Session already has great modding tools and custom skate parks

By James Davenport
published

Play levels from THPS 2 and Skate 3 in Session, where the modding community is just getting started.

Session is quickly becoming my favorite skateboarding game (opens in new tab), and even moreso now that I've discovered all the creators hard at work making mods and custom maps to play around in. Only a few weeks into life on Steam Early Access, Session already has slick custom map switching and texture tools, and a suite of cool maps, some original spots and a few lovely recreations from Skate 3 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. 

And while setting up custom maps is easy, it's such a budding scene that the tools and map files take a bit of digging to find. I've gathered it all here, including links to some Session modding Discords where you can learn how to make your own maps and mods, and keep up with new stuff as the community makes it. 

Step one: Install the map switcher

This excellent tool (opens in new tab), like the name says, makes switching maps fairly easy. The Github page contains detailed instructions and release notes, so be sure to give them a read to make sure everything's in order.

(Image credit: Github user rodriada000)

The gist: unpack the folder, run the .exe as an administrator, and point the launcher to your Session folder, located wherever you've planted your Steam library directory, typically [DRIVE]\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Session. 

Next, click "Patch with EzPz" in the bottom right corner to download and install the files necessary to make the map switcher and custom maps work with Session. 

Step two: download some maps

To play a custom map, just click the "Import Map" button in the map switcher and point to the .zip or .rar file. It'll do all the unpacking for you. 

Next, make sure the map switcher is running, load the map of your choosing, then start Session. You should load into the custom map immediately. 

To switch maps without restarting Session, head to your apartment in the start menu, alt-tab to the map switcher, select the custom map you want to play, and click "Load Map". From the apartment menu, start a new skating session and the selected custom map will load. Have at it. 

Just remember, Session is in Early Access, which means these tools are bound to break at some point. But given how vibrant the Session modding scene already is—stop by the Illusory (opens in new tab) and Session Modding (opens in new tab) Discords where I found the bulk of these resources to see what I mean—the mod tools will likely keep pace. 

James Davenport
James Davenport

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles. 

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