Dark Souls is seen as a challenging game to mod. Modders still managed to find ways to add custom content, but it was not an easy process.
Modders just announced they’d discovered a way to import custom maps into the eight-year-old game. Previously, modders could only import maps in from Demon’s Souls. They tried for years to add in custom maps but failed due to issues with collision detection.
On Twitter, @ZullieTheWitch explained: “Major barriers in custom level design have been broken in Dark Souls 1. @meowmaritus’s tools can import models, but without collision. Horkrux developed a way to create collision maps, and so now, Dropoff has imported the first ever new map into the game”
Dropoff uploaded a video testing the “Crossfire Map” from Half-Life on YouTube:
As for the static lightmaps, Zillie explained that Dropoff imported the original lightmaps from Half-Life.
Meowmaritus’s tool, which is currently on Github, is called FBX2FLVER, which is an “Experimental FBX model importer for Dark Souls, Dark Souls: Remastered, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, and Dark Souls III.”
From the tool description, it seems like it’s not restricted to only the Souls series. Meowmaritus explains that support for other games is as simple as a small patch. The only thing holding the modder back now is the time to work on it.
Modders interested in trying out the tool will find it on Github, along with a few instructions on how to use it.
The primary factor that was holding back custom maps was Havok. FromSoftware used a customized version of Havok for physics and collision detection. The files and stored data change between games.
On a Reddit thread, Katalash made it clear that it will take time until creating a custom map is “easy.” Adding in custom maps won’t be an easy process and modders are aware of it. Right now, the process is still quite complicated for the average modder.
Surely, yet slowly, the modders who love Dark Souls continue learning about FromSoftware’s masterpiece and how to maintain enthusiasm in the series.
Adding in custom maps opens up a world of possibility for the original Dark Souls games. Modders are already working hard to create unique custom maps for PC players to enjoy thanks to these new tools.
