Valve/Bethesda announce paid modding for Skyrim, more games to follow

[Axhoff2007]

In response to post #24599954. #24602409 is also a reply to the same post.

Rovole wrote:

theofficialgent wrote: I have an idea, what if we all bombard the store with Nintendo and Disney licensed half-ass-ed mods so that valve who own a majority steak in every mod, get either sued or ceast and desists up the ass.

@theofficialgent
bad idea, once they are finished with Valve and Bethesda they'll see "free" mods as a threat to their IP in general and will go after sites (like Nexus) to remove these mods... or take their ad revenue away... and it will not just be for Skyrim... it will be for all (modded) games.

[IMNdi]

In response to post #24599954. #24602409, #24606049 are all replies on the same post.

Rovole wrote:

theofficialgent wrote: I have an idea, what if we all bombard the store with Nintendo and Disney licensed half-ass-ed mods so that valve who own a majority steak in every mod, get either sued or ceast and desists up the ass.

Axhoff2007 wrote: @theofficialgent
bad idea, once they are finished with Valve and Bethesda they'll see "free" mods as a threat to their IP in general and will go after sites (like Nexus) to remove these mods... or take their ad revenue away... and it will not just be for Skyrim... it will be for all (modded) games.

It's not curated, so, technically, they aren't responsible. Isn't US law great?

The worst they will get is a DMCA takedown aimed at Valve which, in turn, will kill your mod even if it's not infringing, because heck, why would they care, and maybe get your account suspended or killed because you failed to abide by the ToS.

You might gave recognized the shape of the **** inside your behind as being YouTube-shaped.

Youtube ToS, Point 5.D
"YouTube is not responsible for the accuracy, usefulness, safety, or intellectual property rights of or relating to such Content"

[XxSHREKSCOPExX]

In response to post #24594599. #24595064, #24597874, #24598129, #24598509, #24600934, #24601064, #24604279, #24605234, #24605519, #24605574, #24605679 are all replies on the same post.

Ehwhat2008 wrote:

SkeletonShen wrote: I agree.

Calu93 wrote: Me too

Quloide wrote: Aye

Alienfriend wrote: I agree too

onkenoke wrote: and my axe!

oh wait wrong speech sorry

Milleuros wrote: Agree.

Nexus is proving that they have the ethics of modding in their heart and that they have immense respect for the authors. They deserve that bit of money.

darksunshaman wrote: Also agree, just disabled adblocker on nexus

micnorian14 wrote: Been there, done that.

DohmeShot wrote: The solidarity is unreal. Disabled.

Except if an audio ad is coming up, I hate that intrusive garbage.

waffle652 wrote: I stopped and then a repeating audio ad kept deafening me and overshadowing my music while I was reading this article.

Now i'm using adblock again.

I don't care what somebody or something does, I don't tolerate audio ads. Especially ones that auto-play every 30 seconds and can't be turned off.

IMNdi wrote: I have also seen the light. This site has better presentation, a better installer for mods, way better mod management, and, unlike the tripe I expect the workshop to become, this has actual feedback going on.

Also, if I knew mods would be monetized, I would not have bough Skyrim. With no mods, the darned thing is not worth the money. And now that I bought it, rules change.

It's a good thing this site exists. And for a couple bucks or ads. Seriously. You don't want to know how much I spent on my phone -er- software. I wouldn't even blink at 3 dollars for an app, yet it took this long to support the nexus.

I'm weird.

Maybe you need an app?

ADBLOCK = OFF M8

[IMNdi]

In response to post #24605909.

foster xbl wrote:

What an alien concept.

Giving something to a community. Can you imagine? Open source, free software, free browsers, free books, free music, an entire world out there. What, soon EVERYONE will have access to culture.

Makes my blood curl. No, I say, how dare people GIVE these away? Bathe them in ads, lock them away, heck, better they rot in a cellar and bring 5 cents than to let them greasy users enjoy them.

Also, is it me or are you way, WAY missing the point? Either mods are free (donations, which are 100% to the dev) or monetized in which case the company takes a cut for storefront. In neither case companies make money and devs don't. What are you on about?

[WaltC]

I am already in the habit of not using Steam Workshop because of the horrible, simply horrible requirement of having whatever mods I have *updating* every time I fire up the Steam game! At the point I signed out of the Workshop years ago, it was taking me a good five to ten minutes to boot Skyrim and I saw no end in sight! I got out as fast as I could. (And quickly discovered the wonders of the Nexus and how compatible NMM was with my Steam games--letting me update when I wanted, if I wanted.) I don't know if that policy has changed since, but it's certainly an example of the kinds of decisions Valve makes about the community that put the Valve customer in last place at times.

