BLOG PIECE: Modding as a hobby versus modding as a career, and the position of the Nexus

[Thaiauxn]

 

In response to post #24006714. #24016519 is also a reply to the same post.

I still think having an available Pay What You Will option is the best current solution to this debate that covers everything we seem to want out of both parties on Nexus

 

I strongly agree with this. Best way to go in my opinion.

 

 

Honestly, whatever says, "Hey Zenimax Vice Presidents. We're the Nexus. We're cooperating with whatever you guys want to do. Whatever about Steam, come use the Nexus. We made Bethesda modding what it is and really gave it a place to thrive, making you a boatload of cash and creating a totally new online economy around it. Keep respecting us, we'll respect your decisions, and together we'll be great."

 

Doing the opposite of that, which is what this blog is about, is playing Russian Roulette against Bethesda's executive officers. If they want curated workshops in the future, they'll steamroll right over the Nexus to get there. Valve offers way more infrastructure and support than we do. If the Nexus shows its willingness to adapt to what Bethesda is planning, it increases our odds of survival, and it might just make a whole new economy based around indie DLC. That's great for the future of the Nexus, and even better for gamers and modders.

 

Or we can dig our heels in and wait to see what they decide come E3. We'll either see them embrace Steam further, alienating us, or we'll see them maintain the status quo.

[vonkayas]

i would like to point out that in the case of valve setting up a payed mod work shop for TES and fallout, it will end up being a automated system that is essentially moderated by the users, like early access. because valve has no interest in moderating their own store fronts.

so my inaccurate predictions will be this, like early access and steam green light, you will get a great number of quality mods made by some very talented people, but sadly, if early access's state right now is anything to go by, there will be a tidal wave of hoax mods and quick cash in garbage to drown even the nexus.

 

im not going to beat on the idea that modders do or do not deserve compensation, that has been discussed already, and ultimately it is up to the games developers whether or not payed mods are accepted and if so, what to do with the free mods now the cash is rolling in.

 

what i will ask is this, valve keeps a wide berth from the early access side of things, leaving it to the users to sort it out and decide what is the beast games and what isnt worth the money, this was the theory anyway, in some parts this fails completely, now imagine this with mods, valve has already made it's hands off position clear, so there will be modders that are trying to do the right thing and make mods for pure intentions, getting their mod tanked with bad reviews from trolls with a personal grudge or a competing mod, modders trying to escape the radar and sell a mod they ripped off another modder cheaply, inexperienced modders that arrived it the scene because money is involved to produce a barely functioning mod after 2 or 3 days practice just to take advantage of the fact that no one will want to go through the headache of getting a refund from steam for a few dollars.

 

and this now toxic store front will continue to exist regardless because it will wear the phrase "buyer beware" like a bullet proof vest

 

sorry if i seem to pessimistic about the whole thing, but i don't really trust companies to have the end users in mind when making corporate decisions

[Ironman5000]

In response to post #23836199. #23839154, #23845829, #23853369, #23858174, #23858619, #23868714, #23869794, #23870749, #23874494, #23889664, #23897239, #23907889, #23916764, #23947279, #23954734, #23963714, #23965734, #23966599, #23968049, #23982619, #23991979, #23996044, #23996969, #24003409 are all replies on the same post.

This won't be a debate settled any time soon regardless of how many threads or posts made, like politics there's always gonna be two sides of the fence who will want to challenge each other. Lets just try not to get too riled up ONLY because money MIGHT enter into our world, believe it or not it's not the be-all and end-all of everything, if an individual seeks to gain some for through a hobby it's none of your business. If there ever is a future mandatory change you nay sayers will eventually learn to live with it anyway especially when you see the full picture instead of the singular idea of "greed".

[khmp]

In response to post #23836199. #23839154, #23845829, #23853369, #23858174, #23858619, #23868714, #23869794, #23870749, #23874494, #23889664, #23897239, #23907889, #23916764, #23947279, #23954734, #23963714, #23965734, #23966599, #23968049, #23982619, #23991979, #23996044, #23996969, #24003409, #24065404 are all replies on the same post.

An assumption for an assumption? I believe what you are basically trying to state is the following: Introducing money into a hobby is intrinsically corrupting to the hobby and the hobbyist. If this is your deduction then I strongly advise you to reconsider your position. There is far too much gray area in that statement to wholly believe it.

