Hello SnowRunners,
Give a warm welcome to modder Fredswayne, who may have the top first line of any interview we've done so far. Read on to discover more about one of the many modders creating incredible things for SnowRunner.
How did you get into gaming?
One day, when I was probably only 4 or 5 years old, Pops came home with a bag of random electronics. In that bag was 2 Sega Master Systems with a copy of Hang-On and a couple others I don’t remember the names of. I played more hours than I can remember of Hang-On, But once I found Snail Maze hidden in the bios of the master system, I was hooked, electronics were awesome to me.
Could you tell us a little bit about your background?
Sure can, I was raised in a rural community, I went from retrieving wrenches for the ole’ man as a kid to spinning my own through my teenage and adult years. I also have a bit of an artistic side.
What got you into modding?
1000’s of hours playing with other people’s mods in MudRunner. They just got better and better with each released mod, and I always thought, “That’s gotta be a really good feeling seeing a 4x4 of your own design go tear up the digital trails”, so when SnowRunner came out and I saw a very active community on Discord with people who were helping people learn, I figured there’s no time like the present and here we are, and it is a really good feeling. Games get boring after a while, but games that encourage an active modding community have an infinite replay value.
Have you modded for any other games?
I have not. Before now the most I had done was a few custom “Conky’s” on a Debian install. And a simple script to run folders of pics through an instance of deepdream and then save the results in a new folder named with sequential numbers.
What's your favourite SnowRunner mod?
Oh now that's a tough one. There’s so many good mods out there. I can’t pick but one. But for 4x4’s I would say it’s a toss up between Dubz's 82 luxington truggy or red's slay five blazer. And when I am in a working mood, its a 3-way tie between the IX 3880, Pog’s tenno-21, and the kraz 255rsk -260rsk pack by KOT. Those are the ones I find myself attracted to the most.
If someone could only download one of your mods, which would you suggest?
I would have to say the International Scout 800 I did. It was the first mod I made that made me feel like I really knew what I was doing finally. Tuning wise it just feels good to drive and Texture wise, I feel like I am always trying to get them as good as those ones again.
What would be your dream change or addition to SnowRunner?
Skidsteer mechanics. Not necessarily tracked vehicles, but I feel proper skidsteer mechanics could add a new element to the types of vehicles developed.
What’s your favorite thing about SnowRunner?
The scenery and immersion. If you don’t have a 4-wheel drive of your own to go beat in the woods. This game is the next best thing.
What advice would you give to people who would like to get into modding?
Well I would have to say the best approach would be to start small. There is so much work that goes into these things that you aren’t aware of until you try it yourself. Starting big is a sure-fire way to get frustrated in my opinion. Also don’t be shy about asking for help, we all started somewhere, and we all probably had a lot of help during that time. I know I did. Do some tweaks to get to know how the xml’s work. Then maybe make some simple add-ons for the base game trucks i.e. fire extinguishers, small toolbox, cap for a bed? Anything really. Or make some tires and rims. Just something to get familiar with both 3D-modeling and texturing but also the importing of the meshes and textures and how their xml’s work. Use the templates to your advantage.
Once you can get an addon in, then maybe try a car. Either find a free model that is legal to use or, if you're feeling brave, try to build something simple from scratch (it doesn’t have to be pretty, it can be a box with 2 cylinders) and use that to learn about the rigging and weighting the model. Once you can do that and somewhat understand what you are doing, I am a firm believer in repetition being the absolute best way to gain experience.
Working on any exciting mod at the moment?
Well at the time writing I am in between mods. I have a few things started but all of my builds are usually the results of me being excited about building them and I just don’t have any that are doing that to me at this moment. I’m sure I will have something grab my attention soon enough though.
What’s your all-time favourite real life vehicle? What about SnowRunner vehicle?
71 Plymouth Satellite, I just love everything about that car. SnowRunner vehicle? The Tuz 166. as far as base game vehicles go I have the most fun just cruising around exploring in a built up Tuz 166.
Wildcard Question: You’ve just won an entire cruise ship (not really, but imagine). What do you name it?
That's Easy. The Larry 7 after the best PC game ever made (next to SnowRunner of course).
You're not the first modder to mention ol' Larry. Starting to doubt it's a coincidence!
Thank you so much for joining us!
Check out and play Fredswayne's mods on mod.io.
If you have questions you'd like to see added to these interviews, feel free to suggest them and we may add them! 🙂