The whole point of BOTF2 has from the start has been to make the game as ultimately moddable (Within reason) as is possible.
This still means that you will need to be able to use a computer and other basic stuff (Obviously you can - or someone else is doing the typing for you! 8O
) to be able to make any changes.
The actual computer skill needed depends on the complexity of the mod in question though.
Making small changes (Like increasing your credits etc) will likely be just editing a simple tet file or something. (Don't quote me on that though, I know nothing of how Gavin has actually programmed the game)
More complex things, like adding ships or minor races, will apparently be facilitated by a special built-in program that will add the files into the game for you. This was mentioned quite a long time ago by gavin though, so I don't know if it is still in - fingers crossed though.
As for truly major changes, it's probably best to leave those to the experts, like Gavin and Jig. These changes will likely still require knowledge in programming etc.
For the kinds of mods that Joe Bloggs will make though, you shouldn't have a problem - so there will be no need for cheats.
It does spoil that atmosphere a tad though