There are so many unique circumstances that you and I cannot begin to fathom spurring on their creative works. It may be money. It may be prestige. It may be love. It may be to learn. It might just be a lark. I think you're precluding your ability to see any other motivation than personal betterment as misguided. When in fact any one of those reasons can result in another person's gaming experience becoming enriched.

If I am misconstruing or otherwise projecting, please correct me.

My personal concerns IF modding were to become monetized:
Permissions.
Copyright.
Content Sharing.
Creator/Consumer Interaction/Responsibility.
Stability.
Patching.
Refunding.
DRM.

[Bamford93]

In response to post #23942484.

I know this doesn't contribute to the conversation you are all having here however I have been downloading mods for a good bit now and have realized that like many I don't endorse. This is because I have been told that in doing so, you have to pay for it. My question is. Is this true???

[lucasnox]

In response to post #23942484. #24078794 is also a reply to the same post.

no thats crazy bramford, did you give your credit details to nexus? then how would they get any of your money? magic?

the nexus is amazing but i dont think the nexus staff have magic powers to take your money when you click the endorse button

seriously people need to think a little bit, if you could make someone pay for clicking a button every link on every website ever would do that, you hit the google button? thats $5

but no of course it doesnt work like that, endorsing a mod is like liking a video on youtube, but on the nexus you can sort mods by how many endorsements they have (likes)

its just a feature to make finding good mods easier

whoever told you endorsing a mod makes you pay for it is an asshole and a liar

[Thandal]

@Bamford93;

 

No one has to pay for endorsing mods (or for the mods themselves) here on the Nexus.

Ever.

 

Where did you hear such a rumour?

[RGMage2]

Just thinking out loud here, but if I’m Bethesda/valve I’m more interested in selling mods to the console gamers than targeting the tiny PC gamer market.

 

They could go that route. Leave PC modding as is and use it as a place where mods are developed and tested, then take the ones they want and for a price make them available to Xbox and PlayStation players, paying modders a 25% royalty.

 

Instead of having to deal with 40,000 mods they could start out with only a couple of hundred hand picked mods, have complete control over quality and totally eliminate compatibility issues. They would probably lean heavily toward armor and clothing and avoid anything too problematic. I know my own Alchemist’s Compendium mod is something that could be ported to consoles with no issues, and I’d love to see that happen.

 

The modding community could pretty much stay as it is, PC mods would continue to be free, Console gamers could get access to content they can’t get now, some lucky modders could make a little bit of money, and Bethesda would have the potential to make a lot of money. It would be a win win situation for everyone. Yeah I know, dream on.

[TheVampireDante]

Instead of having to deal with 40,000 mods they could start out with only a couple of hundred hand picked mods, have complete control over quality and totally eliminate compatibility issues. They would probably lean heavily toward armor and clothing and avoid anything too problematic. I know my own Alchemist’s Compendium mod is something that could be ported to consoles with no issues, and I’d love to see that happen.

 

I would love to see how they deal with a mod with copyright violating or stolen content in it being passed at first in such a setup - they'd have to pull the file from their system, remove it from the games of the people that already downloaded it and give a refund.

 

Considering how many content issues the modding world has (stolen, ported, etc), it's going to be a problem when money starts changing hands for mods that include problem content.

As you said, there's also the issue of compatibility - I doubt they'd get away with posting a disclaimer stating not all mods will work together, unless they "hand pick" files for use and make compatibility checks part of their cherry picking process, but then where do they start with that? What mod do they decide is the jump off point that all other uploads would have to work with? Would their checks run only to files they have on their marketplace, or would they pay attention to the open and free mods to ensure no issues there as well?

 

Then comes the issue of mod theft. You start people charging for mods - there's always going to be groups of people that just steal it and host it for free somewhere else. It's already a problem, and I doubt adding some form of DRM control to the mod files is going to help with that.

For those that have their mods featured in the "pay mod" marketplace - would you have the companies help in any attempts to remove the file from unofficial hosts it's been uploaded to, or would you be expected to deal with it on your own like everyone else does already.

[Ilikehummus]

This definitely has pros and cons.

While it is good hard workers can benefit from this by profiting from their creations, some authors may abuse this by charging ridiculous amounts for a rather decent mod. It is an interesting idea in my opinion, but easily abused.