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

[boulegue]

In response to post #24566659.

mikeloeven wrote:

then you will just alienate modders from the nexus there are those who want their stuff to be free... those who want to charge for their stuff and those that have free stuff and are thinking about maybe charging for it in the future... also impossible its their right to hide/delete their files from the nexus whenever and for whatever reason they see fit

[IgnacyOrder]

In response to post #24564864. #24565084, #24565204, #24565249, #24565704, #24566039, #24566654 are all replies on the same post.

Majitsu wrote:

Aedred wrote: No, they're not, not at the present time.

windu190 wrote: That's why this whole thing is shady, and possibly illegal, as hel.
They are asking money for a product containing assets they don't even own.

zzjay wrote: Yes its illegal...but so far steamworkshop didnt care...there were outfits from final fantasy there...and no moderation...i hope nexus will help us claim what is ours like last time

Orgaya wrote: This is a legitimate point. Bumping this so anyone knowledgeable on the subject can clarify.

Aedred wrote: There was a post earlier that confirmed some of the mods on there were using content from others that are not for sale. It looks like the post was deleted though, I think it was SvargolNT and another user that mentioned this. (Apologies if I mispelled your name.)

boulegue wrote: copyright infringements are illegal the second someone claims the copyright not a second before that, if you use a resource from someone and they dont claim the copyright its totally okay. its stupid but thats the way it works

I did make few modder recources and posted them on nexus. I think I will have to leave a note that I did post those only for people who make mods for fun and others and not for money. I dont want a penny for my work but I dont want anyone who using my work to get money from others for it. If he wants to earn money then he needs to make all stuff from scrath himself

[Psijonica]

In response to post #24566614.

Uranium - 235 wrote:

THIS

Once money through donations became involved, Bethesda could not stand by and let people make money off of their products. The whole donation system is to blame.

Imagin if you modded a pair of Nikes. Do you really think Nike would let you re-sell it? LoL

[sheider]

In response to post #24565569. #24565839, #24565909, #24565999, #24566174 are all replies on the same post.

Elianora wrote:

SirTopas wrote: I applaud your stand, especially in light of the exceptional quality of your work. Question is, what recourse will you have if someone releases a paid mod using any of your resources?

Aryell wrote: Believe me Elianora, I would love to pay for them! But I know it's not the amount of what I could pay that demonstrates the high value of your job and in fact your resources and ideias are being used for several other modders.

A1Shareef wrote: now THIS deservse a Donation Mr.

Elianora wrote: I will file a DCMA and release the wrath of a very angry lady upon them. It's like the fury of a thousand storms.

I may not use any of your mods, but I have just made a donation to you just because you take this stance. I encourage others to do the same.

[JimboUK]

In response to post #24565169. #24565699, #24565779 are all replies on the same post.

jim_uk wrote:

Velgath wrote: I'm waiting for things to cool down a bit first before making my mind up, but honestly I've been thinking of just concluding my time with Skyrim altogether too, with all of this happening.

Witcher 3 is right around the corner, and I'm thinking of actually getting into creating mods I may actually release publicly on that.

Blademaster1215 wrote: On that note CDPR as far as they're stance isn't the type to support paid for modding. So I will always look to that.

The first bundle on there costs more than the game does, if that's the future they can keep it. As for the Witcher, I hope they're a bit quicker getting the SDK out than they were the last time, by the time they released it everyone had moved on.

[Mechaflash45]

In response to post #24565609. #24565774, #24566244, #24566409, #24566664 are all replies on the same post.

icecreamassassin wrote:

boulegue wrote: take a way a kids lollipop and tell them they get it back for a dollar..... i promise you they're gonna be pissed :D

everyone is free to decide if they want to charge money for their mods or not, yet i still hope most people wont

CenturyNitro wrote: Just out of curiousity, when you rip, let's say, entire armor sets out of an MMO like TERA Online, why should I pay you for that?

I mean, yes, you invested time in getting it done, and such a mod is awesome, but you'd still be abusing and infringing the copyright of in this case Bluehole Studios's TERA Online, this example I use because I've seen the whole TERA armor mod packs to be quite popular amongst Skyrim mod users.

