Steam and Bethesda remove paid modding from Skyrim Workshop

[sunshinenbrick]

In response to post #24761154.

Gawainyeo wrote:

Only if there remained a choice to have a mixture of both and proper quality checks and regulations were implemented, yes a lot of us already "pay for mods" (or rather modding in general) and probably would be able to see how it could have a future.

EDIT: But a lot of people might also demand better functioning, less buggy tools and products from Bethesda themselves. Edited April 28, 2015 by sunshinenbrick

[Gdgdgdgdd]

Yesterday: i download Apachii SkyHair, than : a Message I Shall Donate.

I dont do that, than i close that Window, and i see : it is not from Apachii himself,

it is Variant of his Work.

 

I go to Download the Original Apachii SkyHair : NO Message that i shall Donate.

 

So: Some People Create a MOD they dont want to have Money for it,

and other People make a Copy from the MOD, and they want Money for that.

 

Bugtester and Valve do not Thinking wot they do.

[joeriz9]

My own personal idea against the paying for modding was because of the flooding of useless mods. Many people saw it as if it would make mods better,

 

My personal vision was that alot of "modders" who think of it as a proffession instead of hobby would start pooping out as much mods as possible for cash.

And too be completly fair, i felt kinda right. Because except for Chesko's and Isoku's mods, Most were just armors, weapons etc.

 

If The guy from falskaar, or Wyrmstooth had put it on sale (which they didnt, both for obvious reasons) I would've paid for it, Frostfall, also worth it, Mods like SkyRE, PerMa, CCO, Character overhaul, Those kinds of mods, that have so much work in them, THOSE would've been worth it in my eyes. Not the kinda crap put up on the paid workshop in the days it was online..

 

But that's just my opinion, Everyone obviously can have an opinion.

[EnigManic]

 

I'm gonna rehash my two cents.

 

Dark0ne mentioned that Bethesda released SDK "when they didn't have to". With all due respect to the host of a great site, that's a load of crap! Of course they had to give us the GECK and the CK for free. Without modders, FO3, Oblivion and Skyrim would have fallen out of favor long ago. How many millions of times do people have to point out Bethesda's horrible business practice of rushing broken, buggy games through development?

 

Which brings us to my next point. I agree that modders who work hard for free making enjoyable mod content may deserve some form of compensation. Again, blame the people who use those mods but are too cheap to donate even a dollar whether they can afford it or not. But pay mods open up a hornet's nest full of arguments and legal issues.

 

Furthermore, I don't think it's necessarily wrong for a mod author to seek compensation as long as he doesn't turn his back on all the people who supported him. I do have a serious problem with greedy corporations taking 75 percent of the action for no good reason.

 

There's something beautiful about the culture, the art and entertainment of video games and mods. When you infect these mediums with corporate greed, it all goes to crap. Ultra-capitalism is an infectious disease. People need to get their greed in check. That includes all the mod users who can afford to donate to the author of a mod they enjoy but don't just because they don't have to. It cracks me up, how often people post praise to the comments sections of mods they enjoy but can't be bothered to go back and endorse it or donate a measly buck. These people are part of the problem.

 

Meanwhile, why don't enough talented people in the modding and gaming community raise enough noise to get another game developer to man up and try their hand at open-world sandbox RPGs? For the love of God and anything holy, someone finally give FO and TES real competition so Bethesda will have to start doing their jobs better. Then we'll see how that affects gaming and modding..

 

[z929669]

I feel bad for Beth as well. I also agree that releasing their position via that blog BEFORE rolling out the half-baked SW implementation would have really quelled a lot of our major concerns. I am now confident that Beth is a champion for the idea of "Open Modding" ... good for them.

 

Likewise, I feed bad for all mod authors. They should have a common structure for earning money from their mods (i.e., selling their mods rather than giving them away). There is something positive to be said about a pay-for system under specific conditions. Not just any mod should be eligible in such a system. Minimum criteria need to be defined (e.g., no errors, works flawlessly [in base vanilla game], standardized description including all details, ongoing support required, etc.).

