Steam now has Paywall mods

[Meshugger]

Horse Genetalia mod for Skyrim is now on sale for 99,95$

[Lexx]

Just found out there is news on the above mentioned fishing mod: http://www.pcgamer.com/paid-for-skyrim-mod-removed-in-a-matter-of-hours/

[ilhdr]

Just another way to let Valve make Money over the real content creators.

[Gorgon]

So it got taken off because of FNIS. (that's the mod that allows for new animations). Every mod requires FNIS. Well, 90%. That will make Fore a rich man, or simply get 90% of mods removed as a matter or couse.

 

Maybe it was one of the stock animations in FNIS idles, but I was pretty sure those are just lifted from the game idles which are already there. 

[213374U]

And, as usual, pirates will get the best possible version, get to try mods to see if they work as advertised and don't break stuff, before deciding if the product is worth the asking price, not to mention the time spent trying them and making them work.

 

Thanks to the new and improved Steam Workshop, it's not just companies abusing microtransactions — now consumers can nickle and dime the **** out of each other! That's progress, folks.

 

Anyway, Zor is 100% spot on the money, and it's important not to miss the forest for the trees. This is just an attempt by Valve to gain control of and centralize a parcel of gaming that nobody has control over, destroying those who don't want to bend over, and monetizing the rest in the process.

 

 

 

The free market has a way of self-adjusting.

 

 

Sure does. However, that said adjustments lead to better products, more competition or, more generally, anything remotely good for those involved, is an article of faith.

[Gorgon]

Free market in this case would mean that you had some other venue to sell your skyrim mods besides steam. 

[mute688]

Is the next step going to be Valve enforcing locked game files so games are only able to be modded with Steam  "authorised" mods?  It's the only way I can see paid mods not simply being freely distributed by independent mod sites.

[kirottu]

Almost every mod community has grown around the ideals of being free and open. People have shared their stuff freely with other mod makers and why wouldn't they have? It's not like there was any money involved. But now there is. Now using the stuff someone else has made is a problem. It is going to be one giant mess.

[Gfted1]

The Most Ridiculous Skyrim Mods People Are Trying To Sell On Steam.

[Blarghagh]

And, as usual, pirates will get the best possible version, get to try mods to see if they work as advertised and don't break stuff, before deciding if the product is worth the asking price, not to mention the time spent trying them and making them work.

 

Ain't that the truth.

[Bryy]

Is the next step going to be Valve enforcing locked game files so games are only able to be modded with Steam  "authorised" mods?  It's the only way I can see paid mods not simply being freely distributed by independent mod sites.

This is my big fear.

 

Only Valve never enforces. They "incentivize".

[cirdanx]

The good thing so far has been the negative reaction from the modding community, clearly not siding with Valve/Bethesda. Several big modders have come out and made clear their creations will remain free. (see Reddit and Nexus)

Personally i´m firmly against it. Having worked on mods in the past i never would have even thought about making money of it, nor do i know one who has tried it. I also don´t think that this will enable people to make a living, though the one or other exception may evolve out of this. I helped out with scripting/coding on some projects because i loved the game and nothing more.

People trying to break into professional game development thru modding are the exception and not the standart.

Not that i think, that modders don´t deserve something for their hard work, i have donated to a few in the past and would do so again if i find something worthwhile. I´m just firmly against a paywall and the attempt from Valve and Bethesda to cash in on the work from others.

Sure, Valve hosts the stuff and have to pay for bandwith, however that doesn´t justify such a big share in my opinion. Also, i´m strictly against the sentiment that Bethesda (or anyone really) should be given money because the provide the framework.

If they don´t want their framework to be used they could have made the game not moddable. But they know that THEY will profit from it, they allready do. Modds sale games, to what extend is open to speculation, but as an example, i just recently bought the BG series on GoG because my original CD´s aren´t working probably anymore. Why? Because there is a mod coming out i want to play and the modding-community is still active even after so many years.

Mods keep games alive and on the mind of players, this is essential free advertisement for an insane long time. Not to mention they often improve the game beyond the original vision and/or FIX the mess that normally would be the responsibility of the devs.

 

An additional thought, where is the line drawn in terms of what the framework provides and what comes from the content creator? Should people also play Bethesda money when they make a comic strip about Skyrim? The story is a framework too. So should fanfiction based on the lore also be subject to monetization with "x company" taking the lion share? This is kinda worrisome.

They already profit from it immensely, making this cash grab (75%) especially unacceptable.

I´m curious how that will work out. I can only add that i will never ever give Valve/Bethesda or any company for that matter, even 1cent for content that someone else made. Never.

[Gorgon]

I remember a work coleague telling me about working on a Half Life zombie mod, I don't remember the name. Once the idea got started to turn it into a propper product contracts had to be signed and work allocated. It turned into **** almost instantly with legal threats and splitting into factions, most people leaving. Will Skyrim modders be able to band together and handle all that pressure.

 

Not hopeful. Most likely it will just be the death of the comunity with everyone scrambling for the scraps thrown out by STEAM. Why couldn't they have done this to Call of Duty or some other crap I don't care about.

[Zoraptor]

Where is the ~Hitler rants about paid mods~ video

 

It's on Steam Videoshop at $10 per view.

 

(Guess Untergang parodies must be dying off, at one stage you got them on everything up to and including obscure GIS computer software)

[213374U]

I wonder if this "great" idea is Varoufakis'?

[Zoraptor]

 

Its disgusting imho, I would gladly support donations etc, but this will stiffle the open source and freedom of the modding community. Reallh hate it and very dissapointed in this development.

