# what are patches , mods , consoles , walkthroughs etc ??



## mohit (Apr 20, 2005)

hey guyz can somebody explain the basics of game files to me . every game after it releases has many patches,mods,consoles,walkthroughs etc etc . can somebody explain in detail what are these files meant for and their uses . i play a lot of games but never installed any of these files for any games i have played till date. i have played hl2 latest. now i came across a site offering many hl2 mods/patches/walkthroughs etc but i could not figure what are they meant for. do they have use in single player gaming ? plz make this post useful for all newbies like me who will do not have any idea about all the jargon games use.


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## ctrl_alt_del (Apr 21, 2005)

OK, lets go through them one at a time.

*Patches:* Not all games are made perfect. The devlopers try tomake each and every game as bug free as possible to make it thoroughly enjoyable. Even then there are chances that some bugs might creep in undetected. Here the game patches come into play. 

These patches are released by the game devlopers from time to time. You need to install these patches as you would do in case of a game. After installation, these patches will take care of the bug that it was designed to take care off. Sometimes, patches add additional functionality to a game by adding a new feature. In short, patches are essential for an enjoyable gaming expirience!

*Mods:* Mods stand for "modifications". Most of the times, these are modifications of the original game done by the players themselves, guys like you and me who play the game. Mods can be of many types. Some can add a new feature to the game such as Max Payne KungFu mod by Kenneth Yung that gave Max Payne KungFu skills. 

Then their are mods that are known as TC's or Total Conversions. Such mods change the game all together. They may change the story line, add new characters, new locations and levels. Case in point? The hugely popular Counter Strike...or even Max Payne Katana mod by MaDdieman and Straton Ace...yeah, yeah, I am a Max Payne fan allright! 

*Consoles:* Well about consoles, the one is the one which has the X-Box , PS2 etc underit but then I guess you are asking about the other type on concole. Such a console is generally obtained by enabling the console key through specific commands. Some games allow you to access the console directly. Generally it can be accessed through the "tilde" key, the one above the "Tab" key. 

The console can be used to key in cheat codes etc. The devlopers use the console to test the game while in devloping stage. I can't elaborate on this because my knowlege about it is limited, so sorry.

*Walkthrus:* Ah...a sight for frustated gamers. Stuck at some point in a game and desperately looking for a solution. Fear not, coz the Net has many people who have already beaten the game and ready to help you out with it. Such people create huge text documents that guide you step by step through a game, besides providing a whole lot of info on the game. Any time you are stuck, feel free to refer to a walkthru for the spicific game. You can find such types of walkthrus at gamefaqs.com

Now I hope I have covered all the bases. Have an enjoyable gaming session! Signing out!


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## mohit (Apr 21, 2005)

@ctrl_alt_del
thanx a lot buddy , u have given me a very good detailed introduction on the topic. i want to know one more thing , i.e can i install patches and mods on pirated versions of games or they require original ones ?


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## ctrl_alt_del (Apr 21, 2005)

As far as patches are concerned, yes you can install the patch on many of the pirated games. The question however is, can you play the pirated game after it has been patched? And the answer is no! Thats because the No-CD crack used by the pirated games gets overwritten during the patching process hence rendering it unplayable. There are work-arounds that but I am not at liberty to discuss that here.

As for mods, yes, they will work on the pirated versions as well.


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