This is a glaring issue in this paid mod thing, I can't even imagine how quick companies like Bluehole Studios will take action once they catch wind of this whole thing of Valve's.

boulegue wrote: if you take the tera armor without their permission and start selling it your in deep doo doo

icecreamassassin wrote: yeah, it's really hard because of stuff like importing from other games and people developing multiple mods that essentially do the same thing and undercutting and all that. Just a quagmire of regulation and confusion which makes the whole paid concept just more trouble than it's worth. I'd be perfectly satisfied with a little sticky banner at the top of my comment page that says "If you like my work consider donating", but even mentioning donations is taboo, you just have to hope they see the button and are thankful when another user comments on it.

I don't plan on selling my mods either, and even if I planned it for any it certainly wouldn't be for any I have already released, that would be a real slap in the face to suddenly pull something you offered for free and then charge for it :P

"I am a little bothered by activism against paid mods because frankly I think the majority of those against it have not produced one bit of content for the public on their own. It makes the petitioners look like a bunch of people just wanting stuff for free. This is of course a gut reaction of mine, I haven't done any research into who started the current petition, so I could be wrong, but my initial impression is not a good one."

Modding is a business, even if you choose to charge nothing for it. If your mods cost money, obviously people who don't want to spend money will complain and pass you up. Its your choice whether to charge or not. You don't get to choose the consequences of that action. It makes 0 difference to the consumer why you are charging money if you decide to charge.

[Atreis]

I haven't checked on this, but I was wondering if Patreon wouldn't be a better solution than this whole idea Valve cooked up. There are some mods I have that are not getting updated after months, if I knew that a regular donation of at least a dollar a month would contribute to changing that I would do it.

 

To me, it's a cleaner and more practical solution than I pay someone once for a mod which may or may not be for me and/or conflict with mods I find to me more essential to my play through. This way, I can try the mod out in its natural free state and if it is something I know is essential to my skyrim experience, I WILL Patreon the guy just to ensure that it continues to develop. For the modder it's also better because it is a more reliable cash flow.

[ZZZ02]

A small question: are the new paid mods going to be treated like DLC on the nexus rules in terms of using assets?

[steelgunner6]

Well, there goes modding, it was fun while it lasted. Guess Skyrim was the last Bethesda game I will buy.

[RiffyDivine]

In response to post #24565684. #24565749, #24565819, #24565874, #24565944, #24566139, #24566154, #24566189, #24566214, #24566264, #24566339, #24566349, #24566439, #24566459, #24566504, #24566524, #24566569, #24566579, #24566644 are all replies on the same post.

Brumbek wrote:

Zaldiir wrote: Wait a little bit. See if the updated donation system here on NexusMods will make more people donate. :thumbsup:

If it doesn't increase the amount of donations, then I don't blame you for wanting just a little bit of compensation for your hours of work. $1 or $2 is definitely not greedy - just a shock for a lot of people.

athiust wrote: Your awesome you have caused alot of joy in alot of people and have created satisfaction and an echo within the community

RJ the Shadow wrote: What I think is an option, and an error on Valve's part for not thinking of/considering this, is to make payment optional.

Was there not a thing in the music market (with CD sales only suffering more as years go by) where some artists put up a "pay what you want, or nothing at all" for the mp3's and the sales made for them reached above what they had earned on previous works?

A non-negotiable option should have been to have the mod for free, with payment a convenient option (ideal with Steam have it's Wallet).

There ARE people out there who want to vote with their wallet. But they're not given the option. Instead, they are forced to offer their wallet or are refused the content. And as made obvious, Valve will paywall anything, not even trusting us to use our money to show thanks.

It differs from Paypal Donations because the question is directly forced upon the user. Whereas a Donation button can be skipped or ignored.
Being asked on the spot if you actually want to pay nothing for the content you're about to receive, plays on our sense of morality.

Velgath wrote: My biggest problem with the new system as-is is it kind of screws with people using alternative modding tools like Mod Organizer. Your mod is very worth a fee, but I still wouldn't buy it if it were on Workshop... that said, I may have just clicked a button on your profile page.

Brumbek wrote: Thank you for the comments. Again, I'm so torn. I view myself as an average person. I don't want to be greedy or unfair. Sadly, this new system will bring out the greed in many. Valve, itself, is already pushing $1-3 weapons/armor. Then there's my mod and others like it...so much effort and passion into it. I hate to say human nature is the real issue here...

