Spellforce 3 adds comprehensive modding support
Make an Arcane Crafting check, DC16
According to shameless wizard aficionado Fraser Brown, Spellforce 3 was quite a pleasant little December surprise. Describing the hybrid RTS/RPG as 'the poster child for being more than the sum of its parts', it only stands to reason that the game would be improved by adding yet more parts to the mix.
Today, developers Grimlore Games share a little bit of their unspeakable arcane powers with the rest of us, and have released an official modding suite for the game. This should allow players to create maps or whole new game-modes thanks to putting the entire scripting system into the users hands, or you can just use giant rocks to draw dicks on the ground, if that's your thing.
Rather than being a heavy cut-down suite of editing tools, the software being put in the hands of Spellforce 3 players today is apparently the same ones Grimlore used to build the game itself, give or take. While this means that it'll likely be a powerful set of tools, it might not be the most accessible of software. For learning the map editor, the developers suggest looking at the Editor folder for example files and basic documentation, while there's a small reference wiki available to help with scripting.
The only real down-side to this release is the unfortunate hashtag they're still using to promote the game, but that's neither here nor there. Distribution at the moment may be an issue, but Steam Workshop support is coming soon, along with possibly more modding tools at a later date.
For now it's just a map editor and the scripting system, which should still allow players to do a surprising amount, albeit within a few confines. Perhaps not up to the level of Starcraft 2's absurd flexibility (a strength offset by frequent patches breaking mods), but solid nonetheless, with plenty of room to grow over the coming months
SpellForce 3 is out now on Steam, GOG and the Humble Store for £39.99/$49.99/€49.99.