Nakia

If the mod is uploaded to Nexus they would not be soliciting donations here. However as long as the donation is a true donation there should be no problem. At the moment it isn't an issue at all because modding PoE is so difficult.

As for PoE modding no much right now. There were various reasons why the charge for mods was prosted from the simple one of players did not want to be forced to pay for something that they had been getting free. I also think Value CEO made a statement that the modding community was too complicated because many mods to use talent from various people which is true can be seen from the credits given in mods. At one time I belonged to a group of quite a few people who worked together. So that is true but I think Value tried to save face by using it as a reason to withdraw the charging. A lot more than one said that. Also TES players tend to install many mods. Even if each mod purchased only cost 1 USD each the cost could add up to several hundreds.

It exploded in Valves face because Valve had no quality control over the mods offered and clearly stated that the community was responsible for Quality testing. Bethesda and Valve took around 75% of the price of the mods leaving the modder with about 25%. People did not want to pay for mods that might or might not conflict with other mods or cause problems. Believe me or not as you wish but I was one of the protesters and kept close tabs on what was going on.

and those necessary portions were quite adequate developed in poe and will no doubt be developed in white march. developing the stronghold functions and features more than the critical path required is what folks is complaining 'bout, yes? hire henchmen and build a church and fight off intruders is all optional stuff beyond the scope o' the critical path. the stronghold is a significant feature, even if it is optional. makes sense that the stronghold would appear along the critical path to guarantee that all players became aware o' it, yes? HA! Good Fun! True again, Luckmann, but the Stronghold still feels to me like an unfinished project, a sop tossed to the backers, a token of the strongholds in BG II. Maybe I am being irrational but the place feels dead to me. I tried saying I just wanted to go to Defiance Bay and then spent an hour trying to see if by some chance another path opened. I had no luck. we likely already responded to you in our rather extreme edit... precognition on our part? we were disappointed in the stronghold, and in the future, we would expect better from obsidian. am not satisfied with the stronghold as-is. however, we get the reasoning and the rationale provided by obsidian as to why the stronghold were not more robust. a rational explanation for failure does not diminish the failure, yes? HA! Good Fun! Highlight by me. The fact that I failed to complete a project because I had a headache does not change the fact that I failed to complete the project. My boss would probably say that I should have reported being ill and turned the project over to someone else. If he/she is not very sympathetic I could even lose my job.

Donations are optional, no one can make a mod and then demand a "donation" in order for people to download it. In that case it is no longer a donation and is a fee and can get the modder in trouble with whoever owns the game copyright. Check out NEXUS they have made it possible to donate if you wish to modders.

and those necessary portions were quite adequate developed in poe and will no doubt be developed in white march. developing the stronghold functions and features more than the critical path required is what folks is complaining 'bout, yes? hire henchmen and build a church and fight off intruders is all optional stuff beyond the scope o' the critical path. the stronghold is a significant feature, even if it is optional. makes sense that the stronghold would appear along the critical path to guarantee that all players became aware o' it, yes? HA! Good Fun! True again, Luckmann, but the Stronghold still feels to me like an unfinished project, a sop tossed to the backers, a token of the strongholds in BG II. Maybe I am being irrational but the place feels dead to me. I tried saying I just wanted to go to Defiance Bay and then spent an hour trying to see if by some chance another path opened. I had no luck.

Josh may be rational but the Stronghold is an integral part of the game. You have to go there as part of the main quest, you have to repair the Eastern Bastion to get to Defiance Bay and now it is the trigger for the White March expansion. You end up with the Stronghold whether you want it or not.

I can like a game and be appreciative of it's vanilla state, but still love the mods for adding longevity. One doesn't rule out the other. Personally I would love to see mods for Pillars, but I'm perfectly aware there is no toolset to get started. It the same with D:OS and personally I find that a shame, since both games were the lights at the end of the tunnel of mediocricy for me and I would have loved to see the modding community taking it from there. Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. There are people who do not appreciate what modders do by making and sharing their mods. Game developers develop thick skins but user modders are often innocents who have what they think is a great idea and want to share it with other like minded people. There are some nasty horror stories in the Bethesda modding community. User modders cannot charge for their mods so it is not a business but a hobby done with love. Some may get donations from people but that is optional. I have given donations to some modders when I felt their mod or mods where exceptional. Edit: I am not saying that anyone here does not appreciate the work that modders do in fact I doubt we would be posting in this thread if we didn't. What I am saying is that there are people who do harass and vilify user modders and their mods.

I was a part of the Bethesda modding community for roughly five years and it can get pretty nasty. There are legal problems. One of the reasons I support a modding sub-forum here is that it gives a center for both modders and those desiring mods to get needed information. Not everyone who makes a mod has a dedicated site. Some people simply do not have the time to spend o modding but enjoy doing it simply as a hobby like stamp collecting. It is important that modders understand what is legal and what is not. Some may seem obvious but others are gray areas. Who owns the mod has been discussed and argued in many discussions. Obsidian owns PoE I own a license to play the game. If I make a mod using game resources do I own the mod or does Obsidian? My thought is that Obsidian does but I may own some intellectual rights and there fore could restrict other modders from taking the mod to do with as they please. ??? Gray area I think. A sub-forum would place a burden on the moderators. They have a real stake in this issue but I still hope they will be willing to give a trial. \ Edit: Regarding making maps it is possible to make some really gorgeous maps using the 2D tools. The problem may be in that PoE adds 3D elements. I have worked with both 2D maps and 3D tile sets and I found the 2D much easier to work with. Pathing can be a problem. I had a discussion with a dev about how that was done with Navimesh. It is a real headache.

