A Final Fantasy 14 mod quietly added harmful code, and after fan uproar, has discontinued further updates.
On February 6, Final Fantasy 14 users of the 'GShade' mod began to report some disturbing news. In the official Discord for the mod, one of the mod's creators revealed they had inserted code into the GShade mod that could shut down a user's PC on command, if the mod detected any other third-party software for Final Fantasy 14 being used in conjunction with the mod.
oh my fucking god pic.twitter.com/sPBcB8E0A6February 6, 2023
This, pretty understandably, led to outcry from users of the GShade mod. Although the mod's creator apparently meant it as a "lesson" to users, those utilizing the mod weren't pleased that the creator felt like they could add potentially harmful code to the popular mod at will, and felt pretty betrayed by the mod's creator as a result.
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That that Gshade idiot wanted us to be happy he didnt do something worse should be a terrifying thought. “Anything could have been in the payload,” he said. “I wanted something completely harmless [??] but slightly more noticeable than a quick process kill.” https://t.co/LW2EbrAma0February 7, 2023
If you're unfamiliar with the GShade mod, it's basically a mod that rejigs Final Fantasy 14's visuals. It's often used with the GPosers mod for incredibly stylish photos of player's characters, and it's not uncommon to see 'GPosers' trending on Twitter, such is the impact of the mod.
Now the mod's creator says they'll be discontinuing further updates for the GShade mod. In the Reddit post below, which itself is a screenshot from the GShade Discord, a modder says GShade won't receive any further updates "for the time being," and the Discord will revert back to being a monthly magazine highlighting users.
With Final Fantasy 14 users uninstalling the GShade mod en masse, one popular alternative has seemingly emerged. The ReShade mod seems to be the go-to for those looking to give Final Fantasy 14 a little aesthetic boost on their PC, and one Reddit user has handily notified others how to install the mod, should they run into any trouble while doing so.
This entire situation is an absolute mess, it's fair to say, and GShade is now firmly in the bad books of the Final Fantasy 14 community. It's worth remembering that GShade, GPosers, and ReShade are technically banned by Square Enix, as they all constitute third-party tools which the developer has a blanket ban on. Keep this in mind if you don't want to find yourself suddenly facing a suspension.
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