commenters and given them kudos. Constructive feedback, good or bad, is always appreciated. Feedback that's a result of the commenter not reading the mod page, skipping over parts of quests, not reading notes/terminals, and then not understanding aspects of game play or lore, also happens frequently as well, and we try to help those folks too as long as they're being nice.

    - As stated in the sticky post, bug reports get moved to the bugs section, and your posts mentioned several bugs. When multiple users have the same issues, it's much easier, both for us and for users, to troubleshoot when bug reports are consolidated into a manageable number of bug threads rather than sifting through 65 pages of comments. If you ever decide to release a DLC-sized quest mod and then provide support for it, you might understand why that's a necessary protocol.

    So anyway, I get that you're not happy. Sort of curious what would make you happy since you clearly didn't enjoy and don't intend on ever playing the mod again.

    We make mods for fun and for free. There's not even a donation button. An occasional thank you is nice, but all we really ask in return is that people don't repeatedly harass us about providing free content, and 99.9985% of the community so far seems to think that's a reasonable bargain.


     

    Although I have to admit it is behavior that is to be expected from someone with your nick.


    You claim we had "a week of no response" to your posts. The bug report is still up for anyone to see, and it shows the time-dated replies. The longest we took to reply to you was two hours and 13 minutes.

    We also did not immediately ban you. We tried to address your concerns and responded to your posts promptly.

    The sticky post to the mod at the top of the comments section clearly states:

    "PLEASE READ THE ABOVE BEFORE POSTING - Posts already covered in the links above, plot spoilers, political comments, endorsement ransoming, reposts, idiocy, and rambling incoherent posts will get deleted. Repeatedly rude users may get blocked."

    Four days after our last response to you, when you decided to disregard the sticky post guidelines, and it became abundantly clear that you had an ax to grind, that is when you got banned.

    Just 2 people have been banned from accessing the mod out of 130k downloads. You might find that's a pretty tolerant ratio compared to some other mod authors.

    Are there any other allegations you would like to make before the moderators eventually lock down the thread?
     


    There is no ax to grind, nor allegations to be made.
    You've obviously moved a review to the bug report section twice, even after I politely pointed out that it wasn't a bug report the first time around.
    I'm not sure why an honest and not even negative review caused you to behave like you did.
    I even sent in a real bug report after being banned, but before I removed the mod.
    And I thank you for the amusing conversation this has been.
    1. Ethreon
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      Mod authors have complete rulership over their comment section and mod page in general. You have 0 saying in that, and don't require to explain you anything. If the author decided your comment needed to be moved, he can do so and doesn't have to tell you why. The fact that you act like a small child despite his patience is not going to get you anything. Drop the salty attitude and move on.
  4. Smannesman
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    Well whitewashing your comment section by moving reviews and comments you don't appreciate to the bug reports section is definitely clever.
    And then immediately banning those same people when they have the audacity to try to be heard is undeniably effective.
    1. Thuggysmurf
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      Again, let's look at facts:

      - Only 2 people have been banned. You and one other person, out of 130k downloads. That should speak for itself.

      - There are currently over 1700 posts, some positive, some negative. We've highlighted many of the negative well written and/or humorous reviews by duplicating them on a separate Article page, and linking to those comments on the main page.

      - And for the best negative comments (e.g. AlChestBreach), we've used them to overhaul parts of the mod (v0.99b) and then personally thanked the commenters and given them kudos. Constructive feedback, good or bad, is always appreciated. Feedback that's a result of the commenter not reading the mod page, skipping over parts of quests, not reading notes/terminals, and then not understanding aspects of game play or lore, also happens frequently as well, and we try to help those folks too as long as they're being nice.

      - As stated in the sticky post, bug reports get moved to the bugs section, and your posts mentioned several bugs. When multiple users have the same issues, it's much easier, both for us and for users, to troubleshoot when bug reports are consolidated into a manageable number of bug threads rather than sifting through 65 pages of comments. If you ever decide to release a DLC-sized quest mod and then provide support for it, you might understand why that's a necessary protocol.

      So anyway, I get that you're not happy. Sort of curious what would make you happy since you clearly didn't enjoy and don't intend on ever playing the mod again.

      We make mods for fun and for free. There's not even a donation button. An occasional thank you is nice, but all we really ask in return is that people don't repeatedly harass us about providing free content, and 99.9985% of the community so far seems to think that's a reasonable bargain.