SMIM does accept donations on Nexus of course (much thanks to you and others who have donated), but in truth my total donations has been very, very low. So for Steam, I see why they want to force a price...people just won't pay if they don't have to, even if they adore a mod and wouldn't play without it. I'm not judging. I will continue to develop my thoughts. Thanks again to everyone who makes this a great community.

heero328 wrote: Do what you have to do. I don't believe anybody would blame you for charging around $2 for SMIM. For what the mod does, that's incredibly generous on your part. I think many are more concerned with the long term implications this could have on modding and the adverse effects of it. It's not necessarily the issue of mod authors receiving money, but the fact publishers and developers are now trying to get a piece of the pie as well.

1erCru wrote: Torn? Um, you have 2.3 million unique downloads. If you charge $2 bucks for the SMIM and take 25% of the cut thats over a million bucks bro.

This is a game changer.

A1Shareef wrote: Its not greedy but think about the modding community as a howl, i bet if you write this in the description of your mod people would be happy to donate you anyway. Its not worth for 25% killing this Community and putting Gamers out there into Electronic Slavery. Plz think about it.

boulegue wrote: to be honest before the paid service for the steam workshop came out i have never even seen the donation button (im not using SMIM since i play on a potato) but you sir defnetly deserve donations or payment period.
you can also set up your mod on both the steam workshop and the nexus and just see what happens

ambria wrote: @ 1erCru
That's presuming everyone who'd downloaded would pay though.
As someone who's made music and put it on bandcamp I can tell you the drop off between downloading for free and paying is huge, even with a tiny paywall like $0.50
I'll have 100 download for free, but only 5-10 with that paywall there

Blademaster1215 wrote: All I'm going to say, while I very much love SMIM, and I appreciate the work you do. I would uninstall SMIM right now if you started paygating. I'd more than happily donate to you -- In fact I'll drop you 10 buck through the Nexus donation system if you don't do paygating.

Psijonica wrote: what is the difference if I pay or donate? If people think that they will get donations then they might as well sell them.

I will never donate or pay. I will sooner stop playing these games altogether just like I don't buy music any more... There will always be a way to get these mods for free...

This is a sad sad day indeed... sadder still is that the Nexus sees it's future in begging people top donate money for their modders... this place lacks vision and the Nexus will fall apart if they don't change they way they conduct business.

SirTopas wrote: Brumbek, I understand your position. You've put in a ton of work on SMIM and you certainly have kept it supported and working. You certainly deserve compensation for your work, but does Steam/BethSoft deserve 75% of the proceeds?

RJ the Shadow wrote: Torn or not, if you join in the paywall game, the rules will change. Nothing guarantees you'll get a lion's share of those 2.3 million unique downloads to be turned into people paying.
And you'll still be paying a huge part of the result to Valve and Bethesda.

If this proves a successful venture (for Valve) in the end, there is very little stopping these companies from looking for ways to counter websites like the Nexus. Valve has proven well enough to happily chase after any angles that make money, consequences be damned.

I know, I know. It's real easy for me to talk like this and not be in your position. It's very easy for me to say that taking part could set a worse precedent for the future. And I am, deeply, sorry that you are forced to find yourself in this position.
But it doesn't make it any less true.

EvilDeadAsh34 wrote: @1erCru

You think that many people would download it if he charged? Think again.

Don't get me wrong. I love what he did and i have made compatibility patches for one of my mods to work with his, but if he charged i wouldn't use it. That goes for any mod.

1erCru wrote: that wasnt my point. My point was simply that a mod like SMIM could generate enough money to make millions of dollars assuming that eventually all mods will be pay to play ( I'd bet on this being true after 5-7 years, its what happens when you monetize just about anything )

Even a fraction of those numbers is hundreds of thousands of dollars. I was clarifying that this isnt about making some " extra coin ". Top modders will get rich off this.

Free modding is dead.

IgnacyOrder wrote: Im for rewarding a modder who did spend a lot of time on his work. Im not a fan of iddea that all mods will be charged. Especially before testing them out. I mean I saw a crowbar for 1$...

I hope donations will work better. Especially since modder will get 100% for his work than 25% only

Uranium - 235 wrote: I think in part the reason donations are low is because Nexus has no unified, easy way to do it. Logging into a paypal and s#*! is just way too much work, not to mention Paypal is garbage in its own right.

If I had a 'Nexus Wallet' or something where you could easily chip $0.50 or $1 in the direction of a mod with a single click of a button, that'd be one thing, but the other problem is you have to get people to fill their wallet.

Don't make me pay steam and I'll give you two dollars but since I paid for it I will expect support and updates since I now bought something. This adds expectations on you since you are selling a product now.