Cyberpunk 2077 Modding Update Post No. 2 - CD Projekt Red supports us!

Hey, choombas!

The time has come for a new update to be posted. The post before was on the mod manager being developed internally, but today's subject matter is somewhat different. We've now had a bit more time elapse between posts, and development has taken a new turn this new year. We came into official contact with CDPR, but more on that later.

Our current progress can be categorized into 2 main areas: script modding and content modding.

1. Script modding: With CET (Cyber Engine Tweaks), our console enabler/script library, we've made the first step towards creating a framework for the community to create mods on their own. Lua scripts can now be loaded during gameplay or upon initialization of the game. Currently, debug versions of the tool are being dropped on GitHub. Advancements are being made in leaps right now, and a lot of new content being added. A big thank you to Yamashi, the original creator of the mod, and WhySoSerious, actively improving on and developing the mod. Examples: CET In-game Mod Manager by Natsji - CYBER H4CK by specikk - Vehicle Unlocker by specikk, all on the Nexus.

2. Content modding: The WolvenKit devs, forefathers of CP77 modding, have been getting closer to being able to fully port their Witcher 3-geared codebase to Cyberpunk 2077 and implement modding functionalities in Cyberpunk 2077! Until its release, however, we have our CLI-based tool called "CP77Tools" (very original, I know :D) that allows the unpacking and (highly experimental!) packing of .archive files to allow viewing and direct editing. There is more to it, so for more info, join our Discord server or take a look at the GitHub repo. A big thank you to rfuzzo for starting work on CP77Tools, and both rfuzzo/Traderain for the upcoming version of WolvenKit with Cyberpunk 2077 support!

Thanks to my fellow server members, I realized I forgot to add a specific tool developed by WopsS: RED4EXT!

RED4EXT is a library that extends the scripting capabilities of REDEngine 4. In practice, it means adding new features to stuff, modifying game behavior, add new scripting functions or call existing ones in your own plugins. This, in fact, is similar in ways to Script Hook V, the GTA V scripting library.

HUGE props to WopsS and Yamashi!

Now about the contact with CDPR. It would be an understatement to say they've been going through a lot of stuff lately, but despite it all, they have come to see that getting the community involved is a good idea. We are thus honored to have heard from CDPR openly encouraging the modding community and expressing interest in adding official mod support. We hadn't heard from them at all up to this point, but that has changed today (01.15.2021), as Traderain, one of the head developers and creator of WolvenKit, informed everyone on the Discord server that he and rfuzzo had gotten in contact with CD Projekt Red and had received the news about them endorsing our work, and that CDPR staff would now be actively helping us. The first step was releasing a nearly complete list of game filenames and hashes, which would have taken us an additional month or more to brute force for ourselves, due in part to how our tool works. We are certain the hashes missing from the list right now are insignificant, being either cut content or copyrighted material that CDPR is obviously not allowed to just hand over like that. This, of course, is not the end of our partnership with CDPR, and that's all there is to say for now.

As can be seen, the team is working hard on the tools to improve the game in the long term, both in quality and lifetime. All we can do now is eagerly continue creating these tools, and we would most certainly be happy to get more hands on deck for programming! If you have the experience and the interest, come join us on Discord and ask around for the current status, as well as take a look at our multi-purpose GitHub repo. We also welcome those wanting to help in other ways, namely contributing to documentation on the various wikis.

Until then, cheers, Your RED Modding Team