 

Improving the donation structure here on the Nexus would be a good start at opening up opportunities for MAs and keep them from exclusively moving their best work to SW.

 

I think the pay-for system will be rolled out again, but hopefully it will be more informed, informative, and piecemeal and hence, more smooth next try.

 

Important: if 50% of the issue with this failed rollout was the fault of Valve/Beth, the other 50% was the fault of the larger community (or a [minority?] subset of the larger modding community). Our community's panic and rancor did nothing but bruise relationships among MAs and MUs and create general contention among us. Greed to capture $ and avoid spending $ was a reactive, knee-jerk poison that hurt things more than the flawed system itself ... crowd mentality makes no sense to me. Modding aligns with more of an individualistic mindset, IMO.

[greggorypeccary]

Do you know what a modder is? An artist. The medium may be different than what artists traditionally used in the past but the personality and the drive in a person to create is still there. Some artists see their work as something they do to pass the time, they might see it as a hobby. You'll never lose them. Some artist like sculptors or oil painters or even some modders see their work as something much more. I wonder how many mod users know an artist in real life? Do you know what kind of person it takes to create something where there was nothing? In the "old" days an artist worked for hours using his or her skill technical knowledge and creativity to make a work of art. The end result is a unique and therefore valuable piece. In "modern times" an artist who chooses to mod will put the same effort into their work as the ol time artist but there is a difference. Because of the nature the medium the only way to exhibit your work you must give it away and since there is not one unique object but as many copies as is needed it becomes valueless. In the end if modders are not made to feel appreciated for their efforts you will lose them. They could just change mediums because the drive to create can be satisfied in a myriad of ways.

 

 

[Lateraliss]

I think it's ironic that the people who support paid mods were against the price percentage split between Valve/Bethesda/Modders. They say the modders should get paid for their work, and they deserve the majority of the profits.

 

Ok, Bethesda created the Creation Kit, and the resources these modders use to add the mods into the game. Surely those people who put in hundreds of hours creating this tool to let modders mod should be paid for their work.

 

Valve agreed to host these mods on their servers. Servers cost money, servers require people to work on them, maintain them, and keep them running. Surely Valve and those IT professionals deserve to be paid for their work, right?

 

 

 

 

[CyberDoom5]

In response to post #24761919.

Lateraliss wrote:

yeah they spent 100 of hrs making a program that crashes for no good reason, freezes a lot, and is like trying to work with a spoiled 3 year old.

[sunshinenbrick]

In response to post #24761834.

greggorypeccary wrote:

This is why it is also about our experience of art... and we should be careful we don't buy into buying "art" for art's sake.

That is to say art is a very subjective thing to experience and why our relationship with it matters. I buy Bethesda games because they enrich my life, not just cuz they are sold as such

[ValtielCurse]

In response to post #24757114. #24758379, #24758824, #24759019, #24759159 are all replies on the same post.

Xenoshi wrote:

sheson wrote: How did we ever mod the last 20 years without getting paid?

There are free alternatives and versions for non commercial use, nobody has to buy anything in order to mod.

drwebs2 wrote: Id suggest they do not go bankrupt making mods. If it is costing them money, stop. This idea that they are forced to make mods is asinine.

They are not forced to make mods, like we are not forced to donate. You're right nothing is free, so if the mod makers are going broke, they need to stop making mods and start job searching.

If however, the mod makers are just having fun, not losing money and enjoying themselves...sure make a mod. Don't do it for the money, there is none now.

Goes both ways guy.

jediakyrol wrote: you only have to pay for the commercial license if you are charging for what you made... ... ...

sunshinenbrick wrote: This is why paying for mods is such a volatile area as Bethesda and Valve have no real way of regulating this. The thing with how they have laid it out in their EULA means that a blind eye is turned because the companies are still making profits.

Get money involved and lawyers will surely follow.

@Xenoshi You've been an user since 2008, and you never gave any endorsements until recently? And you keep posting about supporting mod authors? Only when money is involved?
Paid mods may have been a good thing, or not. But we will never know.