Sega Mega Drive Games Getting Steam Workshop Mods
Also a virtual bedroom?
The old Mega Drive games (or Genesis, whatever) that Sega have been selling in their Classics Collections are receiving some form of mod support through the Steam Workshop later this month, which is wildly unexpected news. Sega are a bit vague on how extensive the mod support will be, so it's not clear whether this'll be full-on ROM hacks or something lighter. Either way, it's exciting because most publishers are wary of anyone tampering with their back catalogue.
Oh, and this'll all be housed in a 3D recreation of the sort of '90s bedroom you'd see in a Sega magazine advert, because Sega always have to be a bit baffling?
The Sega Mega Drive Classics Hub is coming to Steam on Thursday, April 28th, released for free to folks who own any of the fifty Mega Drive games on Steam. The hub is a virtual bedroom, because reasons? But! This upgrade means Sega are adding features not found in their previous straightforward emulations. Games in the hub will support optional graphic filters, including ways to make games look more like they would on a CRT screen, saving at any point, and full support for controllers and keyboard. Which are features unofficial emulators have had for yonks, of course, but now they're in a virtual bedroom. No, I don't know why either.
If you're interested in emulation, by the way, Frank Cifaldi's GDC 2016 talk encouraging publishers to embrace emulation is ace and free to watch.
As for mod support, Sega say in the announcement that "every single Mega Drive game will now feature Steam Workshop support allowing you to share modified versions of your favourite retro Sega titles!" Will they let folks upload ROM hacks, or have they perhaps made some new mod tools? Dunno! "We'll have more details on the Steam Workshop functionality next week," Sega have said on Twitter.
Here, have a look at the bedroom:
