On the 8th of January, after nabbing a duck model off Sketchfab and recording a short video, I tweeted out a teaser. The 30-second gag video featured Vinesauce‘s own Vinny, playable in Persona 5 Royal. The previous night, I had cobbled together a model resembling Vin’s likeness using parts from various P5 characters.
At the time, I didn’t quite anticipate the community outreach to be so great. Now, almost a full month later, there’s a full team behind the project and lots of progress to share. I’m very grateful for everyone’s contributions, since I would not already be this far along on my own.
Although Vinny and his friends have acknowledged the mod’s existence, I don’t expect him to play the game in any capacity. He has already expressed disinterest on several occasions, but he’s still certainly welcome to it anytime in the future.
For the meantime, this mod serves as a new way to enjoy P5 that’s unique to Vinesauce viewers. I’m pleased to be able to commemorate my many long years of viewership in a creative way, and it’s a bonus that so many others are on board with it.
A Source of Motivation
Occupying myself with this undertaking is helping me find my bearings in the modding scene yet again. I’ve taken somewhat of a hiatus since 2020 and slowed down on updates. But the best way to get re-involved is to have a need for my own services.
One such example: I’ve just released an update for the Persona Voice Clip Editor that makes batch encoding, encryption, replacement and repacking of sound files a breeze. Originally created to automatically support dual-language audio, it’s been invaluable as I change Joker and Morgana’s voice clips to their jabroni counterparts.
Version 2.0 of the Persona 5 Mod Menu is also gradually approaching its culmination. This in-game menu helps a lot with quickly testing and previewing different elements of the game. The new update will not only support Royal on all platforms, but also backport the latest changes to the old versions as well.
Artwork Galore
Vinesauce community members have always been known for their artistic abilities. They have an entire vinebooru online art board, with works featured on YouTube in over 1,000 different videos.
Fortunately for me, two talented artists (@CheesyDraws and @NeonWillowLeaf) offered to create 2D assets for both Vinny and Scoot, starting with their All-Out-Attacks. They each do an incredible job, and as you can see from the video, that goes without saying:
Vox Populi
Also featured in the mod is Vinny’s own band, Red Vox. As the frontman, he provides vocals, guitar, and a good amount of the creative direction. A YouTube channel @Pixelrino has graciously provided instrumental versions of each of their songs. With the help of @kekulism, over 100+ instrumental and vocal tracks have been converted to looping .ADX for use ingame.
Early on, we made a spreadsheet to figure out which BGM to replace with which song, and we’re mostly pleased with the outcome. Surprisingly, the presence of the music alone doesn’t change the atmosphere of the game too much, but still makes it feel like a fresh experience.
Vinny makes an effort to exclude Red Vox’s music from automatic copyright detection systems, which should make the mod safe to stream and upload. It should be noted that some exceptions are occasionally known to happen, but eventually get resolved.
The Road Ahead
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the mod should be released once the bulk of models and artwork have been replaced, and after some light testing to make sure nothing crashes and burns. This could take anywhere from a few months to a year, since it depends on a lot of factors.
This won’t be the only project I give my attention to, though. To prevent the usual burnout, I’ll alternate between finetuning my website, making new modding tools, and maybe porting some old mods to Royal. One thing is for sure, all this experience should make it painless when it comes time to re-release things such as the P5 Adachi Mod. Keep your eyes peeled!