 

I think the Nexus stands as an exemplary mod site and is therefore attracting a great deal of attention across the Internet. Mods, in the pure sense of the word, are *supposed to be* fun to make and fun to play. That's why game developers (the more enlightened among them) put modding tools into games in the first place--it's just good business for the developer because it stimulates game sales. Often a game rises or falls depending on how amenable it is to modding. The pay-off for modding tools is that the developer and publisher sell more copies of a given game--sometimes a lot more--and that is the right & proper pay off for modding-friendly developers and publishers, imo.

 

I wouldn't discourage mod authors from charging for their mods if they choose, but I would ask them to think it through a bit. Would you really want to share your mod(s)--not just the theoretical proceeds, but also the legal right to the IP--with both Valve & Bethesda, or Valve & the developer of your game? Would you really want to share your proceeds and share your IP for 25% of the proceeds, while Valve and Developer X get 75%...?

 

I think without a doubt you'd be better off simply *asking* for a contribution or donation in the documentation for your mod, should you think such a contribution is warranted. That way, should users of the mod find they'd like to contribute--you still "own" the whole thing and you'd get 100% of everything that is donated. While it's certainly true that the voluntary contribution system won't net you anywhere close to 100% of the people who download the mod and find value in it, it's also true that you could well wind up with considerably more money than you might ever net from the current Valve enticement deal of 25% (of what? $1?)

 

Also, many more people are apt to download your mod if the entry fee is $0 and your mod is available from a variety of sources--which in itself means *more* contributions are likely to be coming your way. If you're tempted to think that asking for contributions won't work, I'd ask you to think about Kickstarter. When a project is proposed that the audience finds attractive it is not uncommon at all for the project to raise a *multiple* of the amount it originally asked for! When you ask for a contribution you aren't putting a limit on what people can give you should they be really impressed with your work, and you get all of it! Simply put, taking the Steam route severely restricts your freedom in many ways as a mod creator, imo.

 

Every coin has two sides, and this new Steam "coin" should be carefully and thoughtfully examined before a mod author decides to pocket it. While it's true that one should never look a gift horse in the mouth, it's equally true that one should beware of strangers bearing gifts...;) The Nexus is such a great site that I find it completely unsurprising that Valve would be wondering how to match its success with mods, and that Valve might reach the conclusion that the Workshop might be able to hog all the talented mod creators by offering them a venue from which to get paid for their modding work. I'm not convinced that Valve has really thought all of this through, but I have no doubt that the many talented mod creators I see featured in the Nexus surely will.

 

 

 

[Axhoff2007]

In response to post #24599954. #24602409, #24606049, #24606329 are all replies on the same post.

Rovole wrote:

theofficialgent wrote: I have an idea, what if we all bombard the store with Nintendo and Disney licensed half-ass-ed mods so that valve who own a majority steak in every mod, get either sued or ceast and desists up the ass.

Axhoff2007 wrote: @theofficialgent
bad idea, once they are finished with Valve and Bethesda they'll see "free" mods as a threat to their IP in general and will go after sites (like Nexus) to remove these mods... or take their ad revenue away... and it will not just be for Skyrim... it will be for all (modded) games.

IMNdi wrote: It's not curated, so, technically, they aren't responsible. Isn't US law great?

The worst they will get is a DMCA takedown aimed at Valve which, in turn, will kill your mod even if it's not infringing, because heck, why would they care, and maybe get your account suspended or killed because you failed to abide by the ToS.

You might gave recognized the shape of the **** inside your behind as being YouTube-shaped.

Youtube ToS, Point 5.D
"YouTube is not responsible for the accuracy, usefulness, safety, or intellectual property rights of or relating to such Content"

best case: the file stays up but Nintendo/Disney take 100% revenue :)

[lFostelR]

In response to post #24605909. #24606599 is also a reply to the same post.

foster xbl wrote:

IMNdi wrote: What an alien concept.

Giving something to a community. Can you imagine? Open source, free software, free browsers, free books, free music, an entire world out there. What, soon EVERYONE will have access to culture.

Makes my blood curl. No, I say, how dare people GIVE these away? Bathe them in ads, lock them away, heck, better they rot in a cellar and bring 5 cents than to let them greasy users enjoy them.