But all the Bethesda games came with the tools to do so and the implicit intent of the developers that modders take over. Otherwise they wouldn't have created the toolsets to go ahead and made them available to the general public. I think because we have gotten used to many games being modded we are taking them for granted and this IMO bad. It makes players demanding when they should be appreciative. Yes, Bethesda did but with Morrowind and Oblivion they also stated that there was no mod support. In other words you couldn't go to them for help. The help that we novices got was from more knowledgeable and talented modders. They did provide some tutorials for the skyrim mod tool. I think that because mods are so common gamers are taking them for granted and feel they have a right to them instead of being appreciative. If I could figure out how to add personnel to the Stronghold I would be under no obligation to share it with others.

True, Luckmann, but if we don't show an interest and do some asking Obsidian will just ignore the possibility. They are under no obligation to help us do some modding but in the long run they will benefit from it. Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim are constantly rejuvenated by some awesome mods. The city of Kvatch in Oblivion has three different mods that I have played which have rebuilt the city and have quite a few quests included. There are other quests mods some short and some lengthy. It isn't easy and it takes talent and dedication.

If people were able to create maps it might be possible. A campaign starts with a quest and just adds those. So if a quest can be crated I think a campaign could be crated. We need to remember that mods are installed at the players own risk.

There is strength in numbers and it gives the community a center for links to what is available, a place to post questions and get help. There are threads around that mention modding and a sub-forum would help to direct them to a place dedicated to the subject. It can't hurt and maybe it will help.

I think it is much like resting anywhere in the game. It is optional just as where you rest is optional. Nothing forces you to rest near enemies you can always move to a space you have cleaned. I do that because it is role playing. The more options I have the happier I am.

The BG games were the first of that type for me and I just accepted them. I like the main city in Arcanum and I think it influenced OE when making Defiance Bay.

Two flaws I think with the Obsidian favorites poll. It is in area where non-players might go even people who have never heard of the game if that is possible on this board and you can vote more than once. I think the poll here even with less voter is probably more accurate.

Hi, Nyro, I am so happy you are having fun with this game. I look forward to your critique when you have finished the game. If you are playing a completionist game you have many more hours to go. The first playthrough is always special because everything is new but in some ways I think the second is even better because you have an understanding of the game. I made a lot of mistakes my first time playing. Have fun, Your friend Nakia

I was just looking at the Obsidian pole asking who your favorite character is. Eder is #1 favorite, Grieving Mother #2, Durance is #3, Aloth is #4. Obviously the same people here and not voting there.

We already have discussions about modding. Here is a link to a recent one. http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/80700-poe-modding-sites/ We started asking for modding tools during the Kickstarter. You are new to the game and yet you are already telling us what is wrong with the game and what we should do. You do have the right to express your opinions but I also have the right to find you rather arrogant and to express my opinions. This is a community and a pretty friendly, cooperative one. PoE is not a D&D game for which some of us are grateful. Obsidian has worked hard on this game with a low budget and has been very responsive to players from the very beginning. It costs money and resources to make modding tools. Game development is not a simple thing. Other software than the Unity Engine is used. The IE games have been out for years judging what PoE is doing currently is IMO extremely unfair. PoE has been out four months come back in fifteen years and see what has been done or not done. Voice actors like to be paid and a lot of us have expressed that we preferred and still prefer that the money be spent on other things.

Aedyr is interesting as it is the colonizing nation of Eora. Walk into an area wipe out or enslave the natives, rinse and repeat. Dyrwood decided to rebel and kicked the top brass out. Sound familiar to anyone?

Some good fantasy stories had battlemages and I kinda like the idea of being able to play one. Normally I would never play a wizard as my main character. I like the feel of multiclass especially the way it can be built in PoE.

I sometimes play on different difficulty levels in the same game. I doubt I will ever play PotD I will never ever play Trial of Iron!!!

@ Night Stalkerl what you say is true and I played and modded the TES games and installed mods for Fallout NV but the owners of a game are under no obligation to provide modding tools for players. Even when they do provide tools they are under no obligation to support those tools. Only if the player has to pay for something is there any legal obligation as stated in the EULA. Ranting about something like this is childish. This is also the type of thing that causes trouble and heartache for good modders who share their work freely with others. It simply disgusts me. It show a lack of common courtesy and aslo knowledge of what is involved. That's my rant for the day.

Durance would strike me as the type to wear one, or Hiravias. They can both get kinda nasty. Durance grumbles or rants about almost everything, but Ondra's Gift makes his blood boil! Now I have to get the cod for Durance he really needs it. Surely someone is going to kick him in that sensitive area.

PoE is an excellent game to play without a lot of mods. I also fail to understand why a first time player is demanding mods. If you have not played the game through how can you possibly know what it needs or rather what you may want it to have. We were never promised a modding tool or that the casual modder would be able to mod. We do have some experienced people who have made mods. If you want to mod the game learn how and do it. Stop complaining that you can't have something you were never promised.