  5. NeshiraNamea
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    I've always been interested in FCR but the CBBE requirement and the fact that it really looks like it at least started out as an eyecandy for drooling fanboys always turns me off. I'm always into more story content but I worry about a lot with mods. Honestly my standards for quest mods or any mod that adds voiced NPCs are really high (and I know that, it's not the modders' fault, they did great, I'm just a picky old bat!) Most of the VOs in FCR seem awesome from the videos I've watched except for the female companion who while not near professional quality is still somewhat better than some of Bethesda's own official voices in the past!

    In the end I know I won't download it unless it adds a vanilla body option but I'm glad to see such a huge mod featured here...even if it did start as - or still include - pure eyecandy and slootiness.
    1. krepperk
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      I haven't tried FCR but from reading through the description it doesn't really require CBBE. Even thought it may not look like it, CBBE actually started as a mod that would make it possible to have more shapely clothes, not skimpy just better fitting. And CBBE together with Bodyslide is what you make of it, just build a body that you think is realistic and batch build all the clothes, no slootiness required.
    2. NeshiraNamea
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      It doesn't require it but textures look messed up without it. I know CBBE isn't inherently slooty (despite it usually being used that way) but I prefer vanilla bodies in FO4 and I wouldn't want to look at all the messed up textures.
    3. SkullBunny69
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      CBBE has a vanilla shape option that only adds textures. If you're worried about the nudity it also has a nevernude option.
    4. Thuggysmurf
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      Yeah, sorry about that. CBBE and vanilla use different UV maps, which makes textures look weird on certain outfits that show more skin. We had a choice: use vanilla only armors/clothing, and then certain skin textures would look weird for anyone with CBBE installed. Or use CBBE armors/clothing, and certain skin textures would look odd for people not using CBBE.

      CBBE is highly customizable, the most popular mod on FO4 Nexus, and most outfits on Nexus are made for CBBE, so we elected to go with CBBE outfits in order to make the majority of users happy.

      FCR has 10-20 hours of gameplay. If you don't have CBBE installed, the bathing suit NPC's in Club Fusion (15-ish minutes of gameplay) will look weird. Otherwise shouldn't be much of a difference.

      There's a few Let's Play YouTube videos that play the mod without CBBE if you want to check those out.

  6. Smannesman
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    In response to post #47724825. #47781215 is also a reply to the same post.


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    Smannesman wrote: Ah FCR, the mod that banned me for politely stating why I didn't like it.
    Good times.

    morbidslinky wrote: Cool


    There's a sticky post explaining the rules about comment spamming. Out of 129k downloads we've only had to block 2 people, which is a testament to how awesome the Nexus community is. This particular user was initially not pleased that his bug report (which was already covered in the mod documentation troubleshooting section) was moved to the bugs section.
     


    I'm sorry, but you're just misrepresenting the situation.
    I made an entire reasonably well written post about the mod and at the end I asked one single question about an issue I had which I was curious to know if it was related to FCR and you moved the entire post over to the bug tracker and closed it saying it wasn't related to FCR.
    After a week I reposted my post minus the question at the end and was promptly banned.
    The whole experience reeks of whitewashing to me.
    1. Thuggysmurf
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      Bug report is still there, still open, with your comments and our responses, for anyone to read and draw their own conclusions. You reported bugs related to 1) Spike, 2) Ownership of items, and 3) Glowing Sea name showing in German. So your post was moved to the bugs section, like the sticky post said it would be.

      We responded to the issues you raised, providing links to the mod documentation. After you pushed the issue, we then stated, in the bug report thread:

      "We've tried our best to provide all the mod info, Q&A, and troubleshooting help we can on the mod page. We realize many users will not read the mod page, the sticky post at the top of the comments, or most of the terminals in game, and come away confused by certain lore aspects or game-play elements. That's okay, the mod isn't for everyone. It's possible you might find more happiness with another mod on Nexus or making your own."

      Not sure why you feel the need to keep pressing the issue. Lots of great mods out there, surely some will be to your liking.
  7. Smannesman
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    Ah FCR, the mod that banned me for politely stating why I didn't like it.
    Good times.
    1. morbidslinky
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      Cool
    2. Thuggysmurf
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      There's a sticky post explaining the rules about comment spamming. Out of 129k downloads we've only had to block 2 people, which is a testament to how awesome the Nexus community is. This particular user was initially not pleased that his bug report (which was already covered in the mod documentation troubleshooting section) was moved to the bugs section.
  8. wangzhaojun
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    Thank you for your work, we all need it, I hope you can make a [backpeople] and [holdpeople] mod(holding her up cal and on my back), after all, more human taste.
  9. Walkersroad9
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    Ohmen .. ireally wanted that Skyrim mod but Skyrim cant be carried by my laptop
  10. KoraneYan
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    Awn! Free hugs is so cute!! Thank you! <3