I was talking more about the programming side of modding. For example Quake 3 Arena would have you write raw C in 3rd party software and compile it to qvm though an engine compile argument. This raw binary file would be loaded up as the engine started letting you modify or add more gameplay mechanics at a low level without depending on a limited mod API designated to just this purpose.
In the engines I mentioned they put the compiled code in the base mods and load them up to power the gameplay mechanics. idTech engines load “qvm” files (compiled c or ++ files), UT2004 used “u” files now I understand this is just compiled Unreal Script but the concept is still there. Divinity has a scripting system in place as well but the main point I was making was, they all have some form of compiled binary that gets loaded into the engine at runtime from the mods folder and this powers the gameplay.
I was hoping to find some kind of mod loading system for UE4 that gives you enough power to make “total conversions” like Killing Floor, Red Orchestra, Air Buccaneers, Alien Swarm through a robust enough API that the core game was made entirely off it.
The beauty of this is since the main game was made on top of the mod system, modders will have the same level of access (and power) as the devs and not limited access to dedicated mod functions. Since everything was based on the same mod API there won’t be discrepancies and caveats for the modders to deal with. Is there anything like this for UE4, or any ideas on how to implement it?