So the internet blew up recently... If you've been to Steam, you'll notice that Skyrim now has Mods that require a fee to even use. Even one of my favorite companion mods that I used to use has an updated version for sale, while the outdated one is still on the Nexus (For free, which I'm thankful for) But getting back on topic... what is your stance or opinion on this? In my opinion, this is both good and bad. From what I noticed, mods that were abandoned or were previously in the final stages of completion, were suddenly picked up again, updated, and placed on the Steam Workshop as a paid option. So this in itself is a positive, because it can actually become a business for Mod Creators. It's a rather corrupt reason, but money does motivate a VERY good reason for them to be active, which can also involve better quality mods. The negative is, obviously, paying for said mods. Modifications have always been free, it's always been an enticing option for PC users. I don't think this is going to last, honestly. Because when you have a LOT of mods on the workshop that are paid options, the market is going to become VERY over-sized with paid mods, basically like mini-expansion packs. It's going to piss off a lot of users, without a doubt. My stance on this is neutral. It's still in its first day of launch, so only time will tell if this will be a bad or good thing overall. I also ask when giving your opinion, that you keep it clean. Don't fight or go into a very heated argument about conflicting opinions. I will lock (and possibly delete) this thread if it becomes a flamefest.
In the long run, I see this being a three tiered outcome... For the modders: Increase in profitability, then deluge in terribad mods that cost 10c but spam the market For the players: Increase in quality, then deluge in terribad mods that cost 10c but spam the market and some mods that are MUST HAVES For me: Wait until torrent available if the mod is worth it, because screw you I don't owe you any money for an asset you re-used from the developers.
This isn't good at all. Valve is taking 75% of the profits made off of these sales. SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT. That is absolutely rediculous, Valve is taking credit for doing nothing, and mod makers are being ripped off too. People are taking popular mods and are re-uploading them to make a profit. If people can do THAT, think about how many scammers will pump out cheap, shitty or ripped off mods to pocket clueless people's money. It is unacceptable. Here is a quote from /u/BlackbeardsSon on reddit giving his opinion on the matter that really hits the nail on the head better than I can. This is the worst fucking thing they could have ever done. Valve just single handedly killed the PC Master Race. "nooo, the mods will still be free at nexus!!!" No. Modders wont even upload their mods to Nexus anymore. Everyone will want some of that mod-money. And the worst part? This is only the *beginning*. What comes next? DRM on mods? Devs not even making full games because "modders will fix it/add content"? And you just *know* that there will be retards who actually buy this shit too, putting the wheels of this shit machine in motion. This is so fucking horrible. I am furious.
I don't think it can become an argument when everyone here agrees that this is absolute absurdity, I'm pretty sure nobody here wants to spend half a dollar on a mod that probably won't even work in the first place. I'm also confident we can also agree that Valve are turning into cheaper bastards than we realized; This whole thing was a bad idea from the start.
Generally I agree with TB, but I really think he's underestimating the effect this will have if it gets off the ground. Its one thing when mods are paywalled from the getgo (see minecraft mods for servers). Its entirely another when popular mods turn into paywall mods. Why does something that used to be free suddenly cost me money? You could argue that "Then dont pay for it you don't need it" but I think that excuse is silly.
I think it is fair for serious moders to get paid for their work( even modding Companies that might pop up from this ), If its good quality work I don't mind paying a small fee for the content they created. However, the problem with this is that not every mod is worth money but because they can.. it will cost you should you want it. Paywalls everywhere. For me that becomes a simple choice, no more using mods, which makes me sad. Not to mention the ease at which this can be abused, and already is being with stolen works. Whats worse is that content you are now expected to buy is not guaranteed to even work. Sure you can get your money back for a very short time but what happens when that content breaks due to say.. an update? your just out the money. Its shady imo. The part I have the most issue with is steam taking 75% of the cut, for doing nothing other than enabling. They provide nothing towards the creation of the works... not even the base game is their creation, they have absolutely no part in it aside from hosting. They deserve a cut for that yes, but 75% is just wrong on so many levels and to be honest has caused my opinion of steam to change a bit and not a positive change. I am interested in seeing how this plays out. I support people being able to make money for their hard work, but it is a very grey area. I can see it working to an extent, but I think its going to be a long hard road until its even viable (if it ever even becomes so).
It seems some of the paid mods from the workshop were taken down due to stolen assets. In this case, it would be Modder Resources on the Nexus that are free to use by anyone with no copyright issues. However, the whole paid mods things change that, since they're not supposed to be used for monetary gain. I noticed that the Arissa mod (Which was part of the whole paid mod fiasco) was removed, along with a couple others that I can't remember. Several mods were also removed from the Nexus in light of this. I'm laughing at the fact that Valve and Bethesda approved these mods to go on sale at first, but never actually did ANY research about assets used in said mods. Gentlemen, the internet continues to blow up in several different ways, in very horrid ways. EDIT: It looks like my first guess is right: http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/611704730315415323/ Some mod authors don't want ANY of their modding assets to be used for monetary gain by other mod authors. This is going to cause a big conflict since a LOT of mods do exactly that, unless modified to keep it away from that. The modding community's going to be in a huge turmoil.
Looks like Valve has disabled the Paid Mods from Steam for the moment. Seems like they're now running damage control. Wondering what they're up to now. EDIT: Annnnd they're back up again.
A lot of people complaining about Valve taking 75%. I agree completely that the mod author only getting 25% is BS, but Valve doesn't take the whole 75%. 35% is taken by Valve and the developer (Bethesda in this case) gets 45%.
