all the UI mods that make strategy games playable

The mod for Skyrim that turns all the dragons into Macho Man Randy Savage

Requiem overhaul for Skyrim was my jam, makes it more immersive and touches just about everything in the game, from animals only dropping pelts / claws etc to trolls having hyper regeneration unless you use some kind of fire to negate it. Draugr are virtually immune to anything but silver weapons and fire. The damage is all turned up by magnitudes for both the player and npcs, so getting hit by a couple arrows can down you, a two handed axe will potentially one shot you in light armor. Would usually have to run around killing bandits for a while just to survive the starter dungeon.

Long war of the chosen for xcom, God I sank an embarrassing number of hours into the game just because of that mod.

I’ve been enjoying most Vintage Story mods, especially Expanded Foods/Cullinary Artillery. Though the amount of AI and vibe coding tolerated amongst VS mods is annoying with no required disclosures, so the game crashes semi often with all the mods I use now. There’s also no complete mod overhaul of the game because it’s sorta young and I’m pretty sure it originally started as a mod for minecraft in the first place (never played modded MC so idk).

Also been wanting to try Turyle WoW for a while, but haven’t started yet

Edit: forgot to say I used to play a ton of Battlefield 2 as well and I just checked in on project reality and they are STILL RELEASING UPDATES??? It’s been like 20 years holy hell

Anything that Kaze Emanuar does is the best mod to ever exist. He made Super Mario: Ocarina of Time and is making/made his own whole refactored (like remastered the game engine) mod of SM64.

But then there’s a simple one that remove Gleba from Factorio that made my friend laugh so I like it.

Then Minecraft, Terraria, and Slay the Spire have absolute cinema for mods but I haven’t explored

Generations Arena for Q3A was a good time, playing as any of the characters from previous id games and their different play styles

There was also a simple Akimbo mod for Q3a that allowed you to equip 2 guns and once

I usually think QOL mods for games tend to be the best because its purpose are to just make the experience better overall, but outside of that:

• There’s 2 mods for The Binding of Isaac I cannot play without: External Item Descriptions (so important it’s feature was added to the game, but it is still inferior to the mod) and ReactionAPI (seeing your character POG for good items and dance for incredible items is integral to the gameplay).
• Seamless coop on Elden Ring is also incredible and a must for playing with someone else.
• I haven’t finished it but the Archthrones mod for Dark Souls 3 was pretty cool.
• Ultrawide mods that work on Linux
• Skyrim mods that enhances the combat, skill tree and the ones that are genuinely impressive like adding transition animations

• Dark Future for Cyberpunk 2077

• Basically every mod made for Kerbal Space Program 1 (i loved that c. 2016 modding community so much i was like the resident cheerleader/beta tester/booster for the modders everyone was so sweet and nerdy)

• Kaiserreich for HOI4 even though i’ve evolved beyond it actually helped me conceptualize a leftist revolution, finally see leftists as good guys, and forced me to deep dive into so much 20th history of the left

• shoutout to the Star Trek Stellaris mod even if it ran like shit

• some fallout 4 mod that let me aesthetically build the Minutemen into an primitive anarcho-communist faction. i almost built a mod for that game to give it an actual story

• so many others: mods to me are like fanfic is to my partner it’s my special interest but i am too sleepy/high to remember any others because if I did there would be like 100 entries.

I forgot about Project M, but purpleworm’s got that covered.

Another one is KSP: RO/RP-1. RP-1 is a complete overhaul of the game combining a decade of nearly all of the greatest individual mods into a nearly cohesive whole. Replaces the game’s toy solar system with a full scale one. It changes the campaign to re-create the space race, with the tech tree filled with real engines and technologies from the US and Soviet space programs. Introduces real fuels mixtures with realistic properties which must be used with the correct engines and appropriate storage. Introduces line of sight and range limitations to radio communication. Substantially improved aerodynamics simulation. Substantially improved physics (necessitating spin stabilization and making spin a persistent property of airborn craft). Nerfs the original game’s over-powered gyros and RCS. Simulates fuel ullage. Research takes time. Construction takes time. Astronaut mission training takes time. Astronauts retire. Procedural tanks, wings, fairings. Custom decals. Engine failures as a gameplay mechanic (forcing you to design something that is practical to build several of, if necessary). Life support systems for crewed missions. Pilot vulnerability to G-forces and loss of consciousness (and control). I’m sure I’m missing some things too.

While they are not included, it is compatible with Principia, an n-body gravity simulation enabling lagrange orbits, as well as kOS, the “Kerbal Operating System” which allows you to write control programs for your crafts. These could be as simple as launch sequencing, to sophisticated PID controllers, custom autopilots, and automated station-keeping procedures for satellites.

Also the OG Celeste Strawberry Jam Collab. An enourmous community project featuring the work of over 350 contributors. It contains 116 levels spanning over 1500 individual rooms, as well as NINE HOURS of original music. Absolutely incredible.

JK+ for Jedi Academy! I spent probably more time playing that mod on multiplayer servers than any other video game when I was a teenager. Jedi Academy had a ton of great mods too, great single player campaigns, great multiplayer maps and skins, just an absolutely perfect modding scene.

Now while that’s my most played mod, I think my favorite mod is Movie Battles 2. MB2 is basically a hero shooter but without predatory monetization - you pick your classes each class has different skills so you can pick a different load out there’s some modes that recreate scenes from the movies some modes that are like free-flowing where you get a single life, and it has by far the best depiction of lightsaber combat in any Star Wars game, and it manages to do that without making the Jedi super OP. 10/10 game, the servers are still up, although every time I check in out of nostalgia there’s people using slurs in the chat, so…

original tekkit and aether mod. The real og’s of minecraft modding, they hit a high so good Ive only ever been let down ever since. Dont forget to delete you META-INF folder!

If we are going for packs, then the original Feed the Beast map + modpack where you need to advance through the mods on a floating island and feed items to the beast contraption for rewards.

Individual mods red power 2. So much of that mod actually ended up in vanilla in some form. But it’s still not close.

The Last Days of the Third Age mod for Mount and Blade Warband is the best Lord of the Rings game I have ever had the joy of playing.

The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod for KOTOR2

You can actually go the HK 47 factory which there’s loads of hints about in the base game which I spend hours trying to find playing it on console as a kid, and has a bunch of other cut stuff like way more weapon/armour/lightsabre mods

The Open Cities mod for Skyrim made the open world and cities one cohesive area without loading screens. Such an improvement to the feel of the game.

The Kung Foo mods for Max Payne were awesome, especially at a time in my life where I was first experiencing Hong Kong cinema.

Total Annihilation had some insane mods that turned the game into an apocalyptic playground.

Do hacks count? If so mother 3 English translation