 

Modding has never been very open-source anyway.

 

From what I've seen, most (PC gaming) modders...

• work alone
• have huge egos
• keep their source/work files and tools secret
• seem allergic to the very concepts of collaboration and sharing

 

That runs completely counter to my experience. Except perhaps for the 'huge egos' part, but then again if you're making stuff you usually do it with the thought that it's going to be good and that other people will want to play it, else you wouldn't bother. Certainly from what I've seen of the VtMB, Dark Engine/ Dark Mod, IE game modding, Deus Ex modding, Paradox modding etc etc none of those points are accurate at all, except for a fringe element (eg Tessera for VtMB) who are generally not well regarded at all- and usually make crap mods.

 

It certainly appears that those points are not, generally, true for Bethesda modding either. I didn't like F3 much, but there's tons of 'base' fan created mods, modding tools, script extenders and the like freely available for it as there is (and hopefully will remain) for Skyrim.

[Gizmo]

I remember a work coleague telling me about working on a Half Life zombie mod, I don't remember the name. Once the idea got started to turn it into a propper product contracts had to be signed and work allocated. It turned into **** almost instantly with legal threats and splitting into factions, most people leaving. Will Skyrim modders be able to band together and handle all that pressure.

 

Not hopeful. Most likely it will just be the death of the comunity with everyone scrambling for the scraps thrown out by STEAM. Why couldn't they have done this to Call of Duty or some other crap I don't care about.

Modding has never been very open-source anyway.

 

From what I've seen, most (PC gaming) modders...

• work alone
• have huge egos
• keep their source/work files and tools secret
• seem allergic to the very concepts of collaboration and sharing

I.e. it's the norm for mod authors to forbid other people from even redistributing their mod on other download sites than the one they themselves have chosen. And don't you dare make your own mod even compatible with another person's mod, without personally asking that person for permission first - then all hell will break loose.

 

So yeah, the modding community has a fundamentally different culture and mindset than the open-source community.

 

In pockets perhaps, but not everywhere. I spent a year working on a mod with 22 other modders, and there was rarely disagreement, and most were openly helpful to others, and to the forum as a whole. Anyone can ask anything (about modding the game), and be assured of near instant help in the matter. I see it done daily.

 

Our own mod was released, and shortly after, we released the project file and all of its scripts and custom assets.

 

There are people there that make mapping tile sets, and upload them to increase the number of environments available to modders.

 

*Of course... the game is not on the list and the developers have not been approached by Valve.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Gizmo

[Naurgalen]

Well, it seems that my GOG library will be increasing.

[AwesomeOcelot]

I'm OK with paid mods, and the platform getting a cut. I think 75% is a bit large, mostly Bethesda's cut. For what? It would be great if for instance a texture company sold a texture pack they made from their assets for a game, a musician sold an alternative soundtrack, or a former EA artist sells building packs for Cities: Skylines. I hope this results in professionals and talented people being able to dedicate time to modding where they wouild not have before. It would be great if rights holders used their IP in mods. The pricing seems to be way off, these mods seem to be even more expensive than the majority of rip-off DLC that a lot of games come with now.

Edited April 25, 2015 by AwesomeOcelot

[Mamoulian War]

The Most Ridiculous Skyrim Mods People Are Trying To Sell On Steam.

 

hahaha

 

And we already have First Mod Early Access DLC!!!

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=431049259&searchtext=Rubbish!+Bucket+DLC

 

 

And few words from the talented author:

 

cheapbuster  [author] 11 hours ago 

I am hoping steam will allow guides to be sold so I can start selling a guide on how to position your bucket and how to place items inside it with many of the favourites such as- "Bucket on jarl balgruuf head"

 

 

Edited April 25, 2015 by Mamoulian War

[yugoloth]

 

 

Turn mods on outsourcing dlcs was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in the games industry.

[ruzen]

This article & interview is something

http://steamed.kotaku.com/skyrim-modder-considers-quitting-after-steam-controvers-1700077114/+nathangrayson

[Lexx]

Best mod: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=430874455

[Azradun]

Free market in this case would mean that you had some other venue to sell your skyrim mods besides steam. 

 

This.

 

It's not free market with 75% corporate tax. It's a blatant attempt to monetize something that was previously free.

 

The discussion about "are mod makers free to get money for their work?" is deceptive since ValvEA and BethEAsda are taking 75% of the profts while leaving 100% of work, policing, quality control to users. Also paid modders aren't modders anymore, they become developers with all the responsibilities for their products, contrary to what ValvEA or BethEAsda says.

 

This is all really laughable - for your cash, you get something that maybe works, maybe not. The refund process is also lengthy. I bought one item, which had a description of 2 lines of text and a few screenshots. Tried (the armor didn't even have a female version which is a standard for vanilla Skyrim!) and refunded - it told me to wait a few days until the cash gets back into my ValvEA Vallet.

 

There is officially no support for conflicting mods whatsoever if not voluntarily provided by the modder (and there WILL be conflicts, as all who extensively use modded Skyrim know).

 

The actual way of doing this paid mod system was very vile - taking an already established community and changing the rules overnight with a few people in the know behind non-disclosure agreements. Already paid mods are vanishing from free site Nexus entirely.

 

A petition to remove this system has 74,093 supporters at this moment and is rapidly rising (began two days ago).

 

This could have been done better. Way better.

[Darkpriest]

I thik that this time Lord GabeN went overboard and mistook content creators aka hat tailors as modders and thought that opening this system for all games instead of valve only games is a good idea...