The Elder Scrolls series of RPGs is widely praised for its modding tools and is known for its extensive modding community, which tweaks, hacks, and otherwise enhances the experience of playing games like Fallout 3, Oblivion and Morrowind.
Although Skyrim is expected to have a similarly large, and dedicated base of modders, fans of the game expressed their worry about Skyrim’s possible use of a new SteamWorks encryption scheme called CEG, which apparently encrypts the game’s executable and doesn’t do it at the same time in memory. Presumably, the purpose of CEG is to make memory hacks in SteamWorks-supporter online games difficult, and it prevents players from cheating their way into obtaining Steam Achievements.
However, an encryption system like CEG would get in the way of modding Skyrim, preventing the use of Script Extenders that allow modders to insert hundreds of script commands to make the game do things that would be otherwise impossible without the modification of the game engine’s executable code in memory to fix bugs without making any permanent alterations to the core files.
The good news for modders is that Bethesda’s Pete Hines has confirmed via Twitter that Skyrim will not use CEG, so modders can alter the game to their whim.
”Skyrim will not be using CEG. Modders can breathe easy.”
It’s good news for both the modders and fans of the series, who can expect to see great, and not-so-great mods in the months and years to come.