[Pfhoenix]

"Modding is about working with the engine and its limitations." - Of course it is. I could never rationally claim otherwise.

"All games and game engines have them." - This is a complete non-sequitor. Only someone emerging from a cave, or having never seen or played a video game before, could possibly think otherwise.

"To avoid such limits you need to program your own game or engine - probably imposing new limitations in the process since we don't live in an ideal world." - And now to the real meat.

If I were to recreate WW, and being a programmer makes this easy to conceptualize programmatically, I would not hardcode something like MAXIMUM_POSSIBLE_CARGO_SPACE_FOR_ALL_SHIPS. Nor would there be other magical numbers, such as the maximum number of ships a race can possibly have. There are two aspects of a game engine - the core engine and the gameplay code. Most often, due to time of development and complexity of desired end-result, gameplay limitations will be implemented as core engine limitations. This is what WW shows : Gameplay limitations built into the Core Engine. Of course there are going to be limitations in any logic system; if there weren't, there wouldn't be a logic system to begin with, as the system is defined by rules, the limits placed upon inputs and operations, in order for an organized set of outputs.

At the core of my actual concern is the use of the word "modding". Defining new ships alone does not constitute modding. Defining a new quest does not constitute modding. Putting them together is changing superficial gameplay, but the basic gameplay mechanics are unchanged entirely. I'm not bashing WW on the grounds of not being moddable; I'm saying that all that WW allows a 3rd party to do simply doesn't constitute modding to begin with. I've done modding for Unreal Engine games. I've done professional contracted game development. I work on my amateur game projects (I call them so because I don't get paid to do them, and do not intend them to reach commercial viability). My point isn't to brag, but to indicate that I possibly know what I'm talking about.

My comments should not be construed to be slanderous to WW or anybody at Digital Eel. As I said before, I have enjoyed WW more than I've spent twice as much on a box from a store shelf. However, I also love to tinker with things, and calling WW moddable simply isn't the case - I can't even define new ship combat behavior. What if I want an alien race to behave differently in combat? What if I want to see a planet move? What about adding a new type of ship destroying object? What about adding a wormhole object? These things indicate a fundamental inability to change actual gameplay, not just the assets presented during gameplay. Why hardcode cargo space? You're defining ship limitations anyways. The player already has to balance the value of what he's carrying with what he wants to find or get. That aspect of the game is great; that I'm prevented by a magical number in the engine from expanding on this, isn't.

One final thing - is there up on any forum a list of the expected changes in the upcoming patch? Perhaps you (Fingers) could centralize a place for qualitative feedback on such a list, and the players can see what to expect at patch time.