Returning to Modding After 10 Years – Relearning Everything

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It’s been nearly 10 years since I last touched anything related to modding, and coming back into it now has been a wild mix of nostalgia, confusion, and creative frustration. I remember the days when I could open up the Creation Kit or REDkit and at least have some idea of what I was doing. Now? It’s like staring at a wall of knobs and switches with no idea what they do anymore.

Back then, modding felt like building a world with clay. Now it feels more like I’ve walked into a factory filled with robotic arms expecting me to know the manual by heart. Everything’s changed—or maybe it’s just me. The Creation Kit, which I once found clunky but usable, now feels like an unintuitive maze. REDkit, which once had some structure I could wrap my head around, now seems like it's written in riddles. Even the documentation that’s available seems either outdated, fragmented, or assumes you already know the essentials.

Then there’s the experience on Nexus Mods. Don’t get me wrong—there are still good, helpful people there. But coming back as a “newbie” (even though I used to mod regularly) felt a bit like walking into a club where everyone knows each other and no one’s got time to explain the basics again. Asking questions often results in being told to “read the wiki” or getting ignored entirely. It left me wondering if the community had become more closed off, or if I had just forgotten how to navigate its culture.

Still, I won't give up. theres stuff i want to fix but...

Instead, I decided if I was going to return to modding, I’d do it with a fresh mindset. No shortcuts. No relying on half-remembered code. I’m relearning C++ from scratch—the real backbone of modding for anything serious. It’s not easy. It never was. But there’s something rewarding in writing your own logic again, even when it breaks a thousand times.

I also brushed off XML, because let’s be honest—most modding these days still involves heaps of config files, data structure tweaks, and scripts nested in scripts. And yeah… I'm learning Blender. That’s probably been the most intimidating of all. I’ve never been a 3D artist, never touched modeling tools before this. But I’m slowly wrapping my head around it, watching tutorials and experimenting, even if all I’ve managed to create so far are lumpy, abstract shapes that vaguely resemble game assets.

But that wasn’t enough. I wanted to document the journey. So—I made a website. On Neocities.

I know absolutely nothing about HTML or CSS, but I’m learning as I go. It’s basic, it’s messy, and most pages still have placeholder text. But it’s mine. A little space on the internet where I can talk about my projects, frustrations, maybe even share resources once I feel confident enough. It’s kind of like building a digital shed where I can tinker in peace.

I also made a Discord server… which, for now, is completely empty. No members, no activity—just me, a few channels, and a dream of finding like-minded creators who want to learn, share tips, or just talk modding without fear of being judged. Right now, it feels a bit like shouting into a void, but I keep it open. Maybe someday someone will stumble in and feel like they’ve found a place to belong.

So if you mod, or used to, or are even just thinking about it—do you still mod? What tools are you using now? What’s your favorite engine to work with? Have you been through that painful relearning curve, too?

I guess I’m just reaching out. The modding community used to be this brilliant patchwork of creative chaos, and maybe it still is—just a bit harder to break into than it once was. I’m here, slowly rebuilding my skills, failing forward, and making weird little things that probably won’t see the light of day for a while.

But if you’re on that journey too, let’s talk. Maybe we’re not as alone as we think.