Modding in Red Dead Redemption 2
Areas of interest
One of the biggest questions, if not the biggest, we have about Red Dead Redemption 2 is how easily we can modify it. This does not necessarily mean having a full-blown LSPDFR-style mod out soon, but rather how likely is it in the future. There are generally two aspects that are important for us, which are memory modifications and file modifications.
Memory modifications are necessary to bring our own code into the game and are used by RAGE Plugin Hook and ScriptHookV for GTA V. While there are many ways to make this harder, it can ultimately not be prevented. The biggest obstacle here is the ability to analyze the game code which can be made close to impossible by using obfuscation and other techniques. These will then slow us down enormously since we have to invest a lot more time just trying to understand what is really happening in the game code. Let's hope R* decides to not go much further than what they did with GTA V here.
File modifications are used to, well, change the files. The most popular tool for GTA V is OpenIV which allows you to easily modify many different game files, most notably opening Rockstar's own archive format, the RPF. This format is the first barrier when it comes to file modding as these archives hold all the goodies these days. In earlier games, many files were just directly stored in various folders and sometimes the predecessor to RPF, .img was used as a collection.
What We Know
Red Dead Redemption 2 will make use of the RAGE engine and as such it can be expected that a lot of code looks similar to GTA V, including their scripting system. This should definitely allow us to make some progress by using current knowledge, but Rockstar wouldn't be Rockstar if they didn't frequently change things around. Ideally we can get access to all scripting function (also known as native functions) quickly and go from there. As mentioned before, obfuscation will be the real challenge here.
It is very likely that R* has tightened security when it comes to RPFs and people in the PlayStation scene have reported that breaking RPF files got harder compared to GTA V. Another thing about RPFs is that they use hashing extensively. It has been reported that many RPFs on PlayStation 4 did not contain any names or had the names for files encrypted separately so that even if you managed to open an RPF, all you found was gibberish as file names. The same can be expected on PC (but we still hope someone at R* is nice enough to not encrypt the file names...).
Preparations
Aside from buying stacks of pizza and energy drinks, we have also been busy preparing for Red Dead Redemption code-wise. MulleDK19 has been very busy adding multi-game support to RAGE Plugin Hook with a little help from me (LMS) in an effort to better understand the challenges of supporting multiple games. We've brought back support for Max Payne 3 (the original game RPH was developed for) and learned about how to manage various games. Equipped with this knowledge, we hope to be able to quickly deliver a working script hook. Find some screenshots of RPH in Max Payne 3 below:
Timeline
The goal is certainly to deliver a somewhat working script hook first, with a few basic modifications created by the community following shortly after. As for a LSPDFR in Red Dead 2, we will take our time to evaluate how we can use the game (neither Sam nor me have ever played it) and develop a concept for it. We will keep the hype train going, but any release predictions would be poor guesses. Let's see what the game brings and also what R* throws at us!
Personal Note
On a personal note, I hope the game brings back some excitement to the modding community and helps us remember what modding is all about: fun. The early days of modding GTA SA, GTA IV and GTA V have been amazing, with new discoveries every day and everyone just trying to push the limits I hope this spirit comes back.