Also, is it me or are you way, WAY missing the point? Either mods are free (donations, which are 100% to the dev) or monetized in which case the company takes a cut for storefront. In neither case companies make money and devs don't. What are you on about?

No I'm pretty sure you're missing my point.

If everyone else can profit from an authors work, they should be allowed to as well.

Being fairly compensated for your work and efforts....what an alien concept Edited April 24, 2015 by foster xbl

[IMNdi]

In response to post #24601619.

1erCru wrote:

Piracy is a symptom of a bad product.

If Bethesda wanted to do good, they would adopt mods. Take the best mods on the Nexus, pay the developers a sum, by contract, and add it to an official mod server. That way, mod community struggles for quality, to get listed and some cash, Bethesda has some quality control, and, with hand picked mods, they offer a better deal and they would recoup their payments in half an hour.

Good devs get money, bad devs get an incentive, Bethesda gets money and good press, and we get a better product. Problem solved.

Partial implementations of this is seen with Don't Starve. Kley runs its own free community, and has the workshop as an easier alternative. They disallow monetization AFAICT.

Also, no offense to all the Skyrim lovers out there, but Skyrim kinds stinks. Without mods, it's as bland as water. I'm sure that they understand a lot of us wouldn't have bought Skyrim if we knew mods would be monetized.

IMO, I believe that Beth thinks Skyrim to be dead. Cash prolly stopped, nobody cares, they thought they could get a bit of press and a boost by running something with Valve. I'm certain that 3 years later Skyrim is effectively dead as far as sales go. Maybe they thought they have nothing to lose. Valve throws in a free weekend, free 24h mods, maybe users forget to return them in 24h and bam! free money.

Who knows. One thing is for sure, piracy is going to really be an issue if they make mods monetized. Not only is TES6 not going to be worth the money, since they essentially sell the platform, but since I now no longer have the ability to disconnect my mods from my Steam, how likely am I to buy it? More or less?

[Psimander]

Skyrim only runs with Steam. So Steam could block illegal NMM content in the next step. Then Steam will only allow mods registered through Steam workshop. In the end Steam will strangle Nexus.

 

On the other side too many mods rely on SKSE or SkyUI. What are these mods without extented scripts or MCMs? SKSE could earn a fortune with these dependencies by claiming their share or deny all commercial mods their SKSE use.

 

[Deleted3507349User]

In response to post #24594599. #24595064, #24597874, #24598129, #24598509, #24600934, #24601064, #24604279, #24605234, #24605519, #24605574, #24605679, #24606499 are all replies on the same post.

Ehwhat2008 wrote:

SkeletonShen wrote: I agree.

Calu93 wrote: Me too

Quloide wrote: Aye

Alienfriend wrote: I agree too

onkenoke wrote: and my axe!

oh wait wrong speech sorry

Milleuros wrote: Agree.

Nexus is proving that they have the ethics of modding in their heart and that they have immense respect for the authors. They deserve that bit of money.

darksunshaman wrote: Also agree, just disabled adblocker on nexus

micnorian14 wrote: Been there, done that.

DohmeShot wrote: The solidarity is unreal. Disabled.

Except if an audio ad is coming up, I hate that intrusive garbage.

waffle652 wrote: I stopped and then a repeating audio ad kept deafening me and overshadowing my music while I was reading this article.

Now i'm using adblock again.

I don't care what somebody or something does, I don't tolerate audio ads. Especially ones that auto-play every 30 seconds and can't be turned off.

IMNdi wrote: I have also seen the light. This site has better presentation, a better installer for mods, way better mod management, and, unlike the tripe I expect the workshop to become, this has actual feedback going on.

Also, if I knew mods would be monetized, I would not have bough Skyrim. With no mods, the darned thing is not worth the money. And now that I bought it, rules change.

It's a good thing this site exists. And for a couple bucks or ads. Seriously. You don't want to know how much I spent on my phone -er- software. I wouldn't even blink at 3 dollars for an app, yet it took this long to support the nexus.

I'm weird.

Maybe you need an app?

XxSHREKSCOPExX wrote: ADBLOCK = OFF M8

I contributed to the site a while ago, so no adds for me. When my finances improve just a tad more, I fully intend to pay a subscription for the foreseeable future. I highly doubt Black Tree Gaming is making a heap of money from this, and it's irrelevant anyway. Support the ones who support you.