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

[Deleted150604User]

Yeah, nice optimism, but optimism is far, far weaker than greed. I already know where pay-mods are going. You know those unauthorized re-releases of mods on the steam workshop? Yeah... have fun with the thought that someone is not only making money off of what should be free, but they didn't even make it to begin with.

[KaoFox]

In response to post #23596899.

I agree, tho i have nothing to bring to the table when it does come from modding but I enjoy downloading and being in "Awh" when i see the mod in game or seeing how it changes it making it even more re-playable without having to dish out like $5 - $20 for an official DLC.

[lordburnch]

In response to post #23596219. #23596384, #23596664 are all replies on the same post.

At the end of the day I think the biggest issue is people who steal and re-upload someone else wok and gets pad for it. That I think is real threat with this style of money for mods.

Modding is a hobby. Not a thing for cheap money. Edited March 19, 2015 by lordburnch

[konstrukter]

In response to post #23594324. #23595389, #23595539, #23596279, #23597084 are all replies on the same post.

Well i like to pay the band even if they only play covers. What could help is using Assets-market rules. Whatever they are, it has similarities to this.

[EnaiSiaion]

This piece is anti-Workshop because, of course, the Nexus is being directly threatened by this.

 

That said, there is no point in discussing whether it's a good or bad thing because it will be a thing, like it or not. After all, it makes Valve money, and Valve runs PC gaming. And when it hits, mod creators will compete against each other for market share and try their damnedest to ruin each other, and the winner will be the guy who "donates" to the right youtube personalities.

 

The real question should be: how to adapt?

 

The Nexus will need to move away from mod hosting and probably into low end Unity/UE4 game hosting, where the new hobbyists will be.

 

Everyone else should strive to adopt, because not doing so means less money and you'd have to be retarded to pursue your own ideals at the cost of LE DOLLOR. Find a niche, make a mod, buy some positive youtube reviews, and sabotage competitors by posting fake negative comments/fake bugs/reporting them for theft/sending 50 mails a day telling them to kill themselves/threatening them/swatting them/etc. Money awaits at the end of the tunnel.

 

Congratulations, you're doing Valve's work for peanuts while bearing all the risk and having no fun!

 

And you can't do s#*! about it because you can't get around Valve and everyone wants those peanuts.

[JimboUK]

Look what money did to the Sims community, I'd hate to see that happen to the Fallout/Elder Scrolls communities. Something not brought up is encouraging piracy, anyone who thinks that paid mods won't appear for free on other sites is a fool, and if those "free versions" won't work on a legit copy of the game then that's one less reason to bother with the legit version.

[forli]

In response to post #23594324. #23595389, #23595539, #23596279, #23597084, #23598029, #23598769 are all replies on the same post.

Would you still pay if the unofficial patches authors one day goes crazy and break the patch in many little pieces, and each one fixing a tiny piece of the game for 1€?
Would you still pay... 1000 or more € to obtain the game you should have obtained from the beginning for 60-70€?

I think all modders working for the unofficial patches should be payed... but from the developers, not from the players.

And anyway the eula clearly state:

(a) All Customized Game Materials created by you are exclusively owned by LICENSOR and/or its licensors (as the case may be) and you hereby transfer, assign and convey to LICENSOR all right, title and interest in and to the Customized Game Materials and LICENSOR and its permitted licensors may use any Customized Game Materials made publicly available to you for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to for purposes of advertising and promoting the Software;
(b) You will not use or permit third parties to use the Software Utilities and the Customized Game Materials created by you for any commercial purposes, including but not limited to distributing, leasing, licensing, renting, selling, or otherwise exploiting, transferring or assigning the ownership of such Customized Game Materials;
© Customized Game Materials must be distributed solely for free;

That is: you can't absolutely sell anything related to the game, not even a wallpaper or a music composed by you, as long as it refers or contains anything from the game. Edited March 19, 2015 by forli

[EnaiSiaion]

In response to post #23594324. #23595389, #23595539, #23596279, #23597084, #23598029, #23598694 are all replies on the same post.

And this is the problem of making people pay for mods. You obviously never had problems with the USKP but i have to a major extent and if i had to pay for that i would have been PISSED. That's the other thing. If a mod you payed for doesn't work correctly (which a lot don't for a thousand reasons) what is your recourse? My guess is you'd be sh@t out of luck.

It doesn't help that you can't host compatibility patches on the f*#@ing Workshop. Greeeeat.

Not to mention the guy you're trying to make your mod compatible with has an incentive to play hardball, as in 25% of the profits or he's going to change his EDIDs in every patch.

(Hell, if he's got a more popular mod than you do, he can just outright cold PM you and tell you to hand over 25% of your profits or else it would be a shame if the levelled lists you're relying on would accidentally all be ITMs in his next update so your mod no longer works) Edited March 19, 2015 by EnaiSiaion

[Natterforme]

I dont think I would upload any of my mods to the SW under a curated systems(short of some of my fellow mod authors making redonkulous amounts of money).

 

As Arthmoor has pointed out, the Workshop still has several points of contention that make it a less than ideal service platform for mods. In addition to being unable to upload esm files, the Workshop has very bad search functionality and a pointless user rating systems that the Nexus ditched years ago now. When you bundle this all up with Steams F rating in customer service, the ability of mod authors to remove your comments and effectively censer criticism, mod theft, and the 25/75% cut distribution favoring Steam (in addition to everything else I cant think of atm) I cant see why any of it would be worth the headache.

 

As Dark0ne pointed out, this could just be testing for Beth's next game which they are going to put on the platform (lets be honest with ourselves, if its not FO4 then Beth is nuts and Ill eat my hat). If a curation system for skyrim mods does work out, then Bethesda has a couple of months to iron out the kinks with Valve to make the FO4 SW not completely suck.

 

-Natterforme

[forli]

Somebody read the games EULA? It clearly state nobody (except for Bethesda) can sell anything about their games. So either Valve received the permission from Bethesda, or they're doing something illegal.

 

Anyway, players CAN'T sell anything. If Bethesda allow it, then they're breaking the same contract they ask us to accept.

Edited March 19, 2015 by forli